(CNN) Mississippi's newly sworn-in governor vowed Monday to help "turn the page" for the state's prison system following the deaths of multiple inmates within the past month and a lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates over prison conditions.

"All Mississippians must be able to trust that the people in charge of the system are acting with competence to keep them safe," Gov. Tate Reeves said during his state of the state speech. "We must be able to trust that the corrections officers operating these prisons have the tools that they need to do their jobs and that they are compensated fairly."

The governor said he recently visited the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, where nine prisoner deaths have taken place in the past month, some by hanging and some following altercations within the facility.

Parchman holds about 3,600 of the state's 19,000 inmates.

"The problems were infuriating, there is no excuse," Reeves said. "We can do better."

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