Jackson Free Press

Verbatim release: A group of Mississippi ministers, community leaders, civic activists, and a Hattiesburg church who filed the first lawsuit challenging House Bill 1523 on the ground that it violates the principle of the separation of church and state, today applaud the decision of U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, who agreed with their arguments and issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the controversial law from taking effect on July 1.

So, what's going on with Columbus police? The Guardian has a report that police there have filed two different police reports for killing of Ball, who was African American. The Guardian reports:

*Since 26-year-old Ricky Ball was shot and killed by police in October, the black community in Columbus, Mississippi, has grappled with questions that don’t have clear answers.

Why did police shoot Ball that night? Why did a string of police officials resign in the months that followed? And why did police claim Ball stole a gun from a police officer’s home only after his death? Attempts to obtain police documents about the case have raised a new question: why did police release two different versions of events from the shooting?

Documents obtained by the Guardian show police altered a document labeled “uniform incident report” in Ball’s death. An initial version published by the Commercial Dispatch said an officer “tased” Ball before he fled. A new version of the incident report released to the Guardian does not include any mention of Taser use.

“One of these two reports is not true,” said Philip Broadhead, director of the criminal appeals clinic at the University of Mississippi law school. Broadhead said he’s never seen an incident report altered the way the document was in this case. “For police officers to offer up this type of information in the form of an incident report as sworn law officers … It’s a violation of their oath.”*

Also, an officer fired for the shooting filed a federal lawsuit over his firing yesterday. Read more here.

Melvin Priester Jr. filed a 48-hour report today showing that he has raised $6,150 more in mayoral contributions. That brings his total to $110,785 by our math to Lumumba's $138,801. Horhn is in third with $104,593

Harvey Johnson Jr. has raised $7,000 more in campaign dollars this week according to his 48-hour report, bringing his total to $67,355.

(For the record, both of these reports and some earlier ones are near-illegible, which is disconcerting coming from serious candidates for mayor. Priester, for one, spent a lot of his JFP interview talking about getting details right. Why not start during the campaign?!?)

To summarize, As of 5 p.m. today, this is where the money stands based on reports legally required to be filed:

1. Chokwe Lumumba: $138,801
2. Melvin Priester Jr.: $110,785
3. John Horhn: $104,593
4. Tony Yarber: $95,716
5. Harvey Johnson Jr: $67,355
6. Margaret Barrett-Simon: $54,680
7. Regina Quinn: $38,968

Read our original April 2 report about initial April 1 filings and where cash-on-hand stood then.

View all campaign finance reports in the JFP Document Morgue.

More over, Personhood supporters. Public-education backers are working to put funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program on next year's ballot—being that the Legislature simply refuses to fully fund it.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal is reporting that Jackson attorney Luther Munford has filed the initiative language on behalf of a group called Better Schools, Better Jobs:

The Mississippi Adequate Education Program is the formula passed in 1997 that determines how much funding each school district should receive. It has been traditionally underfunded, however, including a shortfall of more than $1.3 billion during the last six years. This year’s appropriation is more than $250 million below what the formula requires.

The state’s constitution leaves little recourse if legislators don’t fund MAEP, Munford said. The initiative would change that.

It would require Mississippi to use money from economic growth to fill the void. Its language says at least 25 percent of new growth of general fund revenue would go into MAEP over a period of years until it was fully funded. It does not require a new tax.

The Jackson Free Press last week requested an interview with Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood about the pending Michelle Byrom execution.

He so far has declined an interview issued this statement instead. Needless to say, we still have questions.

Reprinted verbatim:

