The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) is a state agency of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

that operates prisons. It has its headquarters in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

Burl Cain Nathan Burl Cain (born July 2, 1942) is the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the former warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in West Feliciana Parish, north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He worked there ...

is the commissioner.

History

In 1843 a penitentiary in four city squares in central

was developed as Mississippi's first state prison."Article 14 -- No Title":
Convicts Who Are In Demand After Serving Terms
"
Direct article link
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved on August 14, 2010.Cabana, Donald A.
The History of Capital Punishment in Mississippi: An Overview
." ''Mississippi History Now''. Mississippi Historical Society. Retrieved on August 16, 2010. The prison in Jackson was destroyed during the Civil War, and the state did not replace it for decades. Instead, the state conducted

convict leasing Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor which was practiced historically in the Southern United States, the laborers being mainly African-American men; it was ended during the 20th century. (Convict labor in general continues; f ...

, leasing prisoners to third parties for their labor. The lessees held custody of the inmates and provided their room and board, often substandard. The state made substantial amounts of money from these arrangements, which created an incentive to have minor infractions criminalized in order to arrest more people and sentence them. Increasing the number of crimes for which persons could be arrested, such as vagrancy, resulted in an increased pool of prisoners to lease out, as many could not raise enough cash to pay fines or fees that were sometimes imposed. Most prisoners were freedmen; the state used this system to extract labor from former slaves and keep them suppressed socially. The state officially changed its policy at the end of the 19th century, saying that prisoners sentenced by the State could no longer be hired or leased by third parties, effective after December 31, 1894. After ending the convict leasing system, the State of Mississippi began to acquire property to build prisons. The state bought the Rankin Farm in 1895 in Rankin County, from Jackson; it is now the site of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Later the state purchased the Oakley Farm, located in

Hinds County Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Co ...

, from Jackson. The state government purchased land in Sunflower County in January 1901, where it developed the Parchman Farm (now

Mississippi Department of Archives and History Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is a state agency. It is the official archive of the Mississippi Government. Location The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is located in Jackson. The William F. Winter Archives ...

. Retrieved on August 12, 2010. The prison properties were largely self-sufficient, raising their own crops and livestock, as well as commodity crops such as cotton for the state to sell. All the labor was by prisoners. The state Department of Corrections was established in 1976 to oversee the existing Mississippi state prisons.Oshinsky, David M.: ''Worse Than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice.'' Free Press, 1997. p. 249. Both federal and state laws were passed during various campaigns of "wars on crime" and "wars on drugs;" not only were new behaviors criminalized, but politicians supported mandatory sentencing and lengthier sentences. By the end of the 20th century, Mississippi had one of the largest state prison systems in the country, with a rising number of persons incarcerated even as crime rates fell. A disproportionate number and percentage of African Americans and other people of color have been incarcerated under these policies. In addition to the major state prisons, the state developed many community detention centers for prisoners with lower security classifications. They were provided as workers to numerous locales, in part to prepare them for reintegration into society after release. Because of the dramatic climb in the number of prisoners and demand for space, the state legislature authorized MDOC to enter into contracts with for-profit prison management companies for the construction and operation of private prisons in the state. By the early 21st century, the state had contracts with operators of six private prisons. Civil rights groups and prisoner advocates have filed class-action suits in efforts to improve prison conditions and protect prisoner rights. As a result of such a suit against Unit 32 (Death Row lockdown unit) at

Mississippi State Penitentiary Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), also known as Parchman Farm, is a maximum-security prison farm located in unincorporated Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. Occupying about of land,JFA Institute Dept of Justice, with assistance by MDOC, "Reforming Mississippi’s Prison System"
, for the Public Safety Performance Project, the Pew Center on the States; 2008 Beginning in the late 20th century, the state dealt with the rising need to incarcerate individuals by contracting with private prison management companies, who built and operated a total of six prisons for state prisoners in Mississippi.

