Justin Fortner Tours Parchman Penitentiary With Northwest Criminal Justice Majors

2011 Dec 7

Justin Fortner of Ashland was among the 34 Northwest Mississippi Community College criminal justice majors taking instructor Robert Cox's introduction to corrections class to get a first-hand look at Mississippi's justice system in action during a visit to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman this fall.

"I take my corrections class each semester," said Cox. "I want them to see what a state penal institution looks like from the inside. They have an opportunity to talk to inmates and see where they live. I have been taking students to Parchman every year for 39 years."

Northwest student Debra Brockington of Senatobia had the privilege of visiting the penitentiary with Cox's class last semester. "The sheer size of that property was amazing," said Brockington. "They have about 18,000 acres and have almost 1,000 employees. I knew they had all types of security risks as well as death row inmates, but I did not realize they had a huge agricultural operation. To keep some of the inmates busy, they also provide about 100,000 hours of free labor each year to adjacent cities and counties."

According to Brockington, the students learned that the institution's main mission is to maintain the confinement of offenders with a secondary goal of providing the inmates with meaningful work and some sort of self-improvement opportunity to the inmates that show a desire to improve. The farming portion raises vegetables, corn, rice and soybeans while producing over 500,000 dozen eggs from the poultry section. This prison also has about 200 inmates working in textile, metal fabrication and wood working shops. A lot of the work programs are exclusive only to Parchman and are not available at the other two state prisons.

"Northwest has allowed us to take several field trips that helped broaden our knowledge of how the Mississippi Department of Corrections operates," said Brockington. "I'm really grateful for the opportunity."

Pictured: Northwest Mississippi Community College criminal justice majors taking instructor Robert Cox's introduction to corrections class get a first-hand look at Mississippi's justice system in action when they visit the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman-a school-sponsored field trip he has been making for 39 years. (Photo submitted by Department of Corrections)