Mississippi Corrections Release Scope
The Mississippi Department of Corrections operates a statewide prison and community-corrections system. It is the source for people committed to Mississippi state custody, including people convicted in Lincoln County who may be housed at an institution elsewhere. Research of the official facility information found no MDOC state prison physically located in Lincoln County. Geography must not limit the search.
MDOC records can follow a person from institutional custody to parole, Earned Release Supervision, another community status, or discharge. The county sheriff's short Released view serves a different system. It records departures from the Lincoln County Jail and may capture a transfer into state control, but it is not the statewide state-prison release database. A state sentence must be checked through MDOC.
Release and discharge are also distinct. Parole and ERS can place a person in the community while state jurisdiction continues. Discharge ordinarily identifies the recorded end of the sentence or MDOC authority shown by the final document. Keep the exact agency label rather than translating each status into a broad claim that the person is free.
Note: A Lincoln County conviction can lead to placement anywhere in Mississippi, so a local facility search can miss the state record.
MDOC Offender Release Search
The official MDOC inmate search commonly accepts an MDOC ID or name. An MDOC number is the stronger key because it separates people with similar names and follows the state record through location changes. When only a name is known, compare date of birth, physical description, photograph, county of conviction, sentence date, and offense entries.
- Search by MDOC number when available; otherwise enter the person's full name.
- Open the matching detail and verify identity before reading the status.
- Confirm Lincoln County as the county of conviction where that fact should match.
- Read current location, unit, location-change date, and sentence entries together.
- Preserve the exact label on Tentative Release Date, ERS, parole, or discharge information.
- Request the offender time sheet or final discharge record when the public detail is incomplete.
A future Tentative Release Date beside an active facility location describes current state custody and a forecast. It is not proof that release happened. For an already released person, a public detail may not expose a full event history. MDOC Records can identify releasable final documents.
MDOC Release Record Fields
The public detail layout can carry identity, location, sentence, and date information. Not every record shows every field, and blank values should not be treated as zero dates or evidence of discharge. Older offender data sheets can contain more status and supervision fields than the current public page.
| Field | How to read it |
|---|---|
| MDOC ID and name | The primary state-record match for the person. |
| Photograph and identity details | Supporting checks such as birth date, race, sex, and physical description. |
| Entry date | The recorded start point shown for MDOC entry, not a release date. |
| Current location and unit | The displayed state placement or status context. |
| County of conviction | The county tied to the sentence, which can be Lincoln while placement is elsewhere. |
| Sentence information | Offense, sentence date, length, number of sentences, and total term details. |
| Tentative Release Date | MDOC's current forecast, subject to computation and custody changes. |
| ERS, parole, or status fields | Separate eligibility, supervision, set-off, or custody labels where displayed. |
County of conviction is not current location. A Lincoln County sentence may be served anywhere in the state. Likewise, an empty physical location cannot by itself establish discharge. Read the status, sentence dates, and any community-corrections information together.
MDOC Tentative Release Display
An official MDOC detail layout illustrates the exact Tentative Release Date label along with location and sentence fields.
The example demonstrates the interface only. It is not evidence that the displayed person has a Lincoln County case or a completed release.
Confirm an MDOC Actual Release
MDOC's handbook says the agency computes parole dates, ERS dates, tentative release or discharge dates, and maximum release dates. These are not synonyms. An actual departure also depends on processing, holds, sentence changes, and the release plan. MDOC says a discharge certificate is required, while the case manager confirms the actual date and travel planning.
| Record or date | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Tentative Release Date | A changeable calculation, not completed release. |
| Parole eligibility or action | Eligibility or a Board decision, according to the exact document. |
| ERS date or status | A conditional MDOC release route in which state jurisdiction continues. |
| Discharge certificate | The final MDOC document required for the recorded discharge event. |
| Offender time sheet | The agency calculation, credited time, and relevant sentence-date fields. |
Ask whether the public date is tentative, ERS, parole, maximum, or actual discharge. Detainers, discipline, forfeited credit, classification, consecutive terms, court amendments, parole set-offs, and residence approval can change what happens. A simple sentence percentage cannot replace the state calculation.
Note: Preserve the agency's exact date label because eligibility, tentative release, supervised release, and final discharge describe different state events.