Corrections Corporation of America CoreCivic, formerly the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. Co-founded in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas W. Beasle ...

and

Cornell Companies Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired b ...

were two early contractors; the latter was acquired by

GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's ...

in 2010, which took over its three contracts in Mississippi. Prisoners and their families made numerous complaints about conditions in these facilities, citing high rates of violence and sexual abuse, rampant drugs, lack of medical care and education, and other problems. Class action suits were filed by the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

and the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...

National Prison Project against two private facilities with the most egregious conditions: they filed suit against Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in 2010. This case was settled in federal court in 2012, requiring the state to quickly transfer youth offenders to a state-run facility to be operated according to juvenile justice standards. They were transferred to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. In addition, the state was prohibited from using solitary confinement for any youthful offender. WGCF was converted to be used for adults only. MDOC ended its contract with GEO Group, awarding a 10-year contract to

Management and Training Corporation Management & Training Corporation or MTC is a contractor that manages private prisons and United States Job Corps centers, based in Centerville, Utah. MTC's core businesses are corrections, education and training, MTC medical, and economic & soci ...

for Walnut Grove and two other private facilities, effective July 1, 2012. The court supervision of conditions at WGCF was extended because of two prison riots in 2014. Due to declining need, the state closed the prison in September 2016. The ACLU and SPLC filed suit against the

East Mississippi Correctional Facility East Mississippi Correctional Facility is a men's prison located in unincorporated Lauderdale County, Mississippi, near Meridian. It is about 90 miles east of the capital, Jackson. Opened in 1999, the special needs prison is intended to provide ...

, established for prisoners with serious mental illness, in 2013. The class-action suit at

is proceeding; the court affirmed the status of the plaintiffs in 2015.

Sentencing, control and parole reforms

At the same time, the state was seeking to reduce the prison population. Studies had found that minor reductions in length of sentence did not affect the rate of

recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

, showing that prisoners could be paroled earlier for certain types of crimes without affecting public safety.Institute, Dept of Justice, "Reforming Mississippi’s Prison System"
pp. 3-4 In 2008, the state passed SB 2136, to enable non-violent prisoners to again be eligible for parole after they had served 25% of their sentence. The new law was estimated to affect "approximately 4,500 inmates, or about 25% of the 22,800 total population. A unique feature of SB 2136 was that it was applied retroactively in order to have an immediate impact on the prison population and to ensure equity in the sentencing process. About 3,000 inmates or 12% of the total population had already met their time-served requirement and were immediately eligible for parole consideration." To aid prison officials and parole boards in assessing candidates, the Bureau of Justice Assistance developed a science-based risk assessment instrument to apply. By August 2009, some 3100 prisoners had been paroled from prison. The Board's use of the new risk assessment instrument resulted in their having a higher rate of parole approval. The parole revocation rate has not changed, and in the first year, only 5 of the people returned to prison for new crimes, a rate of 0.2% that was a fraction of the national rate of 10.5%.Institute, Dept of Justice, "Reforming Mississippi’s Prison System"
p. 5 Legislative amendments have been passed in 2009 increased the ability of MDOC to reduce the number of prisoners; one of these authorized the department to place most "persons convicted of most drug crimes to be placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring.

Closing of private facilities

Both the state and private prison operators have had difficulty maintaining staffing in prisons because of low wages and high turnover. By 2011, MDOC operated below capacity due to the success of its efforts to reduce the prison population. As of 2011, the state prisons were below capacity by more than 2,000 spaces. With private prisons included, that was about 4,000 beds below capacity. MDOC closed the

Delta Correctional Facility Delta Correctional Facility was a Mississippi Department of Corrections state prison for men, one of opened in the late 20th century and early 21st century in the state, and operated by for-profit corporations. Located in Greenwood, Leflore Count ...

in January 2012, and Walnut Grove Correctional Facility in September 2016. By early 2017 Mississippi had no state prisoners at the for-profit

Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility (TCCF) is a private prison for men,CCA had contracts with California and other states to house their prisoners at this privately owned site. By March 2017, MDOC was using only three privately run prisons for its inmates. In early 2017, Interim Commissioner Pelicia Hall (appointed in March 2017 as Commissioner) conducted raids for contraband at these private prisons, collecting much material. She is determined to reduce the traffic in contraband, which contributes to corruption in the prisons, including among the guards and staff.

