Report shows money from private prisons and cash bail industry helps drive highest incarceration rate in nation

November 10, 2026, Jackson, MS – Numerous Mississippi lawmakers receive significant financial contributions from companies that profit from incarceration in the state, according to a report released today. The private prison and cash bail industries give widely to politicians from both parties, who, as a result, are engaged in conflicts of interest that harm public trust and public policy. 

Published by LobbyWatch Mississippi and the Center for Constitutional Rights, the report, “The Profiteers of Incarceration” sheds light on a system in which those who benefit from incarceration have ready access to lawmakers, while those most affected by incarceration do not. The stark imbalance further stacks the deck in favor of punitive policies in a state with the highest incarceration rate in the nation, one where a vastly disproportionate share of those arrested, prosecuted, jailed, and imprisoned are Black. 

“Mississippians deserve to know what private interests influence their politicians. They deserve to question the morality of elected officials who accept campaign donations from companies that profit from incarceration. We appreciate the Center for Constitutional Rights’ partnership in investigating these corporate ties between our government and the profiteers of incarceration. We hope this research, and other projects like it, continue to fuel scrutiny of industry money in our politics, and that people call for greater accountability, transparency, and respect for humanity from our government,” said Margaret Lawson, Communications Director of Mississippi for a Just World and LobbyWatch Mississippi.

There is a straightforward relationship between the number of people incarcerated and the wealth of the private companies benefitting from their incarceration. Bail bonds companies profit when courts set cash bail amounts that people cannot afford, leaving them with no option other than seeking a bonds person for their freedom; private prison companies profit by contracting with the government to confine people in state prisons, federal detention facilities, and county jails. With millions of dollars on the line, the industries give to a range of lawmakers. The report identifies more than $120,000 in donations from 2023-25 to 75 state and federal politicians from the Mississippi Bail Agents Association (MBAA); the private prison companies Management & Training Corporation (MTC), GEO Group, and CoreCivic; and associated political action committees and executives. 

While many of the contributions are small, they have an inordinate impact in a state where races are often uncontested and many politicians raise few funds. In 2025, for instance, Charles Blackwell, a House Republican, reported only one donation: $250 from the MBAA. Mark Tullos, another House Republican, only received donations from the MBAA in 2024 and 2025, as well.

Both industries target lawmakers who have particular power to shape the criminal legal system, giving the most money to high-level officials and relevant committee heads. For example, MTC gave $5,000 in 2025 to the state’s Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch, whose job requires her to make decisions that impact the company’s bottom line. Fitch is now deciding whether to sue MTC to recover taxpayer funds after the State Auditor announced a $7.4 million civil demand against the company. MTC has also funded the state House and Senate Corrections committee chairs and members. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking member on the U.S. House Homeland Security committee, received $10,000 from GEO Group in 2025. His district includes the second largest ICE detention facility in the country, the privately owned Adams County Corrections Center. 

“In a state with four private prisons and the highest incarceration rate in the nation, it’s a moral and political failing that businesses with direct financial incentives in incarceration can access and influence the politicians – from each political party – who shape our criminal legal system with a $1000 or even a $250 donation,” said Korbin Felder, a Center for Constitutional Rights Staff Attorney with CCR South.

The conflicts of interest created by financial contributions from the bail bonds industry can be especially acute for the lawmakers who also work as appointed attorneys or part-time public defenders representing indigent clients. At least six state lawmakers that have worked as part-time public defenders while in the legislature have accepted money from the bail bonds industry. The financial interests of bail bonds companies cut directly against attorneys’ obligation to seek reduced bail/bond amounts and release on recognizance and to advocate generally for their clients’ release from pretrial detention. 

The conflict of interest is also pronounced for officials whose districts include communities like Lexington, Mississippi, where in 2024 the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that residents’ civil rights were routinely violated by illegal arrests, excessive force, the imposition of money bail without justification, and conditioning release on payment without any consideration of ability to pay. The DOJ found that to get out of jail “[i]n Lexington, many people hire a bondsperson, who posts the money in exchange for a fee[.]” Questions arise about the interests of lawmakers representing Lexington when they choose to accept contributions from an industry that depends on the continued use of cash bail. 

The report makes several recommendations for reducing these conflicts and minimizing the harm done by the money flowing from carceral industries to Mississippi lawmakers. It urges the state to make campaign finance reporting genuinely transparent, strengthen enforcement, require greater disclosure from government contractors, protect judicial discretion in granting pretrial release, and create clearer rules for recusals and conflicts involving major donors.