Bill Text: MS SC509 | 2022 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Commend State Parole Board Chairman Steven Pickett on the occasion of his retirement.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2022-02-10 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC509 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2022-SC509-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Blount, Branning, DeBar, Frazier, Horhn, Michel, Norwood, Simmons (12th), Simmons (13th), Sparks
Senate Concurrent Resolution 509
(As Adopted by Senate)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING MISSISSIPPI STATE PAROLE BOARD CHAIRMAN STEVEN PICKETT AS THE LONGEST-SERVING CHAIRMAN ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AFTER 30 YEARS OF EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT SERVICE.
WHEREAS, Mississippi State Parole Board Chairman Steven Pickett retired from a 30-year career in public service, effective December 31, 2021; and
WHEREAS, Steven Pickett ably served for nine years on the five-member Parole Board beginning November 10, 2012, after Governor Phil Bryant appointed him. He was named chairman one year later. Having been reappointed by Governor Tate Reeves in 2020, he is the longest-serving chairman; and
WHEREAS, Steven Pickett thanked Governor Reeves in his retirement letter and explained, "My thirty years of public service - in law enforcement, with the courts and on the Parole Board - have provided me the opportunity to make a difference in many people's lives. Helping people was my primary goal when I began my career in law enforcement, as it is for all the men and women who protect and serve us. My position on the Parole Board provided me a different kind of opportunity to help others, by giving a second chance to those who earned it and denying it to those who remain a threat to public safety"; and
WHEREAS, Steven Pickett came to the board after serving as a longtime deputy to Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin, who was on the board when Steven Pickett joined. His career also included serving as a Hinds County Youth Court Resource Officer, Hinds County Deputy Chancery Clerk and Justice Court Judge in Hinds County; and
WHEREAS, Steven Pickett estimated that he handled more than sixty thousand parole and revocation decisions. "The prison population is the lowest it has been in 22 years, at just under 17,000. The decrease in population is due, in large part, to the difficult and important decisions made by the board"; and
WHEREAS, Steven Pickett was responsible for organizing and directing the annual Law Enforcement Awards Recognition Ceremony at the Mississippi Trade Mart, the state's largest annual Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony which honors the state's fallen officers from the previous year and Central Mississippi TOP COPS; and
WHEREAS, although he will be leaving government service, he will continue helping others by working with the Mississippi Center for Police & Sheriffs' Warrior Cottages Program in Vicksburg, which provides housing to those in need, including veterans; and
WHEREAS, Steven Pickett's legacy is a strong Mississippi prison system and for this and for his selfless public service, a grateful state thanks him:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend Mississippi State Parole Board Chairman, Steven Pickett as the longest-serving chairman on the occasion of his retirement after 30 years of effective service and extend to Steven and his family our best wishes for future success.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Steven Pickett and his family, forwarded to the State Parole Board, the Commissioner of Corrections and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
