State Correctional Officer Suspended Following Arrest

JACKSON   –    Corrections Commissioner Marshall Fisher today approved immediate suspension without pay of a correctional officer charged in a kidnapping, armed robbery and homicide that occurred in Jackson on Saturday morning.

Fisher learned after Andre Kennedy’s arrest Tuesday that Kennedy is one of 520 officers working at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County.  Kennedy, 22, was hired in January 2014.  He is charged with capital murder, robbery and kidnapping in a case involving an Eastover homeowner.

All state service employees who pass the probation period must receive due process, based on state policy.

“We are in the process of implementing new hiring policies, including the use of polygraphs,” Fisher said. “Although polygraphs are not foolproof, they are an excellent screening tool in the hiring process.”