Jackson Free Press

It takes a big man to admit he was wrong.

Last night, that big man was five-foot funnyman and Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who had a little fun at Mississippi's expense last week when the news broke the state never officially ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.

In the bit, Stewart does what people who've never stepped a toe in Mississippi tend to do when talking about Mississippi, and lampooned the entire lot of state officials who were in charge when the Legislature ratified the amendment in 1995 -- I know, I know; we probably deserve that one -- as slavery-loving racists.

Among those officials was then-Secretary of State Dick Molpus, whose office was to oversee the handling of the official ratification paperwork. For reasons that remain unknown, the paperwork never made it to the federal archivist in Washington, D.C.

Stewart (or, more precisely, his comedy writers) implied that Molpus likely destroyed the documents -- you know, being the scheming white xenophobe that too many folks ignorantly presume every Mississippi politician to be.

But after getting a flurry of pushback from people who know Molpus, Stewart admitted last night that the show erred in using "Dick Molpus...as an avatar for racial bigotry, forgetting, perhaps that Dick Molpus is a real person with a real record on civil rights."

That record, as Stewart notes, includes apologizing in 1989 to the families of the murdered civil-rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. Despite the threats he received against his life, Molpus counts the apology as among his proudest moments.

In doing so, Stewart proved himself to be a class act (it was, after all, a bad week for satirists. See: The Onion debacle). And if any good came out of the whole thing, it's that the rest of America learned a little bit about the classy Dick Molpus and about Mississippi.

A week after the deadline for submitting campaign-finance reports, and on the morning of Jackson city elections, Councilman and veteran attorney Chokwe Lumumba filed his campaign-finance report.

The report, dated May 6, shows that Lumumba raised $68,753 since the beginning of the year and spent $59,292, leaving the campaign fund with $17,963 in cash on hand.

Meanwhile, Lumumba's largest donor was attorney Barry Howard who contributed $10,000 while Lumumba gave himself $4,500 in two installment. Howard has given to at least one Democratic candidate for statewide office, Gary Anderson, who ran for insurance commissioner in 2007. Dr. Demitri Marshall of Port Gibson gave $2,000 and Jeannette Felton, also of Port Gibson, gave $1,000.

Several lawyers and businesses donated. Fidelity Refund and Check Cashers, whose telephone number goes to an AT&T store in Michigan, gave $300; Moore's Used Auto Sales on Gallatin Street in Jackson, gave $1,300 and La Quinta Inn and Suites gave $500. Marlboro, Md.-based Bowie Construction LLC and Jackson Fuel gave $500 a piece. A1 Bail Bond in west Jackson gave another $500.

Most of the donors listed Jackson addresses, with a smattering of Michigan and Georgia contributors. John Burge, whose address is not listed on the form, contributed $3,500. Michigan attorney Adam Shakoor, who has contributed to Democratic and Republican candidates in his home state, gave Lumumba $1,000.

Cochran Firm Mississippi, the local branch of the law office the late defense attorney who represented O.J. Simpson founded, and Precious Martin Sr. & Associates, each gave $1,000. Lumumba's law partner, Harvey Freelon, gave $1,100.

Eleven people on Lumumba's form list their address as "N/A." However, Lumumba has had at least three out-of-state fundraisers in the California Bay Area, in New York City and Washington D.C., but none of the people on the donor form list addresses near those cities.

Lumumba has explained the out-of-town fundraisers saying that fellow human-rights activists throughout the country support his candidacy. Saladin Muhammad, a North Carolina labor leader, gave $1,000. The Washington D.C.-based Black is Back coalition that advocates for reparations, single-payer health care, ending U.S.-led wars, freeing prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal and other "U.S. political prisoners/POWs/exiles" and rescinding the Patriot Act, gave $265. Eve Rosahn, who was indicted for providing a getaway car in a famous 1981 Brink's robbery, also gave $265. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Rosahn, who works at a legal-aid clinic in New York City.

