Jackson Free Press

Rep. John Lewis: Bush, Powell, Rice Lied About Iraq

Rep. John Lewis, a legendary civil rights hero, this week tells Atlanta's Creative Loafing, the alternative weekly there, that the Bush administration lied to convince the American people to support …

Bill to Hamstring AG Office?

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Senate are pressing for a new law that would force a competitive bidding process on plaintiff lawyers looking to contract with the Mississippi …

Musgrove Camp Decries Scruggs Smear

Sen. Roger Wicker's supporters at the National Republican Senatorial Committee are attempting to link his Democratic opponent, Ronnie Musgrove, with incarcerated lawyer Paul Minor, as well as Mississippi attorney Richard …

Minimum Wage Increase Affects Thousands in Mississippi

Last Friday, the federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents an hour, going from $6.55 to $7.25. The increase will affect thousands of workers in Mississippi, according to Bureau of …

Felons Are (Back) In

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton, who refused to sit next to a "convicted felon" at a campaign forum back in April, is now a fan of granting second chances. Melton did …

Guilty By Default?

When Mayor Frank Melton held the post as head of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, he leaked a memo containing accusations against MBN employees that were later disproved by the …

Fire Department Recruits Flunk

The 2007 Jackson Fire Department recruit class has hit another obstacle. Almost half the graduating class, 10 out of 23, failed a field delivery test administered by the state fire …

Council Approves Budget, With Cuts

The Jackson City Council approved a balanced $387.7 million city budget last Friday, after almost two weeks of grueling daily budget meetings.

King Edward on the Rise

Jackson attorney and developer David Watkins touted progress on the renovation of the dilapidated King Edward Hotel June 19, predicting the project will be finished by spring 2009.

Wait, And Wait Some More

On Oct. 1, Mayor Frank Melton announced that he was dissolving the city's Crime Prevention Unit with only days' notice. Charging that the members were not doing their jobs—despite the …

Burns Met Death Unafraid

Moments before the executioner filled Joseph Daniel Burns' veins with the lethal drug cocktail that would end his life, Burns, his voice soft but steady, apologized to his victim's family.

Hood Responds to Hayne Criticism

Gov. Haley Barbour signed H.B. 1456 into law March 19, requiring that pathologists doing autopsies in Mississippi--in addition to the state medical examiner--hold American Board of Pathology certification. Such certification …

Barbour Comparison Off the Mark?

Gov. Haley Barbour made national news again this week by comparing health-care reform—as envisioned in the U.S. House and Senate—to the horror of the Jonestown massacre. Speaking as chairman of …

[Hendry] Crash

At first all I heard was a crash. I looked up and saw a young woman carrying a child. I saw the Kroger grocery buggy's contents going in her direction, …

Can Education Be Saved? More Cuts May Be Ahead.

Pontotoc County Superintendent John Simmons has been in his position for only two years, but already knows how strapped for money his county schools are. "Some of our history books …

[Talk] Broken Promises

"The AmeriCorps program is in a crisis," wrote its Mississippi director, Judy Stein, in a June 17, 2003, letter to Congress. And that crisis may leave Mississippi the hardest hit …

The Animals We Love

Little River For years now, Todd and I have delightfully referred to the delightful creature as just "Don Potts' horse." And Little River is definitely a miniature horse, and most …

U.S. Economy Sending Mixed Signals Ahead of Election

Anyone puzzled by the most recent U.S. economic data has reason for feeling so: The numbers sketch a sometimes contradictory picture of the economy.

Downtown Vandalism Creates Tension

John Gomez, associate director of business improvement of Downtown Jackson Partners, vowed that the recent vandalism at Tye's Restaurant & Bar would not significantly upset the organization's attempts to sell …

We're Sorry for the Murders of Dee and Moore

See full JFP Dee-Moore archive here.

When Thomas Moore came back to Mississippi in July 2005 looking for justice for the 1964 murders of his brother, Charles, and his friend, Henry Dee, he didn't know if …