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The JFP Interview with Bill Luckett

In Clarksdale, Miss., Bill Luckett may as well already be governor. An attorney by training, he seems to have a hand in nearly every significant activity in town. Down the …

Crime

Out of Time

Once the drugs started to flow, it took only a minute for Benny Joe Stevens' lips to stop moving. He slipped out of consciousness, and soon his heart stopped.

Witnesses Praise Edwards' Leadership

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards has made major improvements to the school district but still needs more time, witnesses in the hearing on Edwards' contract said today. Vicki Davidson, …

Development

KiOR Heats Up

Biofuels company KiOR has yet to produce any of its vaunted crude oil substitute in Mississippi, but the startup is making big moves on financing.

Advocates Urge Canceling of Youth Prison Contract

Mississippi should cancel its contract with private prison company GEO Group, juvenile justice advocates said today. GEO Group, which operates the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, is the subject of …

Crime

Cuffs at Capital City?

Jackson Public Schools is looking into allegations that security guards at the district's alternative school have been punishing students by handcuffing them to chairs, bathroom railings and a gymnasium pole.

Poll: Many Blacks Undecided About Voter ID

Nearly 40 percent of African American voters are unsure how they feel about a voter-identification initiative on the 2011 statewide ballot, a new poll shows. Speaking at Koinonia Coffee House's …

Coal Plant Cost Painful

The Mississippi Public Service Commission is taking its time approving rate increases funding a $2.88 billion coal-burning plant already under construction in Kemper County.

Protesters Seek Full Pardon for Scott Sisters

Paroled sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott deserve a full pardon for their alleged 1993 crime, protesters argued today. A crowd of more than 100 marched this morning from Farish Street …

Crime

Parchman's Past, Prison's Future

It's a strange month when the Parchman Farm comes out looking better than a county jail. On March 10, a federal judge finally dismissed the bulk of Gates v. Collier. …

Politics

The Home Front

If Morgan Freeman is Clarksdale's most recognizable resident, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Luckett may be its second. An attorney and developer, Luckett runs two of his high-profile business ventures with …

Appeals Court Gives Hinds Judge Immunity

Read the court's ruling (PDF).

Justice

Redistricting Fight Comes Home

Hinds County's redistricting woes are not over, yet. One week after the county Board of Supervisors voted to approve new district maps, the board faces a possible lawsuit over its …

Education

Itawamba Student Sues District Over Rap

A year ago, the Itawamba County School District made national news for electing to cancel Itawamba Agricultural High School's prom rather than allow lesbian student Constance McMillen to bring her …

GOP Official Threatens Hinds With Lawsuit

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors may face a lawsuit over its decision to hire Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson to oversee its redistricting process. Hinds County Republican Party Chairman …

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No Small Feat

The students in John Bennetts' second-grade class are being perfect sponges. Bennetts, a teacher at KIPP Delta Elementary Literacy Academy, a charter school in Helena, Ark., is drilling the class …

Capitol

Showdown Ahead on Immigration Lawsuits

Mississippi lawmakers are headed for a standoff on two provisions of a proposed Arizona-style immigration bill. The House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 2179 yesterday but stripped a controversial section …

Health Care

Cutting Out The Pigs

The University of Mississippi Medical Center is one of only seven medical schools in the United States that still uses live animals to teach medical students basic physiology, pharmacology or …

Airing Abuse

When does sunshine become an invasion of privacy? Television station WDAM, an NBC affiliate in Hattiesburg, has what it says is video evidence of abuse at the Forrest County Juvenile …

Justice

Former Inmate: Youth Prison Was Hell

The Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility is failing to rehabilitate and is actually endangering the lives of its juvenile inmates, advocates and former inmates told state lawmakers today. Members of …

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