Advertising consumed the bulk of Lumumba's spending. He spent $13,205 with Space Age Graphics, $7,342 with WKXI (Kixie 107-FM), $3,545 with Comcast, $2,776 with YMF Media and $7,050 with Lamar Advertising.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is touting a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that he says affirms the rights of state attorneys general to file lawsuits in state court.

Here's the full release from Hood's office:

Jackson, MS – In a case brought by Attorney General Jim Hood, the U.S. Supreme Court today unanimously upheld the right of attorneys general across the country to enforce their state’s laws in state court. The Supreme Court ruled in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp. that a state attorney general asserting state law claims for damages incurred by its citizens can have that case resolved by its state court, and is not required to be removed to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA).

All nine Justices agreed to reverse the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that the State’s antitrust and consumer protection enforcement suit could not proceed in Mississippi state court. The Fifth Circuit had encroached on state courts’ rights to hear important public matters by significantly broadening the interpretation of what can constitute a federal “mass action.” Under CAFA, that requires the presence of 100 or more individual “plaintiffs.” The Fifth Circuit had ruled that, despite the State Attorney General being the only plaintiff in the case, the court would treat all Mississippi residents as “plaintiffs” so that CAFA’s 100 person requirement could be considered satisfied, depriving the state courts of the right to interpret their own laws.

Having recognized the important state sovereignty issues at stake, all U.S. Courts of Appeals that had addressed the issue – except the Fifth Circuit – had flatly rejected this analysis. The Supreme Court has now corrected the Fifth Circuit’s error, and Mississippi’s case will properly be returned to Mississippi Chancery Court.

Attorney General Jim Hood stated, " The United States Supreme Court was crystal clear that federal courts have no jurisdiction under the so-called Class Action Fairness Act over actions brought by state Attorneys General for consumer and anti-trust violations. For far too long, large corporations have abused the federal judiciary by trying to drag every action filed by an Attorney General in state court into federal courts. The working people of Mississippi and other states won one this time."

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that an action by an attorney general on behalf of the state’s citizens does not fit within CAFA’s language. The Court held that, because the State of Mississippi, through its attorney general, is the only plaintiff, this suit does not constitute a mass action.

The State sued makers of liquid crystal displays (LCD) in Mississippi state court in January 2011, alleging that these manufacturers had formed an international cartel to restrict competition and boost prices in the LCD market. Several of the defendants in the State’s case pled guilty to charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and paid criminal fines to the U.S. Government. The Mississippi Attorney General sued to recover for the economic harm to the State and …

The Jackson City Council outlined more than $7 million in savings in order to avoid Mayor Tony Yarber's proposal to furlough city workers and raise local property taxes to fill a budget hole.

Yarber proposed a one-day-per-month furlough for full-time employees and a property tax increase of 8 percent to shore up a projected $15 million deficit.

Council President Melvin Priester Jr. presented an alternative, a 10-point plan consisting mostly of freezing job vacancies that are budgeted for but currently unfilled in addition to making other staffing cuts.

Council members say they're double-checking the numbers, and will provide final totals later. The plan, the details of which were outlined in a public meeting this afternoon at city hall, includes:

• Reducing the Jackson Zoo's requested allocation in half, from $1.2 million to $600,000

• Reducing certain reserve expenses, including $1.5 million for an expense related to the Jackson Redevelopment Authority that Priester said would not require assistance from the city.

• Freeze more than $2 million slotted for the police, fire, and public works departments.

• Cutting about $494,000 from city hall salaries, including: $200,000 from the city clerk's office, which the council oversees; $200,000 in constituent services, which the mayor's office oversees, $86,000 from the chief-administrative officer's office; and 5 percent from the salaries of city council members. (City council members earn $25,000 per year; the council president receives an extra $2,000.)

• Freeze $120,000 in unfilled positions at municipal court.

