Mississippi Department of Corrections

Last updated
Mississippi Department of Corrections
MS - DOC.png
TheWallsJacksonMS.jpg
"The Walls" was Mississippi's first prison, located in central Jackson.
State agency overview
Formed1976 (1976)
JurisdictionMississippi
Headquarters Jackson
Annual budget$389 million
State agency executive
Website Mississippi Department of Corrections
Map
Mississippi Prisons — green=state-operated, red==private (Hover mouse over pog to popup clickable link)

The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of Mississippi that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in Jackson. [1] As of 2020 Burl Cain is the commissioner.

Contents

History

In 1843 a penitentiary in four city squares in central Jackson was developed as Mississippi's first state prison. [2] [3]

The prison in Jackson was destroyed during the Civil War, and the state did not replace it for decades. [3] Instead, the state conducted convict leasing, leasing prisoners to third parties for their labor. The lessees held custody of the inmates and provided their room and board, often substandard. The state made substantial amounts of money from these arrangements, which created an incentive to have minor infractions criminalized in order to arrest more people and sentence them. Increasing the number of crimes for which persons could be arrested, such as vagrancy, resulted in an increased pool of prisoners to lease out, as many could not raise enough cash to pay fines or fees that were sometimes imposed. Most prisoners were freedmen; the state used this system to extract labor from former slaves and keep them suppressed socially. [4] The state officially changed its policy at the end of the 19th century, saying that prisoners sentenced by the State could no longer be hired or leased by third parties, effective after December 31, 1894.

After ending the convict leasing system, the State of Mississippi began to acquire property to build prisons. The state bought the Rankin Farm in 1895 in Rankin County, 12 miles (19 km) from Jackson; it is now the site of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Later the state purchased the Oakley Farm, located in Hinds County, 25 miles (40 km) from Jackson. [2] The state government purchased land in Sunflower County in January 1901, where it developed the Parchman Farm (now Mississippi State Penitentiary). [5] The prison properties were largely self-sufficient, raising their own crops and livestock, as well as commodity crops such as cotton for the state to sell. All the labor was by prisoners.

The state Department of Corrections was established in 1976 to oversee the existing Mississippi state prisons. [6] Both federal and state laws were passed during various campaigns of "wars on crime" and "wars on drugs;" not only were new behaviors criminalized, but politicians supported mandatory sentencing and lengthier sentences. By the end of the 20th century, Mississippi had one of the largest state prison systems in the country, with a rising number of persons incarcerated even as crime rates fell. A disproportionate number and percentage of African Americans and other people of color have been incarcerated under these policies.

In addition to the major state prisons, the state developed many community detention centers for prisoners with lower security classifications. They were provided as workers to numerous locales, in part to prepare them for reintegration into society after release. Because of the dramatic climb in the number of prisoners and demand for space, the state legislature authorized MDOC to enter into contracts with for-profit prison management companies for the construction and operation of private prisons in the state. By the early 21st century, the state had contracts with operators of six private prisons.

Civil rights groups and prisoner advocates have filed class-action suits in efforts to improve prison conditions and protect prisoner rights. As a result of such a suit against Unit 32 (Death Row lockdown unit) at Mississippi State Penitentiary, the state and the ACLU worked out a settlement in 2006 that changed processes and dramatically reduced the use of punitive solitary confinement in the state.

In 2009 and 2014, the state passed legislation to provide more flexibility in sentencing and parole of certain classes of prisoners, reducing the prison population and returning non-violent offenders earlier to their families and communities.

Rise of private prisons

Changes in sentencing laws dramatically increased the prison population. In 1995 the state legislature passed a law requiring all prisoners to serve 85% of their sentence. The prison population more than doubled from 1995 to 2007, from 11,250 to 22,800, far outstripping capacity of the three state prisons. [7]

Beginning in the late 20th century, the state dealt with the rising need to incarcerate individuals by contracting with private prison management companies, who built and operated a total of six prisons for state prisoners in Mississippi. Corrections Corporation of America and Cornell Companies were two early contractors; the latter was acquired by GEO Group in 2010, which took over its three contracts in Mississippi. Prisoners and their families made numerous complaints about conditions in these facilities, citing high rates of violence and sexual abuse, rampant drugs, lack of medical care and education, and other problems.

