Mississippi Sheriff Used Inmate Labor for Household Farm

Bryan Bailey, the Mississippi sheriff whose division had been below federal investigation for torturing folks, staffed his mom’s industrial rooster farm with inmates from the county jail and used taxpayer-purchased gear to enhance the grounds, in accordance with 4 former inmates and a former deputy who mentioned they’d labored on the farm.

They mentioned inmates with particular privileges, referred to as trusties, have been repeatedly pushed to the farm — generally by Sheriff Bailey himself — to carry out numerous duties on high of their every day work duties for Rankin County.

Former trusties and others who labored on Sheriff Bailey’s household farm mentioned inmates had obtained money or meals in change for the work. The previous deputy, Christian Dedmon, who’s presently serving a federal jail sentence, mentioned he had labored on the farm whereas he was on the clock on the sheriff’s division.

Over six months, reporters for Mississippi Immediately interviewed a number of former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies and 20 former trusties. The trusties who mentioned they’d labored on the farm requested that their names not be used as a result of they feared retribution. The reporters additionally reviewed greater than 1,000 pages of county monetary information, in addition to textual content messages Mr. Dedmon despatched whereas engaged on the farm.

The reporting revealed that for many of his 13 years in workplace, Sheriff Bailey used his place as the very best paid and strongest public determine in his suburban county in ways in which financially benefited himself and his household. By way of his division’s lawyer, Sheriff Bailey declined to remark for this text.

For years, folks aware of the sheriff’s actions saved quiet, out of a way of loyalty or as a result of they feared crossing a well-liked sheriff with political connections throughout Mississippi.