State Auditor investigates sheriff for alleged use of inmates on farm

So…Slavery? Investigation Shows Sheriff Used Inmate Labor On Fam

A Rankin County, Mississippi Sheriff is facing scrutiny after a joint investigation found that inmates from the county jail were used to perform labor on his family’s farm, sometimes under his direct supervision while using public resources. Source: Maguey Images McLain Farms, a 38-acre property in Puckett, Mississippi, has housed approximately 10,000 chickens annually for Tyson Foods. In a New York Times and Mississippi Today investigation, the…

State auditor to investigate sheriff who used inmate labor on family farm

State Auditor to Investigate Sheriff Who Used Inmate Labor on Family Farmby Mukta Joshi and Steph Quinn, Mississippi Today March 28, 2025 Reporters for Mississippi Today worked in partnership with The New York Times Local Investigations Fellowship.The Mississippi State Auditor’s office on Friday...

State Auditor investigates sheriff for alleged use of inmates on farm

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) - State Auditor Shad White has opened an investigation into Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey. This follows reports that jail inmates worked on his family farm, using taxpayer-funded equipment. The Auditor's Office confirmed on March 28 that White ordered the investigation after a New York Times and Mississippi Today investigation alleged Bailey used trustees to staff his mother's chicken farm in Puckett. The report said t…

‘You’re His Property’: Embattled Mississippi sheriff used inmates and county resources for personal gain, former inmates and deputy say - Mississippi Today

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey responds to accusatory article published Thursday - Darkhorse Press

Response an article by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting from Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey.

Mississippi Sheriff Bought Farm Equipment and Used Laborers from His Jail on Mom’s Chicken Farm

Bryan Bailey, a Mississippi sheriff whose department had been under federal investigation for torturing people, also staffed his mother’s commercial chicken farm with inmates from the county jail and used taxpayer-purchased equipment to improve the grounds, according to four former inmates and a former deputy who said they had worked on the farm. Trusties from the jail were repeatedly driven to the farm, sometimes by Bailey himself, to perform v…