Authorities are investigating reports that Vermont prisoners held in a privately run facility in Mississippi plotted to take over a unit and possibly attempt to escape.
Inmates in one of the two units that hold 225 Vermonters at the prison, run by CoreCivic, were restricted to their cells on Tuesday after officials were tipped off about the alleged plan, according to Al Cormier, Vermont Department of Corrections facilities director.
Three Vermont prisoners have since been placed in segregation at the Mississippi prison as the investigation continues, he added.
“Security staff in Mississippi had received information through an anonymous source that said there were at least three inmates who were planning a unit takeover, potential hostage situation, and a potential escape situation, ultitilizing that hostage,” Cormier said.
As a result of that information from the anonymous source, Cormier said, the staff at the prison initiated a “lockdown” of the unit and began to do interviews as they investigated.
“Based on that intel they were able to mitigate that threat and inmates, at least three inmates, have been moved to segregation,” he said, adding that the lockdown has since been lifted.
The Vermont inmates in the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi, are separated into two housing units. The investigation was targeted in one unit.
Asked if there was evidence that three inmates actually hatched such a plan, Cormier replied, “I haven’t gotten updates on that at this point, other than they moved the inmates in question to segregation.”
He said he wasn’t aware of the filing of any criminal charges in connection with the incident.
“I don’t think there are any charges pending,” Cormier said. “It was an internal situation and nothing came to fruition.”
Vermont Defender General Matthew Valerio, whose department includes the state’s Prisoners’ Rights Office, said Thursday afternoon that there was little he could say at this time as his office continues to gather information.
“There was clearly an incident in Mississippi that involved the potential for a security breach,” he said. “I know that Mississippi locked down a portion of the facility that involved Vermonters.”
Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, also said in an email Thursday afternoon there was little he could say about the incident. He did take issue with the term “lockdown,” which was used by both the Vermont Department of Corrections and Valerio.
“The Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility is not, and was not, on any type of lockdown,” Gustin wrote. He directed questions about “restricted movements that may have impacted the Vermont inmate population” to the Vermont Department of Corrections.
Vermont entered into a two-year contract in September 2018 with Nashville-based CoreCivic, one of the largest private prison companies in the country and operator of the Mississippi prison.
Cormier said Vermont corrections officials are currently working with CoreCivic staff in continuing to investigate the incident, “just to see what may have occurred and what may have led to that situation,” Cormier said.
Late Thursday morning, he said he didn’t immediately have the names of the Vermont prisoners now in segregation at the Mississippi facility.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Authorities probe alleged escape plot involving Vermont out-of-state inmates.