By John Martin, Staff Writer July 14, 2002
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4734554&BRD=1838&PAG=461&dept_id=104621&rfi=6
State will assume control of Delta Correctional, state senator says
State Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, says he met with Gov. Ronnie Musgrove
about the prison last week and the takeover is a "foregone conclusion."
Gov. Ronnie Musgrove plans to announce this week a state takeover of Delta
Correctional Facility, according to state Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood.
The plan would save jobs of employees there and open 150 beds for Leflore
County inmates, Jordan said.
He called the takeover a "forgone conclusion" after meeting with Musgrove in
Jackson Thursday.
"The state will be able to absorb the employees from the facility," Jordan
said. "According to the governor, we're going to be able to use 150 beds
from the facility."
The word comes at a time when Delta Correctional employees fear losing their
jobs and days after the county decided to build a new jail, to cost up to
$6.5 million, in the Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Park.
Neither the Governor's Office nor county officials would confirm the
possibility of an arrangement between the state and Delta Correctional. The
Governor's Office did confirm that Jordan and Musgrove met.
"We are negotiating with the private prison companies, and as soon as we
complete the negotiations a public announcement will be made,"said John
Sewell, a spokesman for the Governor's Office.
Musgrove has canceled all contracts with private prisons, saying he can save
Mississippi $6 million to $12 million. The Mississippi Department of
Corrections is working with a $19.2 million shortfall. Some legislators,
backed by a state attorney general's opinion, say the breach of contract is
illegal.
County officials aren't ready to consider that dispute settled. Chancery
Clerk Sam Abraham said that, while he has been in contact with state
leaders, he is still concerned about the fate of the employees at Delta
Correctional.
"I don't have any official word of anything at this point in time," he said
Friday. "One of my biggest concerns is the employment of the
hundred-and-some employees out there."
Jordan's announcement clashes with an MDOC order, which came in April,
barring the county from using beds at Delta Correctional. A medium security
prison, Delta Correctional does not have the capacity to house inmates
convicted of violent crimes or awaiting trial.
The county is trying to find somewhere to put its inmates since the existing
jail is overcrowded according to a federal court order.
Starting in June, the state Attorney General's Office gave the county two
years to build a new jail or face losing state inmates, which generate
revenue.
Supervisors had looked into converting the prison into a jail facility, a
transformation that would save time and money compared with building a new
jail. Even if the county were allowed to use beds there, it would have to
renovate the prison to separate misdemeanor offenders from felons, women
from men and convicts from pre-trial detainees.
Without an official word from the state, the Board of Supervisors has not
considered backing out of its intention to build a new jail.
"I'd be reluctant to comment on anything like that because nobody has
communicated that kind of message to the board," said Robert Moore,
president of the board.
At this point, the prospect of the county using Delta Correctional brings up
a number of questions. "I'm not really sure who would manage it," said
Abraham, who posed the idea to supervisors earlier this year.
"Would state manage it or would we manage it? Would we be guaranteed those
beds forever or for two years? There are a lot of questions."
And the county is running out of time to look for answers.
Still, one thing is certain.
"We don't need to lose any more jobs in this county," said Abraham.
Mississippi: CCA looses contract!!!
http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/02/07/20061936.shtml?Element_ID=20061936 Mississippi ends CCA contract for 1 prison
By GETAHN WARD Staff Writer
Corrections Corporation of America said yesterday that its
contract to manage a Mississippi prison has been terminated.
Mississippi ended the contract for the Nashville-based company to manage
the 1,016-bed Delta Correctional Facility in Greenwood, as part of a
move to return privately operated prisons in Mississippi to state control.
The termination should have little financial impact, CCA said.
Mississippi's move aside, CCA said it is renegotiating a contract with the
state to house up to 1,000 inmates at the 900-bed Wilkinson County
Correctional Facility in Woodville, which it operates. CCA said it could
provide no assurances that terms would be favorable, and the state
could terminate that contract at any time.
The company also disclosed that it sold its interest in a juvenile facility in
Dallas for $4.3 million.
