Tuesday’s decision comes after more than a year of a lengthy trial concerning conditions at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, Meridian. Prisoner-rights advocacy groups and civil-liberty advocates alleged that conditions at the facility were so dangerous that they violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour ordered that conditions in the prison be reexamined after the trial. The state of Mississippi highlighted improvements in the prison’s management and staffing, such as an increase in correctional officers or mandatory training for nurses. Barbour wrote Tuesday that while Plaintiffs and their experts argue that the prison’s environment and healthcare services could be and should improve, these arguments don’t prove that the conditions they are currently being held, as a group, are cruel or unusual. The Meridian facility, which has 1,500 beds, is intended to house the most mentally ill in the state. Approximately 80 percent of those in Meridian have been diagnosed with mental illness. Management & Training Corp., a Utah-based company, currently manages the prison. After a two-year investigation, the lawsuit was filed in May 2013. With more than 1,100 participants, the case was later granted class-action status. Pelicia Hall (the corrections commissioner) announced this week that she would resign in January to pursue a career in the private sector.