Jackson Free Press

Johnny Lee Butts went out for his regular morning walk on July 22, 2012 and never came home. That morning, a car struck and killed Butts; later police arrested a couple of teenagers for the crime.

In a recent report, CNN shed new light on what happened that morning . According to statements by two of the passengers-- a teenager and a man named Tony Hopper Jr.-- the passengers and unnamed driver of the car spotted a man walking. Here's an exchange from the grand jury indictment, according to CNN:

We see a walker on the side of the road. The complete left side of the road while we are on the complete right side of the road," the unidentified teen told a police lieutenant. "And I pointed out to say, 'watch out there is a walker there...'" The unnamed teen continued his story: "Whit slightly turns the steering wheel and I saw him. 'Watch out, don't do nothing stupid' and then he just keep turning the steering wheel and eventually before we knew it he ran him straight over." "He didn't slow down," Hopper said in a statement to a deputy sheriff. The deputy asked: "He never hit his brakes?" Hopper replied: "No sir." "Do you think he hit him on purpose?" asked the deputy. "Yes, sir, I do," said Hopper.

The driver is white; Butts was African American. However, the Panola County District Attorney John Champion (he is also the DA for DeSoto County) opted to not seek hate crime charges in the case.

Donny Butts, the victims brother wants to know why. He told CNN "That's the only reason they ran him over because he was black. Point blank."

The Butts family is considering filing a wrongful death suit, which may be the only way for the full truth to come out.

Ahead of the Friday deadline to qualify for state and county offices, several Jacksonians have qualified as Democrats in several races. That includes some old faces from local politics trying their hands at new, higher seats.

Bruce Burton of Jackson has qualified to run for the Central District seat on the Public Service Commission; Democratic state Rep. Cecil Brown has been actively campaigning for the seat for months.

Robert Amos, who has run for Jackson City Council and mayor, will compete for the Mississippi Department of Transportation's Central District post.

Democratic Party records show that Stan Alexander, a former Hinds County prosecutor now with the attorney general's office, has qualified to seek the Hinds County district attorney's seat. DA Robert Smith as of this morning has not qualified for reelection, party information shows.

Plavise Patterson, a businesswoman and community activist who ran for Jackson city council's Ward 5 in 2013, has qualified to run in Mississippi House District 69 along with incumbent Alyce Clarke. Corinthian Sanders, another perennial name on local ballots, will run for House District 72 against incumbent Kimberly Campbell.

And Charles E. Graham of Jackson qualified to contend for state auditor in the Democratic primary as well. Republicans in that race include incumbent Stacey Pickering and Madison Mary Hawkins Butler.

The Jackson Police Department announced an arrest this afternoon in the death of pro fisherman Jimmy Johnson. A Texas native, Johnson was only passing through Jackson to participate in a fishing tournament when he was shot and killed at a motel Sunday.

Rightly, there has been an outpouring of support for Johnson and his family over the past few days. And, also rightly so, there has been a fair amount of media coverage of Johnson's murder and the ensuing investigation. With today's news from JPD that a 17-year-old has been charged in connection to Johnson's death, local news and social media is once again abuzz.

The Clarion-Ledger has had three or four stories about the incident tacked to its front page all day while the comment sections of various news orgs are blowing up with comments about Johnson's death says about and means for progress in Jackson.

Johnson's was the 40th homicide in the city of Jackson this year, police records show. Yet, few have generated as much interest as the Johnson killing. There was the killing of William "Nod" Brown in September, which most people seem happy chalking up to the simple consequences of ghetto violence. And Quardious Thomas, whose cause of death was ruled self-defense because a homeowner claims Thomas was breaking into his unoccupied car.

So why does Jackson media seem to care so much more about Jimmy Johnson...

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Than William Brown?

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Willie Jerome Manning, convicted of the 1992 murders of two Mississippi State students, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday May 7.

Manning has always said he did not commit the crime; in fact, he says he was at a club on the night of the murders. For years, he's been trying to convince the state to test DNA from the crime scene. As gruesome as the murders were, there should be lots of biological material to test. One of the victims, Tiffany Miller, was shot twice in the face at close range. One leg was out of her pants and underwear, and her shirt was pulled up. Her boyfriend John Steckler's body had abrasions that occurred before he died, and he was shot once in the back of the head. A set of car tracks had gone through the puddles of blood and over Steckler's body.

