Sunflower Supervisors have unanimously approved a resolution opposing a move in the Legislature to close the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman to all but ailing, mentally ill and elderly inmates.
They took the action at the urging of State Sen. Sarita Simmons of Cleveland whose district includes Sunflower County. Sen. Simmons made the request at a meeting last week with the Sunflower County Board. Also attending was her father, Central District Highway Commissioner Willie Simmons of Cleveland, who emphasized he was appearing solely as a private “citizen of the Delta” opposed to the plan.
Senate Bill 2353 calling for the changes failed to get out of committee shortly after supervisors approved the resolution. Because the issue likely will arise again, they went ahead and formally issued it so Sunflower County will be on the record opposing scaling down Parchman operations.
According to Sen. Simmons, the bill would phase out housing of most prisoners over a period of time and move them to private prisons or other facilities. Most of them would likely be housed at the private prison in Tallahatchie County which would be paid some $14 million to do so.
According to the legislation, the state would retain the inmate hospital at Parchman and would add a mental health facility and another unit to house aging inmates. It would require the State Department of Corrections to draft a transition plan by Jan. 1, 2025 that would make the changes in phases over four years.
Sen. Simmons said the plan also would put the more than 27,000 acres of prison land in a trust and would make it available for a wide range of purposes, including agricultural, commercial, industrial and residential development.
The prison is the county’s largest employer with some 239 people working there. Both Simmonses said that phasing out the prison would have a significant economic impact on Sunflower and surrounding counties, where the bulk of Parchman’s employees live.
They added that the $14 million proposed to be paid to a private firm could be directed towards improvements at Parchman, which in the long run would be a more effective use of state resources.
The discussion also touched on past downsizing of the prison, which has whittled inmate population down to around 2,500 with a subsequent major loss in employees.
Discussion revealed that Mississippi already has spent $50 million on upgrading facilities there, resulting in significant improvement of conditions. A state budget oversight committee has recommended an additional expenditure of $20 million-$30 million to complete renovations. The proposed cost of privatization could be spent at Parchman instead, where facilities already exist and state-owned land is available for expansion.
The resolution passed by the supervisors echoes these concerns. The resolution states the board’s “unconditional opposition” to the bill or “any similar legislation which would have the effect of downsizing or closing any portion of the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.”
During the recent discussion, supervisors also spoke out against proposed legislation to consolidate many hospitals in the Delta (Sunflower County’s hospitals are not included) and to merge three of the state’s eight universities. No action was taken on these issues, however.