Basis for Requesting an Execution Date When Certiorari has been denied in a case, pursuant to the rules of the United States Supreme Court, the order of denial is legally effective as of the time of its entry by the Supreme Court and the Mississippi Supreme Court may then take further appropriate action in light of that denial. It is at that time, that the State must file a motion to set an execution date and pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-106, assert in the motion, “that all state and federal remedies have been exhausted . . . .” The denial of certiorari after federal habeas corpus litigation has normally been the end of the normal litigation in a death penalty case. Then, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 99-39-29, “the Supreme Court of Mississippi shall forthwith fix a day, not more than thirty (30) days distant from the date of said denial or the vacating of any stay entered by any federal court, for the execution of the sentence, and a warrant shall forthwith issue accordingly.” The State filed the motions to set execution dates in both Byrom and Crawford on the day of the denial of Certiorari, which was February 24, 2014. The Mississippi Supreme Court then ordered responses to those motions from Crawford and Byrom. Crawford filed his response on February 28, 2014, and Byrom filed hers on March 3, 2014. Both motions are still pending with the Mississippi Supreme Court as of March 25, 2014. We would also note that both Byrom and Crawford filed motions with the Mississippi Supreme Court for leave to be allowed to file a successive petition for post-conviction relief in the trial court. Those motions are likewise pending before the Court. In the past, in such situations, the Court has withheld setting an execution date until it has taken action on those motions. Thus, it is doubtful that any dates will be set in either of these cases until the Court has ruled on those motions.

The Jackson city clerk's office provided 15 names of potential mayoral candidates who have filed paperwork to run in the special election. The deadline was today at 5 p.m. The election commissioners are still qualifying the list, however, so it could shrink. They are:

Kenneth A. Swarts, Sedgwick Drive

Albert Wilson, North State Street

Francis P. Smith, Jr., Pear Orchard Road

Melvin V. Priester Jr., Westwind Road

Gwendolyn Ward Osborne Chapman, Morgan Avenue

Tony T. Yarber, Dorgan Street

Harvey Johnson Jr., Hallmark Drive

Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Pear Orchard Park

John Horhn, Waverly Drive

Margaret Barrett-Simon, Hazel Street

Rodrick "Rod" Walker, Hallmark Drive

John E. Reed, Post Oak Road

Tonya Brooks, Valley North Boulevard

Regina Quinn, Autumn Hill Drive

Tammie Patterson, Carleton Street

We will update you when the candidates have all qualified.

As we told you yesterday, state Sen. John Horhn officially joined the Jackson mayoral race this morning at Cade's Courtyard on Mayes Street. Horhn ran for mayor in 2009 and is known for drawing bipartisan and multiracial support.

Here is his 2009 JFP Interview when he was running for mayor: http://www.jfp.ms/horhn2009

We will post audio of his announcement shortly.

In other mayoral news, Albert Wilson and Kenneth A. Swarts have filed paperwork to qualify to run for mayor.

To date, six candidates have officially announced either at a press event and/or directly to the Jackson Free Press: Harvey Johnson Jr., Tony Yarber, Melvin Priester Jr., Regina Quinn, Chokwe Antar Lumumba and John Horhn. Margaret Barrett-Simon said she will decide by the end of the week. We are hearing that Robert Graham may run, but have not confirmed one way or the other. Jonathan Lee said he is not running.

We'll keep you posted on new developments. Follow this blog at http://www.jfp.ms/politicsblog for the latest.

CORRECTION ABOVE: I originally said that candidates have qualified. The city clerk corrected me to say that they have filed paperwork: "The commissioners are verifying the signatures and will qualify the candidates upon completion of their process." I apologize for the error.

Travis Childers is officially entering an already-heated Senate race for Thad Cochran's seat. Tea Party-backed state Sen. Chris McDaniel is in an ugly battle with Cochran for the Republican primary seat. Here is Childers' statement, just released, reprinted verbatim:

“Today I am filing to run for the U.S. Senate to make sure that all Mississippians have a Senator in Washington looking out for them.

“Regular people and small businesses across Mississippi are still hurting in this economy, but Washington is more partisan and dysfunctional than ever. That has got to change. What I know is that the old ways of Washington aren’t working, and a new breed of partisanship isn’t the answer. Right now the powerful corporations and special interests have all the power, and the middle class and seniors are paying the price. We need to end tax breaks for big corporations that ship jobs overseas, protect Medicare and Social Security, give small business owners a tax break, and pass a balanced budget amendment to force the politicians to cut the wasteful spending.

“I look forward to formally launching my campaign and traveling to every corner of our great state in the weeks to come. Mississippians know that I have a solid record of being an independent guy who will work across party lines and stand up to the powers that be when needed. In the U.S. Senate, I will continue to put Mississippi’s middle class first.”

