Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1219 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-1219
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1219
Status: in_force

A contract for correctional services shall not be entered into unless the following requirements are met:

(a) In addition to fire and casualty insurance, the contractor provides at least Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) of liability insurance, specifically including insurance for civil rights claims. The liability insurance shall be issued by an insurance company with a rating of at least an A- according to A.M. Best standards. In determining the adequacy of such insurance, the Department of Finance and Administration shall determine whether:

(i) The insurance is adequate to protect the state from any and all actions by a third party against the contractor or the state as a result of the contract;

(ii) The insurance is adequate to protect the state against any and all claims arising as a result of any occurrence during the term of the contract;

(iii) The insurance is adequate to assure the contractor's ability to fulfill its contract with the state in all respects, and to assure that the contractor is not limited in this ability because of financial liability which results from judgments; and

(iv) The insurance is adequate to satisfy such other requirements specified by the independent risk management/actuarial firm.

(b) The sovereign immunity of the state shall not apply to the contractor. Neither the contractor nor the insurer of the contractor may plead the defense of sovereign immunity in any action arising out of the performance of the contract.

(c) The contractor shall post a performance bond to assure the contractor's faithful performance of the specifications and conditions of the contract. The bond is required throughout the term of the contract. The terms and conditions must be approved by the Department of Corrections and the Department of Finance and Administration and such approval is a condition precedent to the contract taking effect.

(d) The contractor shall defend any suit or claim brought against the State of Mississippi arising out of any act or omission in the operation of a private facility, and shall hold the State of Mississippi harmless from such claim or suit. The contractor shall be solely responsible for the payment of any legal or other costs relative to any such claim or suit. The contractor shall reimburse the State of Mississippi for any costs that it may incur as a result of such claim or suit immediately upon being submitted a statement therefor by the Attorney General.

The duties and obligations of the contractor pursuant to this subsection shall include, but not be limited to, any claim or suit brought under any federal or state civil rights or prisoners rights statutes or pursuant to any such rights recognized by common law or case law, or federal or state constitutions.

Any suit brought or claim made arising out of any act or omission in the operation of a private facility shall be made or brought against the contractor and not the State of Mississippi.

The Attorney General retains all rights and emoluments of his office which include direction and control over any litigation or claim involving the State of Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-311 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-311
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-311
Status: in_force

The State Department of Corrections shall cause to be prepared, at such times as it may determine, catalogues containing an accurate and complete description of all articles and products manufactured or produced by it pursuant to the provisions of Sections 47-5-301 through 47-5-327 . Copies of such catalogues shall be sent to all commissions, departments, institutions and agencies of this state and made accessible to all political subdivisions of this state referred to in the preceding sections.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-107 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-107
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-107
Status: in_force

Any contract entered into by any person, firm or corporation with the department can be cancelled, in the discretion of the commissioner, upon a finding of fact by the correctional system auditor provided for in Section 47-5-35 , and entered on the minutes of the Public Procurement Review Board, that the person, firm or corporation doing business with the correctional system has violated either the published regulations of the correctional system or the laws of the State of Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-937 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-937
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-937
Status: in_force

Sections 47-5-931 through 47-5-941 shall be full and complete authority for the exercise of all powers and authority granted herein and no requirements or restrictions of law which would otherwise be applicable to acts of the county or sheriff or the Department of Corrections shall be applicable except as expressly provided herein. The sheriff is expressly authorized to employ counsel to represent the facility to be paid a salary within the range allowed for a legal assistant to a district attorney with the employment to continue for a period of time not to exceed the duration of the indebtedness incurred for construction of the facility. The county or counties shall pay this cost and other costs incurred in the operation of the facility from the proceeds of the funds derived from the financing of the project and the housing of offenders.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-709 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-709
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-709
Status: in_force

If the prison system population exceeds ninety-five percent (95%) of operating capacity for thirty (30) consecutive days, the State Parole Board shall meet to determine whether there has been full appropriate exercise of the powers of the State Parole Board which tend to reduce the prison system population. The State Parole Board shall report its findings to the Governor within ten (10) days after the thirtieth day of operating in excess of ninety-five percent (95%) of prison operating capacity. The report shall include the determination of the State Parole Board regarding its utilization of powers described in paragraph (c) of Section 47-5-705 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-181 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-181
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-181
Status: in_force

(1) The Department of Corrections is authorized to convert four (4) community work centers to pre-release centers. The department shall convert the community work centers as follows: one (1) center in the northern part of the state, two (2) centers in the central part of the state, and one (1) center in the southern part of the state.

(2) The department may place any inmate in a pre-release center if: (a) the inmate is within one (1) year of his or her earliest release date, and (b) the inmate is approved for placement by the classification hearing officer and the commissioner or the commissioner's designee.

(3) The department shall notify, by certified mail, each member of the board of supervisors of the county in which the center is located of the department's intent to convert the community work center to a pre-release center. The board of supervisors shall have thirty (30) days after the date of the mailing to disapprove the conversion of the center. If the board of supervisors disapproves of the pre-release center, the department shall not convert the community work center.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-43 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-43
Status: in_force

The commissioner shall purchase workers' compensation insurance with coverage for all personnel employed by the department as authorized by law, and all personnel shall be entitled to the benefits prescribed by the operation of law, Sections 71-3-1 through 71-3-111 , as the same is now or may hereafter be amended, cited as the “Workers' Compensation Law.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-353 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-353
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-353
Status: in_force

For the purpose of Sections 47-5-351 through 47-5-357 , the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context shall provide otherwise:

(a) “ Agricultural commodities ” means crops, vegetables, fruits, livestock, domesticated fish, fowl, seafood, animal husbandry, wood and the various processes that any of these commodities may go through subsequent to their removal from the soil or water.

(b) “ Commissioner ” means the Commissioner of Corrections;

(c) “ Department ” means the Department of Corrections;

(d) “ Director ” means the director of the prison agricultural enterprises;

(e) “ Prison agricultural enterprises ” means any program operated by the Department of Corrections including, but not limited to, the growing, harvesting, processing and marketing of crops, vegetables, fruits, livestock, domesticated fish, fowl and any product of agriculture, animal husbandry or aquaculture that may be used for the feeding of prisoners for the general welfare of the prisoners or profitably grown on department lands. This term includes any proper method of canning, freezing or preserving such products;

(f) “ Products ” means any item produced by prison agricultural enterprises.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-559 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-559
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-559
Status: in_force

The corporation shall submit to the Governor and the Legislature, on or before January 1 of each year, a report on the status of the correctional work programs, including, but not limited to, the programs and funds which have been transferred to the corporation, the programs and funds to be taken over within the next year and the proposed use of the profits from such programs, a breakdown of the amount of noninmate labor used, work subcontracted to other vendors, use of consultants, finished goods purchased for resale, and the number of inmates working in the correctional work programs at the time of the report. In addition, the corporation shall submit to the department, the Governor and the Legislature an annual independently audited financial statement and such other information as may be requested by the Legislature together with recommendations from the corporation relating to provisions for reasonable tax incentives to private enterprises that employ inmates, parolees or former inmates who have participated in correctional work programs. The department shall include, as a portion of its annual report, a report on post-release job placement and the rate of subsequent contact with the correctional system for those inmates who have participated in the correctional work programs operated by the corporation and by the department. Beginning January 1, 1991, the State Auditor shall conduct an annual financial audit of the corporation in conjunction with an independent audit conducted by the corporation's auditors. The State Auditor and the legislative PEER committee shall also conduct a biennial performance audit of the corporation for the period beginning January 1, 1991, through January 1, 1993, and thereafter upon the joint request of the Senate Corrections Committee, House Corrections Committee, Senate Finance Committee, and House Ways and Means Committee.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-43 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-43
Status: in_force

The provisions of this chapter are hereby extended to all persons who, at the effective date thereof, may be on parole, or eligible to be placed on parole under existing laws, with the same force and effect as if this chapter had been in operation at the time such persons were placed on parole or become eligible to be placed thereon, as the case may be.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-143 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-143
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-143
Status: in_force

For purposes of this section and Section 47-5-145 , the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “ Change of name petition ” means a petition to change the legal name of an individual.

(b) “ Offender ” means any physically incarcerated person convicted of a crime or offense under the laws and ordinances of the state and its political subdivisions or the laws and regulations of the federal government.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-723 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-723
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-723
Status: in_force

Revocation of the conditional advancement of the parole eligibility date is a permissible prison disciplinary action according to the same procedures governing the forfeiture of earned time allowances as a prison disciplinary action.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-319 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-319
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-319
Status: in_force

In addition to the information ordinarily required by law in the annual audits of expenditures and operations of the State Department of Corrections made by the state auditor, after March 23, 1978, audit reports shall also include a detailed statement of all materials, machinery or other property procured, and the cost thereof, and the expenditures made during the audited year for manufacturing purposes, together with a statement of all materials on hand to be manufactured, or in process of manufacture, or manufactured, and the values of all machinery, fixtures or other appurtenances for the purpose of utilizing the productive labor of offenders, and the earnings realized therefrom during the year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-177 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-177
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-177
Status: in_force

At least fifteen (15) days prior to the release of an offender from the custody of the department because of discharge, parole, pardon, temporary personal leave or pass, or otherwise, except for sickness or death in the offender's family, the director of records of the department shall give written or electronic notice of such release to the sheriff of the county and to the chief of police of the municipality where the offender was convicted. If the offender is paroled to a county other than the county of conviction, the director of records shall give written or electronic notice of the release to the sheriff, district attorney and circuit judge of the county and to the chief of police of the municipality where the offender is paroled and to the sheriff of the county and to the chief of police of the municipality where the offender was convicted. The department shall notify the parole officer of the county where the offender is paroled or discharged to probation of any chronic mental disorder incurred by the offender, of any type of infectious disease for which the offender has been examined and treated, and of any medications provided to the offender for such conditions.

The commissioner shall require the director of records to clearly identify the notice of release of an offender who has been convicted of arson at any time. The fact that the offender to be released had been convicted of arson at any time shall appear prominently on the notice of release and the sheriff shall notify all officials who are responsible for investigation of arson within the county of such offender's release and the chief of police shall notify all such officials within the municipality of such offender's release.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-5 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-5
Status: in_force

The commissioner, as soon as possible after passage of this section, shall prepare a plan to bring about the limited centralization of facilities within the state correctional system grounds at Parchman, Mississippi. The commissioner is authorized and empowered to use any state funds appropriated for such purposes, together with any available federal funds appropriated by the United States Congress for improvement of correctional institutions to construct modern security facilities for housing of offenders to the end that the state correctional system achieves the greatest degree of security for said offenders. Provided, however, that no new facility to house offenders shall be constructed within two-fifths ( 2 / 5 ) of a mile of any other offender camp. The commissioner shall bring about centralization of food facilities, recreational activities, utility services and other related facilities and correctional services that are presently decentralized within the correctional system.

It is the intent of the Mississippi Legislature that the commissioner shall fully utilize existing knowledge, architectural plans and expertise currently available with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration to the end that the State of Mississippi shall have an efficient, modern, and properly secure state correctional system.

The commissioner is authorized to receive and disburse private and public grants, gifts and bequests which may be available to this state for correctional facilities, offender rehabilitation purposes and related purposes, which said sum so received shall be subject to all of the laws applicable to the State Fiscal Management Board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-83 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 7-83
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-83
Status: in_force

Pursuant to the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision, the Department of Corrections may assume the duties of supervision over offenders of any sending state who were convicted of misdemeanors. The Department of Corrections may not supervise offenders convicted of misdemeanors of states that are not participating in the compact.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-577 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-577
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-577
Status: repealed

Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575 , which create the Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990, shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2027.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-421 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-421
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-421
Status: in_force

The provisions of Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421 are cumulative and shall not be construed to repeal or supersede any laws directly inconsistent herewith; and it is specifically provided herein that any work program in operation or functioning pursuant to any local law when Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421 become law may be continued pursuant to such local law and shall not be affected in any way by Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421 . The county conducting such program may, however, at its option convert the program to a program to be governed by Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1221 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1221
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1221
Status: in_force

A plan shall be developed and certified by the commissioner which demonstrates the method by which the state would resume control of the prison upon contract termination. Such plan shall be submitted for review and comment to law enforcement agencies, the district attorney and circuit judges in the county in which the prison is located.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-557 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-557
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-557
Status: in_force

Any inmate who performs work for the corporation, except those inmates employed by the corporation in the Prison Industry Enhancement Program under Section 47-5-1251 , shall not be deemed an agent, employee or involuntary servant of the corporation while performing such work or while going to and from work or other specified areas.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-411 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-411
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-411
Status: in_force

The Department of Corrections and the county shall endeavor to secure public service work for eligible inmates under Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421 , subject to the following criteria:

(a) Such work shall not result in the displacement of employed workers.

(b) Inmates eligible for work shall not be employed to impair any existing contracts.

(c) Exploitation of eligible inmates, in any form, is prohibited either as it might affect the community, the inmates, the Department of Corrections or the county.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1205 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1205
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1205
Status: reserved

(1) The State Prison Emergency Construction and Management Board shall provide for the construction and shall equip additional housing and necessary support facilities for one thousand two hundred sixteen (1,216) medium security male offenders and for two hundred (200) male offenders sentenced to evidence-based programs for the benefit of inmates at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution. The department may house offenders not sentenced to such programs in the two hundred (200) beds reserved for the program as it deems appropriate.

(2) The State Prison Emergency Construction and Management Board shall provide for the construction and shall equip additional housing and support facilities for seven hundred (700) medium security male offenders at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

(3) The State Prison Emergency Construction and Management Board shall use funds from the “Corrections Facilities Emergency Construction Fund.”

(4) The Department of Finance and Administration shall use its emergency powers to expedite the construction of these facilities. In the planning, design, procurement and construction of these facilities, the board shall make maximum utilization of plans, specifications and processes used in, completed or on-going construction projects for the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-605 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-605
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-605
Status: in_force

Each time the results of such a chemical analysis test indicate the unauthorized presence of alcohol or a controlled substance in the parolee or probationer, he or she shall be required to pay a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) to the Mississippi Department of Corrections drug identification program, which fee shall be used to pay for the cost of administering that particular test. All other costs of the program, including the costs of administering such tests in cases in which the presence of alcohol or a controlled substance is not found, will be paid by expenditures from the community service revolving fund as described in Section 47-7-49 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-198 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-198
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-198
Status: in_force

(1) It is unlawful for any person to sell within, bring to, or be in possession of, in any correctional facility or convict camp within the state or any county, municipal or other jail within the state, except as authorized by law, any controlled substance or narcotic drug.

(2) It is unlawful for any person who is the keeper or officer in charge of the facility, camp or jail, or who is employed in or about the facility, camp or jail to knowingly permit any controlled substance or narcotic drug to be sold, possessed or used therein contrary to law.

(3) Any person who violates the provisions of this section and is convicted shall be fined up to Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) and be punished by imprisonment for not less than three (3) years nor more than seven (7) years; and the person is not eligible for probation, parole, suspension of sentence, earned time allowance or any other reduction of sentence.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-6 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-6
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-6
Status: in_force

(1) There is hereby established a committee to be known as the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force, hereinafter called the Oversight Task Force, which must exercise the powers and fulfill the duties described in this chapter.

(2) The Oversight Task Force shall be composed of the following members:

(a) The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint two (2) members;

(b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint two (2) members;

(c) The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, or his designee;

(d) The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court shall appoint one (1) member of the circuit court;

(e) The Governor shall appoint one (1) member from the Parole Board;

(f) The Director of the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, or his designee;

(g) The Attorney General shall appoint one (1) member representing the victims' community;

(h) The Mississippi Association of Supervisors shall appoint one (1) member to represent the association;

(i) The Mississippi Chief of Police Association shall appoint one (1) member to represent the association.

(j) The President of the Mississippi Prosecutors' Association;

(k) The President of the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association, or his designee;

(l) The Office of the State Public Defender shall appoint one (1) member to represent the public defender's office; and

(m) The Governor shall appoint one (1) advocate for offenders and families who have been directly affected by the prison justice system. The appointment made pursuant to this paragraph (m) shall occur on July 1, 2020.

