Jackson Free Press

We Were Walking Downtown

Sweat pours down my brow as I'm walking on President Street in late July. The weatherman predicts at least 100 degrees, but with concrete surrounding me, it already feels like …

Bell Denies Responsibility

Robbie Bell says she was not home on Trawick Drive when her son, George Bell III, raped and then bludgeoned Mary Heather Spencer with a flashlight the night of Sept. …

Gov. Haley Barbour is just following Mississippi tradition, his office says, when he frees killers …

• August 10, 2008

Of Lady Killers and 'Good Behavior'

Citizens can feel secure knowing that the men in green and white stripes working on the road crews are not rapists or murderers. Mississippi law says that violent criminals are …

Justice For Sale

Almost immediately after his appointment to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi in late 2001, Dunnica Lampton began to investigate key Mississippi Democrats.

Funny Math At The Fair

The Neshoba County Fair was calm this year. There are no candidates fighting for state-wide races, leaving many politicians free to make jabs at national candidates like presumptive Democratic presidential …

Where There's Smoke, There's Haley Barbour

During his long tenure in Washington, Haley Barbour was known for his love of Maker's Mark bourbon, good cigars and Republican politics, not necessarily in that order.

No More Autopsies for Steven Hayne

Radley Balko at Reason Magazine and WLBT are reporting that Mississippi's long-time de facto medical examiner, Steven Hayne, will no longer be doing autopsies in the state. Balko writes:

Barbour Gives Relief to 4 ‘Domestic' Killers, of 5 Total

Bobby Hays Clark murdered on-again, off-again girlfriend Veronica Conner in 1996 by shooting her in the neck with a 25-caliber automatic, hitting her carotid artery. Now, his record is clear, …

So, When Did Barbour Have a Change of Heart on Pardons?

Hmmm. When you poke just a little at Barbour's history on and attitudes about pardoning criminals—even men like Cory Maye who shot a police officer who burst into his home …

C-L To Lay Off 20 Staffers

Editor and Publisher magazine is reporting the contents of a memo circulated by the Clarion-Ledger's current publisher, Larry Whitaker, to his staff. The memo was leaked earlier in the day …

Haley Barbour: ‘You Gotta Admire Obama's Nerve'

July 31, 2008 - Following are verbatim remarks by Gov. Haley Barbour at the Neshoba County Fair today in Philadlphia, Miss.:

Is Shoe About to Fall on Trent Lott?

Well, the man state Republicans used to adore regardless of what he did may be about to fall even harder: The Associated Press reports that State Farm attorneys are alleging …

UPDATED: Barbour Helps Domestic Killers

At least three of six criminals getting relief from Gov. Haley Barbour killed their former or current wife or girlfriend.

Nader 'Spoiling' McCain?

Independent Party presidential hopeful Ralph Nader asked Jackson supporters this weekend to sign a petition to include him on the Mississippi ballot in November. Nader's Independent Party requires at least …

Freedom Riders

<b><u>Summer Of Freedom</u></b>

In 1961 civil-rights leaders travelled across the United States motivating young people to take hold of a small part of history.

Change on the Horizon

Barack Obama can win Mississippi for the Democratic Party. A laughable statement in political circles as recently as last year, this was the message Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean …

Governor Commutes One Killer's Sentence, Not Another

In a move that illustrates the erratic nature of America's justice system, Gov. Haley Barbour commuted the sentence of Michael David Graham last Thursday, July 17. Graham, convicted for shooting …

Tracks Of Their Tears

Velma Berry lives in a brick house seven miles due west of the Mantee exit off the Natchez Trace in Northeast Mississippi. The well-kept lawn, thriving tomato plants and orange …

Melton Indictments: The JFP Story That Started It All

Read Adam Lynch's breaking story that first revealed Mayor Frank Melton's Aug. 26 alleged rampage on Ridgeway Street in Jackson—the accusations that led to felony indictions of Melton and his …