Operation Mississippi Hustle

As a result of a five-year statewide investigation known as Operation Mississippi Hustle, in November 2014 the federal Department of Justice announced indictments of former Corrections Commissioner

Chris Epps Christopher B. Epps (born January 25, 1961) is a Federal inmate and a former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) and career employee in the state criminal justice system though he started his career as a teacher. Appoi ...

(who resigned the day before) and Cecil B. McCrory, a businessman and former Republican state legislator, on 49 counts of corruption, bribery and kickbacks. Newspaper reports have indicated widespread corruption related to contracts for prison services, and within the prisons themselves. This includes millions paid in bribes related to awarding of state contracts, drugs and other contraband being smuggled into facilities by the guards, sex between staff and inmates, and other abuses. Epps was charged with receiving $1.47 million in bribes and kickbacks, related to $800 million worth of state contracts made over about a decade. Both Epps and McCrory pleaded guilty in 2015 and cooperated with investigators on identifying others responsible. Eight other indictments followed, with one waived and more expected. Defendants include consultant and businessman Robert Simmons, who was sentenced to 87 months; former mayor of Walnut Grove, Mayor William Grady Sims, who was prosecuted earlier and sentenced to 7 months; former legislator and Republican businessman Sam Waggoner, former Harrison County Supervisor William Martin, who committed suicide before arraignment; former Alcorn County warden and Democratic state Senator Irb Benjamin, Dr. Carl Reddix, Terese Malone, Mark Longoria, and Guy "Butch" Evans. On February 8, 2017, Mississippi Attorney General, Democrat

Jim Hood James Matthew Hood (born May 15, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 39th Attorney General of Mississippi from 2004 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in 2003, defeating Republican Scott Ne ...

, announced he had filed civil cases against 15 corporations (including those that had operated Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility and had provided other services to prisons) and numerous individuals who had engaged in contracts with the MDOC and Epps, seeking damages and punitive damages. Hood said,

These individuals and corporations that benefited by stealing from taxpayers must not only pay the state's losses, but state law requires that they must also forfeit and return the entire amount of the contracts paid by the state. We are also seeking punitive damages to punish these conspirators and to deter those who might consider giving or receiving kickbacks in the future." Besides Teresa Malone and Carl Reddix, the defendants included Michael Reddix; Andrew Jenkins; Management & Training Corporation; The
GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's ...
, Inc.;
Cornell Companies Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired b ...
, Inc.;
Wexford Health Sources Wexford Health Sources, Inc. is a healthcare services company headquartered in Foster Plaza Two in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.Twedt, Steve.Wexford Health works with inmates" ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. Sunday April 12, 2009. Retrieve ...
, Inc.; The Bantry Group Corporation; AdminPros, L.L.C.; CGL Facility Management, LLC; Mississippi Correctional Management, Inc.; Branan Medical Corporation; Drug Testing Corporation; Global Tel*Link Corporation; Health Assurance, LLC; Keefe Commissary Network, LLC of St. Louis;
Sentinel Offender Services Sentinel Offender Services is a criminal justice services and original equipment manufacturing company based in Anaheim, California. The company was founded in 1993 by Robert Contestabile, who is currently the Chairman. Tom Flies is Chief Execut ...
, L.L.C. and AJA Management & Technical Services, Inc.Mississippi AG files lawsuits in Epps bribery case
''
The Clarion-Ledger ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating d ...
'', Jimmie E. Gates, February 8, 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.

Commissioner appointments

In March 2017, Pelicia E. Hall was appointed by Governor

Phil Bryant Dewey Phillip Bryant (born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 31st lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 2008 to 2012 and ...

as Commissioner; she is the first woman to hold this position. An attorney, she has extensive criminal justice and private law experience. In 2020

became the commissioner.