Already the Mississippi State Supreme Court has denied Manning's request to have DNA tests done that were unavailable in the early 90s. Now, Manning's attorneys have produced information that shows the Federal Bureau of Investigation erred in its testimony in Manning's case. In a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted the case, U.S. Justice Department officials state "that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used" in Manning's case.

The letter goes on to say that information the FBI presented in its testimony "exceeded the limits of science, and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI offered to perform the mitochondrial DNA testing, and requested Allgood's office respond by May 6 -- the day before Manning is to be put to death.

It's unclear whether Allgood will be receptive. One of the issues Manning raised in his appeal is that Allgood illegally kept African Americans off Manning's jury by dismissing potential jurors who said they read African American magazines for reading liberal publications. David Voisin, Manning's attorney, said if approved the testing could take several weeks depending on which lab is used.

This afternoon at the Capitol, death-penalty opponents and Manning supporters called on Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution. The Mississippi Innocence Project field a brief in support of Manning this week. Kennedy Brewer, who was freed in 2008 with DNA tests after being convicted and sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend's young daughter, also wrote Bryant asking to give Manning the same opportunity to clear his name that Kennedy received.

Sister Maati, of Our Community Against Racism, invoked this year's 50th anniversary of Medgar Evers' assassination and said allowing Manning's execution take place, considering the discriminatory fashion in which his lawyers say the DA picked his jurors, would demonstrate that Mississippi has not moved beyond its legacy of injustice.

"Mississippi, prove that institutional racism is no longer a part of your southern heritage, or admit that the execution of Willie Manning is yet another Mississippi lynching," Sister Maati said this afternoon.

Three more candidates have submitted paperwork to run in the April 8 special election for mayor of Jackson.

Last week, the first to file their documents were Albert Wilson and Francis P. Smith — both of whom sought offices last year — and Kenneth Swarts.

The latest information from municipal Clerk Brenda Pree shows that Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber and Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester Jr. have also filed papers.

Gwendolyn Ward Osborne Chapman, who also submitted her name in the 2013 Democratic primary for mayor, will also appear on the ballot again.

Candidates have until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, to file with Pree's office.

For about a year, maybe longer, the state court system has slowly been rolling out news of electronic filing coming to certain counties.

Now, it's finally Hinds County's turn.

Starting on Oct. 1, Hinds Circuit Court and Hinds County Court starts accepting voluntary electronic filing of court documents in civil cases on Oct. 1. Senior Circuit Judge Tomie Green signed the order. E-filing will become mandatory on Nov. 1 in civil cases, a press release states.

“The addition of Hinds Circuit and County Courts to the Mississippi Electronic Courts system marks a milestone in our efforts to implement a unified, statewide e-filing system for the judiciary. The state’s most populous county, the home of our capital city and the seat of state government, is an essential component of a unified records system," said Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said in a statement.

Hinds County Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn said in the statement that "trying to make this as simple as possible."

This is huge for members of the public and the press.

Dunn's office charges $1.00 PER FREAKING PAGE for copies.

The state e-filing system is similar to the PACER system the federal courts use, which charges a dime per page.

Verbatim press release from Attorney General Jim Hood:

Jackson, MS—Attorney General Jim Hood today filed a petition requesting the Supreme Court of Mississippi to do away with a restraining order issued by the Hinds County Circuit Court late Friday enjoining the State’s new law regulating the carrying of concealed weapons.

Representing the state in today’s filing, Attorney General Hood contends “the Circuit Court’s order violated the separation of powers mandated between co-equal branches in Article 1 of the Constitution by usurping the authority of the legislature to regulate the carrying of concealed weapons. The order also infringes on the citizens’ right to bear arms recognized by Article 3, Section 12 of the Mississippi Constitution and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

The filing also contends that “plantiffs unquestionably delayed seeking emergency judicial relief for some 116 days after the law was signed by the Governor” with no valid excuse and waited until “literally the last hour of the last business day” leaving the State little time, only 30 minutes, to prepare its oral argument before the Circuit Court concerning the injunction. The Attorney General requests the court to overturn the preliminary injunction on several grounds including that 1) the plantiffs have no likelihood of success in proving House Bill 2 to be unconstitutional, 2) because the plantiffs requested relief infringes on the Constitutional authority of the Legislature and 3) because the requested relief infringes on the right of citizens to bear arms guaranteed by the Mississippi and United States Constitutions.

