As Hinds County continues to pay for the long-running problem of overcrowding at the Raymond Detention Center, a new coalition is hoping to convince county supervisors that higher salaries for public defenders could be one solution.

On Tuesday, members of Defend Mississippi – a statewide group receiving support from national criminal justice advocates – gathered in the county board room to make the case for why the Hinds County Board of Supervisors should appropriate $350,000 to the Hinds County Public Defender’s Office. 

The funding infusion would bring starting salaries for public defenders up to $80,000. The coalition argues the raise would lead to less turnover in the public defenders office, leading to faster-moving cases in a criminal justice system where most defendants cannot afford a private attorney. 

“I can tell you plainly, when public defense is properly resourced, the entire system functions,” said CJ Lawrence, an attorney and founder of the media company Black With No Chaser. “Cases move, taxpayers’ money is saved, constitutional rights are protected, communities are stronger.” 

Hinds County has one of the busiest criminal dockets in the state, with attorneys in the Hinds County Public Defender’s Office handling hundreds of cases at once. When they leave the office, another attorney has to take on the case, often requiring additional time to learn the file and resulting in the defendant spending more time in jail. 

Despite their crucial role, public defenders in Hinds County earn virtually half the salaries of their counterparts in the district attorney’s office, about $50,000 less. 

They also earn an average of $20,000 less than their counterparts statewide, according to the preliminary results of a study the Office of the State Public Defender is conducting. 

Why the gap? A huge factor, said State Public Defender Andre de Gruy, is that prosecutors’ salaries are state-funded, while counties must pay for assistant public defenders. 

But the push for more funding from Hinds County comes at a time when the board of supervisors is under pressure from outside entities to fix other persistent issues and finding few solutions that don’t require coughing up county funds. 

These external requests have led some supervisors to feel as if county outsiders – a federal receiver, state lawmakers – have snatched away control of their purse strings. 

Deborah Dixon, the district 3 supervisor who represents western Jackson, said she would love to pay public defenders more. But she insisted the county doesn’t have the money after it pays for the new jail and other obligations created by the Legislature. 

“They’re making new laws, but they ain’t sending new money with the laws,” she said. 

Dixon pointed to last year, whenlawmakers added a fifth judge to the Hinds County Circuit Court, a move mandated by judicial legislative redistricting. 

Dixon said the new judge came with more court employees that Hinds County must pay for, but she did not say how many or which positions. The state-funded Administrative Office of the Courts pays for judicial employees in circuit courts like court administrators, but counties pay for court reporters. 

Another demand on the county’s budget cited by Dixon comes from the board’s decision to build a new jail in an effort to comply with a 2016 federal consent decree to improve unconstitutional conditions at the Raymond Detention Center, including widespread violence, overcrowding and understaffing. 

Supervisors made the call in 2022, originally estimating the new detention center in south Jackson would cost $60 million. The county is still building the jail, with WLBT recently reporting the facility will actually cost $100 million. 

And last fall, a federal receiver finally took over operations of the Raymond Detention Center – including managing the jail’s budget. 

Defend Mississippi argues those factors – particularly the addition of another circuit court judge – mean greater investment in public defenders is necessary. 

But some supervisors say they want solutions that don’t require paying more money.

“You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip,” said District 2 Supervisor Tony Smith, who was out of town the day of the press conference for a membership meeting of national county officials in Washington, D.C. He represents the county’s rural, westernmost district from Bolton to Utica. 

Smith said he is constantly hearing stories of people accused of non-violent offenses sitting in the Raymond jail because they can’t make bond: business burglars, car thieves, check fraudsters and those facing misdemeanor drug charges.

“You’ve got to get some of these people out that don’t need to be in jail,” he said. “Bottom line.” 

Then Smith acknowledged a problem with his own idea, noting that emptying the jail – and saving upwards of $50 per day for each person released – requires the blessing of county and circuit court judges. 

Meanwhile, the county faces a shrinking tax base as Jackson depopulates. 

“How many major grocery stores are in Jackson? You got Kroger, you got Walmart, you got Piggly Wiggly, and Cash and Carry,” Smith said. “I think that’s it. … How many department stores do we have? None. So where is our revenue coming from?” 

Gail Wright Lowery, the head public defender for Hinds County who is appointed by the senior circuit court judge, has requested raises for her staff in the past. 

“I can appreciate and recognize that funds are strained, but I also know that public defense is a smart investment,” she said in a statement shared by Defend Mississippi. “Studies show that across the country, counties that invest in public defense save millions each year because early, effective representation avoids the costs of unnecessary jail time and keeps our citizens working instead of being detained.”

Lawmakers added more support to the office when they passed House Bill 1020, which created the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court and added three state-supported positions to the Hinds County public defender’s office. 

The county previously used federal pandemic relief funds to supplement the salaries of the office’s 11 assistant public defenders. 

But it was a temporary solution. Those funds expired in 2023. Lowery’s subsequent efforts to seek a more permanent solution failed, with supervisors narrowly voting down a $20,000 raise for her staff.

The turnover has a human toll. A few years ago, the State Public Defender’s Office stepped in to fill the court’s backlog. De Gruy, who heads the office, recalled meeting with a man who had been jailed in Raymond for three years. 

“I told three people this story,” de Gruy recalls the man saying, voice laden with frustration. “I’m tired of telling y’all this story.” 

That man’s case was ultimately resolved – de Gruy couldn’t say how, due to attorney-client privilege – but many others weren’t, illustrating the limits of the temporary solution. 

Lowery will submit her request for additional funding at the board’s March 2 meeting.