Walnut Grove, Italy
The Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, formerly the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF), is a state prison in Walnut Grove, Mississippi. It was formerly operated as a for-profit state-owned prison from 1996 to 2016. Constructed beginning in 1990, it was expanded in 2001 and later, hold
ing male youth offenders. It had an eventual capacity of 1,649 prisoners, making it the largest juvenile facility in the country. Contracts for the facility's operations and services were among those investigated by the FBI in its lengthy investigation of state corruption known as Operation Mississippi Hustle. The prison was one of six for which the state had contracts in the early 21st century with for-profit prison operators; this facility had a record of management problems. A 2010 federal prisoner class-action suit was filed over poor conditions and mistreatment here; it was settled in 2012. Settlement required immediate transfer of youth offenders to a state-run facility meeting juvenile justice standards. The court decree prohibited the state from subjecting any youthful offender to solitary confinement, the first time a federal court had so ruled. In addition, the state changed the...
Listen to the audio guide for Walnut Grove Correctional Facility Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off