“It is my duty as the chief legal officer of this state to defend our state laws and our citizen’s constitutional rights,” said Attorney General Hood. “Our office continues to advise law enforcement officers and city officials as to the changes they will see with this new law. We will work through the issues as they arise, but this current issues is simply a matter of proper jurisdiction and basic constitutional rights.”

The Court has required the plantiffs to file their response to the State’s petition by 5pm today. The Attorney General’s Office awaits the plantiffs’ response and the Supreme Court’s decision.

The following is a statement from Justice Kitchens' campaign:

Justice Jim Kitchens of Crystal Springs was the first candidate to file papers at the Secretary of State’s Office for the 2016 election when he qualified to seek election to a second term on the Mississippi Supreme Court this morning. Four seats on the nine-member court will be on ballots throughout the state for the November 8, 2016, election.

Although state judicial candidates run in nonpartisan elections, the Supreme Court contests will be on the same ballots as the presidential and congressional races.

Kitchens, a Copiah County resident, runs in the state’s Central District, which is comprised of twenty-two counties. This year two of the high court’s seats will be in play in the Northern District, and one in the southern District.

“Although there was no doubt in my mind that I would run again, it’s official now,” Kitchens said. “Today I filed my qualifying papers with the Secretary of State and paid the required fee. This was the earliest possible date on which I could sign up to run in the 2016 election. I am grateful for the encouragement I’ve received from everyday people and from attorneys in all segments of the Bar. I plan to continue devoting myself to making sound legal decisions on our state’s highest court because I am keenly aware that those decisions affect the lives of every man, woman, and child in Mississippi.”

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Mississippi School of Law, Kitchens is a lifelong resident of Crystal Springs. Before seeking election to the Supreme Court, he practiced law for forty-one years, nine of which were spent as District Attorney for the 14th Circuit Court District. He and his wife, Mary T. Kitchens, have five adult children and eleven grandchildren, all of whom live in Crystal Springs. Mrs. Kitchens, a retired public school teacher, is the executive director of Mississippi’s Toughest Kids Foundation.

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From the you can't make this ish up file, the Mississippi American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint this afternoon alleging the Mississippi Highway Patrol engaged in racial profiling and violated the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Raymond Montgomery and Cathryn Stout, who are African American.

The stop happened Aug. 8 just north of Jackson on I-55 South, the ACLU said. A doctoral student at Saint Louis University, Stout "was traveling to Jackson to conduct interviews for a paper on Mississippians’ efforts to combat negative stereotypes of their state," the ACLU said.

According to the ACLU's press release, troopers pulled the couple over for Stout's Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. — a historically African American sorority — license plate holder. The release goes on to say:

"When (the couple) exercised their constitutional right to refuse to consent to a search, the trooper called his supervisor, Staff Sergeant Brad Vincent. The plaintiffs watched helplessly as troopers riffled through their suitcase and invaded their privacy. The troopers even dismantled the panels of their interior doors and looked under the hood of their car. In an effort to document the troopers’ actions, Stout tried to record the events on her phone camera. She was told to stop, and fearing arrest, she did. Their hour-long humiliation finally ended when the troopers could not find any contraband. They were sent on their way without any ticket, or an apology."

Stout noted the irony that the whole purpose of her trip was to show how far Mississippi has come in combating the image that the state is racially hostile.

"Unfortunately, my experience with the Highway Patrol revealed a much different picture,” Stout said.

Interestingly, at an Aug. 2012 legislative hearing on immigration reform, Vincent testified that Mexico-based cartels frequently transport narcotics through Mississippi and that the telltale signs of foreign drug mules, include old vehicles with new registrations filled with personal belongings. So it's possible that MHP thought Stout and Raymond (pictured below) were drug runners from south of the border.

The lawsuit, in which Department of Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz is named as the main defendant, was filed in federal court in Jackson.

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True the Vote, the Houston—Texas-based pollwatching organization that is suing Mississippi political and government officials over alleged voter suppression—has submitted two affidavits from people to support their claims that the integrity of the June 24 Republican primary for U.S. Senate might have been compromised.

One submitted to TTV by a woman named Susan Morse in Noxubee County claims that a Macon woman participated in the GOP primary after voting in the Democratic primary June 3, which state election laws prohibit.

