01/09/2021
However, the number of inmates who have contracted COVID-19 are being undercounted, believes Jackson attorney Marcy Bryan Croft, who is the lead Mississippi lawyer on the Parchman lawsuits. Croft said she has heard many reports from prisoners who were exposed to people who tested positive for coronavirus, or exhibited symptoms, and were denied testing.
"Having zero cases and having zero positive tests is not equivalent," Croft said. "They are refusing to test so they can say we don't have any cases."
The year began with an eruption of riots in prisons across the state, which left several inmates dead and and dozens injured. Then came the pandemic.
