Interesting article by Maggie Lee about an eight-month investigation by the Justice Department, and one of the system's targets, 14 year old Lionel Townsend. The DOJ says it believes that the city of Meridian and Lauderdale County routinely and repeatedly incarcerate children for school disciplinary infractions:
Lionel admits he got into fights multiple times at Magnolia Middle School. When he was charged with vandalizing a school bus security camera, he was booted from school. He fought again in a community day program. The county Youth Court eventually put him on probation and ordered him to stay at home with an ankle monitor.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is alleging the juvenile justice system here is so faulty that it amounts to a “school-to-prison pipeline.”
Read the whole story at www.nationofchange.org
Here's the DOJ press release and link to their letter.
See also the Raw Story article by Muriel Cane on August 10th, 2012 (Mississippi county school accused of running 'school to prison pipeline')
Original post of Maggie Lee's article (DOJ probe alleges 'school-to-prison' pipeline in Meridian, Lauderdale Co.) at Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