Another, filed in Harrison County by a man named Phillip C. Harding III, claims that at about 2 p.m. on July 1—one week after the election that U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran beat state Sen. Chris McDaniel, he observed election officials discard ballots.

Harding writes: "In a one of the bins I found a small stack of provisional ballots, unopened. I gave te provisional ballots to an exec committee member who took control of them. I also found absentee ballot bags in several o the supply bins. Some had opened envelopes and applications in the them. I took the applications and envelopes out because I did not know what to do with them, but believed they should be saved. After setting them aside I saw another volunteer dispose of them at executive committee members' direction."

The group filed a motion for a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in Jackson late Wednesday against election commissioners in several Mississippi counties, including Hinds County, as well as the state GOP. A teleconference took place this morning at the federal courthouse.

The motion for the TRO detailed the counties it says is not complying with the law: While some counties provided proper voter records, Copiah County, Hinds County, Jefferson Davis County, Lauderdale County, Leake County, Madison County, Rankin County, Simpson County, and Yazoo County refused. These counties, who have been sued via their respective Election Commissions, also wrongfully maintain that the birthdates of voters must be redacted from voter records, at Plaintiffs’ expense."

In an election this short, money can make all the difference.

Unfortunately, we won't know who the big money players in the Jackson mayor's race are for at least another week, however.

Information from the Jackson city clerk's office shows that pre-election reports are due April 1, 2014 — one week before the election. Candidates are required to itemize each contribution over $200; donations under $200 can be lumped together.

Runoff candidates would need to file another report by April 15. All candidates are supposed to file statements of economic interest (SEI) with the Mississippi Ethics Commission as are current office holders and some other appointed officials.

Since so many of the candidates are current or former officeholders, I decided to pull their SEIs.

Here's what I dug up:

First, there are two glaring omissions. A search of the ethics-commission website returned no results for Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber, pastor of Relevant Empowerment Church and consultant with Bailey Kirkland Education Group, LLC. Yarber has been on the council since 2009 and told the Jackson Free Press this week that he draws now salary from his church and earns a living doing educational consulting and through the generosity of others, which he called "Holy Ghost handshakes."

Only one result, from 2009, came back for Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon. On her form, Barrett-Simon listed no business interests aside from her position on the city council; she listed her husband, Dr. Al Simon, as an employee of Jackson State University.

Former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s most recent report, filed in 2012, also shows that he held no economic interests outside of his office; he is seeking re-election to his former seat.

Democratic State Sen. John Horhn lists his wife, Gail, as an employee of Jackson Public Schools on his 2012 report. Horhn, a 2009 Jackson mayor candidate, also lists himself as an officer in three businesses: Branch Consulting Group LLC, Horhn & Associates and Landfair Solutions LLC that year.

Finally, in January 2013, Melvin Priester Jr., listed his law practice — Priester Law Firm — as a business interest and indicates that he has represented the Capital City Convention Center Commission. At the time, Priester was a candidate for Ward 2 city councilman; currently, he is seeking the mayor's office.

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 latest court monitoring report for the Hinds County's Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center shows "the facility continues to have "major developmental needs in many areas.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center and Disability Rights Mississippi filed a class-action lawsuit in 2011 that alleged Henley-Young's staff members subjected the children to physical and verbal abuse.

Under a March 2012 settlement children entering the facility are to receive mental-health evaluations, counseling, better rehabilitation options, input from family and advocates, and more time outside their cells.

Leonard B. Dixon, a juvenile justice expert appointed to oversee implementation of the agreement, visited the jail from August 18 through August 23. Dixon said in his report that he witnessed staff training that did not align with juvenile-justice standards.

“As I sat in on several parts of the training, I found the majority of the training was aligned with adult corrections,” he wrote. “Although this training may be adequate for adult facilities, in the juvenile system training is required so that staff will have the skills to effectively interact and manage residents.”

Dixon also cited staffing issues and medical and mental health-care services as still needing improvement.

“Even though the facility has hired new staff, the results of attrition still leave the County far short of the needed staff to properly run the facility,” Dixon wrote. This creates pressure for staff members to keep the peace at all costs, and they often “react to minor misbehaviors” by “locking down residents that present potential conduct issues.”

In early September, the Henley Young brought on a new director when Brenda Frelix took over for Dale Knight, who took the post in 2010.

ENI, a Canton, Miss.-based political-action committee formed in late March.

But that's about all we know so far.