• Reducing expenditures on outside consultants by at least $115,000

• Reducing expenses on software and equipment

• Reducing travel, dues and memberships by $95,000

• Reducing expenditures on emergency contracts

• Reducing the Department of Parks and Recreation budget, including for maintenance at the city's golf courses.

In addition, the council plans to introduce plans to increase revenue, including for $20 million in outstanding water and sewer bills.

Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote has proposed using JPD to collect delinquent water bills and splitting the revenue with the department. Foote also suggested turning over management of the golf courses to the Jackson State golf program and letting an organization take over running the Russell C. Davis Planetarium.

Budget Committee Chairman and Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps said he wants the city to get into the asphalt manufacturing and water bottling businesses. He added that the city should charge the state for providing JPD security to the state fair in October. The city has unsuccessfully made the same request of the state over the years.

Yarber's office released a statement this evening: “The Administration will review the City Council’s budget recommendations and consider the proposals going forward. Council members have verbally proposed measures that will ultimately result in mass layoffs, which the Administration had hoped to avoid. I am deeply concerned about the impact on public safety, mainly because council members have proposed significant reductions in the Police Department and the Fire Department. The council has also proposed drastic cuts to the Department of …

See the following press release from Belhaven University:

Belhaven University and the Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that Hal Mumme will be the next Head Football Coach. Mumme comes to Belhaven from Southern Methodist University, where he served as an Assistant Coach and Passing Game Coordinator under Head Coach June Jones in 2013.

“I heard for years Hal Mumme’s reputation as a football genius and innovator,” said Belhaven University President Dr. Roger Parrott. “Then when I got to know him personally, I was amazed at how what we as football fans see on the field is just the tip of the iceberg of this remarkable coach and leader. I am excited for our students, our players, and our alumni, because Belhaven football is going to join the “Air-Raid” and soar, with Hal Mumme coming to be our head coach.”

Under the coaching of Mumme, SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert set multiple single game and single season records during the 2013 season. Gilbert racked up 635 yards of total offense against Temple, seventh most in a game in NCAA history. Gilbert also recorded single season school records, second for most total offensive yards (3795), second in passing yards (3528), and first in completions (335). As a team, the Mustangs recorded 5,222 total yards with 4,097 of those yards coming through the air in 2013.

“I want to thank Hal for his work over the past year,” said SMU Head Coach June Jones. “He is an innovator and a friend. I really enjoyed the time we spent together. We wish him well at Belhaven.”

Mumme not only brings experience as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level, but has been a head coach at Division I Kentucky, New Mexico State, and Southeastern Louisiana. Mumme was also the Head Coach at NCAA Division II Valdosta State, Iowa Wesleyan (NAIA), and most recently McMurry (Division III and now Division II).

Mumme spent four seasons at McMurry and led the team to a 27-16 record, including three consecutive winning seasons. Mumme resurrected a McMurry program that had lost 13 consecutive games and had not had a winning season for eight years prior to his arrival. In 2011, Mumme posted a 9-3 record with the team and secured McMurry’s first postseason victory since 1949 by beating Trinity in the first round of the Division III playoffs.

Mumme began his coaching career in the NAIA at Iowa Wesleyan in 1989 and led the Tigers to the playoffs in 1991. In 1992, he moved on to NCAA Division II Valdosta State and then to Kentucky in the SEC where he coached Number One NFL Draft Pick Tim Couch. In 1998, the Wildcats went 7-5 and played in the Outback Bowl, becoming the first coach to take the team to a New Year’s Day bowl game since Bear Bryant in 1951. He is the only coach in the modern era at Kentucky to beat Alabama and numerous college head coaches’ are part of his coaching tree, …

Bill Walker, the former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, and nine other people have been indicted on state and federal charges related to an ongoing investigation into the state agency's spending.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following statement:

GULFPORT, Miss.- Federal and state grand juries returned indictments this week following a joint investigation into the activities of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (“DMR”) and a $3 million grant issued to the City of D’Iberville, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen, Mississippi State Auditor Stacey Pickering, Second Circuit District Attorney Joel Smith and Nineteenth Circuit District Attorney Tony Lawrence. The State Auditor’s Office also issued civil demands totaling more than $1 million.

