Prison Population Up

By: Stan Torgerson

Updated: Wed 10:23 AM, Aug 14, 2002

Warden Aaron Jagers confirmed Tuesday the promised new prisoners for the East Mississippi Correctional Facility at Lost Gap have already begun arriving.

"We started receiving inmates last week," said Jagers. "We received 54 a day and now we are up to approximately 600. The agreement we have with the commissioner is that we would increase up to approximately 685 to 750. The new prisoners are coming from the Central Mississippi prison in Brandon in Rankin County."

All are classified as mentally challenged. Jagers said the inmate increase has created 28 new jobs at the prison.

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