Justice

Did She Have To Die?

By 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2007, the temperatures were well on their way to 93 degrees when JPD Sgt. Eric Wall pulled his cruiser into the turn lane on Northside Drive east of I-55, ready to make a left onto Ridgewood Road and head north.

Jackson Major Crimes Down Again

Major crimes decreased again last week in Jackson, according to statistics released today at a Jackson Police Department meeting. The city's overall major crime rate was down 13 percent from the previous week, and 0.9 percent year over year.

[Balko] Should Suing Bad Prosecutors Be Legal?

Should prosecutors who manufacture evidence be susceptible to lawsuits?

Accused Can't See Evidence Against Them

On July 4, 2009, Basil DeJuan Sullivan was arrested for disorderly conduct at Freelon's Bar and Groove. Sullivan alleges that a group of Hinds County deputies threw him out of the Mill Street club, beat him and arrested him without reading his rights, but he does not have access to much of the evidence that could help him prove his case, like the police report from his arrest.

Jackson Crime Stats Continue Downward Trend

Major crimes in Jackson dropped again last week, according to a weekly crime report released this morning at a Jackson Police Department meeting. Violent crime was down 20 percent from the previous week, while property crime droppped 7 percent. For the year, police have reported almost 10 percent fewer violent crimes and 0.7 percent more property crimes than last year.

Ex-Bodyguards Challenge Ridgeway Restitution

Two former Jackson police officers are disputing the amount that federal prosecutors say they must pay in restitution for the 2006 demolition of a Ridgeway Street duplex. Marcus Wright and Michael Recio, both former bodyguards to the late Mayor Frank Melton, claim that the $30,070 prosecutors want them to pay exceeds the damage they did to the house.

[Balko] A Shake to the System

New research into "shaken baby syndrome" could put hundreds of convictions in peril.

City's Crime Numbers Still Down Despite Shooting

Yesterday, the Jackson Police Department released ComStat crime figures for the week of Sept. 14 through Sept. 20. The report shows that major crime statistics in Jackson dropped again last week, although violent crimes rose from the previous week. Total major crimes this year are a scant 0.2 percent down from last year's numbers.

The JFP Interview with Chokwe Lumumba

Chokwe Lumumba was one child among seven in Detroit's West side public housing projects. His birth name is Edwin Taliaferro, though he abandoned what he considers his slave name in favor of his current, more nationalistic, equivalent.

Manhunt D.A.‘s ‘Guard' Duty

When Bruce Dunagan heard that Tallahatchie County prosecutor John Whitten III was involved in a vigilante-style manhunt last month, in Sumner, he wasn't surprised. Dunagan, who was Biloxi's police chief during Hurricane Katrina, remembers Whitten testing the limits of the law in the aftermath of the 2005 storm.

[Balko] The Hunt for Criminality

Why it's important that prosecutors know when not to bring charges.

Future for Clinic Uncertain

The future of the Catholic Charities Legal Assistance Clinic in Jackson, which provides legal services for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, is uncertain, as pending upcoming funding decisions. Funding for the clinic from the Mississippi Bar and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women ended in August 2009.

Immigrant Rights Alliance Says Enforcement Unbalanced

Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance Executive Director Bill Chandler is charging that the indictment of Jose Humberto Gonzalez in the 2008 Howard Industries immigration-enforcement raid highlights the unbalanced enforcement of federal immigration law. In 1986, the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act made employers liable for employing undocumented aliens.

Jackson Crime Down Again

Major crimes in Jackson decreased slightly last week, according to statistics (PDF) released yesterday at the Jackson Police Department's weekly COMSTAT meeting. For the year to date, violent crime is down roughly 10 percent compared to last year, while property crime is up less than 1 percent. Last week, officers reported 23 violent crimes, compared to 29 the previous week, and 209 property crimes, down from 211 the week before.

Domestic Abuse is a Pre-Existing Condition in Mississippi

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney expressed outrage today that the state of Mississippi is one of eight states in the nation, including the District of Columbia, which allows insurance companies to consider domestic abuse as a pre-existing condition with which to deny health-care coverage. The National Women's Law Center reported in April that the state of Arkansas passed a law prohibiting insurance companies to pull coverage for domestic violence survivors, putting a spotlight on the remaining states.

Ellington