Wilkinson County Correctional Facility

Use any phone, tablet or computer and go through these steps:

1. Open the inmate lookup.
2. Type only the last name at first. Narrow it with a first name when many rows appear.
3. Test odd spellings, a nickname, a married name or a hyphenated one.
4. Jot down every detail the screen gives, if any.
5. Dial 601-888-3511 and have staff confirm what you saw.

The lookup shows custody status. Only the jail can explain the charge, how much is owed for bond and the likely day out.

Empty results are normal early on. Several things can explain it:

• Paperwork still running. Fingerprinting and intake forms eat up hours.
• City officers hold them first. A town department may keep an arrestee a short while before a transfer to the Sheriff.
• Already out. Maybe a bondsman posted the bond, or a judge sent them home with a court date.
• They were moved. A neighboring county or a regional jail might have the bed.
• They are a minor. Adult searches leave children out.
• A typo or name change. Retry with other spellings.

A short call to 601-888-3511 settles most of these. Spell the legal name aloud and give the birth date.

The Sheriff is the county jailer, as our county jail page explains. The Sheriff's Office is at 1389 US Highway 61 South, Woodville, MS 39669, phone 601-888-3511. Ask staff which building holds your person, since the office has not listed a street address for the cell block itself.

Two other Woodville sites sound close but are not booking points:

• Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, 2999 U.S. Highway 61 North, Woodville, MS 39669, 601-888-3199. A private firm operates this prison for the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Its residents are state prisoners with sentences.
• Wilkinson County Community Work Center, 84 Prison Lane, Woodville, MS 39669, 601-888-4378. MDOC runs it for low-risk residents who do unpaid labor for city, county and state offices. Counseling, GED classes and faith programs are offered there.

If another county's officers made the arrest, the person might be in that county's cells. These sites are close to this area:

• Adams County jail, with its address and phone on our page.
• Amite County jail, with its address and phone on our page.
• Jefferson/Franklin County Correctional Facility, 279 MS Hwy 33, Fayette, MS 39069, 601-786-2284. MDOC lists it as a regional site for Jefferson and Franklin counties.

Open the inmate lookup, pull up any record and see if a picture loads. We have no word from the county that the tool carries mugshots, so we make no promise.

When the lookup has none, ask whichever agency arrested them whether it shares a photo. For a deputy's arrest, dial 601-888-3511. The state Public Records Act, which starts at § 25-61-1 of the Mississippi Code, makes police incident reports open to everyone. Each report has to name the people arrested and charged (section 25-61-12(2) and section 25-61-3(e)). Agencies can charge a fee for copies under § 25-61-7. We found no Mississippi statute that forces the release of a booking photo, so the arresting office decides for itself.

• A booking photo taken by ICE can be requested at the ICE FOIA records page.
• A picture taken at a federal booking is usually kept out of public hands. The U.S. Marshals Service alone decides whether to share one, for example during a manhunt.

Yes. VINE, called SAVIN here, is a notice service run with MDOC. Its alerts cover people held by counties as well as the state. Messages go out for moves between sites, releases, escapes and returns. Which county jails feed the system is unclear, so a fresh arrest might not turn up yet.

• Go to VINELink to search and sign up.
• The 24-hour toll-free number is 888-967-7284, with help in both English and Spanish.
• If the person is later moved to an MDOC prison, your sign-up follows.

Pair it with a call to the jail, asking staff to tell you when the person leaves.

A judge makes that call. A held person is entitled to see a judge by the 48th hour (Rule 5.1 of the criminal procedure rules). County arrests usually start in Justice Court. Town police arrests start in the town's Municipal Court. In that courtroom the judge lays out the accusation, explains your loved one's rights, and sets the release terms.

• Courts begin with a written promise or appearance bond, and may add limits like no contact, a curfew or drug tests.
• Cash deposit bond: The clerk collects the greater of $250 or one tenth of the bond. The rules limit who qualifies.
• A property bond pledges Mississippi land through a sworn statement.
• A licensed bondsman takes a tenth of the bail, $100 at least, plus $50 for processing. None of it comes back. Licenses come from the Mississippi Insurance Department, 601-359-3582. Confirm one before you pay.

Judges use rough guides. Many misdemeanors land at $500 to $2,000. Felonies with up to ten years run $5,000 to $50,000. These are only guides, and a judge may set more or less. Domestic violence arrests are different: no bail can be posted before the person faces a judge. The Justice Court clerk answers at 601-888-3538. Read our bail page, plus Mississippi's bail laws.

Start with the jail desk at 601-888-3511. Spell the name out loud and offer the date of birth.

• Lesser crimes: the Justice Court clerk, 601-888-3538, PO Box 40, Woodville, MS 39669-0040.
• Serious crimes: the Circuit Clerk, 601-888-6697, at the courthouse, 525 Main Street, Woodville, MS 39669.
• The District Attorney, 307 Market Street, Natchez, MS 39120, 601-304-8065, decides what goes to the grand jury.

Courts that take part post dockets on the Mississippi Electronic Courts site, which needs one account. A clerk can say whether the right court is part of it.

Yes, a court may appoint one. At the first court date the judge looks at whether the person can pay for counsel. If not, the court may name a lawyer. Rule 7 puts that choice at or before the first appearance.

Ask the judge in open court, and expect questions about money and who lives in the home. To learn how the county handles these requests, call the Circuit Clerk at 601-888-6697. The courthouse is at 525 Main Street, Woodville, MS 39669.

You may hire your own attorney at any time. Do it early, and tell your loved one to say little about the case until that lawyer is in place.

