Advertisement Grand jury: Hinds County sheriff incompetent to oversee jail Detention center in Raymond plagued with problems Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Hinds County grand jury said in a report obtained by 16 WAPT News that Sheriff Tyrone Lewis "is incompetent to oversee the jail."The grand jury, which was convened during the July term, questioned the sheriff's ability to "keep pretrial detainees or state inmates in a safe manner or to keep the public safe from the inmates," according to the report filed in Hinds County Circuit Court. Read grand jury reportThe report recommends that court officials remove the jail from Lewis' control and remove any power he has to supervise inmates "as he is incapable and unfit for this duty of his office."The jury inspected the jail and met with Lewis and his staff before completing its report. While at the jail, grand jury members "witnessed the immediate after effects of arson, a prisoner exposed himself to us and we witnessed a prisoner in possession of a cellphone." There were not enough officers to secure the jail during the grand jury's visit and the officers who were on duty were frightened of the inmates, according to the report."The inmates seemed to be in control of the jail as a result of the shortage of guards," the grand jury said in the report. "Neither staff nor inmates were initially aware that we were there. More training and staff presence are recommended by this grand jury. Specifically, we recommend that guards be paid a rate that is competitive with surrounding counties. We recommend that additional training for guards be instituted. Current training is insufficient."The grand jury reported the detention center staff appeared to be "inadequate in quantity and quality."Lewis did not immediately comment on the report filed by the grand jury. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors called an emergency meeting late Thursday afternoon."The statement that they felt that the sheriff needed to be removed, it is troubling to us," Hinds County Supervisor President Darrel McQuirter said. "That's a very serious statement."Judge Tomie Green called the special meeting to discuss the report, but the meeting ended with no decision on any action."I don't want to alarm people. I don't want to make people think that something has happened or had happened. The only thing that we're doing is evaluating this report right now," Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham said.The detention center in Raymond has been plagued with problems since Lewis took office in 2012, including prisoner escapes, fights and riots at the jail.The U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting a civil rights investigation to determine if inmates are in danger of violence at both Hinds County jails. The investigation was launched after a riot in March at the detention center that killed one inmate and injured at least seven others.Last week, Graham released a list of updates that had been made to the facility in Raymond. He said the repairs include the installation of cell door locks, wire mesh to outside cell windows and 233 cameras inside and outside the detention center. Three pods -- A, B and C -- make up the Hinds County Detention Center. In 2012, Pod C was destroyed by inmates after a disturbance that lasted about 10 hours. Photos: Sheriff gives tour of detention center In June, Lewis and Jail Administrator Diane Gatson Riley gave reporters a tour of the upgrades in the Pod C housing unit at the detention center in Raymond. Lewis said then that the $8 million in improvements included new locks on jail cells and a new ceiling. A new video visitation center and computer systems were added to monitor inmates, Lewis said. In 2013, a grand jury was convened by Green to look into problems at the detention center. The panel found the facility was in deplorable condition; inadequately staffed; and posed a major security risk to inmates, staff, visitors and residents of Hinds County.Riley was hired at the end of 2013, based on a recommendation from the grand jury that the county hire a jail administrator. She had previously served as warden at the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility. The grand jury also did an inspection of the Hinds County Courthouse and found it was in good and safe condition with a few exceptions, including outdated security cameras and some maintenance issues.Lewis was asked about the report Thursday evening, but he said he didn't know about it and had no comment.McQuirter said everything will be taken into consideration before any decision is made on the jail's future."I think he's doing his job. The grand jury sees some other things, and we're just going to respect the report," McQuirter said.A representative for Lewis said a response to the report will be made Friday.