PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - Jackson County Board of Supervisors President John McKay says Sheriff Mike Byrd is within his legal rights to deny housing certain inmates at the Jackson County Adult Detention Center.

Last week, Byrd sent out a one-paragraph memo to the Ocean Springs, Pascagoula and Moss Point police departments to alert the chiefs that he would no longer house National Crime Information Center fugitives at the county jail.

McKay told The Mississippi Press (http://bit.ly/VBHmLK ) on Monday that the county attorney researched it, and it is legal for the sheriff to make that call.

But he noted the city of Moss Point also has a contract with the sheriff's department, and it should be honored.

Byrd said last week that his decision was based on overcrowding and safety issues at the county jail.

Information from: The Mississippi Press, http://www.gulflive.com

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