Pressure on Prisons: Life in Lockup

A former state inmate talks about his time in the Mississippi prisons.

The death toll in mississippi prisons is now 24.

Just one week ago, i stood right here and told you the death toll was 19.

That means in seven days - 6 inmates have died in our state prisons.

And just today -- the mississippi department of corrections announced the deaths of two inmates.

One happened this afternoon at parchman.

Mdoc officials say a 45 year old inmate died in the parchman hospital.

Sunflower county coroner heather burton says the inmate had been receiving treatment for a terminal illness.

Foul play is not suspected.

The inmates name has not been released.

Tuesday night -- 62-year old grayland cox died at merit health central hospital in jackson.

Cox was an inmate at the central mississippi correctional facility.

According to mdoc officials, no foul play is suspected.

An autopsy will be performed on both inmates to determine their cause of death.

Meanwhile a wanted escapee is back in custody in south mississippi.

Law enforcement captured 27- year old christopher epps this morning following his escape from the harrison county community work center in gulfport.

Prison leaders say epps is serving an 18 year sentence for burglary and grand larceny.

Now many of us may never know what 'life in lockup' is like... but we can get close.

I sat down with a former parchman inmate who considers himself lucky to have made it out alive.

Imagine... ."

) 1642 it made chill bumps go down my spine b/c i know what really was going on.

In my head, i knew what was really going on 1451 a view from the inside.

319 i was scared.

I'm not gonna lie.

I don't think anyone who goes down there isn't scared.

320 for steven austin life looks a lot different now.

Simple pleasures like riding his bike -- no longer taken for granted.

2201 imagine trying to eat and you find a snake or big frog or grasshopper in your food.

That was everyday living right there an addiction to alcohol landed austin in the mississippi prison system.

Locked up for three felony dui's -- he served his time in unit 29 at parchman and released in 2016.

334 me personally i wouldn't worse that on my worst enemy i really wouldn't 340 because of the way you're treated there.

345 standup: using words like disgrace, sickening and infested, austin holds nothing back when describing the conditions at the state's oldest prison.

And neither does civil rights attorney cliff johnso n.

Cliff: 316 we had a situations where water was turned off for 10 days and the inmates were made to defecate in bags and boxes and collect it 225 in the same cells where they are served food.

Where there is no water to wash their hands no access to showers me: in 2020.

Him in 2020 in the united states 336 austin said field rats scurried through holes in the ceilings and walls 2122 and them rats come through those vents and they will bite you 2131 mosquitoes swarmed in the summer.

2135 you have to have a fan and cover up with a sheet with fan blowing under you to keep the mo from eating you up .

And then in the morning from where the mos went through the fans it looks like you've been slaughtered under there 2152 his description of the conditions backed up by in a june 2019 inspection by the mississippi department of health.

The 154 page report cited flies, roaches, mold, and plumbing issues...to name a few.

2153 it's bad living arrangements and they don't do anything about it 2157 lower cliff: 2238 there is violence there are conditions that would surprise people.

The cells are that small the toilets are that foul.

In many instances it is as bad as anyone can imagine 2255 if you would like to read the 2019 health inspection from the mississippi state department of health, we have a link to it on our website - wtva- dot-com.

We continue our pressure on prisons series next wednesday night at ten as steven austin talks about the gangs, guards and contraband inside the prisons.

A frontal system just