From Northeast Mississippi, Travis Childers is a small business owner and a local economic development leader, who has brought over one thousand jobs to his local community. During his time in the House of Representatives, Travis had one of the most independent voting records in Congress. Travis is pro-gun, pro-life, and was endorsed by the NRA. In the Senate, Travis will lead the fight for a Balanced Budget Amendment, protect the Medicare and Social Security benefits that seniors have earned, and protect Mississippi jobs by ending tax breaks for big corporations that ship jobs overseas.

The Sun-Herald just broke the news that Rep. Gene Taylor will run as a Republican to try to reclaim a seat in the U.S. Congress:

Taylor said he was on his way to Jackson to file to run as a Republican. The primary is June 3.

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/02/28/5377861/moore-will-run-again-for-congress.html#emlnl=Breaking_News#storylink=cpy

Verbatim statement just in from the University of Mississippi:

OXFORD, Miss. – Three 19-year-old white male freshmen from Georgia were declining through their attorneys late Thursday to be questioned by university police regarding the vandalism Sunday morning of the University of Mississippi’s James Meredith statue, according to the university chief of police, Calvin Sellers.

Sellers said the University Police Department (UPD) had gathered enough evidence by late Wednesday to bring charges through the student judicial process against two of the students, and both state and federal authorities were working in close coordination to determine whether criminal charges were applicable.

Working through an advisor to the students, university police had arranged a meeting for Thursday morning, Sellers said, but the students did not appear as promised. As university police were attempting to locate the two students late Thursday, they became aware of an Oxford attorney who was representing one of the students, which then led to information that three students had retained legal counsel.

Two of the students were those being sought by university police, but all three names had been prominent in the investigation, according to Sellers. He said the attorneys declined to make their clients available for questioning without an arrest warrant.

Sellers and University of Mississippi Chief of Staff and General Counsel Lee Tyner said they believe sufficient evidence exists to bring criminal charges against the suspects and pledged to provide whatever support is needed for state and federal authorities to issue warrants and pursue legal measures to the full extent of the law. The student judicial process would call on the students to respond but can proceed without their cooperation, Tyner said. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) does not permit the university to release the names of the students unless criminal charges are filed.

Sellers said the $25,000 reward offered by the university’s alumni association has been instrumental in bringing quick results in the investigation, generating numerous leads. Those with additional knowledge that may be helpful to the investigation and prosecution are encouraged to contact UPD at 662-915-7234.

Contact: PR Director Danny Blanton, 662-915-1678, [email protected]

For more information about the University of Mississippi, visit http://news.olemiss.edu or sign up for our RSS feed at http://rebs.ms/umnewsrss. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter at http://rebs.ms/UMsocial.

WAPT reported today on what is probably the most coveted mayoral endorsement, saying that Regina Quinn has endorsed Chokwe Lumumba for mayor. In a less significant announcement, Frank Bluntson has endorsed Jonathan Lee.

During the campaign, Quinn was angry at Lee for spreading around that she had voted Republican. This is what she told the JFP via email about it:

That’s ridiculous. Whoever put that information into “databases” is playing the same “old political games” they always play during the waning days of a campaign season. I assure you that if you ask for backup documentation to support that allegation, you will receive none. I have been the most transparent candidate in this race, Ms. Ladd. I told the voters that I filed for bankruptcy and successfully completed the bankruptcy plan to turn my financial life around. Likewise, if I were a Republican, I would proudly say so. Voters should not trust any candidate who would lie to them about who they are. I understand that Mr. Othor Cain has dishonored himself by starting these abject lies. After you satisfy yourself that I am telling the truth just like I did when I was attacked in this fashion the first time, I would suggest that you research the party affiliation of the candidate that Mr. Cain is supporting (Lee) because this allegation is obviously a diversion from his own candidate. Let me be clear, I am and have always been a Democrat and voted consistently that way, albeit I can and do work with people of all persuasions.

Regina Quinn

The JFP blogged here that Quinn's name did surface once in a voting database for a Republican vote, which she says was an error.