(3) The task force shall meet on or before July 15, 2015, at the call of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and organize itself by electing one (1) of its members as chair and such other officers as the task force may consider necessary. Thereafter, the task force shall meet at least biannually and at the call of the chair or by a majority of the members. A quorum consists of seven (7) members.

(4) The task force shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) Track and assess outcomes from the recommendations in the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force report of December 2013;

(b) Prepare and submit an annual report no later than the first day of the second full week of each regular session of the Legislature on the outcome and performance measures to the Legislature, Governor and Chief Justice. The report shall include recommendations for improvements, recommendations on transfers of funding based on the success or failure of implementation of the recommendations, and a summary of savings. The report may also present additional recommendations to the Legislature on future legislation and policy options to enhance public safety and control corrections costs;

(c) Monitor compliance with sentencing standards, assess their impact on the correctional resources of the state and determine if the standards advance the adopted sentencing policy goals of the state;

(d) Review the classifications of crimes and sentences and make recommendations for change when supported by information that change is advisable to further the adopted sentencing policy goals of the state;

(e) Develop a research and analysis system to determine the feasibility, impact on resources, and budget consequences of any proposed or existing legislation affecting sentence length;

(f) Request, review, and receive data and reports on performance outcome measures as related to Chapter 457, Laws of 2014;

(g) To undertake such additional studies or evaluations as the Oversight Task Force considers necessary to provide sentencing reform information and analysis;

(h) Prepare and conduct annual continuing legal education seminars regarding the sentencing guidelines to be presented to judges, prosecuting attorneys and their deputies, and public defenders and their deputies, as so required;

(i) The Oversight Task Force shall use clerical and professional employees of the Department of Corrections for its staff;

(j) The Oversight Task Force may employ or retain other professional staff, upon the determination of the necessity for other staff;

(k) The Oversight Task Force may employ consultants to assist in the evaluations and, when necessary, the implementation of the recommendations of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force report of December 2013;

(l) The Oversight Task Force is encouraged to apply for and may expend grants, gifts, or federal funds it receives from other sources to carry out its duties and responsibilities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-196 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-196
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-196
Status: in_force

The Department of Corrections shall develop and implement a drug testing program for its employees no later than July 1, 1997. The department shall develop a written policy for alcohol and drug testing of employees to deter the use of alcohol and drugs at its facilities and to ensure an alcohol and drug free environment at correctional facilities. Participation by employees is mandatory and the tests may be conducted in a random manner.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-37.1 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 7-37.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-37.1
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a court finds by a preponderance of the evidence, that a probationer or a person under post-release supervision has committed a felony or absconded, the court may revoke his probation and impose any or all of the sentence. For purposes of this section, “ absconding from supervision ” means the failure of a probationer to report to his supervising officer for six (6) or more consecutive months.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-108 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-108
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-108
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Department of Corrections is hereby authorized to provide self-sustaining facilities for the preparation and serving of food for employees and visitors of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, and the South Mississippi Correctional Institution. The commissioner shall promulgate policies and procedures for the operation of such facilities. In addition, the funds derived from these operations shall remain in separate accounts, hereafter known as the “Employee Cafeteria Funds.” The profits, if any, shall be distributed at the direction of the Commissioner of Corrections.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1003 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1003
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1003
Status: in_force

(1) An intensive supervision program may be used as an alternative to incarceration for offenders who are not convicted of a crime of violence pursuant to Section 97-3-2 as selected by the court and for juvenile offenders as provided in Section 43-21-605 . Any offender convicted of a sex crime shall not be placed in the program.

(2) The court may place the defendant on intensive supervision, except when a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which may be imposed by a court or judge.

(3) To protect and to ensure the safety of the state's citizens, any offender who violates an order or condition of the intensive supervision program may be arrested by the correctional field officer and placed in the actual custody of the Department of Corrections. Such offender is under the full and complete jurisdiction of the department and subject to removal from the program by the classification hearing officer.

(4) When any circuit or county court places an offender in an intensive supervision program, the court shall give notice to the Mississippi Department of Corrections within fifteen (15) days of the court's decision to place the offender in an intensive supervision program. Notice shall be delivered to the central office of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and to the regional office of the department which will be providing supervision to the offender in an intensive supervision program.

The courts may not require an offender to participate in the intensive supervision program during a term of probation or post-release supervision.

(5) The Department of Corrections shall provide to the Oversight Task Force all relevant data regarding the offenders participating in the intensive supervision program including the number of offenders admitted to the program annually, the number of offenders who leave the program annually and why they leave, the number of offenders who are arrested or convicted annually and the circumstances of the arrest and any other information requested.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1111 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-1111
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1111
Status: in_force

(1) A contractor's employees serving as “correctional officers” shall be allowed to use force only while on the grounds of a facility, while transporting inmates, and while pursuing escapees from a facility.

(2) A contractor shall be authorized to use only such nondeadly force as the circumstances require in the following situations: to prevent the commission of a felony or misdemeanor, including escape; to defend oneself or others against physical assault; to prevent serious damage to property; to enforce institutional regulations and orders; and to prevent or quell a riot.

(3) A contractor's employees, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, recapture or arrest of any escaped offender assigned to a contract prison, shall be authorized to use force and firearms as necessary to pursue and recapture escapees.

(4) Private correctional officers who have been appropriately certified as determined by the contracting agency and trained pursuant to the provisions of subsection (5) shall have the right to carry and use firearms and shall exercise such authority and use deadly force only as a last resort, and then only to prevent an act that could result in death or serious bodily injury to oneself or to another person.

(5) Private correctional officers shall be trained in the use of force and the use of firearms, in accordance with ACA Standards and shall be trained, at the contractor's expense, for at least the minimum number of hours that public personnel are currently trained.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-557 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-557
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-557
Status: in_force

Any inmate who performs work for the corporation, except those inmates employed by the corporation in the Prison Industry Enhancement Program under Section 47-5-1251 , shall not be deemed an agent, employee or involuntary servant of the corporation while performing such work or while going to and from work or other specified areas.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-103 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-103
Status: in_force

(1) The classification hearing officer shall be responsible for assigning a classification to each offender within forty (40) days after the offender's commitment to the custody of the department. The classification shall determine the offender's work duties, living quarters, educational, vocational or other rehabilitation programs, and privileges to be accorded the offender while in custody of the department. The classification hearing officer, in assigning classifications, shall consider the offender's age, offense and surrounding circumstances, the complete record of the offender's criminal history including records of law enforcement agencies or of a youth court regarding that offender's juvenile criminal history, family background, education, practical or employment experience, interests and abilities as evidenced by mental and psychological examination and knowledge obtained by the classification hearing officer in personal interview with the offender. The classification hearing officer shall use the above criteria to assign each offender a classification which will serve and enhance the best interests and general welfare of the offender. The designee or designees of the commissioner shall approve or disapprove each classification. The classification hearing officer shall provide the State Parole Board with a copy of the classification assigned to each offender in the custody of the department who is eligible for parole.

(2) The classification board, consisting of the commissioner, or his designee, deputy commissioner of institutions and the director of offender services may change an action of the classification or disciplinary hearing officer if the board makes a determination that the action of the hearing officer was not supported by sufficient factual information. The commissioner, in emergency situations, may suspend the classification of an offender or offenders for a period of not exceeding fifteen (15) days to relieve the emergency situation. The classification of each offender may be reviewed by a classification hearing officer at least once each year. In no case shall an offender serve as a servant in the home of any employee other than authorized by the commissioner.

(3) The classification board shall establish substantive and procedural rules and regulations governing the assignment and alteration of inmate classifications, and shall make such rules and regulations available to any offender upon request.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-175 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-175
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-175
Status: in_force

The Commissioner of Corrections, with the concurrence of the Governor, is hereby authorized to enter into agreements with appropriate federal agencies to provide housing and incarceration of persons convicted by the courts of Mississippi and sentenced to the Mississippi Department of Corrections by such courts under such terms and conditions as may be prescribed if a determination is made that the best interest of the State of Mississippi would be served by making such transfer.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-4-9 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 4-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-4-9
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors of any county, with the approval of the sheriff, may contract, with a private entity for the management, operation and maintenance of a county jail.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-113 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-113
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-113
Status: in_force

The offenders of the courts of the United States sentenced to confinement in the state correctional system shall on delivery to the correctional system be confined in the correctional system according to their several sentences and be treated as other offenders, the United States supporting such offenders and paying the expenses of executing their sentences.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1105 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-1105
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1105
Status: in_force

(1) The commissioner is authorized to enter into contracts for a special needs correctional facility and services only as provided in Sections 47-5-1101 through 47-5-1123 .

(2) No contract shall be entered into unless it offers cost savings of at least ten percent (10%) to the department.

(3) Any inmate sentenced to the custody of the department identified as having a special need may be eligible to be incarcerated in a special needs correctional facility in which a contractor is providing correctional services.

(4) The rates and benefits for correctional services shall be negotiated by the commissioner based upon American Correction Association Standards, state law and court orders.

(5) The special needs facility or the site for a proposed facility must comply with all local zoning ordinances and regulations.

(6) The department may contract for the construction or leasing of a special needs facility. Any facility operated by a private contractor must house medium or maximum security inmates.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-119 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-119
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-119
Status: in_force

Offenders, when received into a facility of the correctional system, shall be carefully searched. If money be found on the person of the offender, or received by him at any time, it shall be taken in charge by the commissioner and placed to the offender's credit and expended for the offender's benefit on his written order and under such restrictions as may be prescribed by law or the rules. If an offender with money charged to his credit shall die from any cause while in a facility of the correctional system or be discharged without claiming such money, the commissioner shall make every effort to give notice of such fact to the discharged offender or to the beneficiary or nearest-known relative, if any, of the deceased or discharged offender, and upon a valid claim presented shall pay out such money to such discharged offender, beneficiary or nearest relative. After two (2) years from the date of giving such notice, or a valid attempt to give such notice, or two (2) years after the death of such offender, if the beneficiary or nearest relative is unknown, if such money has not been validly claimed, the commissioner shall make an affidavit of such fact, which sums shall escheat to the correctional system special vocational training program fund to help in offender rehabilitation. Any officer or employee having charge of the offenders' money who misappropriates the same, or any part thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be confined in the correctional system for a term of not more than five (5) years. All sums credited to the account of an offender who shall escape shall immediately, upon the offender's escape, escheat to the special vocational training program fund to help in offender rehabilitation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-158 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-158
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-158
Status: in_force

(1) The department is authorized to maintain a bank account which shall be designated as the Inmate Welfare Fund. All monies now held in a similar fund or in a bank account or accounts for the benefit and welfare of inmates shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund. This fund shall be used for the benefit and welfare of inmates in the custody of the department and shall be expended in accordance with any provisions or restrictions in the regulations promulgated under subsection (7) of this section.

(2) There shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund interest previously earned on inmate deposits, all net profits from the operation of inmate canteens, performances of the Penitentiary band, interest earned on the Inmate Welfare Fund and other revenues designated by the commissioner. All monies shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund as provided in Section 7-9-21 .

(3) All inmate telephone call commissions shall be paid to the department. Monies in the fund may be expended by the department, upon requisition by the commissioner or his designee, only for the purposes established in this subsection.

(a) Twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be used to purchase and maintain telecommunication equipment to be used by the department.

(b) Until July 1, 2008, twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be deposited into the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund. Beginning on July 1, 2008, thirty-five percent (35%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be deposited into the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund. The department may use these funds to supplement the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund created in Section 47-5-66 .

(c) Forty percent (40%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund.

(4) The commissioner may invest in the manner authorized by law any money in the Inmate Welfare Fund that is not necessary for immediate use, and the interest earned shall be deposited in the Inmate Welfare Fund.

(5) The Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance shall establish and implement internal accounting controls for the Inmate Welfare Fund that comply with generally accepted accounting principles and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration. The Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance shall prepare and issue quarterly consolidated and individual facility financial statements to the prison auditor of the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review. The deputy commissioner shall prepare an annual report which shall include a summary of expenditures from the fund by major categories and by individual facility. This annual report shall be sent to the prison auditor, the Legislative Budget Office, the Chairman of the Corrections Committee of the Senate, and the Chairman of the Corrections Committee of the House of Representatives.

(6)(a) A portion of the Inmate Welfare Fund shall be deposited in the Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund, as created under Section 47-5-155 , in amounts necessary to provide a balance not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) in the Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund, and shall be used to supplement those amounts paid to discharged, paroled or pardoned offenders from the department. The superintendent of the Parchman facility shall establish equitable criteria for the making of supplemental payments which shall not exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for any offender. The supplemental payments shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner. The State Treasurer shall not be required to replenish the Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund for the supplemental payments made to discharged, paroled or pardoned offenders.

(b) A portion of the Inmate Welfare Fund shall be deposited into the Inmate Incentive to Work Program Fund, as created under Section 47-5-371 , in amounts necessary to provide a balance not to exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) in the fund. Such fund shall be utilized to pay inmates who are participants in the Inmate Incentive to Work Program as created under Section 47-5-371 .

(7)(a) The Inmate Welfare Fund Committee is hereby created and shall be composed of nine (9) members: The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections, the Deputy Commissioner of Institutions, the Superintendent of the Parchman facility, the Superintendent of the Rankin County facility, the Superintendent of the Greene County facility, the State Treasurer, the State Auditor, and two (2) members to be appointed by the Commissioner of Corrections, one (1) of whom must have a relative incarcerated by the department at the time of appointment and shall be a representative of inmate families. The commissioner shall appoint the chairman of the committee. The committee shall administer and supervise the operations and expenditures from the Inmate Welfare Fund and shall maintain an official minute book upon which shall be spread its authorization and approval for all such expenditures. The committee shall promulgate regulations governing the use and expenditures of the fund.

(b) Regulations adopted shall set out what types of items shall be allowable purchases, and in all cases, the minutes of the committee shall explain which regulation permits any purchase it approves. Additionally, regulations of the committee shall prescribe the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum, minimum attendance requirements for a member to retain a seat on the committee, and a mission statement for the committee.

(c) The committee shall conduct an annual needs assessment to determine what types of items should be purchased for the benefit of inmates. The needs assessments shall be conducted with the assistance of the department personnel, inmates and the families of inmates.

(d) The committee shall evaluate the proposals of interested third parties for the administration of inmate canteen services as provided in Section 47-5-109.1 .

(e) The committee shall expend necessary funds to assist parole eligible inmates who have been diagnosed with a mental illness while housed within a state correctional facility so that such inmates may receive outpatient services and community-based services to treat the mental illness of such inmates.

(8) The Department of Audit shall conduct an annual comprehensive special audit of the committee's use of the Inmate Welfare Fund. The department shall incorporate in its special audit report any recommendations it has concerning the financial and management control practices of the committee. The department shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate and House Corrections Committees.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-55 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-55
Status: in_force

The officers and employees of the state correctional system are exempt from jury service.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-180 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-180
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-180
Status: in_force

(1) The following words and phrases that are used in this section are defined in Section 41-41-203 : advance health-care directive, agent, capacity, guardian, health-care decision, individual instruction, person, power of attorney for health care and surrogate.

(2) For an offender who is a resident of Mississippi, the department may petition the chancery court of the county of residence of the offender to appoint the commissioner as guardian for an offender who lacks the capacity to make a health-care decision and who does not have a relative or other person available to make the decision.

(3) The department may, consistent with Sections 41-41-201 through 41-41-229 , provide an offender with the forms necessary to execute an advance health-care directive.

(4) The department shall place an original or copy of the directive in the offender's medical record, attach the directive to the offender's commitment report and provide a copy of the directive to case management.

(5) If a department physician determines that an offender's life expectancy is less than one (1) year or that the offender is to undergo certain medical procedures to be determined by the department medical director, the department shall provide the offender with the opportunity to alter or execute a written advance health-care directive.

(6) When the department provides an offender with the forms necessary to execute an advance health-care directive, Sections 41-41-201 through 41-41-229 and the following provisions apply:

(a) Absent a court order to the contrary, an offender in the department's custody shall not act as the agent, guardian or surrogate for the offender executing an advance health-care directive. But the principal offender may designate another offender as the agent, guardian or surrogate without judicial approval if the offenders are related by blood, marriage or adoption.

