Daja Henry

2 weeks ago | themarshallproject.org | ivy scott |Brittany Hailer |Daja Henry

Jails are notorious for inhumane conditions. Detainees often complain of violence, inedible food, limited programming and subpar healthcare. Lack of sunlight may be an unexpected addition to the list. But sunlight deprivation causes a myriad of serious issues, including high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and an increased risk of diabetes, as well as a host of mental health problems such as depression and sleep disorders.

2 weeks ago | mpbonline.org | Daja Henry

As of the Justice Department’s 2024 annual report, the investigation was one of two that remained open from Mississippi. The other was the death of Jerry Lee Armstrong, a 17-year-old who went missing after a Christmas dance in DeSoto County. His family believes white supremacists killed him. The Till Act, first passed in 2008, directs the Justice Department to investigate criminal civil rights violations that led to a death before 1980.

3 weeks ago | themarshallproject.org | Daja Henry

Dale Gibbs awoke to banging on the door of her parents’ home in Ripley, Mississippi, in the early hours of May 15, 1970, just three days before her 19th birthday. Her husband, Phillip, a 21-year-old senior at Jackson State College, was expected to return that night after making the nearly four-hour drive from campus. But he wasn’t banging on the door. It was Phillip’s sister, Nerene, and a neighbor. Nerene was screaming.

2 months ago | mississippitoday.org | Daja Henry

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their Jackson newsletter, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook. In the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2021, Michael Richardson was beaten, stomped on and dragged to his death by at least two others inside Hinds County’s Raymond Detention Center. His body remained undiscovered by guards for at least eight hours.

2 months ago | themarshallproject.org | Daja Henry

In the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2021, Michael Richardson was beaten, stomped on and dragged to his death by at least two others inside Hinds County’s Raymond Detention Center. His body remained undiscovered by guards for at least eight hours. He was one of seven incarcerated people who died that year in the Hinds County jail, including two who died by suicide and one of an apparent drug overdose, according to court records.