We're not saying, however, that Quinn endorsed Lumumba because she was angry at Lee. Her staff wrote this on her Facebook page May 10:

Regina is reviewing each candidate's written plan, has met with both, and continue to monitor supporter's opinions. She expects to announce soon whether she will endorse Lumumba, Lee, or neither first to you her supporters.

Quinn came in fourth in the primary, drawing more vote than most political watchers expected and seems to have a strong voting base among women.

UPDATE: Quinn campaign manager Aaron Banks told us tonight:

Hey Donna, When Regina makes her final decision we will get statement to you. We did not inform 16 of any endorsement and it is sad to say that they posted a story without verifying it with our campaign. But we will inform you first once her mind is made up thanks.

Today, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia released a statement joining other journalism organizations in protesting the U.S. Department of Justice's over-reaching subpoena of The Associated Press' phone records. The JFP joins other media organizations who have signed onto this letter by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. It reads in part:

The scope of this action calls into question the very integrity of Department of Justice policies toward the press and its ability to balance, on its own, its police powers against the First Amendment rights of the news media and the public’s interest in reporting on all manner of government conduct, including matters touching on national security which lie at the heart of this case.

Note: This story has been updated with a total donation figure that Lee's backers gave to federal Republican candidates since 2008. The new paragraph is bolded down below.

In the WAPT-Clarion-Ledger debate, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. alluded to the fact that he is a real Democrat when he unloaded on opponent Jonathan Lee in his closing statement. This is clearly a continuation of some Jacksonians' belief that Lee is a "Rankin County Republican," a meme we've heard off and on for months now.

We have factchecked both parts of that allegation to the best of our ability and will address them both below.

First, Rankin County

Lee's campaign materials make him sound like a life-long Jacksonian. His website states:

Jonathan was born, grew up and lives in Jackson. Jonathan was born and raised in Jackson into a family with deep ties throughout the community. The son of two Lanier graduates and part of a family whose roots span three generations in Jackson’s Georgetown community, Jonathan learned early what it meant to be proud of one’s city.

Jonathan called all of Jackson home – from growing up on Meadow Lane to getting picked up by his grandmother (“Big Mama”) after school who lived in Georgetown. After graduating from high school, Jonathan attended Mississippi State University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a Master’s in Business Administration.

The part that is left out of that description is that Lee's family moved to Rankin County in 1988 when he was 11. He later graduated from Northwest Rankin High School and did not live in Jackson again until 2009 when records show that Lee and his wife moved into Jackson from Rankin County. When asked, he does not deny that he has lived less than four years in Jackson as an adult.

Lee, who is 35 now, took over as president of his father's company when he was 24, according to his campaign materials. He told the Jackson Free Press that he stepped down from the company, which he never owned, in December 2011, meaning that he ran it for about 10 years.

Candidate Lee ran into a Rankin-related controversy last year after a commenter posted on the Jackson Free Press site that he was still driving a Maroon SUV with a Rankin County plate. In response to an Aug. 10, 2012, query about it, Lee emailed the Jackson Free Press:

This particular rumor has been shopped around various media outlets all week. The vehicle I assume that they are referring to is my company vehicle. My personal vehicle is registered in Hinds County, a fact easily verified.

MPI is owned by an entity chartered and located in Rankin County. It was where our distribution company was originally located. In fact, MPI has only been located in Jackson for 19 years. For those 19 years MPI has paid property taxes, inventory taxes, and school taxes in Jackson, Miss. The parent company is still located in Rankin county …

Who hasn't bothered to file campaign-finance reports for the primaries?

We're trying to find the context of the $294,000/grant accusation in the email the Lee campaign sent out, but wouldn't document. We found the 2008 Clarion-Ledger story that the Lee campaign cited, as well as stories in the JFP. First, the Ledger story.

