From today’s Sun-Herald:
Attorneys for the estate of Jessie Lee Williams Jr. have filed a motion asking a federal judge to determine if the Harrison County jail has presented false reports to the U.S. Justice Department and, if so, that the federal government temporarily take over the jail.
The motion, filed early Thursday evening, alleges the jail has filed false reports to the Justice Department regarding the fatal beating of Williams. The jail has been under a federal consent judgment since 1995 and must submit quarterly reports to the Justice Department to show how the jail is run and what happens in the jail.
The motion claims the quarterly report for January through March contains “intentionally misleading and possibly fraudulent reports” involving Williams’ beating in the jail booking room Feb. 4.
The motion also claims Monday’s guilty plea of ex-jailer Regina Rhodes to criminal acts stemming from the beating is “further evidence… as active efforts to cover up blatant abuses and illegal activities” and that the report “failed to identify all of the individuals known to it at the time the report was filed.”
The full story is here. The Sun-Herald has also posted the text of the motion and accompanying press release.
UPDATE: More here.