William W. Walker, 68, of Ocean Springs, Scott J. Walker, 34, of Ocean Springs, Sheila Tina Shumate, 52, of Saucier, and Joseph C. Zeigler, Jr., 66, of Gulfport, have been named in a five-count federal indictment, returned on Tuesday, November 5, 2013, charging conspiracy to commit federal program fraud, federal program fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud involving DMR and the Mississippi Marine Resources Foundation.

Scott J. Walker is also named in a separate federal indictment along with Michael Janus, age 47, of Biloxi, charging conspiracy to commit program fraud, program fraud, bribery in connection with a federal program and money laundering. The indictment alleges that Walker and Janus caused a false invoice in the amount of $180,000 to be submitted to the City of D’Iberville for payment of consulting services.

A Harrison County grand jury returned indictments this week against Sheila Tina Shumate, Leslie Young Gollott, Susan Perkins, Jere Grant Larsen, Jr. and Kerwin Cuevas for multiple counts of fraud and embezzlement which allegedly occurred during their employment with the Department of Marine Resources.

In addition, the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office issued demands against ten individuals as part of this investigation totaling $1,022,308.55. The individual demands are listed below:

William Walker- $362,689.14 Joseph Ziegler- $258,268.75 Sheila Shumate- $127,608.57 Leslie Gollott- $117,593.10 Susan Perkins- $ 30,959.34 Grant Larson- $1,342.08 Kerwin Cuevas- $108,420.70 Walter Chataginer- $1,279.85 Kerry Endris- $13,020.66 Samantha Hebert- $1,126.36 “The indictments and demands announced today are one step toward restoring the trust of taxpayers, but they do not close the investigation,” State Auditor Stacey Pickering said. “As alleged in the indictments, these men and women abused their positions, stole from the taxpayers of Mississippi, and they will be held accountable for their actions. I appreciate the hard work and cooperation from the local, state and federal agencies involved including our Special Agents, District Attorneys Joel Smith and Tony Lawrence, Gregory Davis, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, and Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The public is reminded that an indictment is an allegation that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The absence of three council members and Mayor Tony Yarber made last night's meeting of the Jackson City Council, unnervingly efficient.

Before going into executive session to discuss personnel issues and litigation around 8 p.m. -- a recent best for the ordinarily long-winded body -- the council adopted a new ordinance to regulate food trucks. Previously, food-truck vendors had to pay the city $500 per location, but under the new ordinance, operators pay a yearly license fee of $500 and can go anywhere in the city, but cannot set up within 300 feet from a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

The council also adopted an ordinance regulating the sale and display of tobacco paraphernalia, a move in response to complaints from community groups and citizens about local stores selling bongs, clips and pipes that can also be used to smoke marijuana.

(Apparently the city council doesn't realize you can make a bong out of just about anything, including, um, sources say, apples (see photo below); no word on whether this new ordinance means Granny Smiths will be disappearing from supermarket shelves).

An ordinance to lower the number of vehicles needed to be considered a cab company was held to allow for more discussion. Council President De'Keither Stamps or Ward 4 said his motivation was to lower the barriers of entry so that a person with one cab could start their own company. In Stamps' mind, the move would somewhat level the playing field with services like Uber, an Internet-based sort-of ride-sharing company similar to a taxi service.

Uber, often a cheaper option for getting from Point A to Point B, has been giving cabbies fits all over the world. Jackson is no exception, and representatives from local taxi companies showed up a city hall to state their case. Tyra Dean, with Deluxe Cab Co. in Jackson, cited "safety concerns" with Uber.

Since the company's rise in popularity and profile, a number of allegations of sexual assault have risen against Uber drivers in several American cities and abroad, according numerous media accounts.