(b) Absent a court order to the contrary, a department employee shall not act as the agent, guardian or surrogate for the offender executing an advance health-care directive. But the principal offender may designate a department employee as the agent, guardian or surrogate without judicial approval if the offender and the employee are related by blood, marriage or adoption.

(c) In addition to the restrictions in Section 41-41-205 , neither an offender in the department's custody nor a department employee shall be used as a witness for a power of attorney for health care that an offender executes while in the department's custody.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-76 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-76
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-76
Status: in_force

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, if an inmate plaintiff files a pauper's affidavit in a civil action and the defendant is an employee of the department and the civil action pertains to the inmate's condition of confinement, the department shall pay, out of any funds available for such purpose, all costs of court assessed against the inmate in the civil action. However, the department shall not pay the costs of court if the inmate has on three (3) or more prior occasions, while incarcerated, brought an action or appeal that was dismissed on the grounds that it was frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

An inmate shall not bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in a civil action or proceeding in forma pauperis if the prisoner has, on three (3) or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought an action or appeal in a court that was dismissed on the grounds that it was frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.

(2) An inmate who proceeds in forma pauperis in a civil action shall pay twenty percent (20%) per month of the funds in his or her inmate account to the Department of Corrections until all filing fees and costs of his or her litigation are paid to the department. The department may withdraw such funds automatically from the account of any inmate permitted a civil filing as a pauper. If an inmate is allowed an appeal in forma pauperis of a civil action, the inmate shall reimburse all costs and fees to the department by automatic withdrawal each month in the amount of twenty percent (20%) of his or her funds until all state funds are reimbursed.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1111 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1111
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1111
Status: in_force

(1) A contractor's employees serving as “correctional officers” shall be allowed to use force only while on the grounds of a facility, while transporting inmates, and while pursuing escapees from a facility.

(2) A contractor shall be authorized to use only such nondeadly force as the circumstances require in the following situations: to prevent the commission of a felony or misdemeanor, including escape; to defend oneself or others against physical assault; to prevent serious damage to property; to enforce institutional regulations and orders; and to prevent or quell a riot.

(3) A contractor's employees, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, recapture or arrest of any escaped offender assigned to a contract prison, shall be authorized to use force and firearms as necessary to pursue and recapture escapees.

(4) Private correctional officers who have been appropriately certified as determined by the contracting agency and trained pursuant to the provisions of subsection (5) shall have the right to carry and use firearms and shall exercise such authority and use deadly force only as a last resort, and then only to prevent an act that could result in death or serious bodily injury to oneself or to another person.

(5) Private correctional officers shall be trained in the use of force and the use of firearms, in accordance with ACA Standards and shall be trained, at the contractor's expense, for at least the minimum number of hours that public personnel are currently trained.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-35 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-35
Status: in_force

(1) The courts referred to in Section 47-7-33 or 47-7-34 shall determine the terms and conditions of probation or post-release supervision and may alter or modify, at any time during the period of probation or post-release supervision, the conditions and may include among them the following or any other:

That the offender shall:

(a) Commit no offense against the laws of this or any other state of the United States, or of any federal, territorial or tribal jurisdiction of the United States;

(b) Avoid injurious or vicious habits;

(c) Avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful character;

(d) Report to the probation and parole officer as directed;

(e) Permit the probation and parole officer to visit him at home or elsewhere;

(f) Work faithfully at suitable employment so far as possible;

(g) Remain within a specified area;

(h) Pay his fine in one (1) or several sums;

(i) Support his dependents;

(j) Submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601 , to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States;

(k) Register as a sex offender if so required under Title 45, Chapter 33.

(2) When any court places a defendant on misdemeanor probation, the court must cause to be conducted a search of the probationer's name or other identifying information against the registration information regarding sex offenders maintained under Title 45, Chapter 33. The search may be conducted using the Internet site maintained by the Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-4-1 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 4-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-4-1
Status: in_force

(1) It is lawful for there to be located within Wilkinson County and Leflore County a correctional facility operated entirely by a private entity pursuant to a contractual agreement between such private entity and the federal government, any state, or a political subdivision of any state to provide correctional services to any such public entity for the confinement of inmates subject to the jurisdiction of such public entity. Any person confined in such a facility pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction from which he is sent shall be considered lawfully confined within this state. The private entity shall assume complete responsibility for the inmates and shall be liable to the State of Mississippi for any illegal or tortious actions of such inmates.

(2) The Department of Corrections shall contract with the Board of Supervisors of Leflore County for the private incarceration of not more than one thousand (1,000) state inmates at a facility in Leflore County. Any contract must comply with the requirements of Section 47-5-1211 through Section 47-5-1227 .

(3) It is lawful for any county to contract with a private entity for the purpose of providing correctional services for the confinement of federal inmates subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Any person confined in such a facility pursuant to the laws of the United States shall be considered lawfully confined within this state. The private entity shall assume complete responsibility for the inmates and shall be liable to the county or the State of Mississippi, as the case may be, for any illegal or tortious actions of the inmates.

(4) It is lawful for there to be located within any county a correctional facility operated entirely by a private entity and the federal government to provide correctional services to the United States for the confinement of federal inmates subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Any person confined in a facility pursuant to the laws of the United States shall be considered lawfully confined within this state. The private entity shall assume complete responsibility for the inmates and shall be liable to the State of Mississippi for any illegal or tortious actions of the inmates.

A person convicted of simple assault on an employee of a private correctional facility while such employee is acting within the scope of his or her duty or employment shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both.

A person convicted of aggravated assault on an employee of a private correctional facility while such employee is acting within the scope of his or her duty or employment shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) years, or both.

(5) The Department of Corrections may contract with the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility authorized in Chapter 904, Local and Private Laws of 1999, for the private incarceration of not more than one thousand (1,000) state inmates at a facility in Tallahatchie County. Any contract must comply with the requirements of Section 47-5-1211 through Section 47-5-1227 . No state inmate shall be assigned to the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility unless the inmate cost per day is at least ten percent (10%) less than the inmate cost per day for housing a state inmate at a state correctional facility.

(6) If a private entity houses state inmates, the private entity shall not displace state inmate beds with federal inmate beds unless the private entity has obtained prior written approval from the Commissioner of Corrections.

(7) It is lawful for there to be located within Leflore County a correctional facility operated entirely by a private entity pursuant to a contractual agreement between such private entity and the federal government, the State of Mississippi, or Leflore County for the incarceration of federal inmates. Such correctional facility may include a separate Leflore County jail which may be located on or adjacent to the correctional facility site. To further the provisions of this subsection:

(a) Any private entity, the State of Mississippi, or Leflore County may enter into any agreement regarding real property or property, including, but not limited to, a lease, a ground lease and leaseback arrangement, a sublease or any other lease agreement or arrangement, as lessor or lessee. Such agreements shall not exceed forty (40) years. The Department of Corrections may enter such agreements or arrangements on behalf of the State of Mississippi;

(b) The powers conferred under this subsection shall be additional and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law. Where the provisions of this subsection conflict with other law, this subsection shall control; and

(c) The private entity shall assume complete responsibility for the inmates and shall be liable to the State of Mississippi for any illegal or tortious actions of the inmates.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-469 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-469
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-469
Status: in_force

The provisions of Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-469 of this chapter are cumulative and shall not be construed to repeal or supersede any laws directly inconsistent herewith; and it is specifically provided herein that any work program in operation or functioning pursuant to any local law when Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-469 of this chapter become law may be continued pursuant to such local law and shall not be affected in any way by Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-469 of this chapter. The county board of supervisors conducting such program may, however, at its option, convert the program to a program to be governed by Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-469 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-40 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-40
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-40
Status: in_force

(1) The commissioner shall establish rules and regulations for implementing the earned-discharge program that allows offenders on probation and parole to reduce the period of supervision for complying with conditions of probation. The department shall have the authority to award earned-discharge credits to all offenders placed on probation, parole, or post-release supervision who are in compliance with the terms and conditions of supervision. An offender serving a Mississippi sentence for an eligible offense in any jurisdiction under the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision shall be eligible for earned-discharge credits under this section. Offenders shall not be denied earned-discharge credits solely based on nonpayment of fees or fines if a hardship waiver has been granted as provided in Section 47-7-49 .

(2) For each full calendar month of compliance with the conditions of supervision, earned-discharge credits equal to the number of days in that month shall be deducted from the offender's sentence discharge date. Credits begin to accrue for eligible offenders after the first full calendar month of compliance supervision conditions. For the purposes of this section, an offender is deemed to be in compliance with the conditions of supervision if there was no violation of the conditions of supervision.

(3) No earned-discharge credits may accrue for a calendar month in which a violation report has been submitted, the offender has absconded from supervision, the offender is serving a term of imprisonment in a technical violation center, or for the months between the submission of the violation report and the final action on the violation report by the court or the board.

(4) Earned-discharge credits shall be applied to the sentence within thirty (30) days of the end of the month in which the credits were earned. At least every six (6) months, an offender who is serving a sentence eligible for earned-discharge credits shall be notified of the current sentence discharge date.

(5) Once the combination of time served on probation, parole or post-release supervision, and earned-discharge credits satisfy the term of probation, parole, or post-release supervision, the board or sentencing court shall order final discharge of the offender. No less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of final discharge, the department shall notify the sentencing court and the board of the impending discharge.

(6) The department shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number and percentage of offenders who qualify for earned discharge in one or more months of the year and the average amount of credits earned within the year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-15 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 7-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-15
Status: in_force

The board shall adopt an official seal of which the courts shall take judicial notice. Decisions of the board shall be made by majority vote, except as provided in Section 47-7-5(9) .

The board shall keep a record of its acts and shall notify each institution of its decisions relating to the persons who are or have been confined therein. At the close of each fiscal year the board shall submit to the Governor and to the Legislature a report with statistical and other data of its work.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-39 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-39
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-39
Status: in_force

(1) As used in this section, “ fiscal note ” means the estimated dollar cost to the state for the first year and the annual cost thereafter. The term “ ten-year fiscal note ” means the estimated dollar cost to the state over the ten-year period following passage or adoption of the subject of the fiscal note.

(2) Whenever legislation is introduced in the Legislature, which would establish a new criminal offense or would amend the sentencing provisions of an existing criminal offense, the Department of Corrections shall provide a fiscal note and a ten-year fiscal note on the proposed legislation upon the request of any member of the Legislature. The fiscal note shall be published in electronic form on the Mississippi Legislature website as provided in Section 5-1-85 .

(3) State agencies and political subdivisions shall cooperate with the department in preparing fiscal notes and the ten-year fiscal notes. Such agencies and political subdivisions shall submit requested information to the department in a timely fashion.

(4) In preparing fiscal notes and the ten-year fiscal notes, the department must accurately report to the Legislature information provided to the department by state agencies and political subdivisions.

(5) The department may request information from nongovernmental agencies and organizations to assist in preparing the fiscal note and the ten-year fiscal note.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-409 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-409
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-409
Status: in_force

The willful failure of an inmate to remain within the extended limits of his confinement or to return to the place of confinement within the time prescribed shall be deemed an escape from a state penal institution in the case of a state inmate, and an escape from the custody of the sheriff in the case of a county inmate, and shall be punishable accordingly.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-3 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-3
Status: in_force

The plantation known as Parchman owned by the state in Sunflower and Quitman Counties, and in such other places as are now or may be hereafter owned or operated by the state for correctional purposes shall constitute the facilities of the correctional system for the custody, punishment, confinement at hard labor and reformation of all persons convicted of felony in the courts of the state and sentenced to the custody of the department, and whenever the term “penitentiary” or “state penitentiary” appears in the laws of the State of Mississippi, it shall mean any facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections which is used for the purposes described herein.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-319 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-319
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-319
Status: in_force

In addition to the information ordinarily required by law in the annual audits of expenditures and operations of the State Department of Corrections made by the state auditor, after March 23, 1978, audit reports shall also include a detailed statement of all materials, machinery or other property procured, and the cost thereof, and the expenditures made during the audited year for manufacturing purposes, together with a statement of all materials on hand to be manufactured, or in process of manufacture, or manufactured, and the values of all machinery, fixtures or other appurtenances for the purpose of utilizing the productive labor of offenders, and the earnings realized therefrom during the year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-3.1 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-3.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-3.1
Status: in_force

(1) In consultation with the Parole Board, the department shall develop a case plan for all parole-eligible inmates to guide an inmate's rehabilitation while in the department's custody and to reduce the likelihood of recidivism after release.

(2) The case plan shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) Programming and treatment requirements based on the results of a risk and needs assessment;

(b) Any programming or treatment requirements contained in the sentencing order; and

(c) General behavior requirements in accordance with the rules and policies of the department.

(3) With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody on or after July 1, 2021, the department shall complete the case plan within ninety (90) days of admission. With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody before July 1, 2021, the department shall complete the case plan by January 1, 2022.

(4) The department shall provide the inmate with a written copy of the case plan and the inmate's caseworker shall explain the conditions set forth in the case plan.

(a) Within ninety (90) days of admission, the caseworker shall notify the inmate of their parole eligibility date as calculated in accordance with Section 47-7-3(3) ;

(b) At the time a parole-eligible inmate receives the case plan, the department shall send the case plan to the Parole Board for approval.

(5) With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody after July 1, 2021, the department shall ensure that the case plan is achievable prior to the inmate's parole eligibility date. With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody before July 1, 2021, the department shall, to the extent possible, ensure that the case plan is achievable prior to the inmate's parole eligibility date or next parole hearing date, or date of release, whichever is sooner.

(6) The caseworker shall meet with the inmate every eight (8) weeks from the date the offender received the case plan to review the inmate's case plan progress.

(7) Every four (4) months the department shall electronically submit a progress report on each parole-eligible inmate's case plan to the Parole Board. The board may meet to review an inmate's case plan and may provide written input to the caseworker on the inmate's progress toward completion of the case plan.

(8) The Parole Board shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number of parole hearings held, the number of prisoners released to parole without a hearing and the number of parolees released after a hearing.

(9) If the Department of Corrections fails to adequately provide opportunity and access for the completion of such case plans, the Department of Corrections shall, to the extent possible, contract with regional jail facilities that offer educational development and job-training programs to facilitate the fulfillment of the case plans of parole-eligible inmates.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1113 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-1113
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1113
Status: in_force

All employees of a facility operated pursuant to Sections 47-5-1101 through 47-5-1123 must receive, at a minimum, the same quality and quantity of training as that required by the state, for employees of public correctional and detention facilities. All training expenses shall be the responsibility of the contractor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-557 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-557
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-557
Status: in_force

Any inmate who performs work for the corporation, except those inmates employed by the corporation in the Prison Industry Enhancement Program under Section 47-5-1251 , shall not be deemed an agent, employee or involuntary servant of the corporation while performing such work or while going to and from work or other specified areas.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-116 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-116
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-116
Status: in_force

(1) The term “ Biddle guard ” means a device or partition installed in a vehicle operated by a law enforcement officer which separates the front and rear passenger compartments.

(2) It is unlawful to transport a prisoner who is committed to the Department of Corrections in a vehicle which is not equipped with a secure Biddle guard. Each prisoner shall be restrained and a state, county, municipal or private correctional facility shall not release a prisoner into the custody of a law enforcement officer unless the prisoner is being transported in a vehicle equipped in accordance with this section.

(3) The Commissioner of Corrections, sheriff or chief law enforcement officer who is responsible for a vehicle in which any transportation in violation of this section occurs shall be assessed a civil penalty of One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) which shall be collected by the Attorney General and paid into the State Treasury.

(4) The Commissioner of Corrections, sheriff or chief law enforcement officer who is responsible for a vehicle in which a prisoner is transported in violation of this section shall not be liable personally for any damages arising from injuries to persons or property caused by a prisoner who has escaped while being transported in violation of this section.

