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Adams County sheriff advances plan for regional jail

Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
John Mott Coffey
Feb 3, 2026 | 4:20 PM


NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten is asking the state to help fund a regional jail here to serve southwest Mississippi. This proposition, he said, would ease the financial burden on Adams County for building a new detention facility to replace the obsolete, dysfunctional jail that county officials have been struggling with for several years.

Patten said the construction and operation costs could be shared by the state and surrounding southwest Mississippi counties and towns also in need of new space to house inmates. Meeting Monday with Adams County supervisors, the sheriff presented them with details of the proposal. He asked them for their support in getting this done. Supervisors made no formal commitment to this.

Patten is asking the Mississippi Department of Corrections to partner with Adams County to build the detention facility on 45 acres of land outside Natchez on U.S. 61 north near  U.S. 84. The land was donated to Adams County by the owners of Jordan Carriers, the Natchez-based trucking company.
MDOC operates state prisons throughout Mississippi, including 15 regional correctional facilities. There is one in Jefferson County adjacent to Adams County.
The sheriff and supervisors have struggled for years with the deteriorating Adams County jail in downtown Natchez, but they haven’t agreed on how to fund and build a new one.
While many Adams County detainees are now incarcerated nearby in Concordia Parish’s correctional facility, some still must remain in the 51-year-old Adams County jail built in 1975.
In his written report asking state officials to support a regional jail, Patten said the old jail “is functionally obsolete, unsafe and operationally indefensible for a modern detention environment.” Problems cited include a failed fire-safety inspection, water and sewage leaks, mold, structural decay and defective cell locks.

Estimated costs vary for building a new Adams County jail. A recent projection had one costing about $40 million. Adams County supervisors have said a tax increase would likely be needed to pay for a new jail.

A state-backed regional jail in Adams County would generate funds to finance its construction with money southwest Mississippi counties and towns would pay for housing their detainees there, Patten said.

“With MDOC partnership, the state can help Adams County avoid overbuilding, contain operating costs, design a facility appropriate to regional demand and ensure a safe, efficient and legally defensible facility that meets current standards and future needs,” he said.

Patten’s request for a state-supported regional jail comes as the Mississippi Legislature is in the second month of its annual session that’s scheduled to continue until April.

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