Class action suits were filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU National Prison Project against two private facilities with the most egregious conditions: they filed suit against Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in 2010. This case was settled in federal court in 2012, requiring the state to quickly transfer youth offenders to a state-run facility to be operated according to juvenile justice standards. They were transferred to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. In addition, the state was prohibited from using solitary confinement for any youthful offender. WGCF was converted to be used for adults only. MDOC ended its contract with GEO Group, awarding a 10-year contract to Management and Training Corporation for Walnut Grove and two other private facilities, effective July 1, 2012. The court supervision of conditions at WGCF was extended because of two prison riots in 2014. Due to declining need, the state closed the prison in September 2016.

The ACLU and SPLC filed suit against the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, established for prisoners with serious mental illness, in 2013. The class-action suit at East Mississippi Correctional Facility is proceeding; the court affirmed the status of the plaintiffs in 2015.

Sentencing, control and parole reforms

At the same time, the state was seeking to reduce the prison population. Studies had found that minor reductions in length of sentence did not affect the rate of recidivism, showing that prisoners could be paroled earlier for certain types of crimes without affecting public safety. [8] In 2008, the state passed SB 2136, to enable non-violent prisoners to again be eligible for parole after they had served 25% of their sentence. The new law was estimated to affect "approximately 4,500 inmates, or about 25% of the 22,800 total population. A unique feature of SB 2136 was that it was applied retroactively in order to have an immediate impact on the prison population and to ensure equity in the sentencing process. About 3,000 inmates or 12% of the total population had already met their time-served requirement and were immediately eligible for parole consideration." To aid prison officials and parole boards in assessing candidates, the Bureau of Justice Assistance developed a science-based risk assessment instrument to apply. [8]

By August 2009, some 3100 prisoners had been paroled from prison. The Board's use of the new risk assessment instrument resulted in their having a higher rate of parole approval. The parole revocation rate has not changed, and in the first year, only 5 of the people returned to prison for new crimes, a rate of 0.2% that was a fraction of the national rate of 10.5%. [9] Legislative amendments have been passed in 2009 increased the ability of MDOC to reduce the number of prisoners; one of these authorized the department to place most "persons convicted of most drug crimes to be placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring. [8]

Closing of private facilities

Both the state and private prison operators have had difficulty maintaining staffing in prisons because of low wages and high turnover. By 2011, MDOC operated below capacity due to the success of its efforts to reduce the prison population. As of 2011, the state prisons were below capacity by more than 2,000 spaces. With private prisons included, that was about 4,000 beds below capacity. [10]

MDOC closed the Delta Correctional Facility in January 2012, and Walnut Grove Correctional Facility in September 2016. By early 2017 Mississippi had no state prisoners at the for-profit Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility; the prison operator CCA had contracts with California and other states to house their prisoners at this privately owned site.

By March 2017, MDOC was using only three privately run prisons for its inmates. In early 2017, Interim Commissioner Pelicia Hall (appointed in March 2017 as Commissioner) conducted raids for contraband at these private prisons, collecting much material. She is determined to reduce the traffic in contraband, which contributes to corruption in the prisons, including among the guards and staff.

Operation Mississippi Hustle

As a result of a five-year statewide investigation known as Operation Mississippi Hustle, in November 2014 the federal Department of Justice announced indictments of former Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps (who resigned the day before) and Cecil B. McCrory, a businessman and former Republican state legislator, on 49 counts of corruption, bribery and kickbacks. [11] Newspaper reports have indicated widespread corruption related to contracts for prison services, and within the prisons themselves. This includes millions paid in bribes related to awarding of state contracts, drugs and other contraband being smuggled into facilities by the guards, sex between staff and inmates, and other abuses. Epps was charged with receiving $1.47 million in bribes and kickbacks, related to $800 million worth of state contracts made over about a decade.

