2018 Mississippi Code
Title 47 - Prisons and Prisoners; Probation and Parole
Chapter 5 - Correctional System
Prison Overcrowding Emergency Powers Act
§ 47-5-711. Powers of Governor upon receipt of reports
- Upon receipt of the report from the Commissioner of Corrections and the report of the State Parole Board, the Governor has the power to:
(a) Determine to be in error the determination that there had been full appropriate exercise of powers which tends to reduce prison population, in which case no state of emergency shall commence;
(b) Determine that commencement of a state of emergency would be injurious to the public good, or raises the potential of threatening the safety of the public in the state as a whole or in a particular community, in which case no state of emergency shall commence; or
(c) Determine that the reports establish the existence of the conditions for a declaration of a prison system overcrowding state of emergency as described in Section 47-5-705 and declare a state of emergency, specifying an amount of advancement of parole eligibility dates from thirty (30) to ninety (90) days.
If fourteen (14) days after the receipt of the reports to the Governor pursuant to Sections 47-5-707 and 47-5-709 the Governor has not exercised any of the powers specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this section, action under Sections 47-5-701 through 47-5-729 is considered terminated.
If the Governor exercises a power under paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, he shall state the reasons for the exercise of such power in the notification of his action to the Commissioner of Corrections and the State Parole Board.
