Story
Private Prisons Flourish on Desperation
If you drive around Natchez, a sleepy river town of 16,045 people, and talk to folks, everybody has an opinion on whether Adams County Correction Center and its parent company, …
Story
Advice for aspiring Jackson musicians
My music isn't the kind people go to listen to at happy hour after a long day of work. I totally understand that at 5 p.m., people just want to …
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Person of the Day
Myra Ramsey
Myra Ramsey, 68, started the Daylight Ministries Center for Women 13 years ago. Daylight Ministries is a program to provide temporary housing for women who are former prison inmates, homeless …
Story
Does He Love Me?
Just as mental illness is a serious disease, so is alcoholism. The National Institutes of Health says most people who seek treatment are able to fight alcoholism.
Story
Bryan's Rant
Ain’t Got a Kluwe
Finally, after what seems like the longest off-season in years, football is about to shift its focus back to what happens on the field instead of everything else in the …
Story
Stop the Death Penalty Now, Mississippi
If you were unsure last week whether Mississippi should immediately declare a moratorium on the death penalty, then now it's hard to deny the evidence.
Story
US Defends Record Before Top UN Human Rights Body
The United States heard widespread concern Monday over excessive use of force by law-enforcement officials against minorities as it faced the U.N.'s main human rights body for a review of …
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Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive
A woman told authorities she was held captive for more than a year by three people who forced her to do housework, raided her bank account and menaced her with …
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National
Trump Administration Pulls US Out of UN Human Rights Council
The United States announced Tuesday it was leaving the United Nations' Human Rights Council, with Ambassador Nikki Haley calling it "an organization that is not worthy of its name." It …
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Politics
Revving Up for the Big Fights
The Mississippi Legislature is preparing for the big fights that come later in the session, now that the Senate and House cleared most routine, non-controversial items off their calendars in …
Story
Country Legend George Jones Dead at 81
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When it comes to country music, George Jones was The Voice. Other great singers have come and gone, but this fact remained inviolate until Jones passed …
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New Sanctions Likely Despite Thaw in U.S.-Iran Ties
A war-weary Congress generally backs President Barack Obama's outreach to Iran, but with tougher U.S. economic measures against Tehran on the way, the president's diplomatic task could get harder if …
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City & County
Body Cams, Community Policing, Mental Health Funds on JPD's DOJ Wish List
The Jackson Police Department hopes to equip its officers with body cameras and increase its "community policing" capacity with funds from U.S. Department of Justice.
Entry
Jim Hood Orders 2 Executions then Defends U.S. Human Rights in Geneva
By R.L. NaveLast week, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood was in Geneva, Switzerland representing the U.S. before the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Hood, the only Democrat holding statewide office in Mississippi, serves as president-elect of the National Association of Attorneys General, and "responded to the committee’s questions concerning the death penalty, domestic violence, human trafficking, corporal punishment, zero tolerance in schools, life without parole for juvenile offenders, and reinstatement of voting rights for felons."
It would be interesting to know exactly what those questions, and Hood's responses, were. Especially considering that just a few weeks ago, Hood requested execution dates for two condemned Mississippi prisoners.
At Hood's request, Charles Ray Crawford and Michelle Byrom are scheduled to be put to death on March 26 and March 27, respectively.
Crawford was convicted of the 1993 killing of a college student named Kristy Ray in Tippah County.
Byrom was convicted of murder-for-hire in 1999 in connection with the death of her husband, Edward Byrom Sr. Even though big questions hang over Byrom's case, whose son wrote several letters confessing to the crime and that his mother did not participate in it, Hood moved ahead with planning her execution anyway.
Through a news statement, Hood said of his trip to human-rights mission to Geneva:
“It was indeed an honor to be one of the attorneys to defend America’s human rights record. ...It was rewarding to clarify many international misconceptions about Mississippi’s civil rights record and that of other states and our federal government.”
Story
From At-Risk to OK
Constant, intense stimulation, pressure to do more and better, media and peer pressure, and life's everyday changes bombard kids from all directions. Living in atmospheres of poverty, crime and abuse …
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Talk
Oakley Training School: A 'Bad Model'
Mississippi is wasting time and money in its attempt to bring the decrepit Oakley Juvenile Training School up to humane, livable standards. Calling large-scale, centralized juvenile facilities ineffective, Bear Atwood, …
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City Council Revisiting Fuel Theft Today
The Jackson City Council will meet today for an update on the city's continuing problem with alleged fuel theft. In early December, council members voiced concern that more than 80 …
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Crime
Labor Secretary Acosta Resigning Amid Epstein Deal Scrutiny
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said Friday he is resigning following renewed scrutiny of his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Esptein , who is accused …
