The Jackson County Detention Center temporarily suspended visitations on Tuesday as a result of "unforeseen absences" with staff, shutting out anyone wanting to visit a friend or family member inside.
Angela Wilson was one of the people who showed up to the facility for a visitation only to be told she wouldn't be allowed inside.
"I'm on a visitation list and everything. They tell you the day you can come down here and visit," she explained. "Getting ready, being down here in 30 minutes, time out of our day just to come down to a 'You can't see him.'"
The detention center did not elaborate on the reason for the closure.
The announcement came just over a month after 200 officers raided the jail as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery scheme that lasted from May to June.
Five people, including two correctional officers, now face multiple federal charges for taking part in the alleged wrongdoing.
According to court documents, the two officers allegedly helped coordinate an operation at the jail involving drugs, cigarettes, cell phones, and other items getting smuggled inside in exchange for hundreds of dollars.
Wilson told 41 Action News that she once spent time inside the Jackson County Detention Center for allegedly failing to pay a ticket.
She described poor conditions at the jail, from walls caving in to inattentive guards not helping inmates in need.
"They don't treat us right, first and foremost. They treat us like animals," Wilson explained. "There's just no way someone should even be in there. It should be shut down."
Following the raid in late June, Wilson hoped that someone would be able to find a solution to the alleged problems at the facility.
"Hopefully, they get it together," she said. "It has been going on too long. How long is it going to take?"
The two correctional officers facing charges in the case are 26-year-old Andre Dickerson and 29-year-old Jalee Fuller.
Carlos Hughley, a 32-year-old inmate, faces charges for allegedly helping to coordinate the operation inside the jail.
Both 36-year-old Janikkia Carter and 35-year-old Marion Byers face charges in the case and are described as being acquaintances of Fuller and Hughley.
