Madison County Detention Center

The Sheriff's list shows who is in the detention center at the time it was made. Try these steps:

1. Pull up the inmate list in your browser.
2. Read the stamp near the top. It gives the date, the hour and the head count.
3. Look for the last name by scrolling or by using your browser's find tool.
4. Scan the row for the inmate ID, birth date, age, intake time, arresting agency and first charge.
5. Tap the name to open that person's own page.

A note on the page warns that it may hold errors and that an arrest is not a conviction. When something looks off, ring 601-855-0739.

Several plain things can explain a blank search:

• Booking is not done. Intake steps take many hours, and the name shows up later.
• City police may still have them. A department can hold someone until its own forms are done.
• They went home. A bondsman or a judge may have let them out.
• They are elsewhere. A different county's lockup or a regional facility may be the one holding them.
• The spelling differs. Test short forms, middle names and old last names.
• A minor. Anyone younger than 18 is routed to Youth Court.

Dial the jail at 601-855-0739 and spell the name. If a city officer made the stop, ask that police department where the person was driven.

The research found one adult jail for the county. That is the detention center, 2941 U.S. Highway 51, Canton, MS 39046, 601-855-0739. The Sheriff's site counts 250 beds, in cells for one to twenty people. Both people awaiting court and people with a sentence live there. The jail also takes some federal prisoners under a Marshals agreement. Staff can say which cellblock holds your person.

No work release site, annex or city lockup shows up on the county's pages. Ask the jail if you suspect one. Canton also has two state-run programs, one built around restitution and one for rule violations. They belong to the Mississippi Department of Corrections, 601-359-5600, and do not take new county arrests.

If the arrest took place near another county, check there too:

• Yazoo Regional Correctional Facility, 154 Roosevelt Hudson Drive, Yazoo City, MS 39194, 662-751-8484
• Holmes/Humphreys County Correctional Facility, 23234 MS Highway 12 East, Lexington, MS 39095, 662-834-5016
• Leake County Correctional Facility, 399 C. O. Brooks Street, Carthage, MS 39051, 601-298-9003

Hinds and Rankin counties run jails as well. Their addresses and phones are on JE's Hinds County jail in Jackson page and the Rankin County jail page.

Yes, for people in custody now. The Sheriff's site labels this page "Mugshots," and the list's own notice says a booking photo can be opened for anyone held when you run the query. Tap a name on the inmate list to reach it. After release, the photo may disappear.

For anything not shown, ask the agency that arrested the person. A deputy's arrest goes through the Sheriff's Office, 601-859-2345. Under the state Public Records Act, an incident report from an agency like the Sheriff is open to anyone and names those arrested and charged (sections 25-61-12(2) and 25-61-3(e)). The agency can bill for copies under § 25-61-7. Nothing in the act orders a photo released.

• Send requests for ICE photos through the ICE records request form.
• The public cannot get federal booking photos, with one narrow exception. The U.S. Marshals Service may release one, such as when a defendant has fled.

Mississippi runs an alert program called SAVIN, which is its version of VINE. An alert comes if a county or state offender is moved, let go, runs off or returns to custody. Should a county inmate end up in MDOC, the registration carries over.

• Go to VINELink to find the person and sign up.
• Or use the toll-free number, 888-967-7284. The line never closes, and callers can pick English or Spanish.

The state never says which jails feed VINE. Treat it as a bonus. Also reopen the inmate list daily and ring the detention center for news.

If officers arrest without a warrant, 48 hours is the limit for getting the person before a judge. County cases mostly start in Justice Court. City arrests start at the town's Municipal Court. The judge reads the charge, asks about counsel and sets the terms for going home.

Mississippi starts with a pledge to come to court or an appearance bond. A judge may ask for more only when those will not work, and then must pick the lightest rules that will. A bailable person who never sees a judge in time goes free on the minimum scheduled bond.

• Cash deposit: The clerk takes the greater of $250 or a tenth of the bond. Some people are shut out of this option.
• Property: an affidavit, signed under oath, listing Mississippi real estate worth the bond amount.
• Bondsman: licensed through the Mississippi Insurance Department, 601-359-3582. The charge is 10 percent of the bond, at least $100, plus $50, and none of it comes back.

An arrest for domestic violence means no bail before a judge hears it. Deposits to a jail account never free anyone. For more, read our bail page. The state's rules are summed up on our Mississippi bail law page.

The inmate list prints only the first charge. Phone the detention center, 601-855-0739, and ask for all of them, in order.

Once prosecutors file, the clerks hold the papers. The Justice Court office, 601-859-6337, handles misdemeanors. The Circuit Clerk, 601-859-4365, handles felonies. Give the full name and birth date. Some dockets sit on Mississippi Electronic Courts, though a clerk can say whether a given court is there.

Felony charges next go to a grand jury, which decides whether the case moves up to Circuit Court.

The first hearing is when the judge spells out two rights, to have an attorney and to remain silent. Someone without money can ask for a court-appointed attorney, and Mississippi settles that question by the first appearance at the latest. Tell the judge plainly that money is short.

The research did not find a county public defender office. Ask the court handling the case, or ring Justice Court, 601-859-6337. Jackson's Office of State Public Defender, 601-576-4290, represents people in most felony appeals and in death-penalty cases.

Families may also hire a private attorney, who can file to cut the bond (Mississippi Rule of Criminal Procedure 8.5).

The Sheriff's site explains that visits run by cellblock, Monday through Friday. You must call ahead, because the staff assign the cellblock and the time.

• Phone 601-855-0739 before the drive to Canton.
• Ask what ID, clothing and guest limits apply.
• Ask if screens or video are used.

Plans can shift on short notice. Our visiting guide gives first-time tips.