Both Epps and McCrory pleaded guilty in 2015 and cooperated with investigators on identifying others responsible. Eight other indictments followed, with one waived and more expected. Defendants include consultant and businessman Robert Simmons, who was sentenced to 87 months; former mayor of Walnut Grove, Mayor William Grady Sims, who was prosecuted earlier and sentenced to 7 months; former legislator and Republican businessman Sam Waggoner, former Harrison County Supervisor William Martin, who committed suicide before arraignment; former Alcorn County warden and Democratic state Senator Irb Benjamin, Dr. Carl Reddix, Terese Malone, Mark Longoria, and Guy "Butch" Evans.

On February 8, 2017, Mississippi Attorney General, Democrat Jim Hood, announced he had filed civil cases against 15 corporations (including those that had operated Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility and had provided other services to prisons) and numerous individuals who had engaged in contracts with the MDOC and Epps, seeking damages and punitive damages. Hood said,

These individuals and corporations that benefited by stealing from taxpayers must not only pay the state's losses, but state law requires that they must also forfeit and return the entire amount of the contracts paid by the state. We are also seeking punitive damages to punish these conspirators and to deter those who might consider giving or receiving kickbacks in the future." Besides Teresa Malone and Carl Reddix, the defendants included Michael Reddix; Andrew Jenkins; Management & Training Corporation; The GEO Group, Inc.; Cornell Companies, Inc.; Wexford Health Sources, Inc.; The Bantry Group Corporation; AdminPros, L.L.C.; CGL Facility Management, LLC; Mississippi Correctional Management, Inc.; Branan Medical Corporation; Drug Testing Corporation; Global Tel*Link Corporation; Health Assurance, LLC; Keefe Commissary Network, LLC of St. Louis; Sentinel Offender Services, L.L.C. and AJA Management & Technical Services, Inc. [12]

Commissioner appointments

In March 2017, Pelicia E. Hall was appointed by Governor Phil Bryant as Commissioner; she is the first woman to hold this position. An attorney, she has extensive criminal justice and private law experience.[ citation needed ] In 2020 Burl Cain became the commissioner. [13]

Divisions

Operations

Mississippi State Penitentiary ParchmanGateNewPhoto.JPG
Mississippi State Penitentiary

Before going to their assigned facilities and after their transfer from county jails, most prison inmates are sent to the Reception & Classification Center (R&C) in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Rankin County to be classified according to behavior level and assessed for treatment. The classification process takes around 30 days. [18]

Most male inmates who are sentenced to MDOC by the courts or who are returned to MDOC as parole violators, probation violators, intensive supervision program (ISP) (house arrest) violators, earned release supervision (ERS) violators, and suspension violators are placed at R&C. All women inmates who are sentenced to MDOC by the courts or who are returned to MDOC as parole violators, probation violators, ISP violators, ERS violators, and suspension violators are placed in 1A or 2B at CMCF. [19] Male death row inmates transferred from county jails immediately are sent to the Mississippi State Penitentiary, the location of the male death row. [20]

Each prisoner receives a security classification. The classifications are: [16]

In November 2014, media reports indicated the department housed each prisoner at a cost of about $42.12 per day, one of the lowest costs in the nation. [21]

Health care

The system's chief medical officer is Gloria Perry. She has been in that position since 2008. She is certified in family-practice. [22]

MDOC contracts with Centurion of Mississippi, LLC. [23] Previously, MDOC contracted with Wexford Health Sources, Inc., [24] headquartered in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, [25] [26] near Pittsburgh. Wexford provides medical services to inmates at state-operated facilities. Each privately operated facility has its own contracted medical services provider. [24]

Wexford was awarded the $95 million MDOC contract in 2006. [27] Previously MDOC contracted with Correctional Medical Services (CMS), [28] headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri, [29] [30] near St. Louis. [28] CMS's contract began on July 1, 2003. [31]

Intensive Supervision Program

MDOC's Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) is the authority's house arrest program. [32]

Death row

MDOC performs executions at the Mississippi State Penitentiary. [33] Male death row offenders are housed in the Mississippi State Penitentiary, while female death row offenders are housed in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. [34]

Conjugal and family visits

The Mississippi state prison system ended conjugal visits in February 2014. The commissioner at the time, Chris Epps, argued that the possibility of creating single parents and the expenses were the reasons why conjugal visits ended. [35]

