By Jerry Mitchell
Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting Jan 1, 2021
 (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis, File)
This is a July 12, 2002 file photo of the entrance to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, Miss. Rogelio Solis
Mississippi officials are hoping that lifting the ban on smoking inside prison will help curb the huge contraband trade that some inmates estimate may run in the millions.
âBy selling the same cigarettes that are allowed to free people, we are breaking the contraband tobacco trade, designating smoking areas outside, clearing the air inside for the majority of inmates who donât smoke, reducing inmate contraband violations, and recouping for taxpayers some of the dollars it takes to run prisons,â Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain said.
State reports death of two inmates at East Mississippi Correctional Facility (Source: Raycom images) By WLBT Digital | December 22, 2020 at 4:25 PM CST - Updated December 22 at 5:06 PM
MERIDIAN, Miss. (WLBT) - The state is reporting two inmate deaths at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Lauderdale County.
Willie Knight died on December 20, at 5:45 p.m., at a local hospital, according to a report.
The 67-year-old was serving a life sentence for homicide in Jefferson Davis County. He was sentenced on September 25, 1992.
Allen Bullock, 61, was serving a 20-year sentence for child pornography in Adams County, according to the release. He was sentenced on January 16, 2009.
35-year-old dies at East Mississippi Correctional Facility Gary Long (Source: MDOC) By WLBT Digital | December 29, 2020 at 2:45 PM CST - Updated December 29 at 2:45 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - An inmate at East Mississippi Correctional Facility died Monday, Mississippi Department of Corrections announced.
Gary Long was found on the floor unresponsive while paramedics arrived to help.
Long, 35, did not survive the CPR attempts.
Long was serving a 10-year sentence for possession with intent to manufacture in Tate County. He was sentenced in 2011.
MDOC officials say no foul play is suspected.
Copyright 2020 WLBT. All rights reserved. 76
JACKSON, Miss. ⢠An inmate was pronounced dead Monday at a privately run prison in Mississippi after an officer found him lying unresponsive on a floor.
Medical workers at East Mississippi Correctional Facility did CPR on Gary Long until paramedics arrived, according to a news release Tuesday from Management & Training Corporation, the company that operates the prison. Long, 35, was pronounced dead at the prison.
The news release said no foul play was suspected in the death, and an autopsy will be done. Long was serving a 10-year sentence for possession of precursor with intent to manufacture in Tate County. He was sentenced Sept. 16, 2011.
Mississippi: 1 inmate dies in 1 prison, 2 die in another
December 23, 2020 GMT
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Prison officials on Tuesday announced the deaths of three Mississippi inmates.
The state Department of Corrections said Terry Slater, 61, died Tuesday at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Slater was convicted of unlawful touching of a child and kidnapping a minor in Harrison County. He was sentenced to serve 12 years on May 1, 2014. An autopsy will be done.
Management & Training Corporation, a private company that runs East Mississippi Correctional Facility, said Willie Knight, 67, died Sunday at a hospital. He was serving a life sentence for murder in Jefferson Davis County. He was sentenced Sept. 25, 1992.