(5) This section does not apply to any vehicle used by a correctional officer for transporting prisoners on the grounds of a correctional facility under the jurisdiction of the department, to any vehicle used by a field officer of the Department of Corrections when taking a prisoner into the custody of the Department of Corrections or to any vehicle used to transport prisoners in work release programs.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1225 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-1225
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1225
Status: in_force

No contract for private correctional facilities or services shall authorize, allow, or imply a delegation of the authority or responsibility of the state to a prison contractor to:

(a) Classify inmates or place inmates in less restrictive custody or more restrictive custody;

(b) Transfer an inmate, although the contractor may recommend in writing that the department transfer a particular inmate;

(c) Grant, deny, or revoke sentence credits;

(d) Recommend that the parole board either deny or grant parole, although the contractor may submit written reports that have been prepared in the ordinary course of business;

(e) Develop and implement procedures for calculating sentence credits or inmate release and parole eligibility dates;

(f) Require an inmate to work, except on department-approved projects; approve the type of work that inmates may perform; or award or withhold wages or sentence credits based on the manner in which individual inmates perform such work; or

(g) Determine inmate eligibility for furlough and work release.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-191 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-191
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-191
Status: in_force

As used in Sections 47-5-191 through 47-5-195 , “alcoholic beverage” shall have the meaning defined in Section 67-1-5 of the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law of the State of Mississippi; “controlled substance” means any substance defined as a controlled substance by the Uniform Controlled Substances Law of the State of Mississippi; “narcotic drug” means any substance defined as a narcotic drug by Section 41-29-105 ; “weapon or deadly weapon” shall mean any weapon or firearm mentioned in Section 97-37-1 , and any rifle or shotgun regardless of barrel length; and “contraband” means coin or currency, money orders, traveler's checks, promissory notes, credit cards, personal checks or other negotiable instruments, knives, sharpened instruments, tools, explosives, ammunition and drug paraphernalia as defined in Section 41-29-105(v) .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-110 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-110
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-110
Status: in_force

(1) Commitment to any institution or facility within the jurisdiction of the department shall be to the department, not to a particular institution or facility. The commissioner shall assign a newly committed offender to an appropriate facility consistent with public safety; provided, however, that any offender who, in the opinion of the sentencing judge, requires confinement in a maximum security unit shall be assigned, upon initial commitment, to the Parchman facility. The commissioner may extend the place of confinement of eligible offenders as provided under subsection (2) of this section. He may transfer an offender from one (1) institution to another, consistent with the commitment and in accordance with treatment, training and security needs. The commissioner shall have the authority to transfer inmates from the various correctional facilities of the department to restitution centers if such inmates meet the qualifications prescribed in Section 99-37-19 . The commissioner shall prepare appropriate standards of eligibility for such transfers of offenders from one (1) institution to another institution and transfers of offenders who meet the qualifications for placement in restitution centers. The commissioner shall have the authority to remove the offenders from restitution centers and to transfer them to other facilities of the department. The commissioner shall obtain the approval of the sentencing court before transferring an offender committed to the department to a restitution center. On the request of the chief executive officer of the affected unit of local government, the commissioner may transfer a person detained in a local facility to a state facility. The commissioner shall determine the cost of care for that person to be borne by the unit of local government. The commissioner may assign to a community work center, any offender who is convicted under the Mississippi Implied Consent Law and who is sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections, except that if a death or a serious maiming has occurred during the commission of the violation of the Mississippi Implied Consent Law, then the offender so convicted may not be assigned to a community work center.

(2) The department may establish by rule or policy and procedure a community prerelease program which shall be subject to the following requirements:

(a) The commissioner may extend the limits of confinement of offenders serving sentences for violent or nonviolent crimes who have six (6) months or less remaining before release on parole, conditional release or discharge to participate in the program. Parole violators may be allowed to participate in the program.

(b) Any offender who is referred to the program shall remain an offender of the department and shall be subject to rules and regulations of the department pertaining to offenders of the department until discharged or released on parole or conditional release by the State Parole Board.

(c) The department shall require the offender to participate in work or educational or vocational programs and other activities that may be necessary for the supervision and treatment of the offender.

(d) An offender assigned to the program shall be authorized to leave a community prerelease center only for the purpose and time necessary to participate in the program and activities authorized in paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(3) The commissioner shall have absolute immunity from liability for any injury resulting from a determination by the commissioner that an offender shall be allowed to participate in the community prerelease program.

(4)(a) The department may by rule or policy and procedure provide evidence-based programs for the benefit of inmates, with emphasis on those that are targeted at reducing inmate recidivism and prerelease service for offenders at each of its major correctional facilities: Mississippi State Penitentiary, Central Mississippi Correctional Institution and South Mississippi Correctional Institution and other facilities where the department confines state inmates.

(b) The commissioner may establish prerelease programs at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution. The prerelease program may be located on the grounds of this facility or another facility designated by the commissioner.

(c) For purposes of this subsection, the term “evidence-based programs” shall have ascribed to it the meaning in Section 27-103-159 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-31 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-31
Status: in_force

The commissioner shall monthly make to the Governor and to the State Fiscal Management Board and to the Chairmen of the Corrections Committee of the Senate and Penitentiary Committee of the House of Representatives full and complete reports of the fiscal affairs of such correctional system and of the general conditions with relation thereto. Not more than thirty (30) days after the end of each fiscal year said commissioner shall give a full and complete inventory of all property of every description belonging to the correctional system, and there shall be set opposite each item the book value of same. Such inventory shall further include a statement of the fiscal affairs of such system as of the last day of the fiscal year; and a sufficient number of copies of such inventory and report shall be printed to give general publicity thereto.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-101 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 7-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-101
Status: in_force

(1) There is created the Mississippi Re-Entry Council. The purpose of the council is to create effective strategies to assist former inmates in their return to the general population, to reduce the recidivism rates of inmates, to increase public safety, and to reduce budgetary constraints presently created by prison-related costs. The Re-Entry Council shall be led by a steering committee.

(2) The Re-Entry Council Steering Committee shall be composed of the following twelve (12) members, who shall serve for two-year terms:

(a) A Mississippi United States Attorney, or a designee appointed by the Governor;

(b) The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, or a designee;

(c) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi, or a designee;

(d) The director of a faith-based organization involved in re-entry programs, or a designee appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(e) The Chief Probation Officer of the United States District Courts of Mississippi, or a designee;

(f) A Mississippi United States District Judge, or a designee appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(g) The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, or a designee;

(h) The Executive Director for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, or a designee;

(i) The Executive Director for the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, or a designee;

(j) The Chairman of the Parole Board, or a designee;

(k) A person who is a former offender appointed by the Chairman of the Parole Board; and

(l) The Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, or a designee.

(3) The Re-Entry Council Steering Committee shall have the following duties:

(a) To consider development of a statewide approach to assist re-entry of former inmates into the general population of this state;

(b) To provide recommendations regarding evidence-based approaches that equip inmates with the requisite, individualized resources to promote their successful return to the general population of this state;

(c) To review reports, studies, and materials as it deems appropriate;

(d) To appoint such subcommittees as it finds proper;

(e) To study proposed legislation that seeks to resolve recidivism;

(f) To submit recommendations from its findings to the Legislature, the Governor and the Mississippi Supreme Court. In making such recommendations, the Re-entry Council Steering Committee will seek input from all branches of state and local government, governmental agencies, businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout this state;

(g) To seek and receive grants;

(h) To hire contract personnel and/or staff using any grants received; and

(i) To collaborate with the coordinator of the transitional re-entry center, under the supervision of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, which shall provide administrative support to the council.

(4) The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court shall call the first meeting of the steering committee. At its first meeting, the steering committee shall elect a chairman and vice chairman from its membership and adopt rules for transacting its business and keeping records. Officers shall serve one-year terms or until such time as a successor is elected.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-55 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-55
Status: in_force

The officers and employees of the state correctional system are exempt from jury service.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1507 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-1507
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1507
Status: in_force

(1) Upon notification and/or diagnosis of an inmate's pregnancy, and for the duration of the pregnancy, and for thirty (30) days following the inmate's delivery, the Department of Corrections and/or a correctional facility employee shall not apply the following restraints on the pregnant inmate unless a correctional facility employee has a reasonable belief that the inmate will harm herself, the fetus, or any other person, or pose a substantial flight risk:

(a) Leg restraints.

(b) Handcuffs or other wrist restraints, except to restrain the inmate's wrists in front of her.

(c) No restraints connected to other inmates.

(2) No restraints shall be used on any pregnant inmate while in labor or during delivery unless a correctional facility employee has a reasonable belief that the inmate will harm herself, the fetus, or any other person, or pose a substantial flight risk. In such case, the correctional facility employee ordering use of restraints on any female inmate while in labor or during delivery shall submit a written report to the warden of the facility within seventy-two (72) hours following the use of restraints, containing the justification for restraining the female inmate during labor and delivery.

(3) No facility employee of the Department of Corrections, other than a certified healthcare professional, shall conduct invasive body cavity searches of pregnant inmates unless the correctional facility employee has a reasonable belief that the female inmate is concealing contraband. In such case, the correctional facility employee shall submit a written report to the warden of the facility within seventy-two (72) hours following the invasive search, containing the justification for the invasive search and what contraband, if any was recovered.

(4) The Department of Corrections shall ensure that pregnant inmates be provided sufficient food and dietary supplements as ordered by a physician, physician staff member, or a facility nutritionist to meet general accepted prenatal nutritional guidelines for pregnant women.

(5) The Department of Corrections shall not place any pregnant inmate, or any female inmate who has given birth within the previous thirty (30) days, in restrictive housing unless a correctional facility employee has a reasonable belief that the inmate will harm herself, the fetus or any other person, or pose a substantial flight risk. In such case, the correctional facility employee authorizing the placement of the inmate in restrictive housing shall submit a written report to the warden of the facility within seventy-two (72) hours following the transfer, containing the justification for confining the female inmate in restrictive housing.

(6) The Department of Corrections shall not assign any pregnant inmate to any bed that is elevated more than three (3) feet from the floor of the facility.

(7) The warden of the facility shall compile a monthly summary of all written reports received pursuant to subsections (2), (3) and (5) of this section and under Section 47-5-1509(1) . The warden shall submit the summary to the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections each month.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1101 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1101
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1101
Status: in_force

Sections 47-5-1101 through 47-5-1123 shall be cited as the “Special Needs Prison Program of 1994.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-192 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-192
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-192
Status: in_force

(1) The Commissioner of Corrections may prohibit the possession by employees or officers of the Department of Corrections or any person allowed upon the premises of a correctional facility under his jurisdiction of any item, the possession of which by offenders is prohibited or regulated.

(2) The commissioner may distinguish between classes of employees and visitors and may establish zones or designate areas or facilities where such regulations apply in his discretion and as necessary for security and orderly operation of prison facilities.

(3) The commissioner shall promulgate rules authorized by this section in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act.

(4) Any person who violates a duly enacted rule authorized by this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year or by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-351 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-351
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-351
Status: in_force

(1) It is the policy of the State of Mississippi that the Department of Corrections, to the extent practical, make maximum utilization of the farm lands of the various correctional institutions for the purpose of feeding inmates.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department grow, harvest and process those agricultural products that will directly assist in reducing the reliance of the department upon external sources of supply and that will facilitate the self-sufficiency of the inmates and the department.

(3) The Department of Corrections shall establish, implement and manage prison agricultural enterprises in a manner and form deemed appropriate to ensure a profitable farming operation and self-sufficiency in the feeding of the inmates.

(4) The Legislature finds that the mission of the prison agricultural enterprises is:

(a) To reduce the cost of state government by producing and processing food for use by inmates;

(b) To operate the program primarily with inmate labor;

(c) To serve the security goals of the department through the reduction of idleness of inmates;

(d) To produce and market agricultural products that will aid in maintaining a profitable agricultural operation to the extent possible.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-357 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-357
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-357
Status: in_force

(1)(a) Due to the unique and time sensitive requirements of growing and harvesting products produced by the prison agricultural enterprises, the Department of Finance and Administration and the department shall establish a prudent purchasing policy which may exempt from bid requirements those commodities, items or services which are needed for the efficient and effective management of the prison agricultural enterprises.

(b) Due to the unique and time sensitive requirements of growing and harvesting products produced by the prison agricultural enterprises, the Department of Finance and Administration and the department shall establish a prudent leasing policy which may exempt from bid requirements agricultural equipment which is needed for the efficient and effective management of the prison agricultural enterprises.

(2) The Department of Finance and Administration shall, by order entered on its minutes, list those commodities, items and services exempted from bid requirements as provided in Section 31-7-12 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-573 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-573
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-573
Status: in_force

(1) In adopting or modifying master plans for correctional work programs, and in the administration of the Department of Corrections, it shall be the objective of the department to develop a logical sequence of vocational training, employment by correctional work programs, and post-release job placement for inmates participating in correctional work programs.

(2) The Department of Corrections shall establish guidelines for the development of correctional work programs.

(3) The needs of the corporation shall be considered by the department when assigning and transferring prisoners to correctional institutions. The following criteria shall be used when assigning and transferring inmates:

(a) Skills of the inmate relevant to the corporation's industries;

(b) Security classification of the inmate relevant to the type of corporation's industry;

(c) Duration of availability of the inmate for employment by the corporation;

(d) Establishment of a concept of potentially rehabilitative inmate.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1217 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-1217
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1217
Status: in_force

All employees of a facility operated pursuant to Sections 47-5-1201 through 47-5-1229 must receive, at a minimum, the same quality and quantity of training as that required by the state, for employees of public correctional and detention facilities. All training expenses shall be the responsibility of the contractor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1215 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1215
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1215
Status: in_force

(1) A contractor's employees serving as “correctional officers” shall be allowed to use force only while on the grounds of a facility, while transporting inmates, and while pursuing escapees from a facility.

(2) Private correctional officers shall be authorized to use only such non-deadly force as the circumstances require in the following situations: to prevent the commission of a felony or misdemeanor, including escape; to defend oneself or others against physical assault; to prevent serious damage to property; to enforce institutional regulations and orders; and to prevent or quell a riot.

(3) A contractor's employees, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, recapture or arrest of any escaped offender assigned to a contract prison, shall be authorized to use force and firearms as necessary to pursue and recapture escapees.

(4) Private correctional officers who have been appropriately certified as determined by the contracting agency and trained pursuant to the provisions of subsection (5) shall have the right to carry and use firearms and shall exercise such authority and may use deadly force to prevent an act that could result in death or serious bodily injury to oneself or to another person.

(5) Private correctional officers shall be trained in the use of force and the use of firearms, in accordance with ACA Standards and shall be trained, at the private contractor's expense, for at least the minimum number of hours that public personnel are currently trained.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-39 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 7-39
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-39
Status: in_force

If, for good and sufficient reasons, a probationer desires to change his residence within or without the state, such transfer may be effected by application to his field supervisor which transfer shall be subject to the court's consent and subject to such regulations as the court, or judge, may require.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-37 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-37
Status: in_force

The commissioner shall employ a qualified fiscal comptroller who shall be a certified public accountant and who shall be charged with the responsibility of maintaining a modern accounting system which shall accurately reflect all fiscal transactions in such manner and in such form as shall be recommended by the State Fiscal Management Board. The commissioner shall employ such qualified bookkeepers and other clerical personnel as required to maintain the accounting system who shall devote their full time to their duties as employees of the correctional system. The fiscal comptroller shall make a monthly report to the Governor and Chairmen of Corrections Committee of the Senate and the Penitentiary Committee of the House of Representatives. The fiscal comptroller shall countersign all checks. The fiscal comptroller shall have sole responsibility for all purchases and the signing of all purchase orders issued by the correctional system. Such fiscal comptroller shall execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State of Mississippi in the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), conditioned for the satisfactory performance of the duties of his office, and the accurate accounting of any moneys and properties coming into his hands.

The commissioner or his designee shall sign all requisitions for issuance of warrant authorizing any disbursement of any sum or sums on account of the correctional system, and no money shall be paid out on any account of the correctional system except on a requisition for issuance of warrant signed by him or his designee.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-911 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-911
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-911
Status: repealed

Sections 47-5-901 through 47-5-911 shall stand repealed on July 1, 2027.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-109.1 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-109.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-109.1
Status: in_force

(1) The Department of Corrections shall contract for the administration of inmate canteen services to a third party. Such contract shall comply with the procedures set forth in this section:

(a) The Department of Corrections shall cause to be prepared a request for proposals. This request for proposals shall be prepared for distribution to any interested third party. Notice of the department's intention to seek proposals shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least one time per week for three (3) weeks before closing the period for interested parties to respond. Additional forms of notice may also be used. The newspaper notice shall inform the interested parties of the service to be contracted, existence of a request for proposals, how it can be obtained, when a proposal must be submitted, and to whom the proposal must be submitted. All requests for proposals shall describe clearly what service is to be contracted, and shall fully explain the criteria upon which an evaluation of proposals shall be based. The criteria to be used for evaluations shall, at a minimum, include:

(i) Require interested third parties to describe their qualifications to provide inmate canteen services to correctional facilities in widely dispersed geographical regions; and

(ii) Describe the department's expectations with regard to commissions, pricing and quality assurance for inmate canteen services.