MDOC Release Records Contact
The MDOC public-records page links its policy and request route. Identify the MDOC number and describe the records sought. A focused request can ask for the final discharge certificate, offender time sheet, actual release or discharge date and type, sentence-begin date, credited jail time, last location, and public offender photograph.
MDOC Records Department
P.O. Box 24388
Jackson, MS 39225
Phone: 601-933-2889
Email: MDOCRecordsDepartment@mdoc.state.ms.us
Inspection by appointment on working days, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MDOC policy states that it responds in writing within seven working days. When responsive records can be produced, an estimate may issue, and production ordinarily occurs within fourteen working days after request and payment unless added time is needed. The listed copy fee is $0.15 per page, plus actual qualifying costs and eligible labor beyond the first hour. Advance payment may be required. Recheck current policy before ordering.
Field-officer records, investigative materials, and victim information may be exempt. Ask MDOC to separate releasable portions. Records staff and the case manager are the proper correction routes for offender time, jail credit, location, or eligibility data.
Note: Use an MDOC number and exact field labels so Records can locate the state document without guessing at the requested event.
MDOC Discharge Request Route
The official MDOC records instructions are the source for the request process, response framework, and agency contacts.
The records route is the fallback when a public offender detail does not show a final release type or actual discharge date.
MDOC Community Release Supervision
MDOC Community Corrections supervises parole, probation, post-release supervision, Earned Release Supervision, intensive supervision, and interstate-compact cases. A person can be physically outside a prison while still subject to state authority. The separate parolee search may accept name, MDOC ID, city, or county and can be more useful than an active-institution view when parole is the question.
Lincoln County has a dedicated MDOC Probation & Parole Office at 223 South Railroad Avenue, Brookhaven, MS 39601. Its telephone number is 601-833-3965. The office is appropriate for state community-supervision questions, including identifying the correct supervising office where information is public. It does not confirm an ordinary bond-out from Lincoln County Jail.
- Parole
- Conditional release from a prison sentence following a Parole Board decision.
- Probation
- Court-ordered supervision, often imposed instead of or after incarceration.
- Post-release supervision
- A court-ordered portion of a sentence under Mississippi law.
- Earned Release Supervision
- An MDOC mechanism under which the person remains an inmate under state jurisdiction.
- Discharge
- The sentence endpoint stated in the final MDOC record.
Mississippi SAVIN can send release, transfer, return-to-custody, escape, and abscond-supervision events. VINELink is useful for notice, but it is not the certified state discharge record. Verify an event with MDOC or the reporting custodian.
Note: Community placement can mean physical release from prison while parole, ERS, probation, or post-release supervision remains active.
MDOC Parole Release Decisions
The Mississippi State Parole Board decides whether to grant, deny, or revoke parole. A review of official state sources found no public online hearing calendar and no searchable database of current decisions. Hearings are closed under the governing administrative rules, so a guessed calendar should never be created from eligibility dates.
Board rules state that a hearing occurs no later than 30 days before the eligibility month and may happen during that month or either of the two preceding months. It can proceed by file review, in person, telephone, or teleconference. The inmate is advised in writing after deliberation. A denial action sheet can state reasons and a set-off, which is the delay before another review.
Mississippi State Parole Board
239 North Lamar Street, Suite 501
Jackson, MS 39202
Phone: 601-576-3520
Email: MSStateParoleBoard@mdoc.state.ms.us
Give the MDOC number and ask whether a releasable written action or minute entry exists. Eligibility is not approval, and a grant must still be read with release processing and any holds. The Board decision and MDOC discharge or supervision record answer related but different questions.
Lincoln County and MDOC Custody
A Lincoln County resident or a person convicted in Lincoln County may enter MDOC custody without ever being held at a state prison inside the county. The state record follows the commitment, not the person's home county. At the same time, Lincoln County Jail can hold state inmates or county/state joint work-crew inmates. A departure shown on the county released view may be a transfer into the statewide system.
The Lincoln County MDOC work-crew record explains that local handoff in detail. For a person whose only custody was a county pretrial or misdemeanor booking, MDOC may have no relevant state record. In that case, the sheriff release sheet and court disposition control. For a state commitment, the county card cannot establish final discharge.
Federal and immigration custody also sit outside MDOC. A BOP result, ICE locator event, or federal court order must be checked through the agency that owns it. The Lincoln County released-inmate search routes a named person by custodian when the correct system is uncertain.