Guard killed in Mississippi prison riot

  HOLBROOK MOHRMISSISSIPPI -- 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 Adams County Correctional Center in southwest Mississippi began around 2:40 p.m. CDT and involved dozens of inmates before it was brought under control that night.

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.

Beach said the prison, owned and operated by Corrections Corp. of America, holds illegal immigrants, most for charges of re-entering the United States after being deported.

The five injured guards were taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that weren't considered life-threatening.

The 2,567-bed prison in Natchez houses adult male illegal immigrants for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

CCA spokesman Steve Owen confirmed in an email "there has been one employee death" but he said he could not provide more details immediately.

He said in an email early Monday "it is my understanding that all staff are accounted for." He said the company was investigating what caused the uprising.

Adams County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Emily Ham said no inmates had escaped the facility.

After the uprising began, CCA's Special Response Team and the Mississippi Highway Patrol's SWAT team sought to quell activities within the prison while state and local law-enforcement officers secured the perimeter of the complex, Mayfield said in a statement.

Mayfield added that prison personnel had "gained total control" of the complex.

"Right now, we have three inmate injuries that were probably sustained from other inmates - one being a stab wound, concussion and rib injuries," Mayfield added. "There were no escapes."

According to its website, Nashville, Tenn.-based CCA houses about 75,000 offenders and detainees in more than 60 facilities around the country.

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.

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Associated Press writer Norman Gomlak contributed to this report from Atlanta.

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The National Guard Careers

Careers In The National Guard

Obama to deliver Coast Guard commencement address

  By DARLENE SUPERVILLEWASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is delivering his final commencement address of the season at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Although rain threatened to dampen the outdoor festivities, the commander in chief was headed to New London, Conn., on Wednesday to watch 229 cadets receive bachelor's degrees and be commissioned with the rank of ensign in the U.S. military branch that enforces the laws at sea.

It's Obama's second graduation speech this week. He spoke at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday.

The president traditionally speaks each year at commencement ceremonies for one of the military service academies. Obama addressed the U.S. Naval Academy's commencement in 2009, his first year in office, followed by the U.S. Military Academy's ceremony last year.

Many members of the Coast Guard graduating class responded to last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Some went to Honduras to help build a children's center and move two dozen orphans out of a government facility. Some also marched in Obama's inaugural parade.

After the pomp and circumstance, Obama was headed to the Democratic stronghold of Massachusetts to rally 1,000 supporters at separate campaign fundraisers in Boston. The events include an intimate dinner for 30 people at an undisclosed private home, followed by a reception for about 900 people at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts in the South End neighborhood, a Democratic official said.

Tickets for the events range from $200 to the legal maximum of $35,800.

At least two Boston Celtics - All-Star Ray Allen and Hall of Famer and former captain Bill Russell - were expected at the reception in a show of support for Obama, a basketball aficionado.

Obama awarded Russell a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor from the nation to a civilian, during a White House ceremony last year.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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