All results / Stories / Jackson Free Press
[Balko] Trial By Ordeal
A couple of centuries after the age of King Arthur, much of Europe began to engage in similarly ridiculous rituals to determine guilt in cases that lacked eyewitnesses or physical …
A Candid Candidacy
After Sen. John McCain announced he would not attend the presidential debate last week until a bailout deal was reached, many people, including the two nominees, began throwing around the …
Let Us Begin Again
Not long ago, an evangelical minister and his teenage son visited me at the JFP offices. We sat in the classroom, under the watchful gaze of Emmett Till from a …
[Mott] ‘Bring On the Rest'
Driving away from Parchman Penitentiary on the night Mississippi executed Joseph Burns, I was having trouble putting my feelings into words. I had just watched a man die in front …
Media Literacy Project: The Mouth Of Babes
"Idle hands are the tools of the devil." At least, that's what city officials like Mayor Frank Melton and Ward 3 City Councilman Kenneth Stokes seem to think about Jackson …
[Balko] Killed on a Technicality
In 1994 Eddie Lee Howard was convicted of raping and murdering 84-year-old Georgia Kemp. Firefighters found Kemp dead in her Columbus, Miss., home after a neighbor noticed smoke coming from …
[Balko] Trust Me: You Can Trust Us
In April I wrote a column about the secretive habits of three large police departments in Virginia's Washington, D.C., suburbs: Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington. As Connection Newspapers reporter Michael …
Celebrating Manhood
Whenever I've had something I needed to say to my brother but couldn't verbalize, I wrote him a letter. There have been two letters, in particular, that have proven to …
A Letter to Caller Number One
"Why don't y'all just leave him alone?" The passion in the caller's voice was alarming. "He's an old man. Just leave him be. Let sleeping dogs lie." When I heard …
Listen to the Moans
Sunday morning, I was organizing my new writing room at home and turned on the Galloway Methodist broadcast on WAPT to keep me company. I didn't pay much attention until …
Art For the People
After an exquisite breakfast of fresh fruit and hot flapjacks during our recent honeymoon in Belize, my husband, J.P., and I slowly sipped our glasses of orange juice and walked …
[Stiggers] Turkey Day Parade
Miss Doodle Mae: "As the holiday season approaches, Jojo's Discount Dollar Store is gearing up for a special event during Thanksgiving. It's an event the financially challenged community will enjoy."
Happiness Worth Celebrating
In my own relationship with an abusive man, "You're the best" turned fairly quickly into "I'm the only one who loves you," along with overt attempts to demonize my friends …
[Stiggers] The Four-Way Test
Miss Doodle Mae: "The staff of Jojo's Discount Dollar Store just finished the daily staff meeting, similar to the meeting seen on the television series ‘Hill Street Blues.' Our morning …
[Balko] Drug Warriors Want Your Assets
The Supreme Court reviews Illinois' awful asset forfeiture law.
[Stiggers] This Funky Society
Mr. Announcement: "In the ghetto criminal justice system, the people are represented by members of the Ghetto Science Community: police officer and part-time security guard at the Funky Ghetto Mall, …
[Stiggers] An Already Angry Sista
TaaQweema: "I'm Boneqweesha's star student and Suma Cum Lawd Have Mercy graduate of the Hair Did University school of Cosmetology. You're watching 'Ask 'TaaQweema,' the new call-in and advice television …
[Dortch] Legislature: Raise Cigarette Tax by $1
"Of all the concerns, there is one—taxation—that alarms us the most. While marketing and public and passive smoking restrictions do depress volume, in our experience taxation depresses it much more …
[Stiggers] Future Paradise
Rudy McBride: "This may sound weird, but an epiphany came to me. It happened while I was doing some paperwork and listening to the 'Good Morning Ghetto' Drive Time Morning …
We Like ‘Obamacare'
With the U.S. Supreme Court considering health-care reform, we thought we'd mention that (a) our health-insurance rates are down, (b) we appreciate the tax credits for our small business, and …