Employment programs

Previously MDOC contracted prisoners to local and county governments, in essence paying a subsidy to the jurisdictions to manage the prisoners. The prisoners, often classified as trusties, would get reductions in their sentences in exchange for doing work. On April 30, 2015 MDOC stated that it would end this program and save $3.2 million per year. Many jurisdictions have complained they will be unable to replace the labor of the prisoners. [36]

Costs of state prisons

In 2014, media reported that Commissioner Chris Epps had said that the department housed each prisoner at a cost of about $42.12 per day, one of the lowest costs in the nation. He also noted that the state's recidivism rate was among the "lowest in the nation." [21]

But, the state spends more than $15,000 annually for each prisoner, about three times what it spends for each school student. In 2013, the agency budget for prisons was about $389 million, according to the Brookings Institution. [37] Journalist Jerry Mitchell explored the consensus by experts who have found that the state could keep more people out of prison by stressing good education from a young age, and recommended improving schools in poor rural areas rather than building prisons. African Americans are incarcerated at a rate three times that of whites in the state but could be helped by good education from a young age. [37]

Prison guards start at just twelve dollars an hour. They receive just six week's training. [22]

Recidivism

Nationwide, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (of the US Department of Justice) says that about three-quarters of those released from prison are arrested again in the next five years. That figure spans a wide range of actions for which a person may be arrested. Mississippi measures its recidivism differently: whether a person released from prison is convicted of another crime and imprisoned within three years. Based on those criteria, its recidivism rate is about 33%. [37] Its parolees have had considerable success after the state officials adopted a risk assessment instrument in 2009, to evaluate which candidates for parole under a new law designed to reduce the prison population of persons convicted of non-violent crime.

Demographics

As of September 1, 2008, the Mississippi Department of Corrections has 26,274 inmates in its custody. 17,677 (67.28%) are Black, 8,269 (31.47%) are White, 236 (0.9%) are Hispanic, 43 (.16%) are Asian, 27 (.01%) are Native American, and 22 (.06%) have that data unavailable. Of the 23,692 male inmates, 16,366 (69.08%) are Black, 7,030 (29.67%) are White, 222 (.94%) are Hispanic, 35 (.15%) are Asian, 23 (.1%) are Native American, and 16 (.07%) have that data unavailable. Of the 2,582 female inmates, 1,311 (50.77%) are Black, 1,239 (47.99%) are White, 14 (.54%) are Hispanic, 8 (.31%) are Asian, 4 (.15%) are Native American, and 6 (.23%) have that data unavailable. [38]

Facilities

State prisons

These were constructed in unincorporated areas:

Joint county/regional

Private prisons

Since 2012, MDOC has reduced the number of prisoners it has in private prisons due to an overall reduction of prisoners in the state, aided by changes to sentencing and parole laws in 2008 and 2014. As of March 2017, three private prisons hold Mississippi prisoners:

The remaining three are closed for MDOC operations.

Prisoner rules

Men may have hair that is not more than 3 inches (76 mm) in length. Men may have beards and goatees up to .5 inches (13 mm) in length. [41]

Prisoner uniforms

Most prisoner outfits are striped. As of 1997, green stripes indicate lower security prisoners, black stripes indicate prisoners with a level higher than the ones with green stripes, and red stripes indicate high security prisoners. [42]

Reception and Classification Center inmates wear yellow jumpsuits. [43] Condemned prisoners are required to wear red jumpsuits. [44] [45]

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, six officers have died in the line of duty. [46]

Media campaigns

The New Jersey Department of Corrections, the state prison system of New Jersey, established the "Be Smart Choose Freedom" television advertisement campaign in 2005. The State of New Jersey produced 30–60 second public service announcements to warn state residents against going to prison. [47] MDOC decided to start its own "Be Smart Choose Freedom" campaign and use the commercials that aired in New Jersey. [48]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Correctional Association</span> Private non-profit trade association

The American Correctional Association is a private, non-profit, non-governmental trade association and accrediting body for the corrections industry, the oldest and largest such association in the world. The organization was founded in 1870 and has a significant place in the history of prison reform in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri Department of Corrections</span> State agency operating Missouris correctional facilities

