Recycling Crime

by Adam Lynch
August 20, 2008

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate has put the clamps on an effort to change a new state law regulating the metal-recycling industry. The law specifically demands scrap buyers keep all scrap purchases on their property for three days, so authorities…

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Bell Denies Responsibility

by Ronni Mott
August 13, 2008

Robbie Bell says she was not home on Trawick Drive when her son, George Bell III, raped and then bludgeoned Mary Heather Spencer with a flashlight the night of Sept. 10, 2007. So says her response to Linda Francomb’s lawsuit,…

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UPDATED: Barbour Helps Domestic Killers

by Ronni Mott and Sophie McNeil
July 28, 2008

At least three of five criminals getting relief from Gov. Haley Barbour killed their former or current wife or girlfriend. Last week, Barbour stunned the city of Pascagoula by suspending the sentence of Michael David Graham, who…

entered by DonnaLadd on 07/30/08 | 43 read more »

Crime Drama in Jackson

Residents of the city of Jackson are never short on criticism - especially about the topic of crime. I am wondering what locals are thinking about the causes of such a meteoric rise in crime?

Lack of family values? Poverty? Poor city management? Not enough police…

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Melton Protégé Pleads

Mayor Frank Melton says he will be waiting for Michael Taylor to get out of prison, probably before he is 21. "He is too good of a kid to give up on," Melton told The Clarion-Ledger last week. "I will be there for him when he gets out." Currently, Melton…

entered by Todd Stauffer on 06/19/08 | read more »

Seale Wants Freedom

by Ronni Mott
June 4, 2008

The flawed record of Dr. Stephen Hayne was at issue when James Ford Seale took his 2007 conviction before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this week.

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Community Combats Crime

by Sophie McNeil
May 21, 2008

Standing at the corner of Florence and Valley Streets near the campus of Jackson State University, it is evident why Royce Smith Jr. is concerned about his business. Buildings in the Washington Addition have seen better days and, according to…

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What, Hampton? Crime ‘Better’ Than When?

As part of The Clarion-Ledger's odd collection of articles today, seemingly designed to kiss and make up with the city it has scorned and bashed for so long, David Hampton pens a fluff column about the "preconceived notions" about Jackson—the ones his paper has made money off of for…

entered by DonnaLadd on 05/18/08 | 3 read more »

Berry Killed on His Birthday?

by Donna Ladd
April 23, 2008

As Earl Berry’s attorneys continue their protests that the state’s method for killing inmates is flawed, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a motion this week to reset the execution of Earl Berry for the 1987 murder of Mary Bounds…

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Hate-Crimes Grossly Under-Reported

by Ronni Mott
Photo by Darren Schwindaman
December 5, 2007

There were no hate crimes in Mississippi in 2005 or 2006, according to the most recent FBI statistics. Nationwide, say the stats, hate crimes rose 7.8 percent in '06, with 7,722 incidents.

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Black woman survives hate crime in West Virginia

Megan Williams was stabbed in the leg, called racial epithets and forced to eat rat droppings and dog feces while held hostage in a tool shed for a week or more. The victim is currently hospitalized, and they expect for her to be released in a few days. Six…

entered by LatashaWillis on 09/12/07 | 14 read more »

Crime Plan: More of the Same

by Adam Lynch
June 12, 2007

Mayor Frank Melton said he is responsible for the remarkable rise in violent crime in the city last Friday. "I am accountable for that, and the buck stops with me," Melton told reporters.

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Crime Plan Short on Specifics

by Adam Lynch
Photo by Adam Lynch
February 7, 2007

Police Chief Shirlene Anderson gave the first few hints of a crime plan to the public this Monday following a City Council budget meeting. Anderson had stalled for months in response to…

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But, Ledge, He Was Indicted of Several Crimes

Interesting little screw-up today in The Clarion-Ledger editorial about the "crime summit" no one paid any attention to. The esteemed all-male editorial board wrote:

First, the location of the summit was not decided until a few days ago. Then it wasn't well publicized. And momentum from…