Gates v. Collier
Gates v. Collier, 501 F.2d 1291 (5th Cir. 1974), was a landmark decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that brought an end to the trusty system as well as flagrant inmate abuse at Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm, in Sunflower County, Mississippi. It was the first case in a body of law developed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that a variety of forms of corporal punishment against prisoners constituted cruel and unusual punishment and a violation of Eighth Amendment rights. This case was also the first broad-scale intervention by a court in the supervision of prison practices. In Gates v. Collier, the Court of Appeals found certain forms of corporal punishment violate the Eighth Amendment, including "handcuffing inmates to the fence and to cells for long periods of time, ... and forcing inmates to stand, sit or lie on crates, stumps, or otherwise maintain awkward positions for prolonged periods." Parchman Farm The Mississippi State Penitentiary, commonly known as Parchman Farm, was founded in 1904 and consisted of 20,000 acres of delta. The prison was styled after plantations, emerging in the South during the Jim Crow era. It's estimated that throughout its history, about 90% of Parchman's prisoners were black men. After the Civil War, Mississippi was still dependent upon black labor to sustain its farms and plantations. As a result, the state passed a series of laws that made vagrancy a crime; African Americans had to constantly carry papers around showing proof of employment, and if they were found without documentation they would be arrested. Pig laws also played a role in the convictions of many Parchman Farm inmates. Pig laws made any kind of minor larceny a serious crime, for stealing something like a soda would typically result in five years of jail. Convict leasing was another discriminatory system used in which African Americans would be leased to do work rather than sent to jail, essentially taking the place of slavery. Parchman Farm had black camps that were overseen by a white sergeant. Below the white sergeant were black trusties, who had been convicted of murder and allowed to carry a gun. The state rationalized this system economically, for hiring inmates to carry out duties rather than civilian guards meant money was being saved. "The Penitentiary Board at the time was composed of 5 individuals appointed by the Governor with consent of the Senate for 4-year terms, appointed the superintendent, who was vested with exclusive management and control of the prison system in all aspects, including the care and treatment of inmates and the hiring, control and discharge of 150 civilian employees". Oshinksy, the author of Worse than Slavery, once stated in an interview with The Washington Post that "Parchman Farm was basically the leading cash cow for the state of Mississippi." They were adding hundreds of thousands of dollars and then millions of dollars to the state treasury, and thus were a huge economic asset". Roy Haber In 1970, Roy