Jackson Free Press

Twists, Turns, Rats and Secret Tapes

Who's ratting out the district attorney? That's just one of many questions swirling around Attorney General Jim Hood's arrest and investigation of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith.

Red, White and Local Celebrations

Celebrate the Fourth of July holiday locally this year.

Clarion-Ledger Forums Allow Extremely Racist Images

Anti-Abortion Activists Claim Right to 'Shout' at, 'Approach' Patients in Lawsuit

Anti-abortion activists in Jackson claim in a new lawsuit that they have a "right" to "congregate," "shout" and approach patients outside the abortion clinic in Fondren "without first obtaining their …

Phil Bryant Praises White Officials for Evers Honor, Bashes Bennie Thompson

In the wake of a new federal law declaring civil-rights hero Medgar Evers' home a national monument, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant credited President Donald Trump and Mississippi's two white Republican …

‘I Can’t Keep Calm’: Myrlie Evers-Williams ‘Incensed’ at Bryant, Hyde-Smith

Civil-rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams told a radio host Friday that she refused “sit down and be quiet” after Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant credited only President Donald Trump and the state’s …

'When Is the $600 Coming?': Mississippi Unemployment Questions Answered

As COVID-19 crashes the Mississippi economy and unemployment skyrockets, a lot of people are scared. We know, because you've been sending the Jackson Free Press questions by email, online chat …

[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 …

[Fly] Green, Pink, and Over The Top

Welcome to Fly: St. Paddy's edition. Here at the JFP we are big fans of the Sweet Potato Queens and didn't want to miss our chance to give a shout …

Left Behind: Public Defenders Underpaid, Have Little Oversight

When Michele Purvis Harris was city attorney of Jackson, she heard troubling remarks from the people her office was supposed to prosecute. "I don't want the public defender, I want …

Bryant: GOP Would've 'Hollered' If Obama Pushed Criminal Reform

"You're the only president that can do this," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he privately told President Trump last year, as he urged the fellow Republican to support criminal-justice reform.

Where The Devil Comes In: Income Tax On Trial At The Mississippi Legislature

Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, who represents a certified retirement city, is concerned that eliminating the state income tax and raising the sales tax would harm the older residents of his …

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' 2003 Victory over Gary Anderson 'All About Race,' Critics Say

In his successful 2003 bid for state treasurer, critics accused current-Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves of running ads designed to remind voters that his Democratic opponent, Gary Anderson was black. …

The District Attorney's Mistrial: What Just Happened? A Day-by-Day Primer

The Mississippi attorney general's prosecution of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith for conspiracy to hinder prosecution in order to aid or assist a defendant ended in a mistrial …

Never Back Down: Mississippi Escalates War on Gangs

Mississippi law enforcement may soon be able to decide young people are a gang even if they're not part of a larger criminal enterprise with a hierarchy and criminal connections …

This Ain't Funny, People!

If people made fun of cancer the way they make fun of mental illness, what kind of society would we have?

[Gregory] You Call That Music?

My friends often make smart-ass comments about my taste in music. I write this sentence as Babs wails "Moon River" in the background, and my cats look at me distastefully …

Sex Shop Shenanigans

When Mayor Frank Melton and two detectives raided an adult novelty store last Thursday, the incident raised a few questions. Disparate reports by local media WLBT-TV and The Clarion-Ledger offered …

Jim Hood, Tate Reeves: Real Issues on Center Stage in Governor’s Race

Tate Reeves pushed typical conservative buttons on his way to primary victory. Tammy Pearson said he spent too much time "relying on his name-dropping of Trump," adding, "This is a …

How Integration Failed in Jackson’s Public Schools from 1969 to 2017

Jackson's public schools, like the majority in the state, remained solidly separate and unequal in the 1950s and 1960s despite the ruling in the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education …