NATCHEZ, Miss. – Sheriff Travis Patten said the Adams County jail is becoming so unsustainable that county supervisors must take decisive action soon about alternative housing for its inmates.
The sheriff and supervisors have struggled for years with the deteriorating facility, but haven’t agreed on building a new jail.
While many Adams County detainees are now incarcerated in Concordia Parish’s correctional facility, some still must remain in the 51-year-old Adams County jail.
However, with “the building deteriorating at the rate it is,” Patten said it could be close to being uninhabitable. “The building needs to go,” he said.
Meeting Monday with the Board of Supervisors, the sheriff said he plans in February to present a detailed report about the “numbers, conditions and needs” related to the jail.
Estimated costs vary for building a new 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. Supervisor Ricky Gray suggested Monday that Adams County voters should decide. “We need to put it on the ballot,” Gray said.
In other discussions Monday, Patten asked supervisors to consider supporting a statewide push to get the state Legislature to enact a law letting local law-enforcement officers use radar to catch speeders. Current law only allows speed-radar devices being used by Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol troopers with limited permission for local lawmen in selected areas of the state.
Patten noted how treacherous Adams County roads are with speeding drivers. “Our streets are deadly,” he said.
County Supervisor Ricky Gray expressed support for authorizing sheriff’s deputies to use radar. “If it slows people down to make this community safer, I’m for it,” Gray said.
Supervisor Kevin Wilson expressed qualms about what he noted has been “a hot-button topic for a long time.”
“It’s something I’m not a big fan of – more policing,” Wilson said.
Supervisor Angela Hutchins also expressed reservations about expanding the use of radar devices to curb speeding. However, she asked board attorney Scott Slover to review the written request Patten submitted to the board asking the state Legislature to enact a law authorizing sheriffs departments’ use of speed radar.
As the new year begins, Hutchins on Monday took the gavel as Adams County board president. She replaces Wilson, who’s been serving in the head chair since 2024. Wilson — the board’s only Republican — is running this year for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Fellow supervisors elected Hutchins after Supervisor Wes Middleton turned down taking the helm when nominated. Hutchins is the five-member board’s longest-serving supervisor, having been first seated in 2012.
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