Jackson Free Press

Willie Jerome Manning, convicted of the 1992 murders of two Mississippi State students, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday May 7.

Manning has always said he did not commit the crime; in fact, he says he was at a club on the night of the murders. For years, he's been trying to convince the state to test DNA from the crime scene. As gruesome as the murders were, there should be lots of biological material to test. One of the victims, Tiffany Miller, was shot twice in the face at close range. One leg was out of her pants and underwear, and her shirt was pulled up. Her boyfriend John Steckler's body had abrasions that occurred before he died, and he was shot once in the back of the head. A set of car tracks had gone through the puddles of blood and over Steckler's body.

Already the Mississippi State Supreme Court has denied Manning's request to have DNA tests done that were unavailable in the early 90s. Now, Manning's attorneys have produced information that shows the Federal Bureau of Investigation erred in its testimony in Manning's case. In a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted the case, U.S. Justice Department officials state "that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used" in Manning's case.

The letter goes on to say that information the FBI presented in its testimony "exceeded the limits of science, and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI offered to perform the mitochondrial DNA testing, and requested Allgood's office respond by May 6 -- the day before Manning is to be put to death.

It's unclear whether Allgood will be receptive. One of the issues Manning raised in his appeal is that Allgood illegally kept African Americans off Manning's jury by dismissing potential jurors who said they read African American magazines for reading liberal publications. David Voisin, Manning's attorney, said if approved the testing could take several weeks depending on which lab is used.

This afternoon at the Capitol, death-penalty opponents and Manning supporters called on Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution. The Mississippi Innocence Project field a brief in support of Manning this week. Kennedy Brewer, who was freed in 2008 with DNA tests after being convicted and sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend's young daughter, also wrote Bryant asking to give Manning the same opportunity to clear his name that Kennedy received.

Sister Maati, of Our Community Against Racism, invoked this year's 50th anniversary of Medgar Evers' assassination and said allowing Manning's execution take place, considering the discriminatory fashion in which his lawyers say the DA picked his jurors, would demonstrate that Mississippi has not moved beyond its legacy of injustice.

"Mississippi, prove that institutional racism is no longer a part of your southern heritage, or admit that the execution of Willie Manning is yet another Mississippi lynching," Sister Maati said this afternoon.

Here's a list of Chokwe Lumumba's top campaign donors* this year, over the past two reporting cycles:

Barry W. Howard ($10,000) - Madison, Miss. Howard has given to at least one Democratic candidate for Mississippi statewide office, Gary Anderson, who ran for insurance commissioner in 2007.

Chokwe Lumumba ($6,000) - Jackson, Miss. Lumumba, the sitting Democratic Ward 2 councilman, gave himself money on two separate occasions. One sum totaled $3,000; the other $1,500. Lumumba is an attorney who has represented a number of high-profile clients and has a long and sometimes controversial history in civil rights and law.

Adekuule Adekuubi ($5,000) -- Mississippi The name that shows up on the most recent campaign finance report appears to be a misspelling of Adekunle Adekunbi, vice president of business development for Garrett Enterprises Consolidated, the company owned by Jackson developer Socrates Garrett.

John Burge ($3,000) - N/A

Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. ($2,000) -- Baton Rouge, La. Its website states: "Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc. opened its Jackson office in 2012 to serve the expanding Jackson area market as well as to provide services to the Mississippi Dept. of Transportation and other state agencies." With Mississippi offices Ocean Springs and Jackson eight total branches in Louisiana and Alabama Baton Rouge-based engineering consulting firm, Burk-Kleinpeter is an equal-opportunity political donor. On the federal level, the firm has given to the election campaigns of Sen. David Vitter and former Rep. William Jefferson, convicted on federal bribery charges in 2009. The firm, has also been in state races where the company operates, giving $29,700 total since 1998. In Mississippi, Burk-Kleinpeter or its principals, William Burk and George Kleinpeter, has in recent years contributed to Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves

Dr. Demitri Marshall ($2,000) - Port Gibson, Miss. In 2011, a Houston grand jury indicted Marshall for nonpayment of child support and related medical expenses a child who resides in Texas. The one-count indictment charged Marshall with failing to pay more than $10,000 in child support and medical expenses ordered by a Harris County family district court dating back to 1997.

