Jackson Free Press

Love Thy Neighbor

I grew up in the Episcopal Church, and it was the center of everything my family did. From Sunday school to youth group and potluck dinners, the church provided a …

BREAKING: Another of Melton's ‘Boys' Arrested

WAPT is reporting that Jeremy Bibbs, who lives with Mayor Frank Melton when he is not in college, has been arrested for carrying a gun on the campus of Copiah-Lincoln …

W-O-M-E-N: In Mississippi, Are Girls On The Side?

Just a generation ago, most Mississippi women were facing an M.R.S. degree. "In 1969, graduating from Millsaps, your choice was to become a teacher or a nurse or go to …

Mayor Axing Police, Fire Budgets

Mayor Frank Melton sent out a Feb. 10 memorandum demanding that all city departments—including fire and police—take radical measures to rein in spending.

Peterson Demands Equal Justice

This story will appear in the April 4 print edition of the Jackson Free Press.

Divided We Fall: The Killing of James Craig Anderson

Jordan Richardson was fishing at Cornerstone Lake in Brandon in 2009 when a pickup truck pulled up. Three teenagers got out of their trucks and started walking toward him, and …

Best of Jackson 2008

Best Bartender: Trevor Palmer, Club Fire - Club Fire's got to be a hectic place for a bartender. Hundreds of sweating, dance-crazed bodies are thirsty for a drink on Thursday's …

From Mississippi to Liberia: The Living Legacy of America’s West African Colony

Many say the legacy of freed African-American slaves, some from Mississippi, living and ruling over Liberia for more than 150 years ignited two Liberian civil wars that spanned 14 years …

[Breaking] Killen Sentenced to 60 Years

Moments ago in Neshoba County, Judge Marcus Gordon has sentenced Edgar Ray Killen, 80, to the full 60 years possible for his guilty verdict for manslaughter in the James Chaney, …

BREAKING: McMillin Says That Lee Vance Is JPD No. 2

More details to come.

Sheriff Malcolm McMillin, now doubling as chief of the Jackson Police Department, has just confirmed to Adam Lynch of the Jackson Free Press that he has named Lee Vance as …

Rise of the ‘Religious Left'

They showed up to the polls, packing their religious ideologies and ready to vote. They had the teachings of their prophets in mind as they drove to the polls—some worked …

Crisler v. Johnson: Exploring the Myths & Realities

The recent Jackson Democratic mayoral primary eliminated more than a half-dozen candidates, leaving two candidates with seductive messages and strong name recognition.

Dear Dog Owners: Your Pets Are in Danger

A little beagle with a blue collar on Arrowhead Drive in Fondren is going to die soon. I hate to be so blunt, but whoever owns that dog is irresponsible, …

Report: Saddam Not In Pursuit of Weapons

AP is reporting: "Undercutting the Bush's administration's rationale for invading Iraq, the final report of the chief U.S. arms inspector concludes that Saddam Hussein did not vigorously pursue a program …

[McInnis] Behind the HBCU Merger

Don't be fooled into thinking that Gov. Haley Barbour's recommendation for merging the state-funded HBCUs is about the current economic crisis.

George Bell III in Women's Jail, Not Detention Center

WJTV—which has done stellar reporting in the Heather Spencer rape/murder—is reporting that the accused murderer is being housed in the women's jail downtown, not the Hinds County Detention Center where …

Shoot to Kill—Store Clerk Shoots Robber

So WAPT is reporting that a store clerk shot a man who had attempted to rob his store for a case of beer. This guy is facing murder charges since …

Meeting Addresses Crime, Calls for Tax Increase

Straight talk was the theme at a March 27 town hall meeting on Jackson crime at the Board of Education auditorium in downtown Jackson. The meeting, hosted by the Jackson …

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 …

[Greggs] Not That Many Bullets

It used to be that when you wanted to lose it and shoot a bunch of the idiots hanging around you, you would say you were about to "go postal." …