The Associated Press
PARCHMAN, Miss. — Corrections officer Marcus Fairley claims he was fired from his job at the state penitentiary at Parchman after he reported to superiors that he saw a gun in an inmate’s cell at the maximum security unit.
Mississippi Corrections Commission Chris Epps declined Wednesday to discuss the issue because it was a personnel matter.
Fairley told The Clarion-Ledger newspaper of Jackson that officials investigating the discovery of the gun, which happened Tuesday at the penitentiary, accused him of smuggling the gun into the prison.
Fairley says the inmate in the cell where the gun was found had two clips of ammunition wrapped in plastic wrap and a letter instructing him to use the gun on a specific correctional officer.
Fairley says the letter was from another inmate affiliated with the Gangster Disciples street gang and appeared to be connected to the May 30th stabbing death of Unit 32 inmate Boris Harper.
Epps would not provide any details about how the gun got into Parchman’s most secure unit.