Justice

The Best We Can Be

Last week, I attended one of those uniquely Jackson events that national media never seem to know about when they paint us with a broad brush. It was a performance of "Defamation," a play by a Chicago playwright that allows the audience to act as jury and decide whether a black woman or a Jewish man should win a defamation suit she brought against him because he assumed she stole a watch from him and then caused her to lose business as a result.

Second Chances

Michael Williams is the man behind the movie projector at the Russell C. Davis Planetarium. He is responsible for making sure the independent art films and sky shows run on schedule without any technical glitches.

Building Business

Gov. Haley Barbour has long been bullish on Mississippi's business environment, announcing every new business his administration brings into the state—large and small—and every new development with great fanfare.

Self Defense or Murder?

Edna Mae Sanders first met former Navy Seal Sherman Sanders at a Baton Rouge party in March 2005. She gave him her phone number, and it wasn't long before he began surprising her with gifts and driving from New Orleans to see her on weekends.

Why They Kill

Despite popular belief, violent criminals aren't born with a moral screw loose. They're not even turned into criminals because they grow up in single-parent homes (although having two good parents certainly helps kids) or from living in a crime-ridden neighborhood (although it contributes).

Deterrence: Not What You Think

Once a person has committed a crime and is in the prison system, what works and what doesn't to deter ongoing criminality?

Citizen Policewoman

I'm going to be completely honest: I'd never held a gun before. I always thought guns were for thugs and hunters. I simply didn't need one. So it may surprise you that on Saturday, Oct. 8, I spent the better part of the day at the Jackson Police Department rifle range working on my target practice.

The Poverty-Crime Connection

If you struggle to pay your bills and don't know where your next meal is coming from, studies show you are more likely to be incarcerated. Once you fall into that cycle, it's difficult to break out. When people get out of jail, they usually have no money or a stable home to return to. http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/v3/images/uploads/poverty_house_Oskari-Keetun.jpg

‘Eyes on the Street': A Case Study

'The revival of Jackson is not going to be made on single-family housing.'

The Dropout-Crime Connection

What if there was a way to stop people from committing crimes before they started? Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a nonprofit organization that advocates for quality education and after-school programs as the best way to prevent crime and violence.

Guns for Safety?

Also see: JFP Crime Blog

It so happens that in the past few weeks, a number of people with ties to the Jackson Free Press—staff and former staff—have encountered the same piece of advice from Jackson Police Department officers. The advice: Buy a gun.

Relationships, Not Gates

I would like to claim that Broadmeadow United Methodist Church first reached out to the neighborhood, but the truth is that the neighborhood reached out first to Broadmeadow.

[Oppenheim] Time to Listen

On Oct. 22, youth from all over Mississippi, but mostly Jackson, will gather at Metrocenter Mall for a special event: the first Art, Poetry and Justice SLAM. The event is part of National Youth Justice Awareness Month and brings together the Southern Regional Office of the Children's Defense Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU of Mississippi, the NAACP of Mississippi, The Young People's Project and F.A.I.T.H. Inc.

How to Be Safe

When I lived in the Washington, D.C., area, I knew a woman who was repeatedly on the receiving end of crime. She was mugged in the subway, had her purse snatched at a bar, was attacked and raped walking home. I didn't know her well; however, it was hard not to feel badly for her.

The JFP's Crime-Fighting Manifesto

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." - Edmund Burke.

Ellington