An account buys snacks, hygiene goods and calls. The county's pages leave out the steps, so ring 601-855-0739 and learn which methods work today, the caps and the fees.

A jail kiosk deposit lands in the canteen account and does not buy a release. Have the full name and inmate ID from the list. Cash never goes in the mail. Our money guide explains deposit options, and our commissary guide explains purchases.

Phone 601-855-0739 and ask how a call from inside works, what it costs, and how to open an account. Also ask about texts, email and tablets. Calls made on the jail's system are recorded.

Keep case details for the attorney, never a recorded call. JE also has a phone guide and an inmate email and text guide.

Ring the jail, 601-855-0739, before a stamp goes on anything. Get the exact mailing address and find out if the envelope needs the inmate ID. Ask what items pass inspection.

Spell out the legal name and add your return address on the front. Keep to plain paper. Leave cash out. Our mail guide shows common rules.

Phone 601-855-0739 to ask what happens to the clothing and belongings the person came in wearing. Ask what may be dropped off, what may be picked up, if a signature or photo ID is required, and the best time to come to the detention center, 2941 U.S. Highway 51, Canton, MS 39046.

The Sheriff's site says the detention center has a medical unit inside. Call 601-855-0739 if the person needs medicine, has pain or was hurt. Share the drug name, dose and doctor's contact.

The patient can send the medical staff a request for care as well. In a life-threatening case call 911 and name a mental health emergency as such.

The Sheriff's Office serves warrants. Ring 601-859-2345 and ask. Mississippi has no public statewide warrant lookup, but Mississippi's Most Wanted lists top cases. The Sheriff's site shows no warrant page, so use the phone. Another route is the Justice Court clerk, 601-859-6337, or the Circuit Clerk, 601-859-4365, at the Madison County Courthouse, 125 W. North Street, Canton, MS 39046. For either office, bring the exact name and a birth date. Should a warrant exist, hire or ask for a lawyer before doing anything else. Then call the issuing court and work out how to turn yourself in.

The detention center may know the next date, 601-855-0739. Otherwise ask the court with the case:

• Justice Court takes misdemeanors outside city limits and early felony steps. Ring 601-859-6337 for its address and docket.
• Municipal Court takes city charges. Ask the arresting city's police which court applies.
• Circuit Court handles felonies once a grand jury acts. The clerk sits at the Madison County Courthouse, 125 W. North Street, Canton, MS 39046, 601-859-4365.
• County Court appears on the county website. The courthouse line, 601-855-5500, can say what it hears.

Mississippi Rule of Criminal Procedure 9 aims for trial 270 days after arraignment at the latest, though the court can allow more time for good cause. Our court guide shows each stage in order.

The county sits in the Southern District of Mississippi's Northern Division, whose courthouse is the United States Courthouse in Jackson: 501 East Court Street, Jackson, MS 39201 (Suite 2.500), 601-608-4000.

1. Under 18 U.S.C. 3142 a federal judge hears arguments and rules on pretrial custody versus release.
2. Before trial, the U.S. Marshals Service keeps federal prisoners, and the Canton jail has an agreement to house some. The Marshals' Jackson office is at 501 East Court Street, Jackson, MS 39201 (Suite 1.150), 601-608-6800.
3. After the sentence, the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator shows where the person is held.

Typical steps, in order:

1. Step one is ICE's detainer. The request arrives on Form I-247A, asking the jail to wait before freeing the person.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. Then ICE takes custody. Its New Orleans office is the one that handles this state.
4. To look the person up, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Type the name and birth country, or the alien registration number if you have it.

An immigration lawyer can talk through the person's options.

A sentence to prison begins with intake and sorting by MDOC, the Mississippi Department of Corrections. It uses three sites chosen by home county. The middle goes to Pearl's Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, the north goes to Parchman's Mississippi State Penitentiary, and the south goes to a third unit near Leakesville, the South Mississippi Correctional Facility. How long intake takes varies, from about two weeks up to 45 days. During that stretch nobody can visit, and calls are scarce. Sheriff's deputies bring the person over.

MDOC names the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, 3794 MS Highway 468, Pearl, MS 39208, 601-932-2880, as a first stop for many central Mississippi cases, but MDOC picks the site.

• Use the MDOC inmate search for state prisoners. It will not list anyone who is still in a county jail.
• JE's Mississippi prison guide lists each facility.
• The state's parole board, named the Mississippi State Parole Board, grants or refuses parole.

Anyone under 18 is generally sent to Youth Court, not to regular adult housing. Where a county has a County Court, its judge normally sits as Youth Court. It takes a judge's order to keep a child in detention beyond a day, and the detention hearing itself must be held by the end of the second day (Mississippi Code §§ 43-21-309, 43-21-307 and 43-21-303(4)). Adult jails are off limits as a rule. The Youth Court picks the detention or shelter site.

The county's pages name no youth detention center. Phone the courthouse, 601-855-5500, and ask for Youth Court intake. Teens aged 13 and up accused of a deadly weapon offense or a crime punishable by life or death may be tried as adults. A youth committed by the court could go to Oakley Youth Development Center, 2375 Oakley Road, Raymond, MS 39154. The state's youth defense line is 601-576-4206.

The inmate list shows which agency brought each person in. These serve the area:

• Madison County Sheriff's Office, 2941 U.S. Highway 51, Canton, MS 39046, 601-859-2345 for non-emergencies. Deputies cover the land outside city limits. For emergencies call 911.
• Canton, Madison and Ridgeland police. The county's pages show no numbers for them. The Sheriff's line above can steer you, or try each city's website.
• Mississippi Highway Patrol, Troop C, 3851 Highway 468 West, Pearl, MS 39208, 601-420-6342, covers the county's highways.