Ward 2 Council Melvin Priester Jr., an attorney, said it would be hard for the council to regulate Uber because the company is a web service.

"We don't regulate the Internet as the city council," Priester told the taxi drivers present at the meeting.

With the absence of the mayor and so many members -- including Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, who was in Houston attending to his brother, who is ill, Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman -- a number of interesting items were either pulled or held.

These included the city's lobbying contracts in Washington D.C. and Jackson and an item from Stokes to discuss the need for a downtown mall. In the coming weeks, the council will also consider an ordinance requiring Jackson police to report hate crimes to help make hate-crime reporting more uniform. In addition the council will consider renaming the basketball courts at Tougaloo Community Center in honor of Jesse …

Some Mississippians are incensed at North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue for comparing her state's recent successful ballot initiative defining marriage as between a man and a woman to Mississippi -- whose Constitution also defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Sadly, it was only a matter of time before it happened here in Mississippi--a black man was killed by a white cop amid mysterious circumstances and officials are trying to keep tensions from simmering.

It happened on late Wednesday night in tiny Stonewall when, according to various media outlets, a 39-year-old black man named Jonathan Sanders had some sort of altercation with a white officer named Kevin Herrington.

Stewart Parrish, an attorney Sanders had once hired to represent him on a case, told Meridian television WTOK that Sanders was riding in a buggy exercising his horses when Herrington stopped Sanders, initiating an altercation that ended in Sanders' death, reportedly by choking.

The exact details are, of course, muddy. Early reports suggested that Herrington used a flashlight to subdue Sanders. Stonewall Police Chief Michael Street denied those reports, but hasn't gone into much detail about the incident that happened between 10:30 and 11 o'clock at night, citing his department's ongoing investigation. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is handling the case.

"We just ask that the citizens allow that to take place, not to try to take anything out in the streets. Our door is open," Street told WTOK.

Street's comments are an obvious reference to protests sparked by the deaths of African American men by--often white--police officers in the past year. Sanders' death is hauntingly similar to that of Eric Garner in New York City last summer. Like Garner, Sanders reportedly told Herrington that he couldn't breathe in the moments before he died, Parrish told the media.

The Guardian reported that Chief Street said "Sanders had no active warrants against him and that Harrington did not know who he was when the confrontation took place."

However, that didn't stop Jackson's local daily newspaper, the Clarion-Ledger, from using Sanders' mugshot (most other media outlets chose a picture of the victim warmly smiling with family members or with his horses; see below) and devoted the end of its story to talking about his rap sheet, writing:

"Sanders had crossed paths with authorities before. Circuit Clerk Beth Jordan said Sanders was out on bond from an April arrest for possession of cocaine, and that he had been convicted on charges of sale of cocaine in 2003."

The paper went on to point out: "MDOC Communications Director Grace Fisher said Sanders was given five years to serve with five years probation. He was released on May 23, 2007. Sanders' arrest record also shows arrests dating back to 2001 for disturbance of the family peace, sale of a counterfeit substance, domestic violence, and some traffic violations.

Several dozen commenters took the paper to task. Said one woman in the comments section: "Never fails; the weaponless dead victim is always prosecuted in the media to deflect how they ended up dead at the hands of police. Shame on the Clarion-Ledger."

As for the officer, the C-L made a point of noting that Herrington, according to Chief Street, "has never received any complaints of …

The United Nations’ Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent visited Jackson in late January. Read a column by human-rights attorney Adofo Minka on the significance of their work. Here are the group's initial findings:

WASHINGTON D.C. (29 January 2016) - The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent thanks the Government of United States of America for its invitation to visit the country, from 19-29 January 2016, and for its cooperation. This visit is a follow up to the 2010 visit of the WGEPAD and includes other cities. We thank in particular the Department of State for arranging the visit and the local authorities who met with the Working Group during our visit to Washington D.C., Baltimore, Jackson-Mississippi, Chicago and New York City. We would like to give special thanks to the hundreds of civil society representative organizations, lawyers and individuals from the African American community for sharing their concerns and recommendations with our delegation. We also thank numerous human rights defenders and activists who reached out to us from other parts of the country that we could not visit.