(b) All proposals submitted by interested parties shall be evaluated by the Inmate Welfare Fund Committee, as established in Section 47-5-158 , which shall apply the same criteria to all proposals when conducting an evaluation. The results and recommendations of the evaluation shall be presented to the Department of Corrections for review. All evaluations presented to the department shall be retained by the department for at least three (3) years. The department may accept or reject any recommendation of the committee, or it may conduct further inquiry into the proposals. Any further inquiry shall be clearly documented and all methods and recommendations shall be retained by the department and shall spread upon its minutes its choice of the administrator for inmate canteen services and its reasons for making the choice.

(c)(i) The department shall be responsible for preparing a contract that shall be in accordance with all provisions of this section and all other provisions of law. The contract shall also include a requirement that the contractor shall consent to an evaluation of its performance. Such evaluation shall occur after the first six (6) months of the contract, and shall be reviewed at times the department determines to be necessary. The contract shall clearly describe the standards upon which the contractor shall be evaluated.

(ii) The PEER Committee, at the request of the House or Senate Corrections Committee and with funds specifically appropriated by the Legislature for such purpose, shall contract with an accounting firm or with other professionals to conduct a compliance audit of the services provided by the contractor. Such audit shall review the compliance with the performance standards required for inclusion in the administrator's contract. Such audit shall be delivered to the Legislature no later than January 1.

(2) Contracts for the administration of inmate canteen services shall commence at the beginning of the calendar year and shall end on the last day of a calendar year. This shall not apply to contracts provided for in subsection (3) of this section.

(3) If the Department of Corrections determines that it is necessary to not renew the contract of an administrator, or finds it necessary to terminate a contract with or without cause as provided for in the contract of the administrator of inmate canteen services, the department is authorized to select an administrator for inmate canteen services without complying with the bid requirements in subsections (1) and (2) of this section. Such contracts shall be for the balance of the calendar year in which the nonrenewal or termination occurred, and may be for an additional calendar year if the department determines that the best interests of the inmates are served by such. Any contract negotiated on an interim basis shall include a detailed transition plan which shall ensure the orderly transfer of responsibilities between contractors.

(4) Except for contracts executed under the authority of subsection (3) of this section, the department shall select administrators of inmate canteen services at least six (6) months before the expiration of the current administrator's contract. The period between the selection of the new administrator of inmate canteen services and the effective date of the new contract shall be known as the transition period. The Department of Corrections shall furnish the Legislature and Governor with copies of all transition plans and keep them informed of progression on such plans.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-431 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-431
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-431
Status: in_force

(1) The sheriff may, in his discretion, use any person who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony and who is serving all or any part of his sentence in the county jail to pick up trash along public roads and state highways within the county.

(2) County inmates performing work under this section shall be eligible for earned time credit in the same manner as state inmates. State inmates shall be eligible for earned time credit in the same manner as other inmates confined or detained in state prisons or other state correctional facilities.

(3) Any inmate escaping while participating in the work described herein shall receive an additional five-year sentence.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-561 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-561
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-561
Status: in_force

(1) In addition to its other powers, the corporation shall have the power to request, through the department, an appropriation of general revenue funds for the purposes of operation of, addition to or renovation of facilities or correctional work programs at the various correctional institutions; however, upon receipt of such appropriation, the rental paid by the corporation for the operation of or such new remodeled or renovated facilities or the operation of a correctional work program shall be sufficient to amortize its cost over a period of five (5) years.

(2) The corporation shall maintain those prison industries funds in excess of that amount necessary for sustaining quarterly or monthly operations of the corporation in an interest-bearing account best serving the proper management of corporation funds and earning the maximum amount of interest allowed by law. The corporation shall cause monies from the interest-bearing account to be deposited quarterly or monthly into the corporation's checking account in order to pay the legal debts of the corporation, approved for payment by the corporation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-47 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 7-47
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-47
Status: in_force

(1) The judge of any circuit court may place an offender on a program of earned probation, in an intensive supervision program or any intervention court authorized by law after a period of confinement as set out herein and the judge may seek the advice of the commissioner and shall direct that the defendant be under the supervision of the department.

(2)(a) Any circuit court or county court may, upon its own motion, acting upon the advice and consent of the commissioner not earlier than thirty (30) days nor later than three (3) years after the defendant has been delivered to the custody of the department, incarcerated by order of the court or otherwise sentenced, modify, alter or suspend the further execution of the sentence and place the defendant on earned probation, in an intensive supervision program or any intervention court authorized by law except when a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which may be imposed or if the defendant has been confined two (2) or more times for the conviction of a felony on a previous occasion in any court or courts of the United States and of any state or territories thereof or has been convicted of a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon.

(b) The authority granted in this subsection shall be exercised by the judge who imposed sentence on the defendant, or his successor.

(c) The time limit imposed by paragraph (a) of this subsection is not applicable to those defendants sentenced to the custody of the department prior to April 14, 1977. Persons who are convicted of crimes that carry mandatory sentences shall not be eligible for earned probation.

(3) When any circuit or county court places an offender on earned probation, the court shall give notice to the Mississippi Department of Corrections within fifteen (15) days of the court's decision to place the offender on earned probation. Notice shall be delivered to the central office of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and to the regional office of the department which will be providing supervision to the offender on earned probation.

(4) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person, as a condition of probation, to a period of confinement and treatment at a private or public agency or institution, either within or without the state, which treats emotional, mental or drug-related problems. Any person who, as a condition of probation, is confined for treatment at an out-of-state facility shall be supervised pursuant to Section 47-7-71 , and any person confined at a private agency shall not be confined at public expense. Time served in any such agency or institution may be counted as time required to meet the criteria of subsection (2)(a).

(5) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person to make appropriate restitution to any victim of his crime or to society through the performance of reasonable work for the benefit of the community.

(6) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person, as a condition of probation, to submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601 , to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-66 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-66
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-66
Status: in_force

(1) Except as provided in Section 47-5-64(3) , it shall be the duty of the Department of Finance and Administration, with the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board, to lease lands at public contract upon the submission of two (2) or more sealed bids to the Department of Finance and Administration after having advertised the land for rent in newspapers of general circulation published in Jackson, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; the county in which the land is located; and contiguous counties for a period of not less than two (2) successive weeks. The first publication shall be made not less than ten (10) days before the date of the public contract, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days before that date. The Department of Finance and Administration may reject any and all bids. If all bids on a tract or parcel of land are rejected, the Department of Finance and Administration may then advertise for new bids on that tract or parcel of land. Successful bidders shall take possession of their leaseholds at the time authorized by the Department of Finance and Administration. However, rent shall be due no later than the day upon which the lessee shall assume possession of the leasehold, and shall be due on the anniversary date for each following year of the lease. The Department of Finance and Administration may provide in any lease that rent shall be paid in full in advance or paid in installments, as may be necessary or appropriate. In addition, the Department of Finance and Administration may accept, and the lease may provide for, assignments of federal, state or other agricultural support payments, growing crops or the proceeds from the sale thereof, promissory notes, or any other good and valuable consideration offered by any lessee to meet the rent requirements of the lease. If a promissory note is offered by a lessee, it shall be secured by a first lien on the crop of the lessee, or the proceeds from the sale thereof. The lien shall be filed pursuant to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and Section 1324 of the Food Security Act of 1985, as enacted or amended. If the note is not paid at maturity, it shall bear interest at the rate provided for judgments and decrees in Section 75-17-7 from its maturity date until the note is paid. The note shall provide for the payment of all costs of collection and reasonable attorney's fees if default is made in the payment of the note. The payment of rent by promissory note or any means other than cash in advance shall be subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board, which shall place the approval of record in the minutes of the board.

(2) There is created a special fund to be designated as the “Prison Agricultural Enterprises Fund” and to be used for the purpose of conducting, operating and managing the agricultural and nonagricultural enterprises of the department. Any monies derived from the leasing of Penitentiary lands, from the sales of timber as provided in Section 47-5-56 , from the prison's agricultural enterprises or earmarked for the Prison Industries Fund shall be deposited to the special fund. However, fifteen percent (15%) of the monies derived from the leasing of Penitentiary lands under Section 47-5-64(3) shall be deposited to a special fund to be distributed annually on a student pro rata basis to the public schools located in Sunflower County by the Department of Finance and Administration.

(3) All profits derived from prison industries shall be placed in a special fund in the State Treasury to be known as the “Prison Industries Fund,” to be appropriated each year by the Legislature to the nonprofit corporation, which is required to be organized under the provisions of Section 47-5-535 , for the purpose of operating and managing the prison industries.

(4) The state shall have the rights and remedies for the security and collection of the rents given by law to landlords.

(5) Lands leased for agricultural purposes under Section 47-5-64(2) shall be subject to a fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes, including taxes levied for school purposes. The fee-in-lieu shall be Nine Dollars ($9.00) per acre. Upon the execution of the agricultural leases to private entities as authorized by Section 47-5-64(2) , the Department of Finance and Administration shall collect the in lieu fee and shall forward the fees to the tax collector in which the land is located. The tax collector shall disburse the fees to the appropriate county or municipal governing authority on a pro rata basis. The sum apportioned to a school district shall not be less than the school district's pro rata share based upon the proportion that the millage imposed for the school district by the appropriate levying authority bears to the millage imposed by the levying authority for all other county or municipal purposes. Any funds obtained by the corporation as a result of sale of goods and services manufactured and provided by it shall be accounted for separate and apart from any funds received by the corporation through appropriation from the State Legislature. All nonappropriated funds generated by the corporation shall not be subject to appropriation by the State Legislature.

(6) Any land leased, as provided under Section 47-5-64(2) , shall not be leased for an amount less than would be received if such land were to be leased under any federal loan program. In addition, all leases shall be subject to the final approval of the Public Procurement Review Board before such leases are to become effective.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1014 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-1014
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1014
Status: in_force

(1) Participants who have been in the intensive supervision program since July 1, 2004, whether placed into the program before or after July 1, 2004, shall pay a Fifty Dollar ($50.00) monthly supervision fee to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for their supervision from July 1, 2004, or from the date the participant entered the program after July 1, 2004, until completion of the program, or April 6, 2005, or whichever occurs first. From and after April 6, 2005, all participants of the intensive supervision program shall pay the fee as established in Section 47-5-1013 .

(2) The Department of Corrections shall use its best effort to collect the monthly supervision fees in arrearage under this section.

(3) A participant's failure to pay the monthly fees in arrearage shall not be deemed a violation of a condition of the program, and the participant shall not be removed from the program for failure to pay the monthly fees in arrearage.

(4) This section shall not apply to any fees incurred after April 6, 2005.

(5) Any arrearage remaining under this section at the end of the offender's participation in the program shall automatically be reduced to a civil judgment and upon notice by the Department of Corrections shall be recorded with the circuit court clerk in the county wherein the participant resides. The Department of Corrections and/or the district attorney shall use best efforts to collect the judgment.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1113 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1113
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1113
Status: in_force

All employees of a facility operated pursuant to Sections 47-5-1101 through 47-5-1123 must receive, at a minimum, the same quality and quantity of training as that required by the state, for employees of public correctional and detention facilities. All training expenses shall be the responsibility of the contractor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-579 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-579
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-579
Status: in_force

(1)(a) The corporation shall operate a work initiative at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, South Mississippi Correctional Institution, Mississippi State Penitentiary and the Mississippi Correctional Institute for Women, and is authorized, in its discretion, to create a work initiative at any other correctional facility listed in Section 47-5-539(d) . In lieu of a work initiative created by the corporation, the warden or superintendent or sheriff at any regional and private facility listed in Section 47-5-539 is authorized to create a work initiative at their respective facility consistent with the provisions and requirements of this section. Each initiative shall be limited to no more than twenty-five (25) inmates in the state, regional or private facility at any given time.

(b) The department, with regard to a work initiative in an MDOC facility, shall:

(i) Have the ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of the initiative;

(ii) Delegate the administration of the initiative to the corporation; and

(iii) Oversee the selection of inmates for admission to the initiative.

(c) The sheriff, with regard to a work initiative at a regional facility, shall:

(i) Have the ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of the initiative;

(ii) Oversee the selection of inmates for admission to the initiative; and

(iii) Work with the department and the corporation to establish guidelines for the initiative and develop a report thereon.

(2)(a) An inmate is eligible for participation in the initiative if the inmate has:

(i) No more than two (2) years remaining on the inmate's sentence;

(ii) Not been convicted under Section 97-9-49 within the last five (5) years; and

(iii) Not been sentenced for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h) .

(b) Any inmate who meets the eligibility requirements of paragraph (a) may request assignment to a work initiative established under this section.

(3)(a) The commissioner, in the case of MDOC facilities, or the warden, superintendent, sheriff or similar leader in the case of regional and private facilities, shall select inmates for admission to the program.

(b) An inmate currently participating in vocational training or a soft skills training program at a facility authorized to operate a work initiative shall have priority in admission to the program.

(4)(a) The chief executive officer, in the case of MDOC facilities, or the warden, superintendent, sheriff or similar leader in the case of regional and private facilities, may authorize the inmate to participate in educational or other rehabilitative programs designed to supplement his work initiative employment or to prepare the person for successful reentry.

(b) Before accepting any participants to the program, the corporation, in consultation with the department, shall adopt and publish rules and regulations to effectuate this section no later than six (6) months after the effective date of this section. These rules and regulations shall include all protection requirements for work release programs established pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-471 .

(5) Participating employers shall pay no less than the prevailing wage for the position and shall under no circumstance pay less than the federal minimum wage.

(6) Any inmate assigned to the initiative who, without proper authority or just cause, leaves the area to which he has been assigned to work or attend educational or other rehabilitative programs, or leaves the vehicle or route of travel involved in his or her going to or returning from such place, will be guilty of escape as provided in Section 97-9-49 . An offender who is convicted under Section 97-9-49 shall be ineligible for further participation in the work initiative during his or her current term of confinement.

(7)(a) The inmate shall maintain an account through a local financial institution and shall provide a copy of a check stub to the chief executive officer, the warden, the superintendent or the sheriff at a regional facility, as the case may be.

(b) The inmate shall be required:

(i) To pay twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate's wages after mandatory deductions for the following purposes:

1. To pay support of dependents or to the Mississippi Department of Human Services on behalf of dependents as may be ordered by a judge of competent jurisdiction; and

2. To pay any fines, restitution, or costs as ordered by the court to include any fines and fees associated with obtaining a valid driver's license upon release.

(ii) To pay fifteen percent (15%) of the inmate's wages to the corporation for administrative expenses to include transportation costs to be remitted to the state, regional or private facility where the inmate is housed. In the case of state facilities, the administrative expense reimbursement shall be paid to the corporation; in the case of regional facilities, the administrative expense reimbursement shall be paid to the sheriff's department; in the case of private facilities the administrative expense reimbursement shall be paid to the contractor overseeing the facility.

(iii) To save fifty percent (50%) of the inmate's wages in the account required under paragraph (a) of this subsection. Monies under this subparagraph shall be made available to the inmate upon parole or release.

(c) The inmate shall have access to the remaining ten percent (10%) of the monies in the inmate's account to purchase incidental expenses.

(d) Any monies remaining under paragraph (a) of this subsection after all mandatory deductions are paid, shall be deposited in the inmate's account established under this subsection. Any monies remaining upon release in paragraph (c) of this subsection shall be released to the inmate.

