Shelby County Jail

Shelby County Jail

Escape history

One of the earliest escapes at Shelby was committed in 1960 by James Marsalis, a man convicted of a 3-5 year sentence for forging 3 of his employer's checks under a false name that together amounted to a total of $329. Marsalis climbed on top of a truck and jumped the fence of the penal farm, then walked to Byhalia, Mississippi, bloodhounds in pursuit.

In 1986, when three inmates took a volleyball net and slid 50 feet down to the ground from the fifth-floor recreation area. At the time of the escape, there was one jailer supervising about 20 prisoners.

In July of 1994, three inmates escaped through a broken second-floor window in one of the facility's medical rooms. One of the three succeeded, one failed to even leave the facility after breaking his leg in the 10-foot fall, and one was later caught in an All Right parking lot on 201 Poplar, across from the jail. The three prisoners faced charges ranging from aggravated assault, to sexual battery and robbery.

In 1995, Marsalis gave himself up, after 35 years, and because of his "honest" attempt to atone for his crimes, the judge dropped his escape charges down to misdemeanors. After 3 days in lockup, he was released. Marsalis had spent those years constantly looking over his shoulder, careful not to get settled down too comfortably, and traveling from state to state, working blue-collar jobs for short periods of time.

One escape occurred on June 29 1995, when 31-year old Marc Docken, who had been in Shelby for no longer than 2 weeks on a misdemeanor and robbery charge, escaped through a small hole in the recreation area that led to the sheriff's office. He then stole a cleaning van and drove north. Shortly after two Morona county deputies caught up to Focken, and pursued him for a short while before abandoning the pursuit as Docken crossed the state line into Nebraska.

Docken, who was considered armed and dangerous, left the van at the side of the road just south of Decatur.

Riots

Lawsuits

Seven jail guards were charged with conspiracy and civil right's violations in October of 1993, allegedly attacking several inmates with their fists, feet, riot clubs, and stun guns in retaliation for a previous fight. The six victims were treated for broken bones and lacerations. Following an FBI investigation that uncovered evidence of conspiracy among the jailers, 3 of the 4 guards were eventually convicted, and faced prison terms of up to 10 years each.

In 1996, a man raped by a fellow inmate was awarded $10,000, accruing court costs in excess of $600,000.

Several other lawsuits and court orders have also been issued to Shelby County Jail, including a ruling in 1976 that the jails violated civil rights, one in 1989 that ruled the jail was too overcrowded and violent, one in 1997 that ordered the jail experienced too many inmate assaults, and one in December of 2000 that reported the jail had still not improved. Evidence attesting to the poor conditions of the jail has included homosexual-assaults, fights, inmate fear, lack of privacy, improper contact allowed between low-risk and high-risk prisoners, overloaded sanitary facilities, and poor educational, vocational, and exercise programs.

Shelby has been in violation of the US Constitution twice in under 25 years. In 1988, it was "decertified" for being too overcrowded; in 1991, crack cocaine was smuggled inside by 19 guards and the chaplain; in 1996 a gang member "hit" was ordered and jailer Deadrick Taylor was shot to death in his driveway; in 1997, a lawyer sued on behalf of an inmate there who was allegedly gang raped; in 2000, Shelby's "Thunderdome" tournaments were discovered, where gang members force fellow inmates to engage in gladiatorial combat

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