[7] Jerry Mitchell of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting stated that upon SCMI's opening, it "provided employment for a job-starved small town.

[9] Of the inmates at SMCI, all of whom are male, 2,088 are Black, 962 are White, 45 are Hispanic, nine are Asian, and two are Native American.

[10] In the late 2010s SMCI faced a combination of severe budget cuts, low levels of enforcement officer staffing, and conditions dangerous to staff and prisoners.

State senator and Leaksville native Dennis DeBar drew a direct connection between the prison's staff vacancy rate of just under 50% -- half of its necessary jobs filled—and the offered starting salary of $25,000 per year.

[11] An investigation by the state Attorney General's office into the escape of a felon inmate named Michael Wilson in July 2018 found that SMCI was hampered from communicating or coordinating with other agencies, posing risk to public safety.