The Detention Center
Not found
- Operated byNewton County Sheriff
- Published jail informationNone — the sheriff page names the sheriff as jailor but gives no jail name, address or capacity
Source: Newton County — Sheriff page · 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 Joedy Pennington
- Runs the jailYes — county sheriff page lists serving as county jailor and keeping a jail docket among his duties (also Miss. Code § 19-25-71)
- How the office is filledElected at-large, four-year term (county sheriff page)
- Contact300 Access Rd, Decatur, MS 39327; 601-635-4401
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Newton County — Sheriff page · 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 Newton County
- Circuit Court: Mississippi's Eighth Circuit Court District, which also serves Leake, Neshoba and Scott. Circuit judges are elected district-wide to four-year terms and hear felony cases.
- Justice Court: Newton 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.
- NoteMeets twice each month; minutes and budget are not posted online.
- The boardNewton County Board of Supervisors
- Where the jail money is decidedNot found
Notes on the record
- Official county site newtoncountyms.net (listed on Wikipedia) opened; Sheriff, Board of Supervisors, Departments, Chancery Clerk and How Do I pages read. No WebSearch used for this county.
- Sheriff page names Sheriff Joedy Pennington and lists his duties, including serving as county jailor and submitting office budgets to the Board; nothing else on the jail.
- Board meets twice monthly; no minutes, agendas or budget posted online.
- No roster, visitation, bond, PREA or fee information on the county site.
- 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 Newton 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