From [HERE] East Mississippi Correctional Facility, which houses many suffering from mental illness, is a "barbaric" private prison where inmates are beaten, exploited and mistreated by gangs and others, according to litigation filed Thursday.

"The prison is in chaos, with conditions so dangerous — violence, filth, callous denial of prisoners' serious medical and mental health needs — that the only meaningful remedy is an injunction to protect all prisoners," said Margaret Winter, associate director of the ACLU's National Prison Project.

Officials at the Utah-based Management & Training Corp. said they've made significant improvements since they took over the Meridian prison in July 2012.

"MTC is very concerned about the well-being of the inmates in our care as well as our staff and the community," said Issa Arnita, director of corporate communications. "We have worked hard to identify areas of improvement and we will continue to do so moving forward."

On Thursday, the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center asked the federal court to certify the class of prisoners for the private prison.

If a federal judge steps in, the lawsuit would follow in the steps of class-action litigation brought against the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility and the State Penitentiary's Death Row and Unit 32.