Crime
Hinds DA Smith's Supreme Court Appeal Delays Rankin County Trial
A Rankin County judge today delayed the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith for aggravated stalking, robbery, and two counts of domestic violence, all involving an ex-girlfriend …
City & County
JPS Faces Big Week as Governor's Takeover Decision Looms
As Jackson Public Schools officials and administrators work to meet deadlines set in their 2016 corrective action plan, Gov. Phil Bryant could decide to take away local control of the …
City & County
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
City & County
JPD's First Woman SWAT Officer: 'I'm Not Intimidated'
The Jackson Police Department made history Thursday by inducting the first female member of to its SWAT team since its inception in 1971.
Education
JSU Photography Exhibit, MSU Entrepreneurship Research Honor and UMMC Telehealth Center of Excellence
Jackson State University is partnering with WJSU and the Mississippi Museum of Art to present "The Beauty of Cancer," a photography exhibit that features 20 breast-cancer survivors in various stages …
City & County
Welty Library Set to Re-open Monday
The Eudora Welty Library in downtown Jackson will reopen on Monday, after state and city officials inspected the building today, determining the first floor is safe for patrons.
LGBT
HB 1523 Becomes Law Amid Outcry, U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Appeal
The "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination" Act is state law in Mississippi, after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request of plaintiffs in the Barber …
Development
Transportation Head Calls Out Legislature for Not Funding Roads, Bridges
Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall did not mince words at the Stennis Capitol Press Forum Monday, calling out Mississippi lawmakers' inaction on funding the state's infrastructure.
Cover
Where Mississippi's U.S. Lawmakers Stand on Gun Laws, Rights
In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, the Jackson Free Press assembled details on the gun-related legislation that Mississippi lawmakers in Washington have supported or co-sponsored, as well as …
City & County
JPS Students: ‘Takeover’ Could Empty Schools, Fill Jails
State of Mississippi takeover of Jackson Public Schools could be devastating to young people, a group of JPS students told reporters outside City Hall Monday.
Civil Rights
Beyond Mississippi’s Dark Days of Judicial Injustice
On Sept. 27, Mississippi justices, lawyers and law students celebrated the state judicial branch's 200th birthday, along with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who visited Jackson for the …
Politics
Fighting for the Right to Vote
Mississippi state law on who gets to vote after serving time in MDOC's custody appears rather arbitrary. Twenty-two disenfranchising crimes are listed in a 2009 attorney general's opinion that clarifies …
Jacksonian
Kristy Johnson
For Kristy Johnson, the current Miss Black Mississippi U.S.A., pageants are an opportunity to inspire change.
Crime
Waiting for the DA: Smith Seven Hours Late to Face Rankin County Judge
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith was nearly seven hours late Monday to his pre-trial court date for two domestic-violence charges, an aggravated stalking charge, and a robbery charge …
Biz Roundup
The Place, MCM Arts Competition, Fuse.Cloud, Jackson Comprehensive Treatment Center and Miskelly Expansion
Event venue The Place at Harbour Crossing launched with a ribbon cutting and open house on Sept. 14.
Person of the Day
Elizabeth Carr
Attorney Elizabeth Carr says she didn't think anyone was paying attention to how much time and effort she puts into helping people who come into her firm, Southern Capital Title, …
Health Care
Mental Health Task Force Aims to Improve Services, Including for the Accused
Attorney General Jim Hood is tackling problems in Mississippi's mental-health system to make it easier for people to get treatment and to improve the commitment process, he said last week.
City & County
Welty Library Building Closure ‘Devastating’
The Eudora Welty Library building is closed off to the public after the state fire marshal closed it Oct. 5 due to several violations of fire and life safety standards …
Education
Awards and Research at UMMC and JSU
The National Science Foundation awarded Jackson State University researchers $350,000 through its Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research fund to support untested, high-risk exploratory research.
Person of the Day
Fannie Lou Hamer
Mississippi-born civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer is being commemorated Friday on what would have been her 100th birthday.
