• Ending Unjust Imprisonment

A.M., et al. v. Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees, et al.

Case Number: 3:11 CV 344 TSL-MTP
Date Filed:
June 8, 2011
Court where filed:
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division
Plaintiffs:
A.M. by and through his next friend, Jeanette Murry; on behalf of himself and all other persons similarly situated
Defendants:
Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees, in its official capacity; Dr. Lonnie J. Edwards, Sr., in his official capacity as Superintendent at Jackson Public Schools; Glenn Davis, in his official capacity as Director of Security at Jackson Public Schools; Marie Harris, in her official capacity as Principal at Capital City Alternative School; Bobby Walden, in his official capacity as Vice Principal at Capital City Alternative School; Franklin McKee, in his official capacity as school safety officer at Capital City Alternative School; Stacey Greenwood, in her official capacity as school safety officer at Capital City Alternative School

Students at Jackson Public School District’s Capital City Alternative School have regularly been disciplined for minor infractions, such as not wearing a belt or for wearing mismatched shoelaces, by being shackled for hours at a time to a fixed object.

These students are left unsupervised and are denied access to classroom instruction. The specific allegations in the complaint include:

  • A 15-year-old female student was handcuffed to a railing for several hours after she was accused of greeting her friend too loudly in the school hallway.

  • Another student was shackled to a railing for an entire school day because the student did not wear a belt. The student was even forced to eat lunch while handcuffed.

  • One student spent an entire school day handcuffed and shackled to a railing because he wore shoes that schools officials deemed to be the wrong color.

The lawsuit was filed after Jackson Public Schools refused to respond to a demand letter requesting that the school district end these practices.