Rogelio V. Solis/ AP file
In this Sept. 17, 2018 Associated Press file photo, Pelicia Hall, Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner speaks before a meeting of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee Fiscal Year 2020 hearing in Jackson, Miss.Â
Rogelio V. Solis
By Brittany Brown  Mississippi Today Dec 18, 2020
Rogelio V. Solis/ AP file
In this Sept. 17, 2018 Associated Press file photo, Pelicia Hall, Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner speaks before a meeting of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee Fiscal Year 2020 hearing in Jackson, Miss. Rogelio V. Solis Former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall and her administration mishandled thousands of dollars in public funds, according to a report the state auditorâs office released on Thursday.
State Auditor investigators to determine if MDOC misspending was criminal
State Auditor investigators to determine if MDOC misspending was criminal By Vanessa Pacheco | December 18, 2020 at 5:49 PM CST - Updated December 18 at 6:41 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WDAM) - Mississippi State Auditor Shad White discussed the next steps after his office released an audit report this week showing widespread misspending at the Mississippi Department of Corrections during a previous administration, violations that reach all the way to the former commissioner.
The State Auditorâs office said MDOC misspent hundreds of thousands of dollars related to payroll, purchases and travel reimbursements.
All of that not only happened under former Commissioner Pelicia Hallâs watch, but in some instances, she directly approved the measures, according to White.
Two arrested on drug warrants in Petal Whitney Hodges and Devin Hodges were arrested on warrants Thursday. (Source: Hattiesburg Police Department) By WDAM Staff | December 18, 2020 at 9:38 PM CST - Updated December 18 at 10:01 PM
PETAL, Miss. (WDAM) - Metro Narcotics Task Force members and the Mississippi Department of Corrections arrested a Petal man and woman on drug warrants Thursday.
Whitney Hodges, 33, and Devin Hodges, 30, were arrested at a home on East 8th Avenue, according to the Hattiesburg Police Department.
Whitney Hodges was arrested on an outstanding capias warrant for possession of a controlled substance.
Devin Hodges was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and a hold was placed on him through MDOC.
JACKSON ⢠Top administrators received illegal buyouts, improper travel payments and vital records were destroyed by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, according to a scathing audit released Thursday by state auditor Shad White.
The audit, requested by current MDOC commissioner Burl Cain, paints a dark picture of the agency during the three years it was under the leadership of former commissioner Pelicia Hall.
âThe most disconcerting thing for me is a lot of the misspending came from decisions made at the top of the Department of Corrections and benefitted the folks at the top,â White said. âThe largest dollar amounts went to people at the top.â
December 18, 2020 GMT
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi’s prison system used tax dollars to buy massage chairs, Himalayan salt lamps and a bedroom set and illegally paid some employees for extra work time they had accumulated, the state’s auditor said in a scathing report that found widespread misspending at the agency while it struggled to fill jobs for guards and was plagued by violence.
“It is infuriating to see such waste when more money needs to be spent on the frontline corrections officers and directly in Mississippi’s prisons,” State Auditor Shad White said in a statement.
The massage chairs and salt lamps were among thousands of dollars spent for meditation rooms at prison facilities, according to the audit released on Thursday. It looked at spending by the department’s previous leadership.