Moore's Auto Sales ($1,300) - Jackson, Miss. Moore's bills itself as "the finest luxury vehicles in metro Jackson." A search of the Mississippi secretary of state's website yielded no results for the business.

New England Contractors LLC ($1,300) - Jackson, Miss. Formerly known as East Parke Properties is listed as a general contractor based in Jackson. Abby G. Robinson, the registered agent for the company, secretary of state records show.

*Note: Lumumba also collected $300 on May 7, 2013 from a person listed only as "Anonymous Donor." Gerald McWorter and Judith Green whose addresses are listed as "PayPal" gave $1,000 and $500, respectively.

Read more about Councilman Lumumba: jfp.ms/chokwelumumba.

House Minority Leader Bobby Moak released the following statement on the announcement that Harrah's will close its Tunica casino:

Jackson, MS- Today Harrah’s announced they are closing their casino in the Tunica market. This is a loss of Thirteen-Hundred (1300) Mississippi jobs, not to mention a tremendous blow to the credibility and future viability of our Mississippi gaming market. Casinos are a legal business in our state. They account for over twenty-five thousand direct jobs and, in particular, are the main reason Tunica was able to remove itself as one of the poorest counties in the nation.

Leadership in our state has refused to afford this vital industry the tax incentives and credits it offers to existing businesses or even those used to lure in new industries. We are now paying the price for this with the loss of jobs and tax revenues to local governments and the state. Contrary to popular belief, casinos are not immune to both economic downturns and the dramatic impact of the growth of out-of-state gaming operations in neighboring states such as Arkansas. We are no longer the only game in town. Regional gaming competition is not a phenomena that ends in Tunica, either. It is one of the most dangerous threats to the Mississippi gaming markets and lurks around the corner in states like Alabama, Florida and beyond.

No taxpayer funds are expended when a new casino enters our Mississippi market and creating, on average, 1,500 good-paying jobs. In return for their investment, Mississippi does not treat this industry as others within our borders. Mississippi offers no credit for hotel renovations or infrastructure, no credit for restaurant construction/improvements and does not even allow front line employee training, as other businesses are allowed to do, at the community college level - even though they pay taxes to support the community college system.

There is lacking a vision by Mississippi leadership to look at other jurisdictions and implement sound business investment incentives to take care of the casino industry that now resides in our state and foster growth and reinvestment by existing operators. With the closure of Harrah’s Tunica, we are seeing what happens when we exclude this industry from our overall state business investment model.

This industry must be allowed the opportunity to develop assets that not only help their bottom line, but state coffers as well. It has been almost 3 years since the federal government opened the door to internet gaming at the state level. Mississippi has refused to even consider allowing this to be developed in our state. While I am not asserting that internet gaming is the silver bullet that will allow gaming in Mississippi to regain its foothold, there is no doubt that it is but one tool of many that could be effectively employed to increase the attractiveness of this market to gaming-centric tourists. Harrah’s is a leader in the internet gaming effort in the halls of Congress and states around the nation. We have continually shut the …

Mississippi State University has dominated on the baseball diamond this season and is now dominating the list of finalists for the 2016 C Spire Ferris Trophy. The Bulldogs placed three players in the final five for the award.

The University of Mississippi and Delta State University each placed on player in the final five. The group includes three juniors, a senior and a freshman. Three of the final five are also products of Mississippi, with Florida and Tennessee providing home states for the other two.

Here are the five finalists listed by university.

Mississippi State

Dakota Hutson, junior, has been one of the best starting pitchers on a strong MSU staff. He has an 8-3 record while posting a low 2.52 ERA. The Dunlap, Tenn native has struck out 91 batters faced and walked just 27 in 89.1 innings of work and is allowing opposing teams to hit a .240 batting average.

