By Brian Livingston
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — Officials with Management & Training Corporation (MTC), who run the East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Lost Gap, announced the appointment of a new warden.
According to Issa Arnita, director of communications for MTC, Jerry Buscher has been tapped as the new warden, taking over for Frank Shaw who will be the warden at Wilkinson County Correctional Facility in Woodville. Buscher will assume command on Monday.
Arnita says Buscher spent more than 25 years with the Illinois Department of Corrections, most recently serving as executive chief to the director. He also served as warden multiple times, regional deputy director, and operations security director.
“Warden Buscher brings decades of experience to East Mississippi,” said MTC Senior Vice President of Corrections Odie Washington. “We are confident he will continue the pattern of excellence established at the East Mississippi facility.”
Washington noted the accomplishments Shaw has achieved since taking over as warden of the EMCF in July 2012.
“Warden Shaw has done an excellent job of creating a safe, secure, and clean facility,” Washington says. “In the last 11 months alone, Warden Shaw and his staff were responsible for a 74 percent reduction in offender on offender violence and a 60 percent reduction in use-of-force incidents. He has been instrumental in making significant improvements at the facility since MTC first took over in July 2012.”
Also during Warden Shaw’s tenure at the East Mississippi facility, Washington says his team was responsible for developing 45 educational and vocational classes for inmates including Adult Basic Education, GED, literacy, anger management, life skills, computer technician, and facility maintenance. More than 700 offenders currently participate in these programs.
“We know Warden Shaw will do an equally effective if not better job of operating the Wilkinson facility — that’s why we made the decision to relocate him,” Washington says.
Arnita says with the addition of the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, which MTC will begin operating on July 1, MTC will partner with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) in operating all four of its privately-run facilities.
“MDOC has been a tremendous partner. They have provided effective monitoring of these facilities and have been extremely supportive of MTC’s initiatives to enhance and improve the conditions at prisons,” Washington said.
MTC has also recently announced the addition of Vice President Marjorie Brown, who will oversee MTC’s new Mississippi/Florida region.
Brown was most recently MTC’s senior medical director. She has an MBA, and has been in corrections for more than 34 years. She served in many leadership positions including deputy director of a major correctional system for nearly a decade, state administrator of MTC’s medical operations in Tennessee, and warden.
“Marjorie will bring another layer of oversight and accountability for our facilities in Mississippi and Florida,” Washington said. “We are committed to providing quality service and sufficient resources to manage these facilities effectively. The safety and security of staff, inmates, and the communities in which we operate is our top priority.”