The Missouri Department of Corrections is the state law enforcement agency that operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Missouri. It has its headquarters in Missouri's capital of Jefferson City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi State Penitentiary</span> Maximum-security prison farm in Mississippi, US

Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), also known as Parchman Farm, is a maximum-security prison farm located in the unincorporated community of Parchman in Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. Occupying about 28 square miles (73 km2) of land, Parchman is the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, and is the state's oldest prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornell Companies</span>

Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired by the GEO Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Department of Correction</span> Government agency in Tennessee, United States

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government responsible for the oversight of more than 20,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's fourteen prisons, three of which are privately managed by CoreCivic. The department is headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Correction, who is currently Frank Strada. TDOC facilities' medical and mental health services are provided by Corizon. Juvenile offenders not sentenced as adults are supervised by the independent Tennessee Department of Children's Services, while inmates granted parole or sentenced to probation are overseen by the Department of Correction (TDOC)/Department of Parole. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association. The department has its headquarters on the sixth floor of the Rachel Jackson Building in Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GEO Group</span> American institutional facilities company

The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's facilities include illegal immigration detention centers, minimum security detention centers, and mental-health and residential-treatment facilities. It also operates government-owned facilities pursuant to management contracts. As of December 31, 2021, the company managed and/or owned 86,000 beds at 106 facilities. In 2019, agencies of the federal government of the United States generated 53% of the company's revenues. Up until 2021 the company was designated as a real estate investment trust, at which time the board of directors elected to reclassify as a C corporation under the stated goal of reducing the company's debt.

The Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) is a Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) prison for men and women located in an unincorporated area in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States, between the cities of Pearl and Brandon. The 171-acre (69 ha) prison was, for a period of time, the only state prison to hold female prisoners in Mississippi, in addition to minimum and medium security male offenders. It operates as the female death row of the state.

Arizona State Prison – Kingman is a privately run minimum/medium-security prison designed to hold 3500 prisoners. It is located in unincorporated Mohave County, Arizona, in Golden Valley. When the idea of the prison was being sold to the residents of Golden Valley it was promised that it would be a prison only for Dui offenders. It was operated by the Management and Training Corporation under contract to the Arizona Department of Corrections until August 2015. MTC had been criticized for allowing the homicidal escape of three violent prisoners in 2010. The state began seeking an alternate provider after it found MTC failed to control riots on July 1, 2 and 4, at Kingman, in July 2015.

Management & Training Corporation or MTC is a contractor that manages private prisons and United States Job Corps centers, based in Centerville, Utah. MTC's core businesses are corrections, education and training, MTC medical, and economic & social development. MTC operates 21 correctional facilities in eight states. MTC also operates or partners in operating 22 of the 119 Job Corps centers across the country. They also operate in Great Britain, under the name MTCNovo.

Wexford Health Sources, Inc. is an American healthcare services company that is headquartered in Foster Plaza Two in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.

Corizon Health, Inc. is a privately held prison healthcare contractor in the United States. The company provides healthcare and pharmacy services (PharmaCorr) to approximately 28 clients in 15 U.S. states, including 139 state prisons, municipal jails, and other facilities. Serving over 115,000 inmates, Corizon Health offers dental, mental health, optometry services, and substance abuse treatment as well as general healthcare. The company is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility</span> Prison

Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility (TCCF) is a private prison for men, authorized by the Tallahatchie County Correctional Authority and operated by CoreCivic, formerly the Corrections Corporation of America on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The maximum-security facility is located in unincorporated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, near Tutwiler in the Mississippi Delta. Since its opening with 352 prisoners, the prison has expanded capacity nearly ninefold, holding 2672 inmates by October 2008. It has housed inmates from Wisconsin, Colorado, Hawaii, Wyoming, Vermont, and California, in addition to prisoners from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. In 2010 the facility served as a county jail and also housed more than 1,000 prisoners from California. Since 2013, it has not held Mississippi state prisoners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Mississippi</span>

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Mississippi Correctional Facility</span>

East Mississippi Correctional Facility is a men's prison located in unincorporated Lauderdale County, Mississippi, near Meridian. It is about 90 miles east of the capital, Jackson. Opened in 1999, the special needs prison is intended to provide a high level of care for up to 1500 prisoners with serious mental illness, at all custody levels.

The Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, formerly the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF), is a state prison in Walnut Grove, Mississippi. It was formerly operated as a for-profit state-owned prison from 1996 to 2016. Constructed beginning in 1990, it was expanded in 2001 and later, holding male youth offenders. It had an eventual capacity of 1,649 prisoners, making it the largest juvenile facility in the country. Contracts for the facility's operations and services were among those investigated by the FBI in its lengthy investigation of state corruption known as Operation Mississippi Hustle.

Christopher B. Epps is a federal inmate and a former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) and career employee in the state criminal justice system though he started his career as a teacher. Appointed as Commissioner in 2002 and serving until 2014, he served under three governors and was the agency's longest-serving commissioner in its history. Epps came up within the department as a 32-year career employee.

Wilkinson County Correctional Center (WCCC) is a private prison in unincorporated Wilkinson County, Mississippi, managed since July 2013 by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) on a five-year contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Operation Mississippi Hustle was a federal investigation initiated in 2014 by the United States Attorney and prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. It examined the relationship between officials of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and various for-profit prison contractors and subcontractors, who have provided services to the five private prisons in the state. One, Walnut Grove, closed in September 2016 but has since reopened.

Marshall County Correctional Center (MCCF) is a prison in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi, operated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections. It was formerly a for-profit prison managed by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) on behalf of MDOC.

Cecil McCrory is a former Mississippi state legislator, justice court judge, Rankin County school board president and businessman. His indictment was made public in November 2014 for corruption related to his dealings with prison industry contractors. It was later revealed that he had become an informant in the investigation, along with his partner in crime, ex-Commissioner of Corrections in Mississippi, Chris Epps. Epps was sentenced to 235 months and McCrory to 102 months in federal prison. Both men were fined and ordered to pay restitution. McCrory is being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Talladega, Alabama, with a scheduled release date of April 24, 2025.