(8) The chief executive officer of the corporation shall collect and maintain data which shall be shared semiannually with the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) and the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force in sortable electronic format. The first report shall be made on January 15, 2023, and in six-month intervals thereafter unless PEER establishes a different schedule. The data shall include:

(a) Total number of participants at the end of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(b) Total number of participants who began the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(c) Total number of participants who successfully completed the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(d) Total number of participants who left the program in each month and reason for leaving by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(e) Total number of participants who were arrested for a new criminal offense while in the program in each month by race, gender and offenses charged;

(f) Total number of participants who were convicted of a new crime while in the program in each month by race, gender and offenses charged;

(g) Total number of participants who completed the program and were convicted of a new crime within three (3) years of completing the program;

(h) Total amount earned by participants and how the earnings were distributed in each month;

(i) Results of any initial risk and needs assessments conducted on each participant by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(j) List of participating employers;

(k) List of jobs acquired by participants;

(l) List of the hourly wage paid to each participant;

(m) Accounting of the manner and use of the ten percent (10%) of the wages paid to the corporation by the inmate for administrative expenses;

(n) Total costs associated with program operations;

(o) List of participating financial institutions;

(p) The number of accounts opened by participants at financial institutions;

(q) The average hourly wage earned in the program; and

(r) Any other data or information as requested by the task force.

(9) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a review of the initiative, including any expansion of the initiative authorized under this section, and produce an annual report to the Legislature on their effectiveness by January 1 of each year. The PEER Committee shall seek the assistance of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force and may seek assistance from any other criminal justice experts it deems necessary during its review.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-5 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-5
Status: repealed

(1) Effective January 1, 2028, the State Parole Board, created under former Section 47-7-5, is hereby created, continued and reconstituted and shall be composed of five (5) members, one (1) appointed from each Mississippi Supreme Court District and two (2) from the state at large. The Governor shall appoint the members to serve at the will and pleasure of the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, not less than every four (4) years, provided that three (3) members shall be appointed in 2028 to a term ending December 31, 2031, and two (2) members shall be appointed in 2030 to a term ending December 31, 2033. Appointments made at the beginning of the four-year cycle shall be made to fill any member's term which actually expires that year and any member's term which expires next until the majority of the membership of the board or commission is reached. Appointments made at the beginning of the third year of the four-year cycle shall be made for the remainder of the membership positions irrespective of the time of their prior appointment. Any question regarding the order of appointments shall be determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with the specific statute. All appointment procedures, vacancy provisions, interim appointment provisions and removal provisions specifically provided for in Section 7-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972 , shall be fully applicable to appointments to the State Parole Board. Any vacancy shall be filled by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint a chairman of the board.

(2) Any person who is appointed to serve on the board shall possess at least a bachelor's degree or a high school diploma and four (4) years' work experience. Each member shall devote his full time to the duties of his office and shall not engage in any other business or profession or hold any other public office. A member shall receive compensation or per diem in addition to his or her salary. Each member shall keep such hours and workdays as required of full-time state employees under Section 25-1-98 . Individuals shall be appointed to serve on the board without reference to their political affiliations. Each board member, including the chairman, may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses as authorized by Section 25-3-41 . Each member of the board shall complete annual training developed based on guidance from the National Institute of Corrections, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, or the American Probation and Parole Association. Each first-time appointee of the board shall, within sixty (60) days of appointment, or as soon as practical, complete training for first-time Parole Board members developed in consideration of information from the National Institute of Corrections, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, or the American Probation and Parole Association.

(3) The board shall have exclusive responsibility for the granting of parole as provided by Sections 47-7-3 and 47-7-17 and shall have exclusive authority for revocation of the same. The board shall have exclusive responsibility for investigating clemency recommendations upon request of the Governor.

(4) The board, its members and staff, shall be immune from civil liability for any official acts taken in good faith and in exercise of the board's legitimate governmental authority.

(5) The budget of the board shall be funded through a separate line item within the general appropriation bill for the support and maintenance of the department. Employees of the department which are employed by or assigned to the board shall work under the guidance and supervision of the board. There shall be an executive secretary to the board who shall be responsible for all administrative and general accounting duties related to the board. The executive secretary shall keep and preserve all records and papers pertaining to the board.

(6) The board shall have no authority or responsibility for supervision of offenders granted a release for any reason, including, but not limited to, probation, parole or executive clemency or other offenders requiring the same through interstate compact agreements. The supervision shall be provided exclusively by the staff of the Division of Community Corrections of the department.

(7)(a) The Parole Board is authorized to select and place offenders in an electronic monitoring program under the conditions and criteria imposed by the Parole Board. The conditions, restrictions and requirements of Section 47-7-17 and Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015 shall apply to the Parole Board and any offender placed in an electronic monitoring program by the Parole Board.

(b) Any offender placed in an electronic monitoring program under this subsection shall pay the program fee provided in Section 47-5-1013 . The program fees shall be deposited in the special fund created in Section 47-5-1007 .

(c) The department shall have absolute immunity from liability for any injury resulting from a determination by the Parole Board that an offender be placed in an electronic monitoring program.

(8)(a) The Parole Board shall maintain a central registry of paroled inmates. The Parole Board shall place the following information on the registry: name, address, photograph, crime for which paroled, the date of the end of parole or flat-time date and other information deemed necessary. The Parole Board shall immediately remove information on a parolee at the end of his parole or flat-time date.

(b) When a person is placed on parole, the Parole Board shall inform the parolee of the duty to report to the parole officer any change in address ten (10) days before changing address.

(c) The Parole Board shall utilize an Internet website or other electronic means to release or publish the information.

(d) Records maintained on the registry shall be open to law enforcement agencies and the public and shall be available no later than July 1, 2003.

(9) An affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the Parole Board shall be required to grant parole to an inmate convicted of capital murder or a sex crime.

(10) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2027.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-91 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-91
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-91
Status: in_force

The commissioner is authorized and directed to provide for transportation of children of employees of the Mississippi State Penitentiary both in Sunflower County and Quitman County to a public elementary or secondary school located in those counties and to pay for such transportation out of the support and maintenance fund of the department of correction. The commissioner shall further pay to any public elementary or secondary school located in said counties which said children are sent, an amount not to exceed Sixty Dollars ($60.00) per student per month as tuition, which also shall be paid out of the support and maintenance fund of the department of correction. Any student who receives benefits under this section shall not be eligible for any other educational financial state grant or loan.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-903 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-903
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-903
Status: in_force

(1) A person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court, may serve his or her sentence in any county jail if all of the following conditions are complied with:

(a) The person must be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905 ;

(b) The person must not be classified as in need of close supervision;

(c) The sheriff of the county where the person will serve his or her sentence must request in writing that the person be allowed to serve his or her sentence in that county jail;

(d) After the person is classified and returned to the county, the county shall assume the full and complete responsibility for the care and expenses of housing such person; and

(e) The county jail must be an approved county jail for housing state inmates under federal court order.

(2) This section does not apply to inmates housed in county jails due to lack of space at state correctional facilities. The department may reimburse the county for the expense of housing an inmate under this section.

(3) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall defend the employees of the Department of Corrections and officials and employees of political subdivisions against any action brought by any person who was committed to a county jail under the provisions of this section.

(4) The state, the Department of Corrections, and its employees or agents, shall not be liable to any person or entity for an inmate held in a county jail under this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-937 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-937
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-937
Status: in_force

Sections 47-5-931 through 47-5-941 shall be full and complete authority for the exercise of all powers and authority granted herein and no requirements or restrictions of law which would otherwise be applicable to acts of the county or sheriff or the Department of Corrections shall be applicable except as expressly provided herein. The sheriff is expressly authorized to employ counsel to represent the facility to be paid a salary within the range allowed for a legal assistant to a district attorney with the employment to continue for a period of time not to exceed the duration of the indebtedness incurred for construction of the facility. The county or counties shall pay this cost and other costs incurred in the operation of the facility from the proceeds of the funds derived from the financing of the project and the housing of offenders.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-3 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 7-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-3
Status: repealed

(1) Every prisoner who has been convicted of any offense against the State of Mississippi, and is confined in the execution of a judgment of such conviction in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a definite term or terms of one (1) year or over, or for the term of his or her natural life, whose record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observed the rules of the department, and who has served the minimum required time for parole eligibility, may be released on parole as set forth herein:

(a) Habitual offenders. Except as provided by Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 , no person sentenced as a confirmed and habitual criminal shall be eligible for parole;

(b) Sex offenders. Any person who has been sentenced for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h) shall not be released on parole except for a person under the age of nineteen (19) who has been convicted under Section 97-3-67 ;

(c) Capital offenders. No person sentenced for the following offenses shall be eligible for parole:

(i) Capital murder committed on or after July 1, 1994, as defined in Section 97-3-19(2) ;

(ii) Any offense to which an offender is sentenced to life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 99-19-101 ; or

(iii) Any offense to which an offender is sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole under the provisions of Section 99-19-101 , whose crime was committed on or after July 1, 1994;

(d) Murder. No person sentenced for murder in the first degree, whose crime was committed on or after June 30, 1995, or murder in the second degree, as defined in Section 97-3-19 , shall be eligible for parole;

(e) Human trafficking. No person sentenced for human trafficking, as defined in Section 97-3-54.1 , whose crime was committed on or after July 1, 2014, shall be eligible for parole;

(f) Drug trafficking. No person sentenced for trafficking and aggravated trafficking, as defined in Section 41-29-139(f) through (g) , shall be eligible for parole;

(g) Offenses specifically prohibiting parole release. No person shall be eligible for parole who is convicted of any offense that specifically prohibits parole release;

(h)(i) Offenders eligible for parole consideration for offenses committed after June 30, 1995. Except as provided in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this subsection, offenders may be considered eligible for parole release as follows:

1. Nonviolent crimes. All persons sentenced for a nonviolent offense shall be eligible for parole only after they have served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. For purposes of this paragraph, “ nonviolent crime ” means a felony not designated as a crime of violence in Section 97-3-2 .

2. Violent crimes. A person who is sentenced for a violent offense as defined in Section 97-3-2 , except robbery with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79 , drive-by shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109 , and carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117 , shall be eligible for parole only after having served fifty percent (50%) or twenty (20) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. Those persons sentenced for robbery with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79 , drive-by shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109 , and carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117 , shall be eligible for parole only after having served sixty percent (60%) or twenty-five (25) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court.

3. Nonviolent and nonhabitual drug offenses. A person who has been sentenced to a drug offense pursuant to Section 41-29-139(a) through (d) , whose crime was committed after June 30, 1995, shall be eligible for parole only after he has served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed.

(ii) Parole hearing required. All persons eligible for parole under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h) who are serving a sentence or sentences for a crime of violence, as defined in Section 97-3-2 , shall be required to have a parole hearing before the Parole Board pursuant to Section 47-7-17 , prior to parole release.

(iii) Geriatric parole. Notwithstanding the provisions in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h), a person serving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty (60) or older and who has served no less than ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for parole. Any person eligible for parole under this subparagraph (iii) shall be required to have a parole hearing before the board prior to parole release. No inmate shall be eligible for parole under this subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (h) if:

1. The inmate is sentenced as a habitual offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 ;

2. The inmate is sentenced for a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2 ;

3. The inmate is sentenced for an offense that specifically prohibits parole release;

4. The inmate is sentenced for trafficking in controlled substances under Section 41-29-139(f) ;

5. The inmate is sentenced for a sex crime; or

6. The inmate has not served one-fourth ( 1 / 4 ) of the sentence imposed by the court.

(iv) Parole consideration as authorized by the trial court. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, any offender who has not committed a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2 and has served twenty-five percent (25%) or more of his sentence may be paroled by the State Parole Board if, after the sentencing judge or if the sentencing judge is retired, disabled or incapacitated, the senior circuit judge authorizes the offender to be eligible for parole consideration; or if the senior circuit judge must be recused, another circuit judge of the same district or a senior status judge may hear and decide the matter. A petition for parole eligibility consideration pursuant to this subparagraph (iv) shall be filed in the original criminal cause or causes, and the offender shall serve an executed copy of the petition on the District Attorney. The court may, in its discretion, require the District Attorney to respond to the petition.

(2) The State Parole Board shall, by rules and regulations, establish a method of determining a tentative parole hearing date for each eligible offender taken into the custody of the Department of Corrections. The tentative parole hearing date shall be determined within ninety (90) days after the department has assumed custody of the offender. Except as provided in Section 47-7-18 , the parole hearing date shall occur when the offender is within thirty (30) days of the month of his parole eligibility date. Any parole eligibility date shall not be earlier than as required in this section.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate shall not be eligible to receive earned time, good time or any other administrative reduction of time which shall reduce the time necessary to be served for parole eligibility as provided in subsection (1) of this section.

(4) Any inmate within forty-eight (48) months of his parole eligibility date and who meets the criteria established by the classification board shall receive priority for placement in any educational development and job-training programs that are part of his or her parole case plan. Any inmate refusing to participate in an educational development or job-training program, including, but not limited to, programs required as part of the case plan, shall be in jeopardy of noncompliance with the case plan and may be denied parole.

(5) In addition to other requirements, if an offender is convicted of a drug or driving under the influence felony, the offender must complete a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program prior to parole, or the offender shall be required to complete a postrelease drug and alcohol program as a condition of parole.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (1)(a) through (h) of this section, all other persons shall be eligible for parole after serving twenty-five percent (25%) of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court, or, if sentenced to thirty (30) years or more, after serving ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court.

(7) The Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force established in Section 47-5-6 shall develop and submit recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature annually on or before December 1st concerning issues relating to juvenile and habitual offender parole reform and to review and monitor the implementation of Chapter 479, Laws of 2021.

(8) The amendments contained in Chapter 479, Laws of 2021, shall apply retroactively from and after July 1, 1995.

(9) Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary in this section, a person who was sentenced before July 1, 2021, may be considered for parole if the person's sentence would have been parole eligible before July 1, 2021.

(10) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2027.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-940 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-940
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-940
Status: repealed

(1)(a) The Department of Corrections may contract with the Bolivar County Regional Facility for a five-year pilot program dedicated to an intensive and comprehensive alcohol and other drug treatment program for not more than two hundred fifty (250) inmates. The Bolivar County Regional Facility shall have the option of canceling the contract for the drug treatment program after giving the Department of Corrections thirty (30) days' notice of its intent to cancel. The program shall be a prison-based treatment program designed to reduce substance abuse by inmates, correct dysfunctional thinking and behavioral patterns, and prepare inmates to make a successful and crime-free readjustment to the community.

(b) The Department of Corrections shall reimburse the Bolivar County Regional Facility at the per diem rate allowed under Section 47-5-933 .

(2)(a) An inmate who is within eighteen (18) months of his earned release date or parole date may be placed in the program.

(b) The Department of Corrections shall remove any inmate within seventy-two (72) hours after being notified by the Bolivar County Regional Facility that the inmate is violent or refuses to participate in the drug treatment program.

(3) The program shall consist, but is not limited to, the following components:

(a) An assessment and placement component using a recidivism needs assessment of the inmates.

(b) An intensive and comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation component which addresses the specific drug or alcohol problem of the inmate. This component shall include relapse prevention strategies and anger management strategies.

(c) An aftercare post-release component that has a specific transition plan for each inmate. The transition plan must address specific post-release needs such as employment, housing, medical care, relapse prevention and treatment. The plan shall require personnel to assist the inmate with these needs and to assist in finding community-based programs for the inmate. The plan shall require the inmate to be tracked in at least thirty-day intervals to measure compliance with his established transition plan.

(d) A monitoring assessment of recidivism containing post-release history of substance abuse, breaches of trust, arrests, convictions, employment, community functioning, and marital and family interaction.

(4) The department shall file a report annually on the program with specific data on recidivism of inmates including the data required in subsection (3)(d).

(5) The program authorized under this section may be renewed if it meets performance requirements as may be determined by the Legislature.