Reid Humphreys has done just about every thing for the Bulldogs this season. He has played in the outfield, infield and pitched as well. The junior, who is from Brandon, Miss., is batting .333 with 15 doubles, five home runs and a triple. He is slugging .547 with an on-base percentage of .419. Coming out of the bullpen, Humphreys is 0-1 with a 6.05 ERA in 15 appearances. He has struck out 25 batters and walked just six in 19.1 innings of work.

Jake Mangum has had a sensational freshman season as he is hitting .405 for second best in the SEC and has nine doubles, three triples and one home run. The Pearl, Miss., native has an on-base percentage of .419 and a .547 slugging percentage.

University of Mississippi

J.B. Woodham is one of the stars in a strong season for the Rebels. The Orlando, Fla., native is batting .325 with a team leading 12 home runs, 11 doubles and 47 runs batted in. He has shined in his junior season with a .466 slugging percentage and nine assists from the outfield.

Delta State University

Will Robertson is the lone senior to be nominated but closes his career at Delta State with a strong final season for the team. He is batting .426, leading the Gulf South Conference, 27 doubles, eight home runs and 71 runs batted in. The Falkner, Miss., native is posting a .676 slugging percentage and a .492 on base percentage.

The winner will be announced at a luncheon on Monday, May 23 at the Cleveland Country Club. Scouts who cover Mississippi and college coaches choose the final five.

Fans can vote for a player at www.cspoavoting.com. Fan voting is from Tuesday until Sunday and will count for 10 percent of the voting. The other 90 percent will be made up of scouts and coaches.

Also at the luncheon will be former Rebels player and coach Jake Gibbs. The former New York Yankee will be the featured speaker at the event.

The …

The six state championships in Mississippi high-school football will be decided this Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3. This year, teams will play on the campus of Mississippi State University at Davis Wade Stadium.

One of the biggest matchups will be for the 6A championship, with Clinton High School facing Pearl High School on Friday at 7 p.m. This is the second championship game for both schools.

Pearl is making its first appearance in the championship game since 1985 when the team fell to Louisville High School. Clinton returns to the title game for the first time since 2000, which ended in a loss to Moss Point High School.

Starting off the title games Friday will be the 1A championship, which will begin at 11 a.m. and features Lumberton High School against Simmons High School from Hollandale.

Lumberton is making its fifth appearance in the title game and is a perfect four for four in championships. Simmons is the defending champion at the 1A level and is making its third run for the title.

After the 1A game is the 2A game at 3 p.m. featuring Bay Springs High School facing off against Calhoun City High School. Bay Springs is making its third appearance but looking for its first win. Calhoun City is in its 11th title game, the most appearances for any school playing this year, but only has one win to show for all the trips.

Saturday’s games begin at 11 a.m. with the 3A championship between Charleston High School and Kemper County High School out of De Kalb. Kemper County is playing its first title game, and Charleston is making its sixth appearance but has won just one title.

The action continues on Saturday with the 4A title game at 3 p.m. as Poplarville High School faces Lafayette High School from Oxford. This is the first championship-game appearance for Poplarville, but Lafayette is making its fifth title run and has two championships.

Saturday night features the final title game between Laurel High School and West Point High School, kicking off at 7 p.m. Laurel is playing its sixth title game and has three titles, and West Point is playing for its 10th title with seven titles under its belt, the most out of any school making an appearance this year.

The northern teams will be the home squads during these championship games and will be on the sideline with the press box. Attendees can purchase tickets at the gate for $15 and are good for all three games on either Friday or Saturday. Tickets are also available for $14 at any school playing in a championship game.

If you can’t make it to the games, you can still catch them on TV in the Jackson area on MeTV WAPT or channel 16.2 on the digital dial. The games will also be aired in Hattiesburg on WDAM Bounce (7.3); Meridian on WMDN Bounce (24.2); Tupelo …

Once again the New Orleans Saints have finished with a 7-9 record and are out of the playoffs.

The team has missed the postseason four of the last five seasons and hasn’t been able to recapture the magic of the Super Bowl season in 2009. It hasn’t been able to finish with a winning record since 2013.

