The Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) is the state’s oldest Institution, opening in 1901. Also known as Parchman Farms, the prison is located on approximately 18,000 acres in northern Sunflower County. It has 3,560 beds, 58 support buildings and seven different housing units, ranging in size from 56 beds at Unit 42 to 1,568 beds at Unit 29. 

Incoming male inmates sentenced to MDOC custody in county circuit courts in Northern Mississippi are first transported from county jails to MSP for orientation and initial classification. They may remain at MSP or be assigned housing elsewhere in the prison system anywhere in the state at MDOC's discretion.

Personnel: MSP is authorized for 617 full-time permanent positions and nine are time-limited.

MSP houses all male inmates who are classified as protective custody, administrative segregation, administrative long-term segregation, and death row.  The custody levels are minimum, medium, and close.

MSP inmates provide more than 100,000 hours of free labor each year to adjacent municipalities and counties, as well as assisting other state agencies.

The majority of the farming activity involving Mississippi Prison Agricultural Enterprises (MPAE) happens at MSP. MPAE supplies food to MSP and the other state prisons, community work centers, and restitution centers.  

MAGCOR (previously known as Mississippi Prison Industries Corp. (MPIC) operates a work program for its textile and metal fabrication.

MSP is where state executions are carried out at Unit 17 by lethal injection. Unit 17 was recently renovated and Death Row inmates, previously housed in Unit 29, were returned to Unit 17 for housing.

Parchman cemetery is also located on prison grounds. Inmates whose families cannot afford to bury them or those who do not have family members to claim their remains are buried on two acres. Records show that the first burial was in 1930. 

Healthcare: Unlike the other state prisons which have infirmaries, MSP has its own hospital that is fully licensed and provides services 24 hours per day. Through the state’s contracted healthcare vendor, VitalCore Health Strategies provides onsite medical services to its inmates. Onsite services include, but are not limited to, emergency care, infirmary care, dental, optometry, clinical, and pharmaceutical services. Specialty care services are also available through a network of off-site contracted hospitals and specialty care providers.