The Detention Center
Lincoln County Jail
- Operated byLincoln County Sheriff's Office
- Jail address215 Justice Street, Brookhaven, MS 39601
- Daily populationAverage population of 85 people per day (sheriff's jail page)
- Population shownInmate Roster (81) on the sheriff's roster page when read 29 Sep 2026
- Who it holdsCounty, city and state inmates; male and female; juveniles housed separately
- Vendors namedPhones, video visits and commissary deposits: City Tele Coin — no rates published
- Jail AdministratorJail Warden Randy Pickett (Assistant Jail Warden Willard Blue)
Source: Lincoln County Sheriff — Jail · checked 2026-09-29
Transparency rating
3/10Closed- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✓Beds and daily population
- ✗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 (average daily population 85)
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Steve Rushing
- Runs the jailYes — county page lists the sheriff's administrative duties as "serving as jailor"; jailer by law (Miss. Code 19-25-71)
- How the office is filledElected at-large, four-year term
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Lincoln 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 Lincoln County
- Circuit Court: Mississippi's Fourteenth Circuit Court District, which also serves Pike and Walthall. Circuit judges are elected district-wide to four-year terms and hear felony cases.
- Justice Court: Lincoln 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 page opened; no minutes, agendas or budget posted on the Board, Chancery Clerk or Finance pages.
- The boardLincoln County Board of Supervisors
- Where the jail money is decidedNot found
Notes on the record
- Sheriff Steve Rushing is named on both the county site and the sheriff's site.
- Sheriff's jail page names Warden Randy Pickett, gives an average daily population of 85; roster showed 81 on 29 Sep 2026.
- Jail page names City Tele Coin for phones/video/commissary deposits but lists no rates; only fee shown is a $20 fingerprinting service fee.
- No bond guidance, PREA, deaths, inspection, contract or budget material found; county posts no minutes or budget online.
- What was tried: lincolncountyms.gov (guessed) refused (PROVENANCE_REQUIRED).
- 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 Lincoln 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