Hinds County sheriff withheld jail death records until a judge ordered them released
A Hinds County chancery judge ruled in early July 2026 that the Hinds County Sheriff's Office violated the Mississippi Public Records Act by not releasing records on recent inmate deaths at the Raymond Detention Center, and ordered them released by July 9. The Southern Poverty Law Center sued after the office did not respond to its records requests. Days earlier, 18-year-old Mielun Butler was found unresponsive less than 48 hours after being booked; the county coroner said shoe prints on his head showed he had been stomped. Sheriff Tyree Jones confirmed a video of the assault was authentic, placed a detention officer on paid leave, and could not say how many assaults had occurred at the jail. Asked about the ruling, he said litigation should go through county attorneys. A federal receiver has run the jail's operations since October 2025.
So, the sheriff's office has until July 9th to do so.
It appeared he had shoe prints all over his head," Hinds County Coroner Jeremiah Howard told Mississippi Today.
Said litigation should go through the county attorneys and that he was not familiar with the matter.
Not yet contacted for this story.
No outcome recorded yet.