During the 2024 legislative session, Mississippi’s elected leaders passed legislation to continue parole eligibility, which incentivizes participation in programming and can help safely reduce the prison population:

• SB 2448 reauthorizes Mississippi’s current parole law with overwhelming support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, a clear recognition of the effectiveness of this data-driven policy to safely reduce the state’s high imprisonment rate.
• This victory ensures that parole can continue to be an effective tool to reunite families, strengthen the state’s workforce, and save taxpayers millions of dollars.
• In fact, since Mississippi’s current parole law went into effect in 2021, 98% of people made newly eligible for parole did not return to prison on a new sentence within the first 24 months following release.

Continuing parole is vital for Mississippi families, businesses, and communities. With nearly 90% of Mississippi voters supporting allowing people to earn their way home through the parole process, it is extremely encouraging to see Mississippi leaders follow the data and listen to residents across the state who support continuing parole eligibility.

While there is much more work to be done to address the state’s high imprisonment rate, we recognize the important strides made this session to prioritize parole. Long sentences are one of the least effective and most expensive ways to advance public safety, and increasing penalties doesn’t make us safer. Mississippi’s current parole law ensures that the majority of people incarcerated in Mississippi will have an opportunity to make their case to the parole board, helping incentivize participation in rehabilitative programming that will reduce recidivism, and safely reduce the state’s prison population.

It is important that this data-driven policy is fully implemented. We applaud Mississippi leaders for their continued commitment to safely lowering the state’s prison population and prioritizing real public safety solutions that have proven to strengthen the state’s workforce, reunite families, and benefit all Mississippians.

Recent Clips:

Magnolia Tribune: Parole eligibility law extended another three years

(Laurel Leader Call; Northside Sun)

Magnolia Tribune: Second chances make communities safer and the state’s workforce stronger

Supertalk Mississippi: ROC State Director, Scott Peyton, Talks Parole

The Marshall Project: Lawmakers Save Parole, Punt on Fixing Youth Court

Mississippi Today: Is Mississippi's parole system broken?