As soon as the season ended, New Orleans Head Coach Sean Payton spoke with General Manager Mickey Loomis after the team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Loomis and Payton will continue to meet this week following the end of the season.

Rumors began to swirl that the Saints would be open to trading Payton to another team if the right offer came its way. This is the second offseason that rumors of the Saints looking to shop Payton have started.

After the end of last season, New Orleans and Payton came to an agreement on a five-year contract extension worth $9 million per year. The Saints also worked a deal with quarterback Drew Brees that has him signed for next season.

Even after a disappointing year, there is hope in New Orleans. The defense suffered injury after injury and still rallied to become better as the season progressed.

Rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and rookie wide receiver Michael Thomas ended up playing well in their first seasons. The offense is still one of the best in the NFL, and Brees, who turns 38 this month, is still one of the quarterbacks in the league.

New Orleans has plenty of offensive weapons but needs to get cap room and use draft picks to continue to work on the defense. Over the Cap says that the Saints have more than $30 million to spend in cap space this offense.

The team has to make a big decision: Will it continue to chase a title with Payton and Brees, or will it begin to rebuild?

If the team can carve out more cap space and use that money judiciously, the defense can be improved quickly. A pass rusher should be the No. 1 offseason need the team should address.

The NFL is a passing league, and getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks is part of winning games. Teams that can’t get pressure normally struggle during the season.

New Orleans finished 27th in sacks this season with 30, but to be fair, the Oakland Raiders finished last in the league in sacks with 25 and still made the playoffs. Most of the teams in the postseason finished from near the top to the middle of the league in sacks.

Brees could play until he is 40 or beyond, and if he will work with the team on salary, it could help the Saints make one or two more championship runs. But will the future Hall of Fame quarterback cut the team a hometown discount? Who knows at this point.

The …

The National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame announced the candidates for the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame class. The ballot provides a lengthy list of players and coaches at various levels of college football.

Many names on the list went on to have long and NFL Hall of Fame-worthy professional careers. Some of the players were just stars at the college level and had short or no pro careers.

There are a few names on the list that have ties to our state. It is a prestigious honor if any of those players make into the hall, considering over 5.19 million people have played college football, but only 987 players are in the hall of fame.

One athlete from our state with a great chance of making into the hall is University of Mississippi linebacker Patrick Willis. The former Rebel great was a 2006 First Team All-American, 2006 Butkus Award winner, 2006 SEC Player of the Year and two-time First Team All-SEC. Willis went on to play for the San Francisco 49ers and was a star in the NFL. He abruptly retired after the 2014 season, thinking of his long-term health.

Four players from Mississippi Valley State University landed on the ballot. Younger fans will likely know former defensive back Ashley Ambrose the best. He was First Team All-American, First Team All-SWAC, and SWAC Defensive Back and Return Specialist in 1991. He went on to play in the NFL for several teams, including the New Orleans Saints.

Vincent Brown played linebacker for the Delta Devils, was a 1987 First Team All-American and led the nation in tackles in 1986 and 1987. He set an NCAA record at all levels for tackles with 570 and went on to have a successful career with the New England Patriots.

Former MVSU quarterback Parnell Dickerson was First Team All-American and Pittsburgh Courier National Player of the Year in 1975. He was a three-time All-SWAC selection and was the conference's all-time leader in total offense by the end of his college career. Dickerson played one season in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The final Delta Devil to make the list is former wide receiver Bob Gaddis. He was a 1974 First Team All-American and Pittsburgh Courier National Player of the Year. He was the NAIA 1970 Freshman of the Year. He played in the NFL and CFL during his professional career.

One coach to make the ballot has ties to our state. Head coach Billy Jack Murphy has the most wins in school history at the University of Memphis, which was called Memphis State University during his tenure. He took Memphis to its first bowl game, earned the title of Detroit News’ 1963 Coach of the Year, led the Tigers to an undefeated season in 1963 and was the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year multiple times.

Murphy played his college football at Mississippi State University. He …