18-year-old inmate beaten to death inside Mississippi detention center

A detention officer has been placed on administrative leave following the death of 18-year-old Mielun Butler, a murder suspect who was beaten to death inside the Raymond Detention Center in Mississippi, WAPT reports.

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said Butler was found unresponsive in his cell on July 3, only two days after he was booked into the facility in connection with the shooting death of 32-year-old Melvin Edwards. Butler was being held on a $1 million bond at the time, per the outlet.

Officials said video recorded inside the jail showed Butler being attacked by other detainees. Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard said Butler suffered injuries consistent with being repeatedly stomped, and an autopsy determined his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head per WAPT.

Local police believe the attack may have been retaliation connected to the Edwards shooting and could have been gang-related. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is handling the criminal investigation, while the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an internal review of the incident.

Sheriff Jones said the officer was placed on paid administrative leave after officials identified possible violations of department policies and procedures. The officer’s identity has not been released, and authorities have not said whether the officer was connected to the unauthorized cellphone used to record the attack.

The death has brought renewed attention to ongoing issues at the Raymond Detention Center, which has faced years of criticism over staffing shortages and facility conditions after a 2016 DOJ report found that jail possibly violated humn rights.