(6) This section shall be repealed on July 1, 2025.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-565 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-565
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-565
Status: in_force

To carry out the provisions of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575 , the provisions of Sections 47-5-301 et seq., and 47-5-501 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972 , the corporation shall authorize the transfer and expending of monies from the Prison Industries Fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1213 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-1213
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1213
Status: in_force

The initial contract for the operation of a facility or for incarceration of inmates therein shall be for a period of not more than five (5) years with an option to renew for an additional period of two (2) years. Contracts for construction, purchase, or lease of a facility shall not exceed a term of twenty (20) years. Such contracts shall provide that the contractor shall convey the facility to the state, at the option of the state, for a total consideration of One Dollar ($1.00). Any contract for housing shall be subject to annual appropriation by the Legislature.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1121 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-1121
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1121
Status: in_force

No contract for private correctional facilities or services shall authorize, allow, or imply a delegation of the authority or responsibility of the state to a prison contractor to:

(a) Classify inmates or place inmates in less restrictive custody or more restrictive custody;

(b) Transfer an inmate, although the contractor may recommend in writing that the department transfer a particular inmate;

(c) Grant, deny, or revoke sentence credits;

(d) Recommend that the parole board either deny or grant parole, although the contractor may submit written reports that have been prepared in the ordinary course of business;

(e) Develop and implement procedures for calculating sentence credits or inmate release and parole eligibility dates;

(f) Require an inmate to work, except on department-approved projects; approve the type of work that inmates may perform; or award or withhold wages or sentence credits based on the manner in which individual inmates perform such work; or

(g) Determine inmate eligibility for furlough and work release.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-8 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-8
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-8
Status: in_force

(1) There is created the Mississippi Department of Corrections, which shall be under the policy direction of the Governor. The chief administrative officer of the department shall be the Commissioner of Corrections. Effective July 1, 2028, the commissioner shall be appointed by the Governor in the manner provided in Section 47-5-24 with the advice and consent of the Senate, not less than every four (4) years. All appointment procedures specifically provided for in Section 7-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972 , shall be fully applicable to appointments to the position of Commissioner of Corrections.

(2)(a) There shall be an Executive Deputy Commissioner who shall be directly responsible to the Commissioner of Corrections within the department who shall serve as the Commissioner of Corrections in the absence of the commissioner and shall assume any and all duties that the Commissioner of Corrections assigns, including, but not limited to, supervising all other deputy commissioners. The salary of the Executive Deputy Commissioner shall not exceed the salary of the Commissioner of Corrections.

(b) There shall be a Division of Administration and Finance within the department, which shall have as its chief administrative officer a Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance who shall be appointed by the commissioner, and shall be directly responsible to the commissioner.

(c) There shall be a Division of Community Corrections within the department, which shall have as its chief administrative officer a Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections, who shall be appointed by the commissioner, and shall be directly responsible to the commissioner. The Probation and Parole Board shall continue to exercise the authority as provided by law, but after July 1, 1976, the Division of Community Corrections shall serve as the administrative agency for the Probation and Parole Board.

(d) There shall be a Division of Workforce Development within the department, which shall have as its chief administrative officer a Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development, who shall be appointed by the commissioner, and shall be directly responsible to the commissioner.

(3) The department shall succeed to the exclusive control of all records, books, papers, equipment and supplies, and all lands, buildings and other real and personal property now or hereafter belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit or under the control of the Mississippi State Penitentiary and the Mississippi Probation and Parole Board, except the records of parole process and revocation and legal matters related thereto, and shall have the exercise and control of the use, distribution and disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes now or hereafter in possession, levied, collected or received or appropriated for the use, benefit, support and maintenance of these two (2) agencies except as otherwise provided by law, and the department shall have general supervision of all the affairs of the two (2) agencies herein named except as otherwise provided by law, and the care and conduct of all buildings and grounds, business methods and arrangements of accounts and records, the organization of the administrative plans of each institution, and all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the two (2) agencies.

(4) The commissioner may lease the lands for oil, gas, mineral exploration and other purposes, and contract with other state agencies for the proper management of lands under such leases or for the provision of other services, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid into the General Fund of the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-509 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-509
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-509
Status: in_force

The department of corrections shall at all times be responsible for the security of the facility being used for the operation or project. No offender granted privileges under the provisions of Section 47-5-501 et seq. shall be deemed to be an agent, employee, or involuntary servant of the participating industry or business while working in the correctional industries work program, or while going to and from employment or other specified areas.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-91 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-91
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-91
Status: in_force

The commissioner is authorized and directed to provide for transportation of children of employees of the Mississippi State Penitentiary both in Sunflower County and Quitman County to a public elementary or secondary school located in those counties and to pay for such transportation out of the support and maintenance fund of the department of correction. The commissioner shall further pay to any public elementary or secondary school located in said counties which said children are sent, an amount not to exceed Sixty Dollars ($60.00) per student per month as tuition, which also shall be paid out of the support and maintenance fund of the department of correction. Any student who receives benefits under this section shall not be eligible for any other educational financial state grant or loan.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1007 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-1007
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1007
Status: in_force

(1) Any participant in the intensive supervision program who engages in employment shall pay a monthly fee to the department for each month such person is enrolled in the program. The department may waive the monthly fee if the offender is a full-time student or is engaged in vocational training. Juvenile offenders shall pay a monthly fee of not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) but not more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) based on a sliding scale using the standard of need for each family that is used to calculate TANF benefits. Money received by the department from participants in the program shall be deposited into a special fund which is hereby created in the State Treasury. It shall be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of helping to defray the costs involved in administering and supervising such program. Unexpended amounts remaining in such special fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on amounts in such special fund shall be deposited to the credit of the special fund.

(2) The participant shall admit any correctional officer into his residence at any time for purposes of verifying the participant's compliance with the conditions of his detention.

(3) The participant shall make the necessary arrangements to allow for correctional officers to visit the participant's place of education or employment at any time, based upon the approval of the educational institution or employer, for the purpose of verifying the participant's compliance with the conditions of his detention.

(4) The participant shall acknowledge and participate with the approved electronic monitoring device as designated by the department at any time for the purpose of verifying the participant's compliance with the conditions of his detention.

(5) The participant shall be responsible for and shall maintain the following:

(a) A working telephone line in the participant's home;

(b) A monitoring device in the participant's home, or on the participant's person, or both; and

(c) A monitoring device in the participant's home and on the participant's person in the absence of a telephone.

(6) The participant shall obtain approval from the correctional field officer before the participant changes residence.

(7) The participant shall not commit another crime during the period of home detention ordered by the court or department.

(8) Notice shall be given to the participant that violation of the order of home detention shall subject the participant to prosecution for the crime of escape as a felony.

(9) The participant shall abide by other conditions as set by the court or the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-111 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-111
Status: in_force

The commissioner shall make suitable provision and regulations for the safe and speedy transportation of offenders from counties of their confinement to the appropriate facility of the correctional system by the sheriffs of such respective counties if such sheriffs are willing to perform such services as cheaply as the correctional system can have it done otherwise. Such transportation shall be on state account. In no instance shall the offenders be carried direct from the county jails to a correctional facility, but shall be carried to the appropriate receiving station as designated by the commissioner where the character of labor which each offender may reasonably perform shall be determined. Upon the arrival of each offender at such receiving station, the commissioner shall cause a statement to be made by the offender, giving a brief history of his life, and showing where he has resided, the names and post office addresses of his immediate relatives, and such other facts as will tend to show his past habits and character. The commissioner shall, by correspondence or otherwise, verify or disprove such statements, if practicable, and shall preserve the record and information so obtained for future reference. The commissioner shall have authority to designate such vehicles as are necessary to transport offenders.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-473 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-473
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-473
Status: repealed

(1) The Sheriffs of Rankin County, Harrison County, Lee County and Hinds County are authorized to establish a Pilot Work Release Program. No person sentenced for a crime listed in Section 97-3-2 shall be eligible for participation in the program established under this section. During the pilot phase of the program, there shall be a limit of twenty-five (25) people in the program at a time.

(2) The sheriff shall collect and maintain data which shall be shared semiannually with the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) and the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force in sortable electronic format. The first report shall be made before January 15, 2022, and in six-month intervals thereafter. The data shall include:

(a) Total number of participants at the beginning of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(b) Total number of participants at the end of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(c) Total number of participants who began the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(d) Total number of participants who successfully completed the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(e) Total number of participants who left the program in each month and reason for leaving by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(f) Total number of participants who were arrested for a new criminal offense while in the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(g) Total number of participants who were convicted of a new crime while in the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(h) Total number of participants who completed the program and were convicted of a new crime within three (3) years of completing the program;

(i) Total amount earned by participants and how the earnings were distributed in each month;

(j) Results of any initial risk and needs assessments conducted on each participant by race, gender, and offenses charged; and

(k) Any other data or information as requested by the task force.

(3) Any person who has been sentenced to confinement in jail or who has been sentenced for a felony conviction but is confined in a jail may request assignment to the work release program established under this section. Admission to the program shall be in the discretion of the sheriff. The sheriff may further authorize the offender to participate in educational or other rehabilitative programs designed to supplement his work release employment or to prepare the person for successful reentry. No offender shall be eligible for this program if he or she has more than one (1) year remaining on his or her sentence.

(4) The sheriff shall adopt and publish rules and regulations prior to accepting inmates. These rules and regulations shall at a minimum include all requirements for work release programs established pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-471 . Participating employers shall pay no less than the prevailing wage for the position and shall under no circumstance pay less than the federal minimum wage.

(5) Any offender assigned to such a program by the sheriff who, without proper authority or just cause, leaves the area to which he has been assigned to work or attend educational or other rehabilitative programs, or leaves the vehicle or route of travel involved in his or her going to or returning from such place, will be guilty of escape as provided in Section 97-9-49 . An offender who is found guilty under this section shall be ineligible for further participation in a work release program during his or her current term of confinement.

(6)(a) The offender shall maintain an account through a local financial institution and shall provide a copy of a check stub to the sheriff.

(b) The offender shall be required:

(i) To pay twenty-five percent (25%) of his or her wages after mandatory deductions for the following purposes:

(1.) To pay support of dependents or to the Mississippi Department of Human Services on behalf of dependents as may be ordered by a judge of competent jurisdiction; and

(2.) To pay any fines, restitution, or costs as ordered by the court to include any fines and fees associated with obtaining a valid driver's license upon release.

(ii) To pay fifteen percent (15%) of the offender's wages to the sheriff's department for administrative expenses to include transportation costs.

(iii) To save fifty percent (50%) of the offender's wages in the account required under paragraph (a) of this subsection. Monies under this subparagraph shall be made available to the offender upon parole or release.

(c) The offender shall have access to the remaining ten percent (10%) of the monies in his or her account to purchase incidental expenses.

(d) Any monies remaining under paragraph (a) of this subsection after all mandatory deductions are paid, shall be deposited in the inmate's account established under this subsection. Any monies remaining upon release in paragraph (c) of this subsection shall be released to the inmate.

(7) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a review of the work release program established under this section and beginning in 2024 produce an annual report due December 1 each year to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program. The PEER Committee shall seek the assistance of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force and may seek assistance from any other criminal justice experts it deems necessary during its review.

(8) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2027.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-3 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-3
Status: in_force

The plantation known as Parchman owned by the state in Sunflower and Quitman Counties, and in such other places as are now or may be hereafter owned or operated by the state for correctional purposes shall constitute the facilities of the correctional system for the custody, punishment, confinement at hard labor and reformation of all persons convicted of felony in the courts of the state and sentenced to the custody of the department, and whenever the term “penitentiary” or “state penitentiary” appears in the laws of the State of Mississippi, it shall mean any facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections which is used for the purposes described herein.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-315 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-315
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-315
Status: in_force

The articles or products manufactured or produced by penitentiary labor in accordance with the provisions of Sections 47-5-301 through 47-5-327 shall be devoted first, to fulfilling the requirements of the commissions, departments, institutions and agencies of this state which are supported in whole or in part by this state; and secondly, to supplying the political subdivisions of this state with such articles and products; and lastly to producing articles and products for sale to the public.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1401 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-1401
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1401
Status: in_force

(1) The Mississippi Department of Corrections shall establish a Youthful Offender Unit (“YOU”) at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. All youth ages seventeen (17) years of age and under and who are assigned to a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison shall be housed in the YOU, except that nothing in this section shall prohibit the department from housing a youth who is seventeen (17) years of age and under in a community work center or other environments that are less restrictive than a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison.

(2) Youth ages seventeen (17) and under as prescribed in this section shall be housed in the YOU, separate from adult inmates. No individual who is over the age of nineteen (19) shall be housed in the YOU. The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections shall have discretion to house individuals who are eighteen (18) and nineteen (19) years of age and who have been classified as vulnerable in the YOU.

(3) The Mississippi Department of Corrections shall provide youth housed at the YOU with the opportunity for the appropriate amounts of interactive, structured rehabilitative and/or educational programming, recreational and leisure activities outside of their cells on a daily basis, including weekends and holidays. The programming developed, as prescribed in this subsection shall, to the extent possible, be tailored to the developmental needs of adolescents.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-109 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-109
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-109
Status: in_force

(1) The State Department of Corrections is hereby authorized to operate a facility or facilities to be known as an inmate canteen facility or facilities, the purpose of which is to make available certain goods and other items of value for purchase by offenders confined at the State Penitentiary at Parchman, offenders confined at any other facility of the department, certain employees of the department and certain persons visiting offenders or employees. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the operation of such a facility.

(2) Any funds which may be derived from the operation of an inmate canteen facility or facilities shall be deposited into an account to be known as the Canteen Fund. For accounting purposes, certain allocated costs attributable to the operation of such a facility, and as prescribed by the rules and regulations of the board, shall be chargeable as operating costs against profits earned. These costs of operation which are chargeable shall include, but shall not be limited to, rent allocation, utility allocation and employee wages. Any net profits which may accrue from the operation of such a facility and any interest earned thereon shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1211 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-1211
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1211
Status: in_force

(1) A contract for private correctional facilities or services shall not be entered into unless the contractor has demonstrated that it has:

(a) The qualifications, experience and management personnel necessary to carry out the terms of the contract.

(b) The ability to expedite the siting, design and construction of correctional facilities.

(c) The ability to comply with applicable laws, court orders and national correctional standards.

(d) Demonstrated history of successful operation and management of other correctional facilities.

(2) A facility shall at all times comply with all federal and state laws, and all applicable court orders.

(3)(a) No contract for private incarceration shall be entered into unless the cost of the private operation, including the state's cost for monitoring the private operation, offers a cost savings of at least ten percent (10%) to the Department of Corrections for at least the same level and quality of service offered by the Department of Corrections.

(b) Beginning in 2012, and every two (2) years thereafter, the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall contract with a certified public accounting firm to establish a state inmate cost per day using financial information of the Department of Corrections for the most recently completed fiscal year. The state inmate cost per day shall be certified as required by this section. The certified cost shall be used as the basis for measuring the validity of the ten percent (10%) savings of the contractor costs.

(c) Prior to engaging a certified public accountant, the PEER Committee, in conjunction with the Department of Corrections, shall develop a current cost-based model that will serve as a basis for the report produced as authorized by this section.

(4) The rates and benefits for correctional services shall be negotiated based upon American Correction Association standards, state law and court orders.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1511 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-1511
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1511
Status: in_force

(1) To the greatest extent practicable, after accounting for security and capacity factors, the Department of Corrections shall place inmates who are parents of minor children within two hundred fifty (250) miles of their permanent address of record.

(2) The Department of Corrections shall promulgate regulations authorizing visitation of inmates who are parents of minor children with low or minimum security classifications by minor dependents, with the minimum following requirements:

(a) Opportunities for dependent children under the age of eighteen (18) to visit their incarcerated parent at least twice per week unless a correctional facility employee has a reasonable belief that the dependent child:

(i) May be harmed during visitation; or

(ii) Poses a security risk due to a gang affiliation, prior conviction or past violation of facility contraband policy.

(b) Eliminating restrictions on the number of dependent children under the age of eighteen (18) that may be permitted visitation privileges.

(c) Authorizing contact visits for inmates who are parents of minor children.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-35 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-35
Status: in_force

The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall appoint an auditor to audit the correctional system, and provide sufficient office facilities in the Jackson office, who shall be a certified public accountant or an experienced accountant, whose duty shall be to audit all accounts of the state correctional system for the purpose of reporting to the Legislative Budget Office. He shall report whether supplies and products bought and sold are handled in accordance with law and when bought on samples and specifications whether they measure up to such samples and specifications when the goods are received. The auditor shall report on the letting of bids and shall make a determination that all bids are advertised and let in accordance with law and shall render a report on same. The auditor shall be responsible to make a periodic inventory on all goods, machinery, livestock, farm produce or any other property of the correctional system and make a report thereon to the Legislative Budget Office on such terms and conditions and as often as required by the committee. The salaries and expenses of such auditor or his employees shall be paid from funds appropriated for support of the Legislature or its committees.

