Statewide News

MDOC commissioner Epps honored for leadership

Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner (MDOC) Christopher B. Epps has been honored by one of Jackson’s most historic churches for his transformative and innovative leadership.

Epps was the recipient of Mount Helm Baptist Church Anchor Community Award in Government. He and seven other recipients were honored on March 29 at the 2013 Resurrection Gala and Community Anchor Awards Banquet at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson. […]

Top Stories

Escaped inmate found dead in jail cell

An escaped Rankin County inmate was discovered dead in his jail cell one day after being found in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Officials with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) said 27-year-old Bryan Owens was found hanging from his cell late Tuesday afternoon.

MDOC Spokesperson Tara Booth said officers were serving dinner when they found Owens hanging from a sheet in his cell.

Owens was housed alone, Booth said, and he was pronounced dead at 5:09 p.m.

Owens escaped on Sunday, March 24. […]

News

Miss. has 2nd highest inmate population in the nation

As Mississippi enters the second half of the current fiscal year, the state’s prison population continues to increase with no apparent signs of abating.

During 2011, the number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities declined by 0.9 percent, from 1,613,803 to 1,598,780.

But that was not the case in Mississippi. […]

News

Inmates harvest fall crops

Enough vegetables, including broccoli, mustard and turnip greens, are being harvested now at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman to feed the 12,000-plus offenders in the three main prisons and community work centers of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).

Farming is one way the state cuts down on food cost to taxpayers, plus give hundreds of inmates something to do while serving time.

In addition to vegetables, the Mississippi Prison Agricultural Enterprises (MPAE) crop production also includes rice, wheat, soybeans and corn. There’s also a poultry facility with a capacity for 36,000 hens. […]

News

Man steals car with toddler inside

A 25-year-old man is in police custody after he allegedly stole a woman’s car with her 3-year-old child inside.

Bradly Scott Hilsabeck is being held by request of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) following an incident that occurred about 6:46 p.m., Sunday.

Lt. James Massey, of the Pascagoula Police Department, said a woman was standing at her vehicle in the Walgreen’s Parking lot in the 3800 block of Market Street when Hilsabeck reportedly pushed her away and took off in her vehicle. […]

Education

Former teacher gets 5 years for sex with student

A 42-year-old former educator will spend the next five years behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual battery in a Jackson County courtroom.

Robert Frank Griffin plead guilty before Judge Kathy King in circuit court on Friday, Nov. 30. Griffin, who is a former St. Martin teacher, admitted to having sex with a student back in 2010. […]

News

Sardis woman going to prison for forgery

A Panola County Circuit Jury took less than 15 minutes to convict a Sardis woman of forging a court document, Attorney General Jim Hood said.

Samantha Johnson, 40, a former Secretary for a Batesville law office used her position to compose a fictitious Chancery Court divorce document by forging signatures, including a Deputy Clerk’s and presenting the document to an unsuspecting client as if the document had been approved and filed, when in fact it had not.
[…]

News

Ex-educator gets 15 years for sexual battery

A former Forrest County educator can avoid prison time following his guilty plea to having sex with a high school student if he complies with a detailed list of probation requirements.

The Hattiesburg American reports Brandon Hill filed a petition to enter guilty plea to a sexual battery charge last Friday in Forrest County Circuit Court. […]

News

2 Miss. inmates wanted for murder captured in La. bar

Two Mississippi inmates suspected of fatally stabbing a 95-year-old woman after escaping from a prison were captured Tuesday in a bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, authorities said.

Richard Griffin, a supervisory inspector for the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Jackson, Miss., said information from confidential sources led authorities to the Razoo bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans., where James Robert Martin, 22, and David Bass, 26, were taken into custody by members of the task force. […]