Mississippi Imprisons Mostly Black Persons So Bryant Meets With Mostly White Task Force

Friday, Governor Phil Bryant met with a task force responsible for reviewing and possibly reforming the Mississippi Department of Corrections contracts process. This is in response to alleged corruption by the former MDOC commissioner, Chris Epps.

We know that Mississippi has one of the highest per capita incarceration rates in the world - second highest in the United States. Most of those persons incarcerated in Mississippi's prisons are disproportionately persons of color. Looking around this table, I see only one person of color seated to participate in the decision-making process.

Approximately 61 percent of Mississippi's inmates are black, yet 61 percent of the persons sitting around this table are not. It is unsettling that more persons of color are not at this meeting to help implement new policies that are impacting communities of color.

photo borrowed from Jeffrey Hess of Mississippi Public Broadcasting

Meanwhile, in Federal Court...

While the rest of the state was breathlessly following Chris Epps’ federal indictment, things in Mississippi’s Northern District Federal Court got, well, bizarre.

First, back in early November, Judge Aycock found that the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality had violated the Clean Air Act by improperly issuing permits to the Mississippi Silicon plant in Burnsville.  A December hearing was scheduled to determine if she could halt construction on the plant – for which the state of Mississippi provided over $25 million in incentives to create 200 … make that 150 … jobs.

That’s when Nucor – which has two Mississippi facilities – took particular interest in court documents showing MDEQ permitting paper pusher Bonnie Morgan was actively working to keep their company from objecting to the Mississippi Silicon plant. Perhaps irked that the state was taking extraordinary lengths to single them out, they decided to join the lawsuit against Mississippi Silicon.

Around that time, the original plaintiffs turned their sights on MDEQ.  Based on Judge Aycock’s ruling that the state had violated federal law, the plaintiffs decided to include the state of Mississippi in the lawsuit for good measure. If you’re keeping scoring, that’s one new plaintiff – and one new, seriously irritated defendant.

That’s when things got interesting: Judge Aycock recused herself from the case. No reason was given.

In other news, State Auditor Stacey Pickering decided to rebut the Forbes Magazine article calling Mississippi the most corrupt state in the nation. His comedic timing could not have been more perfect.

Rep. David Baria Calls for Legislative Hearing in Response to Epps

This is great to see movement and a more in depth questioning of what I asked last week here: 

http://cottonmouthblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/why-was-epps-re-appointed.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/14/2014

BARIA CALLS FOR LEGISLATIVE HEARING IN RESPONSE TO MDOC CORRUPTION CHARGES

JACKSON, MISS. State Representative David Baria (D-Waveland) today called for a Legislative hearing on recent charges against long-time MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps for an alleged bribery and kickback scheme dating as far back as 2007. Baria also called into question the reasoning behind Epps’ re-appointments even while he was under intense investigation by at least one state agency, according to reports.

“The conduct alleged in the indictment—bribery and kickbacks concealed as consulting services—enriched individuals at the expense of Mississippi taxpayers,” Baria, an attorney, said. “As a member of the Legislature charged with being a good steward of public resources, I have questions about what our state leaders knew and when they knew it as it relates to former Commissioner Epps.

“Why was such a powerful official who was under intense scrutiny for years allowed to remain in his position? How much state money has been wasted by the failure to stop shady business deals by an official under investigation?” Baria said.

“Sadly, the MDOC scandal is not an isolated incident of government corruption in our state. It is just the latest example of a larger trend of corruption and cronyism in Mississippi government over the past decade. From the Department of Marine Resources scandal that resulted in multiple federal convictions to a former State Representative being forced to resign for steering state contracts to his family business, there is a disturbing trend of political appointments and state contracts being used to enrich the politically well-connected,” Baria said.

“The frequent use of no-bid and single source procurement contracts similarly puts money in the pockets of the well-connected, but at exorbitant costs to the Mississippi taxpayer,” Baria said. “At a time when we are told by Republican leadership that the State does not have the money to adequately fund education and ensure that working-class Mississippians have access to healthcare, there never seems to be a shortage of funds to enrich those who feed at the trough of state government.

“In light of this trend that only continues to fester, I am asking that we in the Legislature convene hearings to investigate why former Commissioner Epps was allowed to remain in his position despite a long-pending investigation and to comprehensively review the handling of state contracts. Mississippi must get out of the business of back room deals that benefit no one but politicians and their friends and family.”

On November 6, 2014, a federal indictment was handed down against former MDOC Commissioner Christopher Epps for a scheme that allegedly enriched him by millions of dollars. It appears that Epps was reappointed to his powerful position twice while under investigation: once by former Gov. Haley Barbour in 2008 and again by Gov. Phil Bryant in 2012.

Baria said he intends to pursue his request for hearings and will be introducing legislation to rein in the lucrative no-bid contract system currently in place.

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