Such auditor shall make, at least, a monthly report to the Legislative Budget Office and the Chairman of the Corrections Committee of the Senate and the Chairman of the Penitentiary Committee in the House of Representatives.

The auditor shall attend all the meetings of the board and shall be notified by the board of all meetings or specially called meetings. The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review shall provide the auditor with a secretary and such personnel as it deems necessary.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-17 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 7-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-17
Status: in_force

(1) Within one (1) year after his admission and at such intervals thereafter as it may determine, the board shall secure and consider all pertinent information regarding each offender, except any under sentence of death or otherwise ineligible for parole, including the circumstances of his offense, his previous social history, his previous criminal record, including any records of law enforcement agencies or of a youth court regarding that offender's juvenile criminal history, his conduct, employment and attitude while in the custody of the department, the case plan created to prepare the offender for parole, and the reports of such physical and mental examinations as have been made. The board shall furnish at least three (3) months' written notice to each such offender of the date on which he is eligible for parole.

(2) Except as provided in Section 47-7-18 , the board shall require a parole-eligible offender to have a hearing as required in this chapter before the board and to be interviewed. The hearing shall be held no later than thirty (30) days prior to the month of eligibility. No application for parole of a person convicted of a capital offense shall be considered by the board unless and until notice of the filing of such application shall have been published at least once a week for two (2) weeks in a newspaper published in or having general circulation in the county in which the crime was committed. The board shall, within thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled hearing, also give notice of the filing of the application for parole to the victim of the offense for which the prisoner is incarcerated and being considered for parole or, in case the offense be homicide, a designee of the immediate family of the victim, provided the victim or designated family member has furnished in writing a current address to the board for such purpose. The victim or designated family member shall be provided an opportunity to be heard by the board before the board makes a decision regarding release on parole. The board shall consider whether any restitution ordered has been paid in full. Parole release shall, at the hearing, be ordered only for the best interest of society, not as an award of clemency; it shall not be considered to be a reduction of sentence or pardon. An offender shall be placed on parole only when arrangements have been made for his proper employment or for his maintenance and care, and when the board believes that he is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen. When the board determines that the offender will need transitional housing upon release in order to improve the likelihood of the offender becoming a law-abiding citizen, the board may parole the offender with the condition that the inmate spends no more than six (6) months in a transitional reentry center. At least fifteen (15) days prior to the release of an offender on parole, the director of records of the department shall give the written notice which is required pursuant to Section 47-5-177 . Every offender while on parole shall remain in the legal custody of the department from which he was released and shall be amenable to the orders of the board. Upon determination by the board that an offender is eligible for release by parole, notice shall also be given within at least fifteen (15) days before release, by the board to the victim of the offense or the victim's family member, as indicated above, regarding the date when the offender's release shall occur, provided a current address of the victim or the victim's family member has been furnished in writing to the board for such purpose.

(3) For any hearing where an offender has been convicted of a crime of violence, as set out under Section 97-3-2 or any offense set out under Section 47-7-3(1)(a) through (g) , the board shall, within thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled hearing, solicit the written or oral recommendations of the Attorney General, the attorney who prosecuted the case, the judge who presided over the case, the chief of police of the municipality where the offender was convicted and the sheriff of the county where the offender was convicted.

(4) The board shall, within thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled hearing, also give written or electronic notice of the filing of the application for parole to the attorney who prosecuted the case, the judge who presided over the case, the chief of police of the municipality where the offender was convicted and the sheriff of the county where the offender was convicted.

(5) If the attorney who prosecuted the case or the judge who presided over the case is not living or serving, solicitation for recommendations under subsection (3) and notice under subsection (4) shall be given to the district attorney and one of the judges of the court in which the offender was convicted.

(6) Failure to provide notice to the victim or the victim's family member of the filing of the application for parole or of any decision made by the board regarding parole shall not constitute grounds for vacating an otherwise lawful parole determination nor shall it create any right or liability, civilly or criminally, against the board or any member thereof.

(7) A letter of protest against granting an offender parole shall not be treated as the conclusive and only reason for not granting parole.

(8) The board may adopt such other rules not inconsistent with law as it may deem proper or necessary with respect to the eligibility of offenders for parole, the conduct of parole hearings, or conditions to be imposed upon parolees, including a condition that the parolee submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601 to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States. The board shall have the authority to adopt rules related to the placement of certain offenders on unsupervised parole and for the operation of transitional reentry centers. However, in no case shall an offender be placed on unsupervised parole before he has served a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the period of supervised parole.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-95 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-95
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-95
Status: in_force

The members of the executive department, except the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and judicial departments of the state and members of the Legislature, shall with advance notice to the commissioner be admitted into the correctional system or any facility thereof, and other places where offenders are kept and worked, at all proper hours, for the purpose of observing the conduct thereof, and may hold conversations with the offenders apart from all correctional system officials. Other persons may visit a correctional system facility under such rules and regulations as may be established by the commissioner who shall be liable to the state on his bond for negligence in security and in an amount to be determined by the courts.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1105 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1105
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1105
Status: in_force

(1) The commissioner is authorized to enter into contracts for a special needs correctional facility and services only as provided in Sections 47-5-1101 through 47-5-1123 .

(2) No contract shall be entered into unless it offers cost savings of at least ten percent (10%) to the department.

(3) Any inmate sentenced to the custody of the department identified as having a special need may be eligible to be incarcerated in a special needs correctional facility in which a contractor is providing correctional services.

(4) The rates and benefits for correctional services shall be negotiated by the commissioner based upon American Correction Association Standards, state law and court orders.

(5) The special needs facility or the site for a proposed facility must comply with all local zoning ordinances and regulations.

(6) The department may contract for the construction or leasing of a special needs facility. Any facility operated by a private contractor must house medium or maximum security inmates.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-138 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-138
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-138
Status: in_force

(1) The department may promulgate rules and regulations to carry out an earned time allowance program based on the good conduct and performance of an inmate. An inmate is eligible to receive an earned time allowance of one-half ( 1 / 2 ) of the period of confinement imposed by the court except those inmates excluded by law. When an inmate is committed to the custody of the department, the department shall determine a conditional earned time release date by subtracting the earned time allowance from an inmate's term of sentence. This subsection does not apply to any sentence imposed after June 30, 1995.

(2) An inmate may forfeit all or part of his earned time allowance for a serious violation of rules. No forfeiture of the earned time allowance shall be effective except upon approval of the commissioner, or his designee, and forfeited earned time may not be restored.

(3)(a) For the purposes of this subsection, “ final order ” means an order of a state or federal court that dismisses a lawsuit brought by an inmate while the inmate was in the custody of the Department of Corrections as frivolous, malicious or for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

(b) On receipt of a final order, the department shall forfeit:

(i) Sixty (60) days of an inmate's accrued earned time if the department has received one (1) final order as defined herein;

(ii) One hundred twenty (120) days of an inmate's accrued earned time if the department has received two (2) final orders as defined herein;

(iii) One hundred eighty (180) days of an inmate's accrued earned time if the department has received three (3) or more final orders as defined herein.

(c) The department may not restore earned time forfeited under this subsection.

(4) An inmate who meets the good conduct and performance requirements of the earned time allowance program may be released on his conditional earned time release date.

(5) For any sentence imposed after June 30, 1995, an inmate may receive an earned time allowance of four and one-half (4- 1 / 2 ) days for each thirty (30) days served if the department determines that the inmate has complied with the good conduct and performance requirements of the earned time allowance program. The earned time allowance under this subsection shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of an inmate's term of sentence; however, beginning July 1, 2006, no person under the age of twenty-one (21) who has committed a nonviolent offense, and who is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, shall be subject to the fifteen percent (15%) limitation for earned time allowances as described in this subsection (5).

(6) Any inmate, who is released before the expiration of his term of sentence under this section, shall be placed under earned-release supervision until the expiration of the term of sentence. The inmate shall retain inmate status and remain under the jurisdiction of the department. The period of earned-release supervision shall be conducted in the same manner as a period of supervised parole. The department shall develop rules, terms and conditions for the earned-release supervision program. The commissioner shall designate the appropriate hearing officer within the department to conduct revocation hearings for inmates violating the conditions of earned-release supervision.

(7) If the earned-release supervision is revoked, the inmate shall serve the remainder of the sentence, but the time the inmate served on earned-release supervision before revocation, shall be applied to reduce his sentence.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-101 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-101
Status: in_force

(1) There is created the Mississippi Re-Entry Council. The purpose of the council is to create effective strategies to assist former inmates in their return to the general population, to reduce the recidivism rates of inmates, to increase public safety, and to reduce budgetary constraints presently created by prison-related costs. The Re-Entry Council shall be led by a steering committee.

(2) The Re-Entry Council Steering Committee shall be composed of the following twelve (12) members, who shall serve for two-year terms:

(a) A Mississippi United States Attorney, or a designee appointed by the Governor;

(b) The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, or a designee;

(c) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi, or a designee;

(d) The director of a faith-based organization involved in re-entry programs, or a designee appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(e) The Chief Probation Officer of the United States District Courts of Mississippi, or a designee;

(f) A Mississippi United States District Judge, or a designee appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(g) The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, or a designee;

(h) The Executive Director for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, or a designee;

(i) The Executive Director for the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, or a designee;

(j) The Chairman of the Parole Board, or a designee;

(k) A person who is a former offender appointed by the Chairman of the Parole Board; and

(l) The Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, or a designee.

(3) The Re-Entry Council Steering Committee shall have the following duties:

(a) To consider development of a statewide approach to assist re-entry of former inmates into the general population of this state;

(b) To provide recommendations regarding evidence-based approaches that equip inmates with the requisite, individualized resources to promote their successful return to the general population of this state;

(c) To review reports, studies, and materials as it deems appropriate;

(d) To appoint such subcommittees as it finds proper;

(e) To study proposed legislation that seeks to resolve recidivism;

(f) To submit recommendations from its findings to the Legislature, the Governor and the Mississippi Supreme Court. In making such recommendations, the Re-entry Council Steering Committee will seek input from all branches of state and local government, governmental agencies, businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout this state;

(g) To seek and receive grants;

(h) To hire contract personnel and/or staff using any grants received; and

(i) To collaborate with the coordinator of the transitional re-entry center, under the supervision of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, which shall provide administrative support to the council.

(4) The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court shall call the first meeting of the steering committee. At its first meeting, the steering committee shall elect a chairman and vice chairman from its membership and adopt rules for transacting its business and keeping records. Officers shall serve one-year terms or until such time as a successor is elected.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-55 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-55
Status: in_force

(1) There is hereby created a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives to be known as the Parole Commission, hereinafter referred to as the “commission.” The commission shall study and make recommendations to the Legislature related to the abolition of parole, the complete and thorough classification of inmates prior to sentencing and sentencing standards.

(2) The commission shall consist of the following members:

(a) Three (3) members of the House Judiciary “B” Committee and three (3) members of the House Penitentiary Committee appointed by the Speaker.

(b) Three (3) members of the Senate Corrections Committee and three (3) members of the Senate Judiciary Committee appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

(3) The Chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee and the Chairman of the House Penitentiary Committee shall serve as co-chair of the commission.

(4) The commission shall submit its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 2, 1996.

(5) For attending meetings of the commission, members of the commission shall receive per diem as provided by Section 25-3-69 , and reimbursement of expenses as provided by Section 5-1-47 . The members of the commission shall obtain the approval of the Management Committee of the House of Representatives and the Contingent Expense Committee of the Senate for per diem and travel expense expenditures of the commission. The members of the commission shall not receive per diem or expenses while the Legislature is in session. All expenses incurred by and on behalf of the commission shall be paid from the contingency funds of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

(6) In conducting its activities pursuant to this section, the commission may elicit the support of and participation by federal, state and local agencies and interested associations, organizations and individuals. The commission may appoint an advisory committee whose members shall serve without compensation. The advisory committee may consist of judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, medical professionals, correctional personnel and any other individual or groups that the commission desires to place on the advisory committee.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-455 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-455
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-455
Status: in_force

Any county board of supervisors establishing a work program pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-469 may also establish a work camp to be used in carrying out the program, wherein inmates participating in the program may be housed.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-138.1 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-138.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-138.1
Status: in_force

(1) In addition to any other administrative reduction of sentence, an offender in trusty status as defined by the classification board of the Department of Corrections may be awarded a trusty-time allowance of thirty (30) days' reduction of sentence for each thirty (30) days of participation during any calendar month in an approved program while in trusty status, including satisfactory participation in education or instructional programs, satisfactory participation in work projects and satisfactory participation in any special incentive program.

(2) An offender in trusty status shall not be eligible for a reduction of sentence under this section if:

(a) The offender was sentenced to life imprisonment;

(b) The offender was convicted as an habitual offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 ;

(c) The offender was convicted of a sex crime;

(d) The offender has not served the mandatory time required for parole eligibility, as prescribed under Section 47-7-3 , for a conviction of robbery or attempted robbery through the display of a deadly weapon, carjacking through the display of a deadly weapon or a drive-by shooting; or

(e) The offender was convicted of trafficking in controlled substances under Section 41-29-139 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-38.1 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 7-38.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-38.1
Status: in_force

(1) The Department of Corrections shall establish technical violation centers to detain probation and parole violators revoked by the court or parole board.

(2) The department shall place an offender in a violation center for a technical violation as ordered by the board pursuant to Section 47-7-27 and the sentencing court pursuant to Section 47-7-37 .

(3) The violation centers shall be equipped to address the underlying factors that led to the offender's violation as identified based on the results of a risk and needs assessment. At a minimum each violation center shall include substance abuse services shown to reduce recidivism and a reduction in the use of illicit substances or alcohol, education programs, employment preparation and training programs and behavioral programs.

(4) As required by Section 47-5-20(b) , the department shall notify, by certified mail, each member of the board of supervisors of the county in which the violation center shall be located of the department's intent to convert an existing department facility to a technical violation center.

(5) The department shall establish rules and regulations for the implementation and operation of the technical violation centers.

(6) The Department of Corrections shall provide to the Oversight Task Force semiannually the average daily population of the technical violation centers, the number of admissions to the technical violation centers, and the average time served in the technical violation centers.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-192 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-192
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-192
Status: in_force

(1) The Commissioner of Corrections may prohibit the possession by employees or officers of the Department of Corrections or any person allowed upon the premises of a correctional facility under his jurisdiction of any item, the possession of which by offenders is prohibited or regulated.

(2) The commissioner may distinguish between classes of employees and visitors and may establish zones or designate areas or facilities where such regulations apply in his discretion and as necessary for security and orderly operation of prison facilities.

(3) The commissioner shall promulgate rules authorized by this section in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act.

(4) Any person who violates a duly enacted rule authorized by this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year or by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-37 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-37
Status: in_force

The commissioner shall employ a qualified fiscal comptroller who shall be a certified public accountant and who shall be charged with the responsibility of maintaining a modern accounting system which shall accurately reflect all fiscal transactions in such manner and in such form as shall be recommended by the State Fiscal Management Board. The commissioner shall employ such qualified bookkeepers and other clerical personnel as required to maintain the accounting system who shall devote their full time to their duties as employees of the correctional system. The fiscal comptroller shall make a monthly report to the Governor and Chairmen of Corrections Committee of the Senate and the Penitentiary Committee of the House of Representatives. The fiscal comptroller shall countersign all checks. The fiscal comptroller shall have sole responsibility for all purchases and the signing of all purchase orders issued by the correctional system. Such fiscal comptroller shall execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State of Mississippi in the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), conditioned for the satisfactory performance of the duties of his office, and the accurate accounting of any moneys and properties coming into his hands.

The commissioner or his designee shall sign all requisitions for issuance of warrant authorizing any disbursement of any sum or sums on account of the correctional system, and no money shall be paid out on any account of the correctional system except on a requisition for issuance of warrant signed by him or his designee.
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-537 — MS Code / Title 47 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-537
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-537
Status: in_force

The Secretary of State, or his designee, shall assist the Department of Corrections and the Department of Finance and Administration in the formation of the nonprofit corporation, and within sixty (60) days after the formation of the corporation, the corporation shall apply for exemption from federal tax under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 , as amended. Any program of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the State Department of Human Services shall not be classified as prison industries under the provisions Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575 .