Senate Bill 2353 Summary

• Phases down operations at the State Penitentiary at Parchman over four years beginning July 1, 2024, transferring inmates, employees, and programs to other state and regional facilities while reducing the inmate population by at least 1,700 by July 1, 2026.

• Authorizes the Department of Corrections to contract with Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility at Tutwiler to house transferred inmates, with both facilities renamed "Northwest Mississippi Correctional Facility."

• Permits the Department of Corrections to lease Parchman land for agricultural, industrial, commercial, residential, or recreational uses for up to 40 years, with revenues deposited to a new Correctional Infrastructure and Inmate Housing Fund.

• Establishes the "Northwest Mississippi Facility for the Treatment and Care of Inmates with Mental Illness" at Parchman to provide mental health services to inmates from any state or regional facility, with Unit 29 (death row) remaining at Parchman.

• Expands the prison work initiative program to all state, regional, and private correctional facilities; extends automatic repealers on prison industries and earned parole eligibility programs to July 1, 2028; and revises correctional auditor duties to focus on financial monitoring and program evaluation.