To date, at least 80 people have died in Mississippi prisons since the end of December 2019, on top of an unprecedented number of reported deaths over the summer of 2018 and 2019. The number of deaths behind bars continues to rise.

The top official of the Mississippi Department of Corrections resigns following a wave of deaths in custody from suicide, inadequate medical care, and chaos throughout the state prison system.

Governor Reeves’s State of the State Address calls for the closure of Parchman’s Unit 29 after a spate of deaths resulting from horrific living conditions within the facility. Despite this promise, Unit 29 remains open.

The state legislature introduces parole reform (Senate Bill 2123), a common-sense bill that would bring Mississippi in line with states like Texas, Utah, and Louisiana that extend parole consideration to people convicted of various offense types. The bill aimed to safely reduce the state’s dangerously high prison population.

The United States Department of Justice launches a civil rights investigation to assess whether conditions of confinement within Mississippi state prison facilities violate Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

The state legislature introduces House Bill 1024, a bill to address habitual sentencing laws that add extra years, decades, or even life imprisonment to prison sentences if a person has been convicted of crimes in the past. Research shows that Mississippi’s habitual laws directly contribute to the state’s excessively long prison sentences. Of the more than 2,600 people who have been sentenced with a habitual penalty, one-third (906 people) have been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

A high-profile lawsuit filed on behalf of 150 people incarcerated at Parchman accuses the Mississippi Department of Corrections of gross negligence.

Habitual law reform (House Bill 1024) is passed by the House and moves to be voted on by the Senate.

Mississippi’s imprisonment rate (653 people in prison per 100,000 population¹)  surpasses Oklahoma’s (625 per 100,000 population²), pushing Mississippi into the #2 spot in the country.

Parole reform (Senate Bill 2123) is passed by the Senate and moves to be voted on by the House. 

The Center for Disease Control and Johns Hopkins University release guidance for social distancing and additional recommendations to curtail the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Mississippi prisons, where basic medical care and hygiene practices were already not being met and most people live in open dorm-style settings, remain noncompliant with the public health guidance.   

MDOC reports the first COVID-related death within the state prison system. MDOC has reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 including one incarcerated man who tested positive for COVID-19 after his death and an additional four positive cases among Department staff. However, only 47 incarcerated people have been tested at this point. 

FWD.us releases a report estimating the impact of COVID-19 on Mississippi’s incarcerated population. This new model finds that without action nearly everyone in MDOC custody will contract COVID-19 and 186 people will die from the virus.

The Surgo Foundation’s “COVID-19 Vulnerability Index” ranks Mississippi as one of the top five most vulnerable states to the pandemic. Factors of vulnerability include the state’s limited healthcare resources, high rates of preexisting medical conditions, and widespread financial insecurity among residents. 

In response to the rising number of confirmed cases in state prisons, the Mississippi Center for Justice sues MDOC for failure to implement COVID-19 precautions. 

Two bills to address Mississippi’s incarceration crisis are passed through both the state House and Senate, respectively. The habitual sentencing reform bill (House Bill 1024) later died during final negotiations while the parole reform bill (Senate Bill 2123) would move to the Governor’s desk for signature. 

By the end of June 2020, the Mississippi Department of Corrections reports nearly 50 incarcerated people died in state custody since late December 2019. 

Governor Reeves vetoes the parole reform bill (Senate Bill 2123) as the coronavirus sweeps through correctional facilities across the state. The parole reform bill would have given people the chance to be considered for release by the Governor-appointed Parole Board after receiving input from crime victims and considering many other factors.

Three staff members and 229 incarcerated people report confirmed cases of COVID-19 inside the George County Regional Correctional Facility. 

Ten officers and two incarcerated people at the Stone County Regional Correctional Facility test positive for COVID-19, triggering a lockdown of the facility as the virus spreads.

185 incarcerated people test positive for COVID-19 inside the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility.

The Department of Corrections confirms at least four active cases of COVID-19 inside Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. To date, the facility has reported 94 positive cases of coronavirus within the facility.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections reports that 92 incarcerated people have died in state custody since late December 2019 and one man under state custody died after being transferred to a federal correctional facility in Colorado.

53 incarcerated people test positive for COVID-19 inside Marshall County Correctional Facility.