The Detention Center
Madison County Detention Center
- Operated byMadison County Sheriff's Department
- Jail address2941 U.S. Highway 51, Canton, MS 39046
- Rated capacity250 bed jail (sheriff's page)
- OpenedApril 1, 1991
- ExpansionGround broken March 2001 for a 144 bed addition
- Who it holdsPre-trial and sentenced inmates; inmate rules also refer to federal inmates
- Inspections (sheriff's own words)"frequently inspected by state and federal agencies" and "has always scored above average" — no report posted
Source: Madison County Sheriff — Detention Center · checked 2026-09-29
Transparency rating
4/10Partial- ✓The jail is named
- ✗Who is in custody — not published
- ✓Beds and daily population
- ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
- ✗Deaths in custody — not published
- ✓PREA audits
- ✗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
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year built1991
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- Beds250 (sheriff's page)
Since then
- 144 bed addition, ground broken March 2001
The Sheriff
Sheriff Randy Tucker
- Runs the jailYes — the sheriff is the jailer by law (Miss. Code 19-25-71); "The Madison County Sheriff's Office operates a 250 bed jail"
- How the office is filledElected, four-year term
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Madison County Sheriff's Department · 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 Madison County
- Circuit Court: Mississippi's Twentieth Circuit Court District, which also serves Rankin. Circuit judges are elected district-wide to four-year terms and hear felony cases.
- Justice Court: Madison 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.
- NoteCounty government site could not be opened by our reader; no board page or minutes examined.
- The boardMadison County Board of Supervisors
- Where the jail money is decidedNot found
Notes on the record
- Sheriff's own site (sheriffrandytucker.com) names Sheriff Randy Tucker and describes a 250 bed jail opened 1991, with a 144 bed addition begun 2001.
- Inmate rules PDF (dated 2017) lists fees: $10 per medical/dental/mental health visit, $2 per prescription, $0.50 per extra call; states zero tolerance for inmate sexual assault with reporting routes.
- Rules list bond types (written, cash, property, court order) but give no guidance on how to post bond.
- Sheriff's page says the jail is inspected by state and federal agencies but posts no inspection report.
- Current-inmate link points to mydcstraining.com, which refused our reader; roster not seen.
- madisonsheriff.com is Madison County, Idaho — not used.
- What was tried: madison-co.com refused (PROVENANCE_REQUIRED); county budget and board minutes not examined.
- 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 Madison 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