Jackson Free Press

Death of Richard Pryor: The World Will Miss Him

I remember years ago when my dad had a record of "Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip". My older sister decided to play it, and I heard some words …

Protect Yourself From Auto Burglary

Why am I typing this at 4:30 AM? My sister called and said that someone broke into her van and stole her car radio. Before you say, "I'm leaving Jackson," …

Fletcher Cox Negotiates with Nature

Fletcher Cox is finishing a pair of doors when I visit his shop on a rainy Wednesday. They're the last in a set of 13 pairs that he's been commissioned …

Release JPD Officers' Names in 72 Hours, Task Force Recommends

The rise in officer-involved shootings under Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, now at nine, and the lack of transparency thereafter posed an issue for the self-proclaimed most radical mayor in America.

UPDATED: Darnell Turner May Serve 45 Years for 'Heinous Crimes'; Feds Earlier Tied Him to DA

A Hinds County jury yesterday convicted Darnell Turner, who also goes by Donald Dixon, in three separate counts related to a 2014 domestic incident—aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated domestic …

One Jail’s Tale: Hinds County Detention Center At Risk of Federal Takeover

The Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond, Miss., suffered from structural defects from its opening on Monday, Nov. 14, 1994.

Community Events and Public Meetings

The Jobs for Jacksonians Job Fair and Business Engagement Summit is Sept. 26 at the Jackson Medical Mall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We Shall Overcome

There is a certain despair spreading among many Jacksonians. Some devoted citizens are even saying they might leave the city because of Mayor Melton's antics and poor leadership. One JFP …

Women in Hip-Hop Speak Out: A Good Read

In light of the roundtable discussion at the Jackson Medical Mall on Tuesday. Thought Id bone up a bit.. As Im sure to have my a-- handed to me LOL, …

The Payday Playbook: How High-Cost Lenders Fight to Stay Legal

Outrage over payday loans, which trap millions of Americans in debt and are the best-known type of high-cost loans, has led to dozens of state laws aimed at stamping out …

A Soldier's Story: The JFP Interview with James Meredith

James Meredith talks to the Jackson Free Press about identity education, Barack Obama, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin.

Why I'm Pro-Choice

I'm beginning to believe that the pro-life movement is made up mainly of a tense alliance between very sincere, deeply religious people and very insincere, deeply cynical people. The people …

The JFP Interview with Johnny DuPree

Johnny DuPree makes clear that he is a city man. DuPree, 57, has served as Hattiesburg's mayor for almost 10 years and wants to take his municipal know-how to the …

The Mayor and His Women

It bugged the hell out of me when I got an e-mailed press release from Police Chief Shirlene Anderson's office late on July 3 with this subject line: "Chief Shirlene …

‘These Are Not Fair Trials': The JFP Talks With John Grisham

Since publication of "The Innocent Man" in 2006, author John Grisham has become a strong advocate for the Innocence Project, lending his name and voice to help establish the organization's …

Feds Trying to Block Media from New Orleans?

NBC's Brian Williams write on the site blog:

An interesting dynamic is taking shape in this city, not altogether positive: after days of rampant lawlessness (making for what I think most would agree was an impossible job for …

[Just In] Barbour's State of the State Address

[verbatim] Lieutenant Governor; Mr. Speaker; Fellow State officials, Members of

It is a humbling honor to come before you tonight for the first time as your Governor. I want to start by saying to my colleagues in the Legislature: many …

Banking on Justice: Climbing Out of Poverty in the Mississippi Delta

In the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest regions in the United States, buying a home is often out of reach. And lenders have a history of unfairness to African …

Searching for the Neshoba Metaphor

I didn't know specifics about it before I went. Much of what I knew, I pieced together here and there from hearing conversations about it.

Ceasefire in the City? How Police Can (and Cannot) Deter Gunfire

In 2015, Precinct 2 Commander Jarratt Taylor helped execute a massive enforcement effort called Metro Area Crime Elimination, or MACE for short, promised to be a local version of the …