The Sheriff writes the visiting rules. Dial 601-888-3511 before you drive over, and ask:

• What days and hours do visits run?
• Must I reserve a time?
• Does the visitor need ID, and may children come?
• What can I wear?
• Do you offer video visits?

A visit can be stopped or a whole day scrapped on short notice. For more tips, see our visiting guide.

Account funds cover items such as snacks, soap and phone time. Ring 601-888-3511 to learn the accepted deposit routes and any caps. Have the legal name at hand.

Our money guide covers common deposit options. Our commissary guide lists purchases an account can cover. Never send cash by mail.

The jail chooses its calling and messaging vendor. Call 601-888-3511 and find out how incoming calls are set up, the rates, and whether texts or tablets exist. Ask if conversations get recorded. Assume yes.

Keep case details for your lawyer's ears only. For more, open our phone guide. Texts and email are covered in a separate guide.

Phone 601-888-3511 first. Request the right mailing address and the person's inmate number. Ask which items pass inspection, such as cards, pictures or paperbacks.

Spell the recipient's legal name in full. Your own address goes top left. Our mail guide lists the usual limits. If your person is at the state prison in Woodville, ring 601-888-3199 for its own mail rules.

Items taken at intake are kept by the jail and handed back at release. To pick up the items for your loved one, ring 601-888-3511 and ask who may take them and which ID to bring. Staff will send you either to the Sheriff's Office, 1389 US Highway 61 South, Woodville, MS 39669, or to another counter.

Phone 601-888-3511 right away. Share each drug name, strength and the prescriber's contact details. Your loved one should also submit a request for care in writing.

Dial 911 for a true emergency. If a mental health crisis worries you, use those words on the call.

Sheriff's deputies serve warrants here. Call 601-888-3511 and ask about a name. You can also scan Mississippi's statewide Most Wanted list. The Circuit Clerk, 601-888-6697, and the Justice Court clerk, 601-888-3538, may be able to check a name and birth year for you. Get a lawyer's opinion before acting on a warrant, then contact the issuing court about turning in. The Circuit Clerk works at the courthouse, 525 Main Street, Woodville, MS 39669. Justice Court takes mail at PO Box 40, Woodville, MS 39669-0040.

Contact whichever court holds the case:

• Justice Court: lesser crimes outside town limits, plus the first steps of many felonies. PO Box 40, Woodville, MS 39669-0040, 601-888-3538.
• Municipal Court: town ordinance and misdemeanor cases. Ask the arresting officer or the Sheriff's Office which court applies.
• Circuit Court: felony trials after a grand jury returns an indictment. The Circuit Clerk is at 525 Main Street, Woodville, MS 39669, 601-888-6697.

Rule 9 sets a 270-day goal, counted from arraignment. A judge can allow longer for good reason. Want the full path of a case? Our court page lays it out.

Wilkinson County falls in the federal Southern District of Mississippi, Western Division. Sessions are held at 109 South Pearl Street, 2nd Floor, Natchez, MS 39120, in the federal courthouse. The courtroom line is 601-897-6936. No clerk works there. Papers are filed in Jackson, at 501 East Court Street, Jackson, MS 39201 (Suite 2.500), 601-608-4000.

1. A federal judge rules on holding or freeing the person before trial at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Deputy marshals pick the lockup for a federal detainee awaiting trial; it is frequently a county jail under contract. The Marshals' Natchez office, 109 South Pearl Street, Natchez, MS 39120, answers at 601-608-6800.
3. Track filings through PACER.
4. Search by name once sentenced, using the federal inmate locator from the Bureau of Prisons.

1. First comes ICE's detainer request, made on Form I-247A and sent to the jail.
2. A detainer lets the jail hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE's New Orleans Field Office oversees Mississippi, and the agency then takes the person away.
4. Type in an A-number, or use a name plus the birth country, at the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

When the locator shows no match, a lawyer or immigrant aid group can help you press further.

First comes classification at an MDOC intake site. Parchman (Mississippi State Penitentiary) takes the north. For the center, it is Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, 3794 MS Hwy 468, Pearl, MS 39208, 601-932-2880. South Mississippi Correctional Facility, close to Leakesville, takes the south. Expect classification to take 14 to 45 days. Visits are off the table during it, and phone use is tightly capped. Deputies from the home county drive the person there.

• Search by name or ID in the MDOC inmate lookup. State prisoners only appear there.
• See our state prison directory.
• Parole decisions belong to the state's Parole Board.

A child is handled by Youth Court. Reach it at PO Box 516, Woodville, MS 39669-0516, 601-888-4381, and call before anyone else.

• Past the one-day mark, a child stays held only if a judge signs an order (Miss. Code § 43-21-303).
• Two days is the limit before a judge must look at the detention again (§§ 43-21-307, 43-21-309).
• Children belong in a youth shelter or detention center and not in the adult cells (§ 43-21-315). Youth Court knows which one, so ask it for the street address.
• A child of 13 or older may be tried as an adult if the crime charged could mean life or death, or involved a deadly weapon (§ 43-21-151).

Oakley Youth Development Center, 2375 Oakley Road, Raymond, MS 39154, may house a youth after a commitment.

To learn who made the arrest, ask the booking desk. These agencies work here:

• Sheriff's Office, 1389 US Highway 61 South, Woodville, MS 39669, 601-888-3511. Deputies patrol outside town limits.
• Woodville Police Department. For the town police number, ask at the Sheriff's desk.
• Mississippi Highway Patrol, District 9, Troop M, 160 Highway 84 East, Brookhaven, MS 39601, 601-515-1989. Troopers cover the highways here.

Dial 911 for emergencies.