Jackson Jambalaya

As a former employee this is TRUE!!! Tracey Sanders was hired under Epps administration as Commissioner

Tracy Sanders got where he is only because of his relationship to Commissioner Epps. It is WRONG. Commissioner Epps has been given free reign of the MDOC by the governor and he has ruined it. He has run off so many good employees that the MDOC is in dire straits. If the general public knew the real deal they wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I know because I work there and have for the last 20 years. It's a nightmare.

Well, why don't you tell us what the real "deal" is.

Tracey Sanders was hired with the Mississippi Department of Corrections on Aug. 18, 1994. I was appointed Commissioner Aug. 30, 2002. Therefore; any fool can see this is not against state law since he was hired and working for MDOC before I became Commissioner.

Oh, by the way he is not a Sergeant; he is a Branch Director II.
MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps

Commissioner:

Thank you for your response. There are several reasons for such a post. One of the main reasons is that such accusations float around out there. I did not state the accusation as fact but instead, framed it as a question, which is exactly what the post was and posted all relevant information available.

When one DOES read through the bio and the website and is familiar with state law, one does have to wonder exactly what is going on.

My attitude is the best way to deal with bad information is by releasing good information, which you have done. I can assure you this has been raised by more than a couple of people.

One of the nice things about the internet is that it gives someone such as yourself the opportunity to respond in an appropriate manner. In the past, the newspaper or tv station would run a similar story. If they didn't reach you for comment (what? A journalist not seek balance? Imagine.), then you would have to write a response where it would be buried in the letters to the editor section. On the internet, your response and clarification is placed right next to the post so it is almost impossible for a reader to miss it. I am also adding a note at the end of the post making the reader aware of your comment.

This also serves another purpose in that if people email me "scoops", send me documents, or take other actions that upon a first glance or initial investigation pass muster, it shows the other side and puts a stop to said internet campaigns or tactics to some degree. I think a spotlight is the best tool for dealing with such matters.

However, I must clarify a something. I said he was a sergeant because your website said he was. If you click on the link of the photo above, you will see that the caption lists him as a sergeant. On that issue, your gripe is with the person in charge of your website, not me.

The second is that the law does allow for someone to be remain employed if a relative is appointed as an agency head. However, that is stated in another completely different section of the code for public employees and agencies. The code section I cited for MDOC personnel hiring was silent on allowing someone to remain on staff if the relative was appointed to be the Commissioner. While some would say if section 47 is silent on this issue it must be controlling because it specifically covers MDOC personnel, obviously the other statute is controlling on this issue and there is no distinguishing between MDOC and regular state personnel.

Once again, thanks for the response.

"However, I must clarify a something. I said he was a sergeant because your website said he was. If you click on the link of the photo above, you will see that the caption lists him as a sergeant. On that issue, your gripe is with the person in charge of your website, not me."

In May 2005, Mr. Sanders was a Sgt. That was in May, 2005!
He is not a Sgt anymore!

Well, the website needs to be updated then.

However, one thing needs to be clarified. When promoted, did he buy everyone a round of drinks? If not, then the promotion is not valid and he is still a sergeant.

It's a newsletter. Can't really update a May 2005 issue!
Funny!

SO does that mean he didn't buy drinks and thus is still a sergeant?

Well of course he is branch director 11, he has been promoted more than once since you became Commissioner. Should that come as any surprise to anyone that you and former MDOC employee Sam Thompson made sure that Tracey Sanders was taken care of??? Lets see, I believe it was Mr. Thompson who gave Tracey the interview questions for the job in Simpson County. Oh, by the way, wasn't Mr. Thompson "let go" for sexually harrassing female employees? My, isn't that interesting.

This is not a forum for questioning Mr. Epps on when his son was hired. He issued his reply. If you want documentation of his record, there is a perfectly legal way to do it. It is by filing a Freedom of Information Act Request. Contact whoever is in charge of public relations/news releases for MDOC and he will tell you how to file such a request. I have filed several myself with various state agencies. You have to be specific in your questions, however, who served in a position for how long will generally be answered in the FOIA request.

asking very accusatory questions is going to get a post zapped if its borderline slander. Especially when there are perfectly legal and legitimate ways to get the answers to the question.

By the way, the law only says he can not hire a family member after he is appointed. If he is already an employee, he can probably employ him wherever he wants to for the most part.

Not an accusatory question at all. Just a fact.

Just curious here. Seems some have been demoted, on their own choosing, however have been deomted with lesser salaries than those who have been demoted through dicipilanry actions. Any input?

Fact not rumor: Tracey Sanders gets the Position of Lieutenant at Simpson County Community Work Center. Commander Mary Williams of that Unit complains over and over to Deputy Commissioner Lora Cole regarding Mr. Sanders inability to report to work and his inability to perform while at work. Nothing was ever done regarding her complaints. She then requested to be transferred to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. She has since left the agency.

Could be because she got fed up with sanders, his relationship to epps, and the "whole ball of wax" when employees are not reprimanded due to their relationship to the upper administration. Wasn't their another posting re: postions being created with high salaries and those who got those positions had little or no responsibilties? Seems it was on the Unit 32 blog in August.