The Detention Center
Not found
- Operated byHolmes County Sheriff
- Regional correctional facilityHolmes-Humphreys County/Regional Correctional Facility, 23234 Hwy 12 East, Lexington, MS 39095 — holds state prisoners under an MDOC contract
- Regional facility wardenBarry Rule (county's own page)
- Regional facility accreditationAmerican Correctional Association accreditation May 5, 2002; re-accredited 2005, 2008 and 2013 (county's own page)
Source: Holmes County — Regional Correctional Facility · checked 2026-09-29
Transparency rating
0/10Closed- ✗The jail is named — not published
- ✗Who is in custody — not published
- ✗Beds and daily population — not published
- ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
- ✗Deaths in custody — not published
- ✗PREA audits — not published
- ✗Independent inspection — not published
- ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
- ✗How to post bond — not published
- ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- BedsNot found
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Willie March
- Runs the jailYes — by law the sheriff is the jailer of the county (Miss. Code § 19-25-71)
- How the office is filledElected, four-year term
- Named onHolmes County's own Sheriff page
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Holmes County — Sheriff · checked 2026-09-29
The Judges
Mississippi's circuit judges are elected state judges who hear felony cases. Bail is often first set at an initial appearance by a justice court judge, elected by district within the county, or by a county or municipal judge.
Who sets bail in Holmes County
- Circuit Court: Mississippi's Twenty-First Circuit Court District, which also serves Humphreys and Yazoo. Circuit judges are elected district-wide to four-year terms and hear felony cases.
- Justice Court: Holmes County's justice court judges are elected by district within the county and often set bail at the first appearance.
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-29
The Board of Supervisors
They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.
- What they controlThe county budget, including the sheriff's office and the jail, and the jail building itself. Five supervisors, each elected from a district. In fifteen counties, the county also runs a regional correctional facility that holds state prisoners under a contract with the Department of Corrections.
- What they don'tDay-to-day operations. By law the sheriff is the jailer of the county and hires the jailers (Miss. Code 19-25-71). No state agency inspects the jail.
- NoteBoard meets the first and third Monday at 9:00 AM, 408 Court Square, Lexington. The county posts a meeting schedule but no minutes or agendas.
- The boardHolmes County Board of Supervisors
- Where the jail money is decidedNot found
Notes on the record
- County site holmescountyms.org names Sheriff Willie March and says the sheriff is responsible for the county jail and protection of prisoners, but does not name the county jail or give its address, beds, roster, bond, fees or PREA information.
- The county's own Regional Correctional Facility page describes the Holmes-Humphreys County/Regional Correctional Facility (23234 Hwy 12 East, Lexington; Warden Barry Rule), which holds state prisoners; it gives no bed count, MDOC contract, per diem or revenue, so contracts is not credited.
- Finance Department page posts no budget documents; the Board page posts a meeting schedule but no minutes or agendas.
- Pages opened: home, Sheriff, Regional Correctional Facility, Board of Supervisors, Board Meeting Schedule, Finance Department.
- State inspection/oversight: Mississippi has no state agency that inspects county jails. The State Department of Health's jail inspections ended when the Legislature stopped funding them in 2017.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Holmes County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff is elected. So are the supervisors who pay for the jail, and the judges who set bail.
Names verified 2026-09-29 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered