Jackson Free Press

Education Company Leaders Plead Guilty to Federal Charges

Nancy New and Zachary New, a mother and son who ran a for-profit education company, have pleaded guilty to improperly obtaining millions of dollars from the Mississippi Department of Education …

Judge Sentences Two Madison County Men to 150-Plus Years in Prison for Drug Offenses

Madison/Rankin County Circuit Court Judge Dewey Arthur sentenced 34-year-old Carlos Dominique Allen and 42-year-old Torrey Powell to 156 years, collectively, for drug offenses on March 28, 2022.

Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker has been tapped to speak at this year's Mississippi …

• April 11, 2022

Alice Walker to be Featured at Mississippi Book Festival

Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker has been tapped to speak at this year's Mississippi Book Festival.

Mississippi Works to Set Budget After Missing Deadline

Mississippi legislators worked on budget proposals Monday after missing deadlines because of a long dispute over a tax cut plan.

US Judge Issues 2nd Contempt Order for Mississippi Jail

A federal judge has issued a second contempt order over poor conditions at a county jail in Mississippi, where court monitors found staff members are afraid to work in a …

Waste Management Dismisses Lawsuit Against City of Jackson

Two weeks after filing a lawsuit against the City of Jackson, garbage-disposal company Waste Management has voluntarily filed a motion for dismissal of its case.

Waste Management initially filed a lawsuit in order to force the City of Jackson into …

• March 15, 2022

Hearing Set for Mississippi Inmate Who Sought Execution Date

A Mississippi judge will hold a hearing next month to determine if a death row inmate truly wants to request an execution date and if the inmate is mentally competent …

Mayor Lumumba Alleges City-Council Corruption Amid Garbage-Disposal Lawsuit

Amid an ongoing dispute between Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and the Jackson City Council over garbage-disposal contracts, the mayor said that he believes certain members of the council have accepted …

Mississippi Remapping Diminishes Black Voices, NAACP Says

Mississippi legislators drew a congressional redistricting plan that diminished Black voters' influence in the state's three majority-white districts, attorneys for the NAACP and two other groups argue in federal court …

Mississippi Senate Passes Income Tax Cut Slashing $446 Million in Revenue

The Mississippi Senate approved legislation to reduce the state income tax by hundreds of millions of dollars Wednesday, despite caution from opponents who questioned the wisdom of doing so while …

‘No, I Can’t Lose’: Mississippi Rappers Pass Mic, Change Narrative at Jackson Indie Music Week

Jackson rapper Navihon was the first artist to hit the stage at “The Culture Rap Concert,” part of the seventh-annual Jackson Indie Music Week held at Hal and Mal’s.

Statue of Racist Mississippi Ex-Gov. Bilbo Stashed in Closet

Mystery solved: The top administrator in the Mississippi House says he unilaterally made the decision to take a statue of a racist former Gov. Theodore Bilbo off public display and …

Federal Judge Finds Hinds County in Contempt for Ongoing Jail Conditions

A federal judge has declared Hinds County in contempt of court, setting the path for receivership proceedings after the county, in a Jan. 21, 2022, motion, sought to end the …

Mississippi Could Revive a Form of Initiative Process

Mississippi legislators are working to set a new way for people to petition to put issues on statewide ballots, months after the state Supreme Court tossed out the state's old …

‘God Selected This Case’: The Christian Dominionist War On Abortion, Part II

Days before the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump celebrated the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, achieving a top priority of many Christian dominionist …

Statue of Racist Ex-Gov. Bilbo Quietly Moved in Mississippi

A statue of white supremacist former Mississippi Gov. Theodore Bilbo has quietly been moved out of sight in the state Capitol — a move praised by Black lawmakers who say …

‘To Rule History With God’: The Christian Dominionist War On Abortion, Part I

In hopes of triggering a U.S. Supreme Court case, the Alliance Defending Freedom drafted the 15-week abortion ban that the Mississippi Legislature passed in 2018.

Despite Deaths Behind Bars, Hinds County Wants Out of Consent Decree

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said that his office had fired two detention officers for violating various jail policies at Hinds County Detention Center concerning the death of pre-trial detainee …