Governor Reeves, 

We are a collective group of concerned citizens in Mississippi and beyond who are pleading with you to please appoint your parole board.  Since you have taken office in January 2020, you have yet to establish a full parole board and two current members have vacated- we currently sit with only three members - not enough to hold proper parole hearings.  As you are aware, Mississippi is the second highest incarcerated state in our country, and there are so many people sitting in prison being warehoused who are way beyond their parole eligibility dates.  

We are highly concerned about your commitment to be for “ALL OF MISSISSIPPI” - we are asking for simply fairness in this matter.  After you vetoed SB2123 - which was a bipartisan bill, the citizens of this state and those who have love ones incarcerated in MS are highly discouraged and disappointed. Society may intend prison to be a place of punishment, but God can use it as a place of refinement and transformation. He does not give up on those in prison, but pursues them in love.  Where is the compassion for the least of these?  We have seen no response from you in regards to concern for prisoners - who are also Gods people and your constituents.  Please don’t dehumanize the men and women who are doing all they can to change their lives and be given a second chance.  They are fathers, sons, brothers, and they matter.

With this letter, we are alerting you to some pressing and serious concerns about your lack of a parole board in Mississippi  – concerns which, we suggest, can and should be addressed through immediate action.  Thank you.  

Concerned Citizens for All Of Mississippi