Talk:Chris Epps

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Article edits[edit]

@Shearonink:, @WhisperToMe: Thanks to both of you for your input. I changed the first sentence in the lede to keep your better term, "is," Shearonink, but also to remove "career criminal justice specialist." It was inserted eight months yesterday in the article. I looked, edit-by-edit, starting back at its creation by WhisperToMe after the first announced indictments, and I'm not aware of any basis at all for its inclusion. It infers a broader career beyond simply corrections, and in all the reading I've done, I'm not aware of anything Epps has done academically or professionally in criminal justice, beyond his working in the MS prison system, starting as a teacher. I seriously doubt it was factual. American Correctional Association award or maybe they reciprocally did so. I originally started the "Hustle" article because the Epps article seemed to be getting far too unwieldy. I really do appreciate both of your labors on this. Activist (talk) 16:07, 2 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, terrific work on this and the Operation Mississippi Hustle articles! Agree that they needed to be separated. I understand your point above about Epps, but think it is likely that in his long career he may have received considerable on-the-job training, including material about criminal justice and management development, as he had reached upper levels of the state civil service. Not all knowledge is acquired by academic study. I had the impression that he was quite respected before all the corruption charges in improvements in MS, and think that should be acknowledged, too, as you have. Parkwells (talk) 18:35, 6 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@WhisperToMe: I've confused things. I erased your note by accident, but I'm thinking I might have mixed up the separate roles of McCrory and Simmons in being the bagman between Epps and the operating contractors. I'll check it out. I just Epps pulled up this cite:

Epps resigned in November 2014 the day before being indicted on federal charges of bribery and kickbacks, for allegedly receiving more than $2 million in bribes from Cecil B. McCrory, a businessman and former Mississippi Republican state house member, and others, including Robert Simmons. Simmons indicated he began paying bribes to Epps beginning in 2005. McCrory was a consultant for Management and Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah, a major for-profit prison operating company that at the time had a $60 million contract in Mississippi to operate four prisons. He had previously worked for GEO Group, which had contracts at three Mississippi prisons.

Activist (talk) 17:08, 2 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Epps mugshot[edit]

I posted Epps' mugshot to the article yesterday. Another editor put a note in the log about whether or not it was a copyright infringement, and pinged me. I researched the matter thoroughly and no code section, state policy or official says that mugshots are not in the public domain. The Flowood P.D., which took the photo, sought to maximize its distribution, sending it to papers all over the state. The Mississippi Center For Freedom of Information says mugshots are not copyrighted. Activist (talk) 14:08, 8 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@Josve05a: I have forwarded the clarification communication from the Flowood PD that the Epps' mugshot photo is not copyrighted and is in the public domain to Wikipedia Permissions. Thanks to the volunteer editors for all their help. Activist (talk) 16:13, 11 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Penitentiary reforms[edit]

Added some reforms at Parchman; it is important to show what else Epps was doing, as some of these improvements were models for other prisons, and are still urged by prison reform activists.Parkwells (talk) 22:52, 6 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Too much here on McCrory[edit]

This is an article on Epps, not McCrory. I think his material should be summarized more, as it appears in the main article on Mississippi Hustle. Keep focused on Epps here.Parkwells (talk) 15:34, 6 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'll take a look at the Epps article and see if I can whittle it down a bit. This is the first time I've looked at the Talk page as I'd just come here to post an assessment template. Both seem overdue for that. Thanks!