The statement of organization, filed with the Jackson city clerk's office April 2, indicates the committee is not authorized by any particular candidate and its purpose is "to raise money in relation to the City of Jackson Mayoral Special Election."

The form lists Alance McKinney of Jackson as ENI's president/director and Fletcher Shaw of Canton as secretary/treasurer. State records also show a south Jackson address for two dissolved companies. Reached by phone, Shaw said the PAC was set up to back a candidate in the mayor's race, but referred a Jackson Free Press reporter to attorney John P. Martin, who prepared ENI's paperwork, for particulars.

"It's a political-action committee set up and established based upon the guidelines the election commission set up — no less or no more," Shaw told JFP.

Martin, of the Canton firm of Montgomery McGraw PLLC, called the JFP back Thursday to say that his firm's role in the PAC is only to serve as its agent.

Employees of Montgomery McGraw, including partner Bob Montgomery, a former Mississippi state senator and chief of staff to former Democratic U.S. Rep. G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, have contributed to several political candidate campaigns over the years.

Most recently, Bob Montgomery gave to Republicans Gov. Phil Bryant, transportation Commissioner Dick Hall and Lucien Smith, a 2011 state treasurer candidate who now serves as Bryant's chief-of-staff. In past elections, Montgomery also gave to Republicans former Gov. Haley Barbour, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and Tate Reeves when he was state treasurer.

In addition, Montgomery has contributed to former Democratic Insurance Commissioner George Dale as well as several state supreme court candidates, races that are officially nonpartisan.

Fletcher Shaw said the ENI would be in compliance with state financial disclosure rules; runoff candidates—Chokwe A. Lumumba and Tony Yarber—will be required to file reports on Tuesday, April 15.

The Mississippi State Supreme Court has granted a stay of execution for death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning. Manning was scheduled to be put to death this evening at 6 p.m. at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

Manning, accused of killing two people in Oktibbeha County in 1992, has maintained he is innocent and has been fighting to clear his name. Since last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has twice admitted to errors in Manning's original trial, stating that investigators overstated the evidence against Manning.

Prosecutors said Manning had been in possession of items that belonged to the victims and that bullets from Manning's gun matched bullets recovered from the victims' bodies. On May 6, the FBI said in a letter: “The science regarding firearms examinations does not permit examiner testimony that a specific gun fired a specific bullet to the exclusion of all other guns in the world.”

In a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted Manning, U.S. Justice Department officials stated last week "that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used" in Manning's case.

The letter, which went to Manning's lawyer and the Mississippi Innocence Project, which is monitoring the case, goes on to say that information the FBI presented in its testimony "exceeded the limits of science, and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI offered to perform the mitochondrial DNA testing.

Manning has always said he did not commit the crime; in fact, he says he was at a club on the night of the murders. For years, he's been trying to convince the state to test DNA from the crime scene. As gruesome as the murders were, there should be lots of biological material to test. One of the victims, Tiffany Miller, was shot twice in the face at close range. One leg was out of her pants and underwear, and her shirt was pulled up. Her boyfriend John Steckler's body had abrasions that occurred before he died, and he was shot once in the back of the head. A set of car tracks had gone through the puddles of blood and over Steckler's body.

One of the issues Manning raised in his appeal is that Allgood illegally kept African Americans off Manning's jury by dismissing potential jurors who said they read African American magazines. David Voisin, Manning's attorney, said if approved, the testing could take several weeks, depending on which lab is used.

On May 3, at the Mississippi Capitol, death-penalty opponents and Manning supporters called on Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution. The Mississippi Innocence Project filed a brief in support of Manning this week. Kennedy Brewer, who was exonerated in 2008 with DNA tests after being convicted and sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend's young daughter, also wrote Bryant asking to give Manning the same opportunity to clear his name that Kennedy received.

Update: Statment from Attorney General Jim Hood

I am sorry that the victims’ families will have to continue to …

Jackson State University released the following statement regarding the dismissal of a sexual harassment lawsuit against Athletic Director Vivian Fuller:

U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour, Jr., on March 13 dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Jackson State University, JSU Director of Athletics Dr. Vivian L. Fuller and JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers by former JSU employee Lolita Ward.

According to the ruling, the court “found that Ward has failed to show that there exists genuine issues of material fact with respect to any of the claims alleged in her amended complaint.”

