Wednesday, September 23, 2020

MDOC Wants to Improve Re-Entry

The Mississippi Department of Corrections issued the following statement. 

Meeting at the Mississippi Supreme Court building, judges, district attorneys, law enforcement officials, and new leadership at the Mississippi Department of Corrections converged to find better ways to return prisoners to society once they’ve completed their sentences. 


At 17,326 inmates, Mississippi’s prison population is at a two-year low.

“To see a constant decline,” said Barton Norfleet of PEER to the Mississippi Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force, “we really need to focus on intervention programs, reviewing sentencing policies and others.”

Therefore, re-entry is on the forefront of the task force’s recommendations to the 2021 Legislature.

“We know the solution is moral rehabilitation and we know how to get there,” Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain said. “In our re-entry model, we have a real need for mental health programs to help inmates break drug addictions.”

The task force was established after comprehensive criminal justice reform was passed by the 2014 Mississippi Legislature to help former inmates transition back into society among other things.  According to the National Institute of Justice, a third of prisoners released in Mississippi return within three years but, in five years, the state’s recidivism rate jumps to 77 percent.

“Throughout my time serving the public, providing for the safety of our citizens and the human dignity of all within the system through criminal justice reform has been one of my top priorities,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “We still have more work to do, and that starts with improving our recidivism rate. The current rate in Mississippi is unacceptable. This criminal justice task force will move our re-entry program in the right direction so inmates are equipped to succeed and thrive out in society.”

The task force, which met Thursday in Jackson, discussed beefing up measures to allow ex-prisoners to re-acquire the tools they need to succeed on the outside, starting with drivers’ licenses and Social Security cards. “I’m just begging for a state I.D. (for inmates),” said Mississippi Parole Board Chairman Steve Pickett.

Commissioner Cain agreed, adding, “You’ve got to have an I.D. to get a job or you have to rob somebody to get a grubstake and then we’ve forced them to come right back to us.  We have to equip them.  Re-entry is the part that’s missing.”

Judge William “Rusty” Knight, a 10-year Re-entry Court judge in Louisiana invited by Commissioner Cain, told the task force, “Job vocational training, substance abuse programs, and mental health treatment are all desperately needed.  No, there won’t be a 100 percent success rate but we can change lives.  Recidivism in Louisiana’s Corrections Re-entry program is less than 10 percent.”

The commissioner also invited to speak three former inmates who completed Louisiana’s moral rehabilitation programs at Angola State Prison and graduated college-accredited New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  Ronald Olivier, Sidney Deloch, and George King are now chaplains at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.

“Together,” said Commissioner Cain, “these guys have done 112 years in prison. We say we can change prisoners and they can re-enter society and these guys prove it.  And we are bringing these same programs to Parchman, CMCF (Central Mississippi Correctional Facility) and SMCI (South Mississippi Correctional Institution) to both educate minds and change hearts.  This, I believe, is Mississippi’s best hope for real prison reform.” 

Cain commended task force Chairman Judge Prentiss Harrell of the 15th District Court, saying, “Judge Harrell has a passion for this Re-entry Court.  He wanted to be the first to start with moral rehabilitation programs.  This is an historic time in Mississippi, and that’s why I’m here.”

Judge Harrell replied, “Commissioner Cain’s optimism is a breath of fresh air in this age of handwringing and the sky-is-falling mentality.  He can and has changed lives and accomplished something.”

In addition, the task force discussed initiatives to allow some portion of Mississippi’s geriatric inmate population to be eligible for early release.  “There is a clear misconnection,” said State Defender André de Gruy, “on what is geriatric parole and what is compassionate release. Not all old people are sick and not all sick people are old.”

Finally, Commissioner Cain is moving forward with Mississippi’s Moral Rehabilitation program by building non-denominational churches at Parchman to give all prisoners faith-based options. Cain is not using taxpayer funds but rather is earmarking private donations to build the churches while training inmates for construction jobs. 

“My goal,” said the Commissioner, “is to christen the first church built at Parchman’s Unit 30 on Easter morning. Easter is about renewal, and we are renewing Mississippi’s prisons based on compassion, education, and forgiveness.”

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just hire more police to treat their mental health issues. Cops are the best listeners. Defund the healthcare. Abolish hospitals.

Anonymous said...

I have a plan for rebuilding your house after it burns. My wife seems to think my time would be better spent developing a plan to prevent the house from burning in the first place. I don't know. What do you think?

Anonymous said...

Second incarceration for a felony within 2 years the penalty should be an immediate trip to the chair. Problem(s) solved in all sectors.

Anonymous said...

@7:52, let’s hear your plan for ending crime.

Anonymous said...

@7;52 Why not both?

Anonymous said...

"At 17,326 inmates, Mississippi’s prison population is at a two-year low."

Well hell yes, it is. Catch and release has certainly contributed to that, I'm sure. This crap reads like Mad Magazine.

Anonymous said...

I'm well on board with improving re-entry into society. The problem I see is are the inmates on board as well? In regards to MH in this state, as well as the country, we have people trained in MH who really don't want to do their jobs as expected. We need them in the field, yet they will not enter the field, but rather stay safe in their offices and hospitals. The system to treat is currently patient based with many patients leaving treatment ASAP, not to return which ends up with sometimes tragic results.

Anonymous said...


So you're going to offer classes in how to be more successful at armed robbery, car jackings, drug sales and homicides?

Anonymous said...

"We know the solution is moral rehabilitation". One of the enlightened statements in this article. It doesn't matter if you teach a thief plumbing, then he'll just be a plumber that steals, if he even bothers to get work. Glad to see they're looking to Angola as an example, Chuck Colson's prison ministry had a lot to do with their success.

Anonymous said...

If it werent for racism, these people could be placed in executive training programs like the white prisoners get. Why must a black man be a plumber.

Anonymous said...

My friend's an Asian plumber and is very comfortable. What did a plumber do to you?

Anonymous said...

12:04 is just another idiot trying to talk about something her has absolutely no knowledge of.

Even if the prison system had the so called executive training you talk about, 99.3% of the prisoners you moan about couldn't make the cut, due to the failure to comprehend the use of the three needed skills to succeed at anything.....Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

Then of course, if they'd attempted to gain those skills in school, they wouldn't be in prison in the first place.

Anonymous said...

I remember when re-entry meant splash-down and swift-boats.

Doesn't re-entry into the workforce require that one was there earlier?

Whut We Have Heahh said...

“To see a constant decline,” said Barton Norfleet of PEER to the Mississippi Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force, “we really need to focus on intervention programs, reviewing sentencing policies and others.”

I ain't got no fancy name like Barton Norfleet (wasn't he in the fourth James Bond movie?), but, 'to see a constant decline' in incarceration, I think we must see a decline in crime. I may be wrong, now, but that's my take on stuff.


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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!!!

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