Prison riot leaves one guard dead

ALL content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MISSISSIPPI_PRISON_RIOT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-21-02-25-08

A guard was killed and, at one point, hostages were taken during a riot at a Mississippi prison that holds illegal immigrants, authorities said.

The Sunday riot at the privately run prison in southwest Mississippi began around 2:40 p.m. CDT and involved dozens of inmates before it was brought under control that night.

>>> VIDEO >>> http://youtu.be/vMPi0RbL3e0

Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield told the Natchez Democrat that 15 employees were freed at one time during the uprising by opening a fence and protecting the route with guns. The sheriff said in a statement early Monday that there were at least two dozen hostages being held at one time.

Adams County Coroner James Lee confirmed that a guard died, but said he could not provide any other details until the correctional officer's family was notified. In addition to the guard who was killed, five other correctional officers and three inmates were injured.

Emilee Beach, a spokeswoman at the Adams County Correctional Center said that after the disturbance was brought under control Sunday night, inmates were being searched and sent back to their cells.

The 2,567-bed prison in Natchez houses adult male illegal immigrants for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The prison, owned and operated by Corrections Corp. of America (CCA), holds illegal immigrants, most for charges of re-entering the United States after being deported.

Sunday's riot is not the first time CCA prisons have seen violence. The high level of violence at a CCA-run prison in Idaho has prompted federal lawsuits, public scrutiny and increased state oversight. In 2010, Vermont inmates being held at a CCA prison in Tennessee were subdued with chemical grenades after refusing to return to their cells.