Jackson Free Press

Community Events and Public Meetings

Community Blood Drives. The Mississippi Blood Services Donor Coach will be in the parking lot. Donors must be at least 17 (16 with signed parental consent), weigh at least 110 …

Two Lakes Letter About JFP ... in the Northside Sun

John McGowan's company is definitely obsessed with the JFP's comprehensive coverage of their concept—so much so that they sent a letter to the Northside Sun about it that appeared today. …

[Hutchinson] The Dilemma of Two Black Americas

Bill Cosby, comedian turned black-morals pied piper, has got to be beaming. His relentless pitch for blacks to get their act together and stop blaming the white man for their …

Day 9: Documentary Starts Court Firestorm

Defense attorneys started the morning off by raising objections to the testimony of Charles Marcus Edwards, the prosecution's star witness, based on footage shown on MSNBC this weekend of a …

A New Model to Solve Water Billing Problem?

Department of Public Works Deputy Director Carla Dazet gave an abysmal picture of the state of water billing in the capital city at the May 20, 2021, Jackson City Council …

AP Impact: Bites Derided as Unreliable in Court

At least 24 men convicted or charged with murder or rape based on bite marks on the flesh of victims have been exonerated since 2000, many after spending more than …

Behind the Badge: Two JPD Officers Who Shot Multiple People in Jackson

After about a year of asking, the Jackson Free Press learned the names, current status and in eight out of nine cases, the details of officer-involved shootings since Mayor Chokwe …

Craig Noone's Unfinished Business

People leave unfinished business. Sometimes they just move on to other projects. Or they meet with tragedy, leaving others to complete the unfinished business. It is the living who follow …

Bell Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to Life

For background on this case, read the JFP's investigative feature, "Grant Me Justice."

Police Task Forces ‘Waste of Time’ for Violence Prevention?

Law-enforcement efforts to combat violent crime in Jackson in recent years have increasingly focused on the creation of multi-agency task forces, which identify high-crime regions or criminal activity, gather intelligence, …

Dr. Yusef Salaam of ‘Exonerated 5’: Jails, Prisons ‘Petri Dish’ for COVID-19

Living under unusual, high-pressure circumstances and without access to adequate health care or nutrition has forced the nation’s prisoners to cultivate a kind of secret knowledge that others on the …

Electing Justice: The JFP Interview with Justice Jim Kitchens

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens will complete his first full eight-year term on the state's highest court this year. Before joining the court in 2008, Kitchens worked primarily as …

Are Judges Up for Sale in Mississippi?

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to address an appeal by convicted Mississippi attorney Paul Minor and former judges Walter "Wes" Teel and John Whitfield, who a U.S. District …

Cruel & Unusual? The Death Penalty’s Trials in Mississippi

The State of Mississippi is litigating legal challenges to the state's lethal-injection law directly. Mississippi last executed a prisoner in June 2012, Mississippi Department of Corrections records posted online show.

BREAKING: Melton Takes Plea

Frank Melton has pled no contest to three midemeanors on gun charges. As part of the plea, the felony charged Melton faced for carrying a weapon onto the campus of …

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 …

Melton Flies to Phillips

Blog post by Brian Johnson:

Mayor Frank Melton flew to Dallas today with city investment guru Jimmy Heidel and his ever-present body guards. In comments before the flight, Melton told members of the press that …

‘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 …

Melton Interviews, Part II Out; Ledge Suddenly Hot on Melton

Read Part II of Donna Ladd's JFP interviews with the mayor, plus a narrative of two Sunday nights in the Mobile Command Center. Online now.

Censored! The 10 Big Stories the National News Media Ignored

In late July more than 600 people showed up in Monterey, Calif., to speak at a Federal Communications Commission hearing on ownership concentration in the news media. The participants were …