Prosecute the Prosecutors
A true correction would include prosecution for those suspected of knowingly packing a man away to prison for a crime they knew he didn't commit.
[Balko] Criminal Justice Reform Alliance? Doubt It.
Why talk of a left-right alliance to fight the prosecution state seems unlikely.
[Kamikaze] Spread the Projack Love
I'm what you call a ProJack. I steadfastly support anything in Jacksoncommunity, music and business. If you operate or reside firmly within this city's borders, I pray for your success.
Do the Right Thing and ... Report
As I proofread this week's cover story about the stories mainstream media won't cover, I thought back to the first year of the Jackson Free Press.
[Stiggers] Make A Friend If You Can
Miss Doodle Mae: "This holiday season, folks are counting down to more cutbacks. The mantra for the shameless corporate executives is cut back, back, back. Business decisions to eliminate jobs to enable CEO bonuses and privileges slit the throats of today's workers who bleed hopelessness, fear, apathy and desperation."
Time to Build Levees
This week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, closed their four-year study of Pearl River flood solutions in the Jackson metro, issuing a press release that was unambiguously titled: "Study Finds Levee Plan Best Option For Jackson Metro."
[Balko] ‘It Opened Our Eyes'
How the paths of two very different families crossed to cheer the release of a wrongly convicted man.
Why I Like the Senate Health Care Bill
This past week I learned something surprising and encouraging about the health-care reform bill in the Senate -- something that you may not know if you've only listened to mainstream media coverage. (If you're listening to right-wing talk radio or FOX News about health-care reform then, well, bless your heart.)
This Black Friday, Shop Local First
Black Friday this, and Black Friday that. Do you really, truly want to get up with the chickens and wait outside some big-box retailer to save a few dollars on the same gift everyone else is buying? Truly?
[Stiggers] ‘Amazing Gracie's' Thanks
Brotha Hustle: "It's been a while since members of the Hustle family have come together for Thanksgiving. It's really nice to see familiar faces, like my second cousin Gracie Hustle, former all-star point guard for the Cootie Creek Community College ladies basketball team.
[McInnis] Behind the HBCU Merger
Don't be fooled into thinking that Gov. Haley Barbour's recommendation for merging the state-funded HBCUs is about the current economic crisis.
[Balko] A New Trial for Cory Maye
Mississippi's Court of Appeals affirms a right to a local jury.
Love Thy Neighbor
I grew up in the Episcopal Church, and it was the center of everything my family did. From Sunday school to youth group and potluck dinners, the church provided a sense of community and belonging.
[Stiggers] Eating Like Kings
Mr. Announcer: "Ghetto Science Public Television presents 'Cooking with Grandpa Pookie!' Tonight's guest is Brotha Hustle, the Ghetto Science Team's roving and mobile entrepreneur. On this segment of the program, Grandpa Pookie and Brotha Hustle will show you how to eat well on a recession budget."
[Kamikaze] Show. Me. Some. Passion.
I call myself a moderate for a reason. I find myself shying away from the lunacy that lurks on the outer fringes of both parties.
[Murphy] Breaking Out
I'm often struck by the way that many people live half-truthfully, editing out personal information that they deem unsavory to others. I'm not sure if this is a southern phenomenon, or simply a trend among those of us who are the black sheep in our families.
Barbour: First, Do No Harm
Call us suspicious, but we don't believe for one minute that Gov. Haley Barbour thinks the Mississippi Legislature will vote to merge the state's three historically black universities, while not touching Ole Miss or Southern. (We do believe they might merge Mississippi University for Women with Mississippi State, though.)
[Balko] Absolute Immunity on Trial
Bush's former solicitor general tries to roll back prosecutorial abuse.
Seeking the Authentic
Since I'm one of those folks who was "brought back" to Mississippi by a native, I sometimes feel like I have a unique vantage point. Mississippi reminds me enough of my boyhood Texas to be a second home to me, and yet it's weird enough to feel like "a whole'nother country."
Stop Barbour's Power Grab
Gov. Haley Barbour does have gall, you have to hand him that. Since he came home from Washington, D.C., in 2003 to serve as Mississippi's governor, he has reconfigured the balance-of-power at the state capitol.
[Stiggers] Just Pay Me Back
Rudy McBride: "Greetings to all of my loyal customers journeying through this world of woe during this global recession. This message is dedicated to the wayfaring strangers traveling to that bright land of no sickness, toil or danger. This message is for people waiting for promises to become successful realities."
[Doyle] From Dixie, With Love
As a University of Mississippi graduate excited about the progress of his alma mater in the past decade, a strong distaste for the likes of Richard Barrett is interwoven into my DNA.
[Balko] Death of a Watchdog
In an age when journalism has been inflicted not only by ballyhooed budget woes and challenges from new media, but also a glut of dubious trend stories, horserace political coverage and endless navel-gazing about the state of the profession, Pete Shellem merely freed four wrongly convicted people from prison in a period of 10 years with his reporting.
Johnson Fumbles
Mayor Harvey Jr. Johnson rode back into the mayor's office on a platform of openness to the media and the voting public, but he recently left himself vulnerable to criticism on this very issue.
[Stiggers] I Have a Scheme
Miss Doodle Mae: "It was one of those dreary and rainy evenings. The staff and I had just finished our store-closing duties. Jojo suggested that we wait until the heavy rain lighten up before going home."
[Kamikaze] To Our Health
I have to shamefully admit that it's been over a decade since my last trip to a doctor's office. That's any doctor's office, anywhere, for any kind of checkup.
The Path of Least Drama
Everyone who reads me regularly knows that I despise the question "Why does she stay?" when asked about domestic-abuse victims.
[Balko] Bad Prosecutors, Mississippi and Beyond
Anthony Caravella walked away from a Florida prison last month. He served 26 years for a rape and murder that DNA testing has shown he didn't commit. Caravella was 15 at the time he was arrested and has an IQ of 67. A confession that his attorneys say was beaten out of him by police interrogators played a part in his conviction. Caravella's prosecutor, Robert Carney, has put at least two other people in prison for murder who were later cleared of the crimes. Carney is now a judge in Broward County, though he recently announced he's retiring at the end of this year.
Whip It Good
Every year for Halloween, I struggle when it come to finding the perfect costume. Instead of dressing up as an oversexed nurse or pop star, I've always found it a challenge to dress up as a woman I actually agree with.
JPS Needs To Level With Public
The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees made a mistake last week in not renewing the district's music education contract with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.