Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility (TCCF) is a private prison for men,[1] authorized by the Tallahatchie County Correctional Authority and operated by the Corrections Corporation of America on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The facility is located in unincorporated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, near Tutwiler.[2][3] As of 2010 the facility serves as a county jail and also houses prisoners from California.[1]
The prison opened in March 2000. The facility is located on a 149-acre (60 ha) plot of land located along U.S. Highway 49,[1][3] 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Tutwiler, 12 miles (19 km) south of Clarksdale, and 85 miles (137 km) from Memphis International Airport.[1] 27 acres (11 ha) of the prison property are fenced and used as the prison.[1][3]
Legally the prison's capacity is 2,800 prisoners. In September 2005 the facility was accredited by the American Correctional Association.[3]
Due to a poor economic status and reliance on charity from Christian officials, around 1998 the leaders of the Town of Tutwiler decided to allow for the construction of a prison. To help facilitate the prison, the Town of Tutwiler constructed a sewage lagoon and a water tower. The State of Mississippi and Tallahatchie County paid half of the cost of training of the correctional officers at the new prison.[4] James T. Kilborn of The New York Times said that when the $35 million facility opened in 2000 with 351 prisoners, including 322 from Wisconsin, it "seemed the salvation of" Tutwiler.[5] Some area residents quit their jobs and began working as prison guards at the facility. After the prison's opening its monthly payroll was $467,000.[4]
In March and April 2001 Wisconsin moved its prisoners out of the prison, leaving about 20 to 125 prisoners per period.[5] Before the move the prison had 208 employees.[6] The prison's employees were reduced to 40 people.[5] Some people who worked at the prison were laid off. As of 2001, per year, the prison paid $600,000 to the county in property taxes and $5,350 per month to the town for water. By 2001 the total monthly payroll decreased to $80,000.[4] Kilborn said that by November 2001 the prison "left the town little better off than it ever was."[5]
In June 2003 the prison received 1,423 inmates from Alabama, and the prison hired 250 employees during that year.[7] In May 2004 36 prisoners identified as gang leaders were moved from the Guadalupe County Adult Detention Center in Seguin, Texas to TCCF; 24 were shipped on one day, with the remaining 12 on another day.[8] In July 2004 inmates from Colorado started a riot; no injuries resulted. A CCA official said that the Colorado inmates may have been trying to get themselves sent back to Colorado.[9] In October 2004 TCCF had a capacity of 1,104 prisoners. During that month the Mississippi Department of Corrections signed a contract to house 128 maximum security prisoners at TCCF.[10] In 2005 prisoners from Hawaii caused another disturbance.[11]
In 2008 the State of California announced it was moving an additional 1,300 prisoners to Tallahatchie County.[12] On October 24, 2008, the prison's 128 bed expansion was completed, increasing the prison's capacity to 2,672 prisoners; the beds were contracted to California.[13]
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