Short Staffing Emboldens Prison Gangs, Puts Inmates at Risk, Says Bonne Terre Staffer

Thirty-one year-old Joshua Miley has been at the Bonne Terre prison since July 2020, when his parole was revoked for stealing and burglary convictions.

On February 5, Miley was attacked by four other inmates in his cell, stabbed more than 40 times and thrown over a railing, according to his mother. After being air-evaced to a hospital in St. Louis, he received 38 staples, more than 20 stitches and treatment for a punctured lung, he told us.

Anecdotal reports suggest such violence has grown increasingly common at Bonne Terre. The reason for this, a prison staff member tells the RFT, is because the prison is incredibly understaffed. In a prison with roughly 2300 incarcerated individuals, a single corrections officer is often responsible for nearly 300 inmates in a wing. As few as two corrections officers might be on duty in the dining hall while all of these inmates are eating, a time when attacks are especially likely to occur. Only 50 custodial staff are on hand at times.

When there is a violent assault, the staff is stretched so thin that oftentimes many can't respond, because doing so would leave key areas of the prison completely unguarded, says the Bonne Terre staffer, who asked for anonymity for fear of retaliation by his employer.

Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/short-staffing-emboldens-prison-gangs-puts-inmates-at-risk-says-bonne-terre-staffer-37558176