State Lacks Affordable Legal Services
The state needs attorneys to donate their legal services in order to overcome a shortage of free civil legal service aid for residents, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jesse Dickinson told …
[Balko] Killed on a Technicality
In 1994 Eddie Lee Howard was convicted of raping and murdering 84-year-old Georgia Kemp. Firefighters found Kemp dead in her Columbus, Miss., home after a neighbor noticed smoke coming from …
JFP Persons of the Day: Jamie and Gladys Scott
For their supporters, Jamie and Gladys Scott have become emblematic of a broken criminal-justice system in Mississippi. Jamie, 36, and Gladys, 38, were 19 and 21 respectively when they were …
Hinds DA: Castle Doctrine Has Gray Areas
Mississippi's "castle doctrine" law, which allows for the use of deadly force in certain self-defense situations, has some gray areas, Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith acknowledged in a …
Shame on JPD and the Media
In August, a 13-year-old Jacksonian was charged with aggravated assault for shooting a 17-year-old friend in the head. Thankfully, the friend lived.
JPD Touts Community Policing Program
The Jackson Police Department is hailing a northwest Jackson neighborhood-watch program as an exemplary model of community policing. Introducing the Woodhaven Homeowners Association Citizen Patrol at a command staff meeting …
Thanks, Jackson, for Setting Example
Soon, the Jackson City Council Planning Committee is bringing a proposed ordinance before full council to restrict city police from inquiring about citizenship status during interdictions.
[Hammond] It's a Dry Hate
At the end of July, I traveled to Arizona to join with other members of the Unitarian Universalist faith to protest the enactment of SB 1070, the infamous anti-immigration law, …
[Balko] The Government's License To Steal
In the February issue of "Reason," I wrote a feature story on civil asset forfeiture, the process by which law enforcement groups can seize property, usually in drug cases, sometimes …
Wait: I've Heard This Before
Recently, someone sent me a link to a site set up about the old white-supremacist Citizen's Council (citizenscouncil.com)--a supposedly upstanding racist group that famed newspaper editor Hodding Carter Jr. called …
[Balko] Cops Don't Check Civil Rights at State House Door
The debate over whether citizens should be permitted to record on-duty police officers intensified this summer. High-profile incidents in Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and elsewhere spurred coverage of the issue …
[Balko] Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse." That's the standard line motorists hear when they say they weren't aware of the speed limit, or gun owners hear when they say …
Samuel Bryant
Samuel Bryant may have left Mississippi for 52 years, but he is hoping his experiences as a community organizer and artist in Portland, Ore., will help his goal of facilitating …
Allison Goldman
The story of Judy Frieze Wright, a Jewish Freedom Rider who was arrested in Jackson in 1961, inspired Allison Goldman to educate others about the role of Jews during the …
