Mississippi Prison Corruption Case Grows

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A Jackson insurance agent is the latest person indicted in a corruption case tied to the Mississippi prison system.

Guy E. “Butch” Evans appeared briefly Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Jackson. The 61-year-old pleaded not guilty to one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

An indictment says that from 2012 to 2014, Evans gave kickbacks to Christopher Epps, who was then the state corrections commissioner, in exchange for exclusive access to sell insurance to Department of Corrections employees.

Epps awaits sentencing in the wide-reaching corruption case.

Evans was released on $10,000 bond. An Oct. 3 trial date was set, but that’s likely to change because his attorney, James Tucker, has a scheduling conflict. Tucker had no comment after Evans left the courtroom.