In one Mississippi town, people who are arrested languish in jail for months without being charged with a crime. Normally if you’re arrested in America, the “Land of the Free”, the expectation is that you will be provided counsel and assured a speedy trial. None of that happens in Scott County, Mississippi, which is why the county is being sued by the ACLU.

Octavious Burks, Photo Credit: New York Times

There is no presumption of innocence. In fact, the presumption in Mississippi seems to be that you’re guilty until proven innocent.

From the ACLU:

That’s how it works in Scott County: No one gets a public defender until they’ve been indicted. In other places, this might not be a big deal. In Colorado, prosecutors have 72 hours after an arrest to formally indict someone. In Kansas, it’s two weeks. But in Scott County and throughout Mississippi, the wait could last forever. That’s because Mississippi doesn’t limit how long a prosecutor has to indict someone, even if that someone is wasting away in jail. MOREHERE