Divisions

* Division of Institutions: Operates prisons ** Agricultural Enterprises: Oversees agricultural operations at the

Mississippi State Penitentiary Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), also known as Parchman Farm, is a maximum-security prison farm located in unincorporated Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. Occupying about of land,South Mississippi Correctional Institution (SMCI). The majority of MDOC's farming occurs at MSP. ** Division of Classification & Offender Services: Assigns prisoners to security classificationsDivision of Classification & Offender Services
" Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on October 19, 2010. * Community Corrections Division: Supervises parole and probation

Operations

Before going to their assigned facilities and after their transfer from county jails, most prison inmates are sent to the Reception & Classification Center (R&C) in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Rankin County to be classified according to behavior level and assessed for treatment. The classification process takes around 30 days. Most male inmates who are sentenced to MDOC by the courts or who are returned to MDOC as parole violators, probation violators, intensive supervision program (ISP) (

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if al ...

) violators, earned release supervision (ERS) violators, and suspension violators are placed at R&C. All women inmates who are sentenced to MDOC by the courts or who are returned to MDOC as parole violators, probation violators, ISP violators, ERS violators, and suspension violators are placed in 1A or 2B at CMCF. Male death row inmates transferred from county jails immediately are sent to the

Death Row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ...

In November 2014, media reports indicated the department housed each prisoner at a cost of about $42.12 per day, one of the lowest costs in the nation.

Health care

The system's chief medical officer is Gloria Perry. She has been in that position since 2008. She is certified in family-practice. MDOC contracts with Centurion of Mississippi, LLC. Previously, MDOC contracted with Wexford Health Sources, Inc.,MDOC Healthcare Services
" Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on July 24, 2010. headquartered in

Green Tree, Pennsylvania Green Tree is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 4,432 at the 2010 census. The town is the hometown of U.S. Congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Pa ...

, near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Wexford provides medical services to inmates at state-operated facilities. Each privately operated facility has its own contracted medical services provider. Wexford was awarded the $95 million MDOC contract in 2006. Previously MDOC contracted with Correctional Medical Services (CMS),Medical Services
" Mississippi Department of Corrections. December 21, 2003. Retrieved on August 14, 2010. headquartered in

Creve Coeur, Missouri Creve Coeur is a city located in mid St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, a part of Greater St. Louis. Its population was 18,834 at the 2020 census. Creve Coeur borders and shares a ZIP code (63141) with the neighboring city of Town and ...

, near St. Louis. CMS's contract began on July 1, 2003.

Intensive Supervision Program

MDOC's Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) is the authority's

program.

Death row

MDOC performs executions at the

Conjugal and family visits

The Mississippi state prison system ended conjugal visits in February 2014. The commissioner at the time,

, argued that the possibility of creating single parents and the expenses were the reasons why conjugal visits ended.Sanburn, Josh.
Mississippi Ending Conjugal Visits for Prisoners
" ''

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

''. January 13, 2014. Retrieved on April 19, 2014.

Employment programs

Previously MDOC contracted prisoners to local and county governments, in essence paying a subsidy to the jurisdictions to manage the prisoners. The prisoners, often classified as trusties, would get reductions in their sentences in exchange for doing work. On April 30, 2015 MDOC stated that it would end this program and save $3.2 million per year. Many jurisdictions have complained they will be unable to replace the labor of the prisoners.

Costs of state prisons

In 2014, media reported that Commissioner

had said that the department housed each prisoner at a cost of about $42.12 per day, one of the lowest costs in the nation. He also noted that the state's recidivism rate was among the "lowest in the nation." But, the state spends more than $15,000 annually for each prisoner, about three times what it spends for each school student. In 2013, the agency budget for prisons was about $389 million, according to the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

. Journalist Jerry Mitchell explored the consensus by experts who have found that the state could keep more people out of prison by stressing good education from a young age, and recommended improving schools in poor rural areas rather than building prisons. African Americans are incarcerated at a rate three times that of whites in the state but could be helped by good education from a young age."Mississippi 'addicted to incarceration'"
Jerry Mitchell, 25 October 2014, ''The Clarion-Ledger'' Prison guards start at just twelve dollars an hour. They receive just six week's training.