The Working Group regrets that it did not receive access according to the terms of reference for special procedure mandate holders to visit Mississippi State Penitentiary Parchman. It also regrets that it was not possible to meet with all of the high level state and local level authorities requested.

The views expressed in this statement are of a preliminary nature, our findings and recommendations will be presented in our mission report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in September 2016.

During the visit, the Working Group assessed the situation of African Americans and people of African descent and gathered information on the forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, Afrophobia and related intolerance that they face. We studied the official measures and mechanisms taken to prevent structural racial discrimination and protect victims of racism and hate crimes as well as responses to multiple forms of discrimination. The visit focused on both good practices and challenges faced in realising their human rights.

We welcome the work of the Civil Rights centers, in all Government departments, and the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission that implement the Civil Rights legislation through investigation of complaints, litigation, issuance of guidance and remedies including compensation.

We also acknowledge the work of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division regarding access to justice, investigations of excessive use of force by the police and patterns of discrimination.

We welcome the recent steps taken by the Government to reform the criminal justice system and combat racial discrimination and disparities through the following initiatives:

• The Fair Sentencing Act.
• The Justice Department's "Smart on Crime" initiative.
• The report and recommendations of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing to strengthen community-police relationships across the country.
• The new Guidance for Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Regarding the Use of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Or Gender Identity
• The Guidance for consideration …

The 2013 legislative session temporarily drew to close today. Because lawmakers failed to renew the state Medicaid program, Gov. Phil Bryant will have to call a special session sometime before July 1. Anyhow, a lot of people had stuff to say, mostly through emailed press statements.

Here's a flavor from around the Capitol:

From Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves:

JACKSON – The 2013 legislative session brought landmark education reforms, including public charter schools and rigorous literacy standards for students, a conservative $5.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2014 and new laws aimed at strengthening and protecting families, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said today.

Of the new measures enacted, key items include legislation allowing a grant program to help schools hire trained law enforcement officers, increased funding for all levels of education and protection of Mississippians’ Second Amendment Rights.

“During the 2013 session, the Senate addressed issues that will have an impact on the state for many years to come, and I appreciate each member of the Senate who worked hard to ensure Mississippi stays on the road to economic recovery and continues to encourage the creation of better, higher-paying jobs,” Lt. Gov. Reeves said. “I appreciate working with Speaker Gunn to enact strong, conservative policies to push Mississippi forward.”

Key notes from the 2013 legislative session include:

Improving public education

The 2013 session will be remembered for the successful efforts to reform education and raise academic achievement for every student. The first steps toward school choice were made with the creation of public charter schools and legislation to end social promotion of students who cannot read at grade level.

“Mississippi students will rise up to meet these new standards for academic achievement, and parents will respond by demanding better from principals and teachers, many of whom work hard for public education every day,” Lt. Gov. Reeves said. “A quality education provides a stronger foundation for a well-trained workforce to grow Mississippi. We need graduates who are ready for highly skilled careers that pay well and will keep our children and grandchildren in Mississippi.”

The Legislature approved House Bill 369 creating public charter schools in D- and F-rated school districts with approval from a state authorizing board. School boards in districts rated as A, B or C can veto a public charter school application and deny giving parents educational choice. While Lt. Gov. Reeves pushed for a stronger public charter school law, he believes the new law will help foster demand for school choice across Mississippi.

Other measures passed include Senate Bill 2347, a “Third-Grade Gate” that measures literacy skills for students in Kindergarten through third grade, provides intervention programs for students needing assistance and requires third-grade students to meet reading standards before moving to the fourth grade. Gov. Phil Bryant’s Education Works package, Senate Bill 2658, established a $15,000 scholarship for students who score at least a 28 on the ACT and a 3.5 GPA and plan to enroll in a teacher education program. It …