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| Mississippi Prison Closes |
| By Jackson Clarion Ledger |
| Published: 10/21/2002 |
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As Delta Correctional Facility prepared to close last week, training officer Danny Fairley took out his camera to snap one last picture. 'I want you to say one word, and don't choke when you say it - Musgrove,' Fairley said to 23 remaining workers and two inmates at the private prison. 'And that is for the record,' he told a Clarion-Ledger reporter as the others, who were eating their lunch, laughed. Such was the mood on a rainy, gray day as the last of the Corrections Corporation of America employees railed against Gov. Ronnie Musgrove for closing the prison. The facility once housed more than 800 inmates and provided jobs for about 200 people with a $5 million annual payroll. State officials said recently that state prison population projections don't warrant reopening the facility, though Mississippi Department of Corrections officials, including Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps, had said the facility would reopen in January 2004. Delta Warden Don Grant said he can't believe the state will let the 1,000-bed facility remain empty. Musgrove said Delta was closed because the state has too many prison beds and that the state's resources need to go to education and jobs. 'Philosophically, I don't believe in creating jobs based on having people commit more crimes,' Musgrove said. 'That is not the direction we should take in our state.' He said he is committed to helping Greenwood, Leflore County and the Delta. 'Closing Delta was a tough decision,' Musgrove said. 'As governor, I have to make these tough choices every day. But again, we must focus on what's important and using state resources to help educate our children is my first priority.' |
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