Recidivism

Nationwide, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (of the US Department of Justice) says that about three-quarters of those released from prison are arrested again in the next five years. That figure spans a wide range of actions for which a person may be arrested. Mississippi measures its recidivism differently: whether a person released from prison is convicted of another crime and imprisoned within three years. Based on those criteria, its recidivism rate is about 33%. Its parolees have had considerable success after the state officials adopted a risk assessment instrument in 2009, to evaluate which candidates for parole under a new law designed to reduce the prison population of persons convicted of non-violent crime.

Demographics

As of September 1, 2008, the Mississippi Department of Corrections has 26,274 inmates in its custody. 17,677 (67.28%) are Black, 8,269 (31.47%) are White, 236 (0.9%) are Hispanic, 43 (.16%) are Asian, 27 (.01%) are Native American, and 22 (.06%) have that data unavailable. Of the 23,692 male inmates, 16,366 (69.08%) are Black, 7,030 (29.67%) are White, 222 (.94%) are Hispanic, 35 (.15%) are Asian, 23 (.1%) are Native American, and 16 (.07%) have that data unavailable. Of the 2,582 female inmates, 1,311 (50.77%) are Black, 1,239 (47.99%) are White, 14 (.54%) are Hispanic, 8 (.31%) are Asian, 4 (.15%) are Native American, and 6 (.23%) have that data unavailable.

Facilities

State prisons

These were constructed in

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

s: * Central Mississippi Correctional Facility ( Rankin County) *

Joint county/regional

Private prisons

Since 2012, MDOC has reduced the number of prisoners it has in private prisons due to an overall reduction of prisoners in the state, aided by changes to sentencing and parole laws in 2008 and 2014. As of March 2017, three private prisons hold Mississippi prisoners: *

(EMCF) -(unincorporated Lauderdale County) - Operated since July 2012 on a 10-year contract by

(MTC), which replaced

. East Mississippi is the state's main "special needs" facility (for inmates with disabilities and/or severe mental illness). * Marshall County Correctional Facility (MCCF)- Operated by

until June 2012; now under 10-yr contract to MTC. *

Wilkinson County Correctional Center Wilkinson County Correctional Center (WCCC) is a private prison in unincorporated Wilkinson County, Mississippi, managed since July 2013 by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) on a five-year contract with the Mississippi Department of Corre ...

(WCCC) - Operated by CCA through early 2013; since 2013 by MTC. The remaining three are closed for MDOC operations. *

( Greenwood) - Opened, formerly operated by

(CCA) - Facility suspended January 2012 *

Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility (TCCF) is a private prison for men,Tallahatchie County) - Opened, operated by

(CCA); as of January 2017 holding no Mississippi inmates, but prisoners from California. *

Walnut Grove Correctional Facility The Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, formerly the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF), was operated as a for-profit state-owned prison in Walnut Grove, Mississippi from 1996 to 2016. Constructed beginning in 1990, it was expand ...

Walnut Grove, (formerly the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility) - Opened 2001 and operated by

Cornell Corrections Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired b ...

2003–2010, then

until June 2012. Operated as an adult facility under 10-yr contract by MTC July 2012-September 16, 2016, when it was closed.

Prisoner rules

Men may have hair that is not more than in length. Men may have beards and goatees up to in length.

Prisoner uniforms

Most prisoner outfits are striped. As of 1997, green stripes indicate lower security prisoners, black stripes indicate prisoners with a level higher than the ones with green stripes, and red stripes indicate high security prisoners. Reception and Classification Center inmates wear yellow jumpsuits. Condemned prisoners are required to wear red jumpsuits.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, six officers have died in the line of duty.

Media campaigns

The New Jersey Department of Corrections, the state prison system of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, established the "Be Smart Choose Freedom" television advertisement campaign in 2005. The State of New Jersey produced 30–60 second

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

s to warn state residents against going to prison. MDOC decided to start its own "Be Smart Choose Freedom" campaign and use the commercials that aired in New Jersey.Be Smart. Choose Freedom.
" Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 12, 2010.

References

External links

Mississippi Department of CorrectionsMississippi Prison IndustriesMississippi Parole Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mississippi Department Of Corrections State law enforcement agencies of Mississippi State corrections departments of the United States Lists of United States state prisons 1976 establishments in Mississippi