Rare Oversight Begins at Hinds County’s Raymond Detention Center in Mississippi
Amid a decade-long court battle, control of Hinds County’s Raymond Detention Center — severely understaffed and rife with violence, dysfunction and inhumane conditions — is now under the control of a court-appointed administrator.
Wendell M. France Sr., the receiver appointed by a federal judge, took the helm of the long-embattled facility Wednesday morning. France is in charge of the jail’s budget, personnel and day-to-day operations. He is a public safety consultant and a former assistant jail warden of the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center.
France and his team are prohibited by the judge from making public statements…