Justice

OPINION: Fighting a System That Was Not Made for Them

The national and even statewide conversation around gun violence and youth circulates around white students in suburban settings. Only when well-to-do white children die at the hands of gun violence do we feel the need to make a change or do something.

DA Smith on Police Shootings, Being a Victim

For the better part of last week's officer-identification task-force meeting at the Jackson Municipal Art Gallery, some of the members didn't know they had a prominent guest.

Brotherhood of Destruction: An Addiction-Fueled Journey to Hell and Back

Benny Ivey met former Vice Lord and prominent drug dealer John Knight at a June people’s assembly at New Horizon Church on Ellis Avenue, and the two bonded as they brainstormed ideas for what would help people returning from prison to re-integrate into healthy lives without re-offending.

MDOC Re-Entry Symposium Addresses Hurdles, Solutions for Returning Citizens

The parking lot of Christ United Methodist Church in northeast Jackson looked like the rear of any prison in the state this morning—lined with white Mississippi Department of Corrections vehicles and vans.

Citizens' Police Academy Graduates 30 People

About 30 Jacksonians are now official ambassadors between the local police and the community after graduating from the Jackson Police Citizen's Police Academy on June 18.

EDITORIAL: Dear Mississippi Politicians, Criminal Justice Reform Is More Than Rhetoric

This week the Mississippi Department of Corrections will host a re-entry symposium in Jackson, a necessary step to re-engage stakeholders involved with the criminal justice system, from lawmakers and mental-health professionals to judges and experts.

Hiring Ex-offenders: Mixed Statewide Results

Matthew Riley has been on the road a lot lately. As the state re-entry coordinator, Riley visited all 82 counties in Mississippi in the past nine months in search of employment opportunities for returning citizens leaving the state's corrections system.

Hinds County Criminal Justice Council Gets to Work

A group of Jackson and Hinds County leaders has begun meeting bi-monthly to work on improvements to the adult and juvenile justice systems in the city and county, after Hinds County entered into a 2016 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

EDITORIAL: Transparency in Officer Shootings Needs to Improve, Not Worsen

We now get even less information about officer-involved shootings. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations does not have to disclose information concerning any open or closed investigations except to law enforcement.

Jackson Even Less Transparent with Officer-Involved Shootings?

Just one month after Mississippi Bureau of Investigations officially began handling officer-involved shootings in Jackson, it has been harder to get information previously available to citizens and reporters following these incidents.

Corrections Fulfills Post-Epps Directive

It has been almost four years since the Mississippi Department of Corrections was turned upside down after a federal grand jury indicted former Commissioner Christopher Epps on several counts of wire fraud, bribery and money laundering.

Grand Jurors Decline to Indict Officers in Shooting Deaths

Grand jurors in Mississippi's most populous county have declined to indict four officers involved in recent shooting deaths.

Feds' 'Operation High Life' Drug Raid Arrests Can Draw Life in Prison

At least six people in Mississippi and Texas could face life in prison after a group of federal, state and local law enforcement seized more than 40 kilograms of methamphetamine, 3 kilograms of cocaine and 100 pounds of marijuana near Philadelphia, Miss., on May 30 in a coordinated drug raid.

Body Cams, Community Policing, Mental Health Funds on JPD's DOJ Wish List

The Jackson Police Department hopes to equip its officers with body cameras and increase its "community policing" capacity with funds from U.S. Department of Justice.

Judge to Decide Who Will Seek Victim Repayment in Fraud

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves heard arguments Friday from Mississippi's secretary of state and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on plans to hire a receiver. Records show Reeves plans to rule later.

Ellington