danielle
10-17-2003, 09:09 PM
Barbour tells county he would reopen prison
Gubernatorial candidate made promise Tuesday at the Leflore County Courthouse
Haley Barbour says that as governor he would reopen Delta Correctional Facility, the Greenwood private prison that the state shut down last year.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate made the promise Tuesday morning at the Leflore County Courthouse after his scheduled appearance at the shuttered medium-security private prison was rained out.
"I will see that the Greenwood private prison is reopened to house Mississippi convicts," Barbour told a group of reporters and law enforcement officials. "We need this facility because this facility, like the other private prisons, incarcerates state convicts at a lower cost than the state prisons."
The future of the state's corrections policy is one issue that draws a line between Barbour and his opponent, Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.
Last year, Musgrove reorganized the corrections system to put more prisoners in state-run facilities, a shift that led to Delta Correctional's closure. The measure was designed to cut costs in corrections, but not before it cost Leflore County 200 jobs.
Musgrove insists that by placing inmates in state-run facilities, his administration has the taxpayers' interests in mind. And plans for an efficient, low-cost corrections system do not include Delta Correctional Facility, says Lee Ann Mayo, a spokeswoman for the governor.
"We don't see the need to reopen Delta Correctional Facility," Mayo said. "The governor has worked very hard with commissioner (Chris) Epps to increase bed space and decrease costs."
Since 2000, the Mississippi Department of Corrections has lowered its average daily cost of housing an inmate from $42.35 to $37.88, and Musgrove maintains that keeping inmates in state prisons will save more money in the long run.
Barbour says Musgrove is wrong.
"That was the governor's claim, but it's simply not true," he said. "When the attorney general of this state took the governor to court in Clarksdale, the commissioner of corrections testified under oath that it wouldn't really save as much as the governor said."
Barbour supports moving state inmates back into private facilities. To see the benefits of returning to private prisons, he said, look at Alabama, which has transferred about 1,400 of its prisoners to a private prison outside Tutwiler.
"Alabama is paying $27.50 a day to incarcerate the same classification of convict at Tutwiler that Mississippi pays $43 a day to incarcerate at Parchman," Barbour said. "That means Alabama is paying 35 percent less than Mississippi."
Barbour blamed Musgrove's reliance on state facilities for the $67 million shortfall the Mississippi Department of Corrections now faces. The department doesn't need restructuring, Barbour said, as much as a change in policy.
Musgrove's decision to steer away from the private prisons and close Delta Correctional has ultimately hurt his support in Leflore County, said Sheriff Ricky Banks, who stood beside Barbour during Tuesday's press conference. A deal brokered by Musgrove and the Mississippi Department of Corrections allowing the county to use a portion of the prison as a new jail didn't ameliorate the state's earlier decision, Banks said.
"We respect him for that, but closing the prison down here is, as far as I'm concerned, what hurt him in this county," Bank said. "He didn't close prisons anywhere else. I don't know why he chose to close down this one here."
Barbour promised his support to Banks and other local law enforcement officers.
Referring to the slaying of Leflore County resident Connie Colleen McDonald last week, Barbour called for more coordination between state and local agencies. Ned Torrey, a convicted murderer on parole from Florida, is the only suspect in that homicide case. He was arrested last weekend in Indiana.
"Just here last week in the county, you had a parolee under the jurisdiction of Mississippi parole and probation authorities, and yet the local law enforcement didn't even know he was here," Barbour said.
Barbour also criticized Musgrove for reducing the number of state inmates in regional jails "to the legal minimum, when it costs 20-25 percent less to house state prisoners at regional jails than at Parchman."
However, Mayo points out that Musgrove and Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps have negotiated the state's contract with the regional jails, cutting the daily cost per inmate to $20 in regional jails that have more than 200 prisoners.
"Commissioner Epps is in charge of running the system, and with public safety and efficiency in mind, he is providing proper placement of inmates," Mayo said.
Gubernatorial candidate made promise Tuesday at the Leflore County Courthouse
Haley Barbour says that as governor he would reopen Delta Correctional Facility, the Greenwood private prison that the state shut down last year.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate made the promise Tuesday morning at the Leflore County Courthouse after his scheduled appearance at the shuttered medium-security private prison was rained out.
"I will see that the Greenwood private prison is reopened to house Mississippi convicts," Barbour told a group of reporters and law enforcement officials. "We need this facility because this facility, like the other private prisons, incarcerates state convicts at a lower cost than the state prisons."
The future of the state's corrections policy is one issue that draws a line between Barbour and his opponent, Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.
Last year, Musgrove reorganized the corrections system to put more prisoners in state-run facilities, a shift that led to Delta Correctional's closure. The measure was designed to cut costs in corrections, but not before it cost Leflore County 200 jobs.
Musgrove insists that by placing inmates in state-run facilities, his administration has the taxpayers' interests in mind. And plans for an efficient, low-cost corrections system do not include Delta Correctional Facility, says Lee Ann Mayo, a spokeswoman for the governor.
"We don't see the need to reopen Delta Correctional Facility," Mayo said. "The governor has worked very hard with commissioner (Chris) Epps to increase bed space and decrease costs."
Since 2000, the Mississippi Department of Corrections has lowered its average daily cost of housing an inmate from $42.35 to $37.88, and Musgrove maintains that keeping inmates in state prisons will save more money in the long run.
Barbour says Musgrove is wrong.
"That was the governor's claim, but it's simply not true," he said. "When the attorney general of this state took the governor to court in Clarksdale, the commissioner of corrections testified under oath that it wouldn't really save as much as the governor said."
Barbour supports moving state inmates back into private facilities. To see the benefits of returning to private prisons, he said, look at Alabama, which has transferred about 1,400 of its prisoners to a private prison outside Tutwiler.
"Alabama is paying $27.50 a day to incarcerate the same classification of convict at Tutwiler that Mississippi pays $43 a day to incarcerate at Parchman," Barbour said. "That means Alabama is paying 35 percent less than Mississippi."
Barbour blamed Musgrove's reliance on state facilities for the $67 million shortfall the Mississippi Department of Corrections now faces. The department doesn't need restructuring, Barbour said, as much as a change in policy.
Musgrove's decision to steer away from the private prisons and close Delta Correctional has ultimately hurt his support in Leflore County, said Sheriff Ricky Banks, who stood beside Barbour during Tuesday's press conference. A deal brokered by Musgrove and the Mississippi Department of Corrections allowing the county to use a portion of the prison as a new jail didn't ameliorate the state's earlier decision, Banks said.
"We respect him for that, but closing the prison down here is, as far as I'm concerned, what hurt him in this county," Bank said. "He didn't close prisons anywhere else. I don't know why he chose to close down this one here."
Barbour promised his support to Banks and other local law enforcement officers.
Referring to the slaying of Leflore County resident Connie Colleen McDonald last week, Barbour called for more coordination between state and local agencies. Ned Torrey, a convicted murderer on parole from Florida, is the only suspect in that homicide case. He was arrested last weekend in Indiana.
"Just here last week in the county, you had a parolee under the jurisdiction of Mississippi parole and probation authorities, and yet the local law enforcement didn't even know he was here," Barbour said.
Barbour also criticized Musgrove for reducing the number of state inmates in regional jails "to the legal minimum, when it costs 20-25 percent less to house state prisoners at regional jails than at Parchman."
However, Mayo points out that Musgrove and Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps have negotiated the state's contract with the regional jails, cutting the daily cost per inmate to $20 in regional jails that have more than 200 prisoners.
"Commissioner Epps is in charge of running the system, and with public safety and efficiency in mind, he is providing proper placement of inmates," Mayo said.