References

  1. Home page. Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on December 8, 2009. "723 N. President Street Jackson, MS 39202."
  2. 1 2 "Article 14 -- No Title": "Convicts Who Are In Demand After Serving Terms." (Direct article link) The New York Times . Retrieved on August 14, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Cabana, Donald A. "The History of Capital Punishment in Mississippi: An Overview Archived 2010-10-07 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi History Now. Mississippi Historical Society. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.
  4. Slavery by Any Other Name
  5. "Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman) Photo Collections Archived 2010-08-12 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Retrieved on August 12, 2010.
  6. Oshinsky, David M.: Worse Than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice. Free Press, 1997. p. 249.
  7. JFA Institute Dept of Justice, with assistance by MDOC, "Reforming Mississippi’s Prison System" Archived 2017-03-18 at the Wayback Machine , for the Public Safety Performance Project, the Pew Center on the States; 2008
  8. 1 2 3 Institute, Dept of Justice, "Reforming Mississippi’s Prison System", pp. 3-4
  9. Institute, Dept of Justice, "Reforming Mississippi’s Prison System" [ permanent dead link ], p. 5
  10. Crisp, Elizabeth. "Early release strategies produce empty prison beds." The Clarion-Ledger . October 1, 2011. Retrieved on October 6, 2011.
  11. "MDOC official: Corruption "deep and wide"" (Archive); Jerry Mitchell, 6 November 2014, The Clarion-Ledger
  12. Mississippi AG files lawsuits in Epps bribery case, The Clarion-Ledger , Jimmie E. Gates, February 8, 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  13. "UPDATE: Senate Confirms Burl Cain To Lead State Prisons". Jackson Free Press . 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  14. "Division of Institutions." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on October 10, 2010.
  15. "Agricultural Enterprises Archived 2010-08-20 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Updated on February 25, 2010. Retrieved on October 10, 2010.
  16. 1 2 "Division of Classification & Offender Services." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on October 19, 2010.
  17. "Community Corrections Division." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Updated on February 25, 2010. Retrieved on October 10, 2010.
  18. "What is Reception & Classification (R&C)?" Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  19. "Chapter I." Inmate Handbook. Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.
  20. "Where do new inmates go when first moved from the local county jail to MDOC custody?," Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  21. 1 2 Williams, Timothy (7 November 2014). "Chief Quits as Mississippi Prisons Face Inquiry". The New York Times.
  22. 1 2 Williams, Timothy (3 April 2018). "Inside a Private Prison: Blood, Suicide and Poorly Paid Guards". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  23. "Medical Division". www.mdoc.ms.gov. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  24. 1 2 "MDOC Healthcare Services." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on July 24, 2010.
  25. "Contact Us." Wexford Health Sources. Retrieved on August 14, 2010. "Wexford Health Sources, Inc. 425 Holiday Drive Foster Plaza Two Pittsburgh, PA 15220."
  26. Twedt, Steve. "Wexford Health works with inmates." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Sunday April 12, 2009. Retrieved on August 14, 2010.
  27. "Article: Briefs: Comcast eyeing Findlay site for office space." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . July 1, 2006. Retrieved on August 14, 2010. "Wexford Health Sources Inc of Green Tree has been awarded a $95 million three year contract to provide healthcare services to more than 14000 Mississippi ..."
  28. 1 2 "Medical Services." Mississippi Department of Corrections. December 21, 2003. Retrieved on August 14, 2010.
  29. Jonsson, Greg. Complaints swirl around prison care Creve Coeur-based firm faces inquiries and suits." St. Louis Post-Dispatch . June 7, 2007. A4. Retrieved on August 14, 2010.
  30. "Contact CMS - General Inquiry Archived 2010-09-01 at the Wayback Machine ." Correctional Medical Services. Retrieved on August 14, 2010. "Correctional Medical Services, Inc. 12647 Olive Blvd. Saint Louis, Missouri 63141 USA."
  31. "Critics: Death row is causing insanity." Associated Press at Gainesville Sun . April 25, 2003. 2A. Retrieved from Google News Page 25 of 93 on August 14, 2010.
  32. "Intensive Supervision Program." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on November 1, 2010.
  33. "Death Penalty And Executions." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on May 5, 2024.
  34. "Division of Institutions State Prisons Archived 2002-12-06 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi Department of Corrections. April 21, 2010. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
  35. Sanburn, Josh. "Mississippi Ending Conjugal Visits for Prisoners." TIME . January 13, 2014. Retrieved on April 19, 2014.
  36. Blinder, Alan. "Mississippi Cuts Work Program for Prisoners" (Archive). The New York Times . June 3, 2015. Retrieved on June 5, 2015.
  37. 1 2 3 "Mississippi 'addicted to incarceration'"; Jerry Mitchell, 25 October 2014, The Clarion-Ledger
  38. "Fact Sheet Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi Department of Corrections. 2/3. Updated on September 1, 2008. Retrieved on July 24, 2010.
  39. "042.jpg Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine ." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 18, 2010.
  40. "Private Prisons." (Archive) Mississippi Department of Corrections. Updated October 18, 2012. Retrieved on October 23, 2012.
  41. "CHAPTER VI RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND REGULATIONS." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 13, 2010.
  42. "A recession-proof industry." The Economist . November 13, 1997. Retrieved on March 1, 2011.
  43. "Chapter VII." Inmate Handbook. Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 14, 2010.
  44. Straziuso, Jason. "Miss. prepares chamber for 1st execution since '89 [ dead link ]." The Advocate . July 14, 2002. News 10B. Retrieved on August 13, 2010. "The execution chamber is lodged in the back of Unit 17 on the Parchman campus. The unit once housed all death row inmates, but its 56 beds are no longer"
  45. "Miss. prepares chamber for 1st execution since '89." The Advocate . July 14, 2002. Retrieved on June 4, 2011. "He will wear the solid red jumpsuit the Mississippi Department of Corrections assigns to all death row inmates."
  46. The Officer Down Memorial Page
  47. Fedkenheuer, Deirdre. "Be Smart—Choose Freedom: New Jersey unveils its crime prevention campaign." Corrections Today . April 2005. 1. Retrieved on August 12, 2010.
  48. "Be Smart. Choose Freedom. Archived 2009-10-02 at the Wayback Machine " Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 12, 2010.

Further reading