Saturday, June 11, 2016

Walnut Grove prison shutting down

The Mississippi Department of Corrections issued the following statement:

The Mississippi Department of Corrections plans to close the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility in Leake County in September.

The decision is based on budget constraints and the prison population.

“MDOC’s budget is lower than what we anticipated,” Commissioner Marshall Fisher said. “Pursuant to an intensive budget review and evaluation, we have determined this is the most prudent action. We have the space in our state-run prisons to house the 900 inmates at Walnut Grove.”

Fisher said MDOC has been pleased with Management & Training Corporation’s performance at Walnut Grove and the other three privately-operated prisons (Marshall County Correctional Facility, East Mississippi Correctional Facility and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility) it manages for the state.

“We look forward to continuing to work with MTC,” Fisher said. “Ending our contract for Walnut Grove is about being fiscally responsible.”

MTC employees at Walnut Grove are welcomed to apply for positions at MDOC.

MTC has managed Walnut Grove, which opened in March 2001, since 2012. The current contract cost is $14.6 million annually.

Closing the private prison is one of several tough decisions MDOC has made under Fisher’s administration within the last 18 months. Four community work centers have closed, the paid Joint State County Work Program has ended, and populations at the 15 regional jails have been reduced to contractual obligations.

“We are continually assessing MDOC’s operation,” Fisher said. “While the focus is on being fiscally responsible, public safety remains our No. 1 priorit

Posted by Kingfish at 2:38 PM

14 comments:

Lockdown said...

Look for indictments of those who profited from this private institution. As always, follow the money.

June 11, 2016 at 4:30 PM
Anonymous said...

Bennett? You out there?

June 11, 2016 at 9:15 PM
Anonymous said...

Joel Bomgar is happy

June 11, 2016 at 10:13 PM
Anonymous said...

Leake County Sheriff Greg Waggoner told The Carthaginian newspaper this week that there was an ongoing investigation which he could not comment on. A prison official confirmed there was "an ongoing investigation into personnel matters and some officials have been placed on administrative leave."

June 12, 2016 at 4:10 AM
Anonymous said...

This place has been trouble from the beginning. Good on Commissioner Fisher for shutting it down. Thanks for 585 the state should also see some cost savings.

June 12, 2016 at 9:41 AM
Anonymous said...

9:41 Yea thank goodness for HB 585. Now non violent offenders only serve 25% of their time and violent offenders serve 50%. We have a ton of offenders entering our communities and committing more crime. I guess all of Mississippi can be like Jackson.

June 12, 2016 at 2:06 PM
Anonymous said...

2:06, you display a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the state's correctional system operates. Incarceration doesn't equal lower crime. Most offenders age out of criminality. Crime is down since 585. That's why all of MS's leadership is lauded for championing that reform. But, go ahead and keep up your fearmongering.

June 12, 2016 at 5:56 PM
Anonymous said...

Don't we still have to pay the Utah company?

June 12, 2016 at 10:41 PM
Anonymous said...

Crime is down? Violent crime is way up here in Misissippi and if you don't believe that just watch the news.

June 13, 2016 at 12:28 AM
Them's The Facts said...

5:56 displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between dots, although he tries real hard to connect them for us. Incarceration, for those subjected to it, does indeed equal lower crime.

No bill, becoming law, that pampers offenders, will EVER result in a reduction of crime. It will only add one more metric for idle eggheads to track into oblivion. At that point they can be deleted from the recidivism spreadsheet.

The only way repeat offenders 'age out of criminality' is when they're laid flat out on a mortician's table.

June 13, 2016 at 7:17 AM
Anonymous said...

Good.

June 13, 2016 at 9:57 AM
Anonymous said...

@12:28 AM - "Just watch the news"?... That is your ruler for measuring crime rates? Wow. Just. Wow...

June 13, 2016 at 1:16 PM
Anonymous said...

Hood was complaining about the budget being cut to mental health facilities so where will we put the mentally "challenged". Why can't we take one prison and turn it into a facility for the criminals that also have some mental issues (which is probably most when you get down to it)?

June 13, 2016 at 2:06 PM
What We Have Heah... said...

All that aside, I believe Fisher at least owed it to the town leadership (like the mayor) to at least advise them that the facility was being closed. The mayor has been on the news several times saying they had no heads up and have not been contacted.

When one of the largest industries in the county is closing its doors, should the community and leadership learn about it from reading Jambalaya?

Fisher has always had this "because I fucking said so" mentality.

June 15, 2016 at 9:56 AM

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This is definitely a Beaver production.

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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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