University Communications Executive Director Eric Stringfellow said university officials applauded the court’s decision.

“Since the beginning of the case, our position has been that the lawsuit was without merit. The U.S. District Court’s dismissal of Lolita Ward’s lawsuit vindicates the university,” Stringfellow said.

When the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated Ward’s allegations, the federal agency determined it was unable to conclude that the information obtained established violations of any statutes.

The following is a press release from Mayor Tony Yarber:

Mayor Tony Yarber on Friday, Aug. 22, announced Lee Vance as Jackson’s new police chief, saying his experience in law enforcement and commitment to community collaboration made him the right person for the job.

“He has proven leadership and respect in the community and among the rank and file in the Jackson Police Department,” Yarber said. “He also shares the administration’s vision for a holistic approach to crime-fighting and crime prevention.”

Vance has more than 27 years in law enforcement. He has served as interim chief since former Chief Lindsey Horton announced his retirement last month.

“I’m honored Mayor Yarber has entrusted me with this crucial public safety position. This is my hometown, and the well-being of Jackson citizens is my top priority,” Vance said.

Vance is certified and trained in management, preparedness, leadership and other various aspects of law enforcement. He rose through the ranks in the JPD, serving as patrol officer, public information officer, patrol sergeant, police lieutenant and commander.

I was just at the Hinds County Circuit Clerk's doing research for a story , and a couple of employees were talking about a mini-plague of serpents in the basement office.

This week, employees have stumbled across five earth snakes in the file room, Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn said. Earth snakes are nonvenomous and grow up to around 8 inches. Employees said they have been unable to ascertain how the asps are getting in the building.

The thing that really made my skin crawl, though, was being charged $1 per page to make copies. Mississippi has some of the nation's worst open-records laws, which makes a lot of documents public but lets government agencies charge whatever they want. What stung the most was that I had to make the copies myself, and still had to fork out $84 for a pretty skimpy stack of paper (pictured).

Where's Nick Fury when you need him?

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The state of Mississippi is moving closer to carrying out the first execution of 2013.

The Mississippi State Supreme Court denied today Willie Jerome Manning's requests for a rehearing and a stay of execution. Manning wants DNA tests that were not available at the time of his conviction in the early 1990s. Manning received the death penalty for the December 1992 killings of two Mississippi State University students, Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler.

Manning has maintained his innocence. This Mississippi Innocence Project filed a brief in support of Manning. Innocence Projects usually don't get involved with cases that lack compelling evidence of innocence. Of the seven people Innocence Project helped exonerate, six of them were freed because their DNA was absent from the scene of the crime, the brief states.

In addition to the DNA request, Manning's attorney said one of the prosecution's jury-selection tactics in Manning's trial was discriminatory. Voisin said some candidates listed publications such as Jet and Ebony magazines on a jury questionnaire. Prosecutors dismissed some of the potentials because they read liberal publications.

In 2012, Mississippi tied with Arizona and Oklahoma for second-most executions carried out in the United States, with six in each state. Texas led the nation with 15 executions in 2012. Manning is scheduled to be executed May 7 at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.

There were some high-dollar contributors at a private meeting Speaker Philip Gunn had in his office last night. An unusual amount of activity at the Capitol yesterday evening led a TV news crew and a print reporter to investigate, but the journalists were turned away by Capitol security, wrote Clarion-Ledger political editor Geoff Pender today.

According to Pender's report, Gunn's policy director Nathan Wells called the meeting small and consisting of Gunn supporters who hadn't had a chance to visit the speaker's office.

Attendees included oilmen Billy Powell and Billy Mounger as well as Wirt Yerger and their spouses. All the men are high-rollers when it comes to political donations.

Mounger, who has worked in oil and gas development, gave more than $100,000 in both 2007 and 2011, but a quick review of those disclosure filings reveal that Gunn was not a recipient from Mounger in those two cycles.

Mounger has also given handsomely to federal campaigns, including former Gov. Haley Barbour's political action committee and to Republican members of Mississippi's congressional delegation. Powell of Powell Petroleum has also given while Yerger, president of Cavalier Wireless, gave $3,500 to candidates in 2011, including $1,000 to Gunn.

Wells insisted that the meeting was not a fundraiser. He told Pender: "We have food brought in for meetings all the time. This was completely paid for by (Gunn). There were no contributions, and none asked for. It’s not an event. We eat food here at meetings all the time.”