It was about then-Mayor Melton's abysmal financial management. It mentions the administration's complaints about problems left over from Johnson--which I personally take with a grain of salt until I find out the context. Because if there was anybody who could blame anyone but themselves, it was the Melton administration. Here's the relevant part of the story, "City not responding to suggestions":

"An employee hired by Mayor Frank Melton to assess Jackson's fiscal situation says she is fed up with Melton and his department heads for not responding to her recommendations to fix the city's bookkeeping problems. Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Valerie Nevels, a former Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator, said the mayor has not reinforced her suggestions. ...Nevels outlined to the City Council Budget Committee and various department heads a recent audit of city finances. She said it indicated sloppy accounting has left the city at risk of losing millions in federal funds and blurred its financial condition. The audit examined records from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006. To improve financial management in the city, Nevels has tried training personnel in such areas as filing quarterly reviews, balancing accounts monthly and setting firm deadlines for purchases and transfers. But employees have ignored the procedures and guidelines she passed out Oct. 1, she said. Nevels said Melton's response was for her to "make it happen." ...

...Melton and Walker said the city's poor accounting practices are left over from previous administrations. Nevels concurred, saying that during former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s administration, the city had more people working on financial statements and grants but the same problems existed. Johnson, mayor from 1997-2005, said his administration "took great pains to make sure the financial system was adequate. Johnson said that in his last year as mayor the city's bond rating was increased twice. Despite his efforts, Johnson's administration left behind some mismanaged grants, which the current administration and council had to deal with last fall. The city had to repay more than $294,000 on a grant because the grant was not spent in the required time period. Another $29,412 had to be repaid for the same period. "Clearly (Johnson) didn't walk away from this enterprise with clean hands, nor is the Melton administration going to walk away with clean hands," council President Leslie Burl McLemore said.

I vaguely remembered this controversy because it surprised us that a Melton hire was whistle-blowing on him. So I searched our database and found these stories about the problems that Nevel revealed: No Oversight Costing City Nobody Minding the Store

Adam Lynch also reported on Johnson and grants in this story right after he returned to office.

Although all of those stories bring back painful Melton-era …

Jonathan Lee supporters are using a Clarion-Ledger article to defend a controversy he's mired in—but it actually helps build the case that he was dishonest about his position at the company.

My email today is absolutely filled with city politics. I just came out of a meeting and discovered that the Jackson 20/20 PAC that we wrote about in this earlier story has now endorsed candidates other than Jonathan Lee (when we wrote the story, all the money had gone to pay Lee's campaign folks). Attorney Dorsey Carson sent an email out inviting people to meet the candidates today at Hal & Mal's.

In response, attorney and Harvey Johnson supporter Sam Begley replied to Carson, copying me, a local blog and The Clarion-Ledger reporter who made Lee supporters very happy this weekend by reporting that Begley had sent an email to someone linking to judgments against Lee (a story we broke last Wednesday--but based on an envelope of documents, not on that email which we did not receive). In those replies, Begley accuses the 20/20 PAC of "laundering" money to Lee's campaign.

Here is the 1/31/13 Jackson 20/20 campaign finance report.

Begley also included links to other potential judgments against Mississippi Products Inc., Lee's family company. Rather than try to sort it all out immediately, I'm pasting the entire email thread below, as well as the invitation to the PAC's candidate gathering. (I also have some other comments about The Clarion-Ledger story this weekend, but this post is confusing enough, so I will blog it separately.)

We in no way endorse Begley's accusations in the emails. We are posting this for the public to examine yourself.

Here are the emails; the most recent one is on the top:

Dorsey, Being the sage lawyer you are perhaps you can explain why, with the only documents of record with the Mississippi Secretary of State showing Jonathan Lee as the President of Mississippi Products,Inc., the decision makers for your PAC would endorse a man for mayor whose company can't pay its bills, to the tune of $170,000, and lets default judgments be taken, then hides from WJTV and evades questions from the Jackson Free Press., and tells us he never owned the company and hasnt been associated with it for more than a year. Oh, and it looks like MPI has an answer due on a complaint brought by yet one more of its vendors. see link below and documents attached. Please tell us that this is just a business dispute that happens all the time. SAM

Hinds County Civil Case Detail: Diversey Inc. v. Mississippi Products Inc.

On 4/29/2013 4:25 PM, Carson, Dorsey wrote: I'll resist the urge to respond, Sam. If the media wants a comment, then I'll be more than happy to provide one on the record.

