Justice

Redistricting Goes to Court

The courts likely will decide Mississippi's redistricting maps after the state Senate voted to end the session last week without adopting a new redistricting map.

On Monday, March 14, Jackson resident Torri Parker and her boyfriend returned to her car parked at Parham Bridges Park after a workout there and discovered the passenger-side window knocked out and her purse missing from the vehicle. So began a spring break spent doing her own detective work.

[Polen] Learning from Austin

"This is how a city should feel," I thought to myself.

Philadelphia to Host National Civil Rights Conference

The city of Philadelphia, Miss., will host the inaugural National Conference on Civil Rights June 19 through June 21.

Who's Fooling Whom?

No one likes to be fooled.

Finding Foul Play

The Mississippi NAACP isn't using the "L-word," yet, but the civil-rights group has its doubts about the Dec. 2, 2010, hanging death of a Greenwood man.

Waiting on Transparency

The past week was a decent week for transparency in Mississippi, at least compared to most weeks in these parts. For one thing, the city of Jackson launched its 311 service so that residents can both log inquiries and requests and track the progress of the response.

[Balko] Failing Upward in Criminal Justice

When the SWAT team came for Richard Paey in 1997, officers battered down the front door of the Florida home he shared with his wife and their two children. Paey is a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair after a car accident and a botched back surgery. He also suffers from multiple sclerosis. Paey was accused of distributing the medication he used to treat his chronic pain, even though there was no evidence he had sold or given away a single pill. Thanks to Florida's draconian drug laws, he was eventually convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Sure, ‘Rebrand,' But Don't Stop There

A group of city and county leaders got together this week to hear a South Carolina company explain how it is going to spend three days talking to citizens and then present us with a plan to "rebrand" Hinds County.

Parchman's Past, Prison's Future

It's a strange month when the Parchman Farm comes out looking better than a county jail. On March 10, a federal judge finally dismissed the bulk of Gates v. Collier. A 1972 decision on this longstanding court case mandated a slew of reforms at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, then the only state prison in Mississippi. Federal Magistrate Judge Jerry Davis dismissed all portions of the case dealing with state institutions but not the portions regarding Mississippi counties' correctional systems.

Arizona-Style Immigrant Bill Dies

Mississippi law will not require local and state law enforcement to stop Latinos and inquire about their immigration status this year. An Arizona-style bill forcing law enforcement to adopt federal immigration enforcement duties died yesterday when Mississippi House of Representative members and Mississippi Senate members could not hash out their differences.

[Balko] How Drug Cops Go Bad

If you browse the website of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), you will notice a conspicuous theme: The war on drugs is corrupting America's cops.

Report Calls for Drug-Law Reform

Reducing Mississippi's incarceration rate, which is the second-highest in the United States, depends on reforming many aspects of the state's criminal justice system, a report released this month says.

Negative Perceptions an Obstacle for Jackson

Communicating positive messages about Jackson's progress and ending negative perceptions about crime is important to attract new residents to the city of Jackson, Jackson State University professor B. D'Andra Orey told a group of citizens this morning.

[Our Turn] A Call for Understanding

Taking more accurately the universal message of the Civil Rights Movement to heart, this letter is not a call for silence, as that would be antithetical to the Movement as well. Rather, this letter is a call for understanding.

Ellington