headed since 2002. The next day he and businessman Cecil B. McCrory, a former state legislator, were indicted on 49 federal counts of bribery and receiving kickbacks from for-profit companies operating and serving Mississippi prisons. In 2015, both men pleaded guilty; they assisted the investigation, under which numerous additional indictments and convictions have been achieved. In early 2017, McCrory was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in federal prison. Epps was sentenced on May 2017 to nearly 20 years in prison; he had previously been indicted for receiving $1.47 million in bribes and kickbacks. In February 2017 the Mississippi State Attorney announced a civil suit against MTC, GEO Group and 13 other contractors and several individuals, seeking damages and punitive damages related to contracts made by figures convicted in the corruption case. As of 2016, the state owes $121 million in bonded indebtedness for the construction and subsequent expansions of the Walnut Grove correctional facility. The MDOC has an "absolute and unconditional" obligation to pay that debt. History In the late 20th century, the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) began to contract with private companies to build and operate prisons in the state to meet rising demand, in part due to changes in sentencing guidelines. The first was opened in 1996. "By 2013, the system had four private prisons and the nation's second-highest incarceration rate." (Note: Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility was also still open in 2013, but it did not hold any Mississippi prisoners. CCA operated the facility under contracts to other states.) Counties and towns had vied to attract the private prisons, in hopes of stimulating economic development and providing jobs in rural areas. Cornell Companies expanded the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF), which originally opened in March 2001 under a different operator. It was located in unincorporated Leake County, Mississippi, on land owned by the Walnut Grove Development Authority; this entity was administered by the town of Walnut Grove. The prison was designed as an all-male, youth correctional facility for all levels of custody, with an initial capacity of 321 prisoners. In the same period, the state also contracted for private management of five other prisons. In 2001, 321 prisoners were held at the WGYCF; all were 18 years of age or younger. Within several years, the state agreed to a contract to expand the facility and it housed more than 1,000 prisoners by 2009. In total, including