Dorsey

From: Sam Begley [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 4:17 PM To: Carson, Dorsey Cc: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: After work "MEET THE CANDIDATES" hosted by Jackson 20/20 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. TODAY: Jonathan Lee, Kevin Lavine, Joseph Kendrick, and De'Keither Stamps

Thanks Dorsey. The "multi candidate endorsement" appears to be a nice way to launder money intended for Jonathan Lee …

For our Question o' the Week this week, we asked a simple question in social media. We got an amazing line-up of answers in 24 hours. Please feel free to log in and post your answers below as well.

Lindsey Lee My kids. So cheesy, but true...

Jason Stanfield Great music.

Stephanie Fondren Bracey My beautiful 8-year-old daughter who has the happiest most innocent spirit and a heart of gold!

Iam ScrapDirty Perfection.

Charles Walter Jett Other people's artwork. Makes me step up my game when I see really good work.

H Charles Johnson Failure.

Marc Rolph H Charles Johnson.

Narada Thijs Snyder Not being told to hurry.

John Agwazim The way ants live.

Shuntina Johnson Sunsets, right before the rain.

Nicki Findley Nichols The feeling of freedom, whether its being silly with my 4-year-old or country road riding with the windows down and the music cranked.

Jarrod Parker Conquistadors.

Jessica Erin Eubanks The positive energy of others expressing themselves!

Terena Watkins Bell Being able to be an awesome single mom to my girls & showing them how to be strong, independent Christians.

Micah Smith Posters with animals that say motivational statements. Thank you, tiny cocker spaniel. I will "go for it."

Lisa Parenteau My mother. The strongest person I know.

Yasmeen Banu Sincere kindness.

Pam Greer What inspires me? I'm inspired each day that I am allowed to wake up in good health and right mind by God to tackle life. Most people do not live to see another day; however, I did today.

Gregory Smith Frank Zappa.

Tony Davenport People who celebrate unity.

Brandon Ainsworth Life, and the endless possibilities that it has to offer. So much to do, so little time.

Brittany Hammons Simmons Nature's beauty! I breathe it in and it is so serene.

Tom Head Finding human dignity in unexpected places.

Laurel Isbister Irby People who rescue animals and help them live new lives.

Andrew Forbes ·The cancer patients I work with at Batson Children's hospital.

Jarrod Parker · Curious people.

Jill Conner Browne People doing good for goodness' sake—for people (and/or animals!) who can't "repay" the kindness.

Kass Welchlin When my elders live a life full of conviction, follow their dreams and not give up on life.

Nola Kay Pearson Gibson All of the above and lifelong learning.

Karole Sessums The Courage of Others.

Melissa Kelly Deadlines.

Ginger Williams-Cook Teachers.

Sabir Abdul-Haqq Dedication

Olga Lynette Henderson Hanson Seeing, listening, existing--all inspire me to continue trying, caring, doing.

Edward Peter Cole II To witness ... random acts of kindness!

Jehrod Alain What inspires me is the spiritual, that which is beyond our physical limitations. My dreams inspire me. Love inspires me.

Rachel Jarman Myers The Sonic Boom!

Don Allan Mitchell Mississippi.

Jan Michaels · My almost 83-year-old father who still runs his own business and is caretaker of his wife …

So tonight I got a text that WAPT had done my story from a couple weeks ago about Robert Henderson, the pardoned felon who is now working for Council President (and mayoral candidate) Frank Bluntson. But when I watched the report, I realized that WAPT actually completely cribbed my enterprise reporting, including the pardon and other details, with no attribution to me or anyone else. Not to mention, they talked about "some taxpayers" supposedly being upset about it without actually talking to any of them.

Then, they have District Attorney Robert S. Smith on camera at the end saying that everyone deserves a second chance, including Henderson. Let's just say this is a very different story than the DA told me a few years back when speaking about Mr. Henderson.

But back to WAPT: This piece was shoddy journalism at its worst. I expect better out of y'all and, at the least, credit where it's due.

The JFP got more great news Friday night when we learned that we are winning two first-place and one second-place award from the Society of Professional Journalists' southeastern division. Valerie Wells takes first place for feature writing, the Personhood team (this time, including R.L. Nave and Adam Lynch) takes second place for public service, and I won first place for serious commentary. Here is the full press release. Cheers to the team, congratulations to all the winners. We're honored to be in your company: