Chris Epps

Christopher B. Epps (born January 25, 1961) is a federal inmate and a former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) and career employee in the state criminal justice system though he started his career as a teacher. Appointed as Commissioner in 2002 and serving until 2014, he served under three governors and was the agency's longest-serving commissioner in its history. Epps came up within the department as a 32-year career employee.^[1]

Although MDOC had been sued in two class-action suits in the 21st century on behalf of prisoners because of poor conditions, Epps was respected for his efforts to improve conditions by reducing the use of solitary confinement in Mississippi,^[2] reducing the prison population by supporting earlier parole for non-violent offenders and establishing halfway houses for newly released inmates. Beginning in the late 20th century, Mississippi contracted with for-profit prison companies to run several of its prisons as did many other states.

Epps was the only black American who was head of a state department under Governor Bryant. Epps had been elected president of the American Correctional Association in 2010. He resigned on November 5, 2014, during the federal investigation and after resigning as commissioner of the state system. It was the day before he was indicted on federal charges of bribery and kickbacks. He had received what may have been more than $2 million in bribes from Cecil McCrory, a businessman and former Mississippi Republican state house member and others, including Robert Simmons. The FBI termed the case Operation Mississippi Hustle. McCrory was most recently a consultant for Management and Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah, a major for-profit prison operating company; at the time, it had a $60 million contract in Mississippi to operate four prisons.^[3]

In February 2017, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced he had filed civil cases for damages and punitive damages against 11 corporations and individuals who had engaged in contracts with the MDOC and Epps. He said that state law required the companies and consultants to pay back the value of their contracts.^[4]