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EDITOR'S NOTE: Our Journalism Seeks Solutions Over Blame and Partisanship
I'm a journalist to find solutions for issues such as youth crime. And that means seeking the various causes first to get there. That is why the journalism in the Jackson Free Press is different.
Hinds DA Facing Different Kind of Trial for Alleged Abuse, Stalking in Rankin County
In the last year, Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has avoided a conviction in two trials for hindering prosecution in Hinds County that would have forced him from office as the area's top prosecutor, and probably gotten him disbarred.
Amid Hotel Flap, Fondren Labeled a Top ‘Endangered Historic Place’ in State
Fondren is now on the list of the “10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi," just as developers of a new hotel anger neighbors for demolishing the house the neighborhood is named after.
Newly Released Documents Show the Asbestos Trail in Fondren
The day after developers of a new Hilton hotel suddenly started demolishing structures on a two-acre site in the heart of Fondren, asbestos inspector Ryan Galfetti showed up unannounced after the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality received a complaint that asbestos may be present in the structures and the new piles of debris.
From Trump to Weinstein: ‘This Way of Treating Women Ends Now’
Hell week for women started with Donald Trump telling employers they can cherry-pick access to birth control out of women employees' health insurance. It ended with a long line of Hollywood women collectively revealing mega-producer Harvey Weinstein's apparent habit of, um, "indiscretions."
Yep, JPS Takeover Is a Conspiracy. Prove Me Wrong.
The predictability of all this takeover hoohaa isn't lost on anyone who comprehends Mississippi's history of racial dynamics, white flight and victim-blaming.
Kneeling for America: My Dad Fought, Lost Much for Athletes’ Right to Protest Racism
I believe that today my Daddy would stand, or kneel in spirit, with the NFL players who are pushing back on Trump’s treatment of them as chattel entertainment, calling for them to be kicked out to pasture if they dare exercise their rights that Willie Hoyt Smith left so much behind in Korea to maintain.
UPDATED: Darnell Turner Gets 45 Years, Judge Brings Up DA Smith
The young woman who accused Darnell Turner of beating her, dragging her, strangling her, shooting at her car, and dangling her off a bridge in the Washington Addition when she was 22 was in the courtroom this morning when Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill sentenced the 39-year-old to 45 consecutive years in prison on three felony counts.
The JFP at 15: Raising Hell, Having Fun
The Jackson Free Press' official birthday is Sept. 22, my late badass mother's birthday. She was illiterate, but loved to tell stories and encouraged me to say whatever I needed to say—so it was only appropriate to start the JFP on the day she would have turned 78.
Flashing a Kid’s Mugshot Is No Way to Prevent Crime
Disseminating mugshots of minors should be rare due to the harm that it can cause to that kid and society to treat children as adult criminals, especially before they even get a trial.
UPDATED: Darnell Turner May Serve 45 Years for 'Heinous Crimes'; Feds Earlier Tied Him to DA
A Hinds County jury yesterday convicted Darnell Turner, who also goes by Donald Dixon, in three separate counts related to a 2014 domestic incident—aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated domestic violence and shooting into an occupied vehicle.
UPDATED: Hinds DA Wants Rankin Charges Quashed, Again Cites AG 'Overreach'
District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith wants a Rankin County judge to quash another set of criminal charges against him—for domestic violence, stalking and robbery charges.
Lumumba, Council Raise Property Taxes Tonight, Pledge to Be 'Good Steward' of Funds
In a rare Friday-night meeting, the Jackson City Council increased property taxes on the city's homeowners at a special meeting announced by fax 25 hours earlier at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday.
Banks: Preventing Crime Needs 'A Man from Every Block,' Teen Outreach
On a rainy Thursday night at Forest Hill High School in south Jackson, Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks hosted what he says is the first of many more of his "Not on My Block" crime-prevention forums, in light of high-profile crime and violence recently throughout the Jackson area.
DJP ‘Whistleblower’ Indicted for Five Felonies for Allegedly Forging Checks
The former Downtown Jackson Partners secretary who blew the proverbial whistle on her boss, Ben Allen, may end up guilty of more felonies than her former employer for "intentionally" methodically forging checks on DJP's account, the indictment says.
America, We Sink or Swim Together
As Houston and surrounding cities drowned, Trump was pushing the bigotry that fueled his rise to power. Meantime, America was proving our inherent greatness, despite the incessant efforts by certain leaders to trump it and force us to distrust and despise each other.
White America’s Overdue Leap of Faith
Many white people want to just "move on." They'll shudder dismissively if you challenge the myths, preferring to leave the statues and flag and true history alone because it's just "dredging up the past."
Let’s Talk About Violence, Then Take Action
It's a problem when all cops are stereotyped, but it's also wrong that more law enforcement won't speak out publicly like that about bad cops and, too often, will defend violent actions.
Jury Finds Hinds DA 'Not Guilty,' Hood Looks to Smith's Next Trial
A jury found Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith "not guilty" on three counts for hindering the prosecution of Christopher Butler.
Hindering Justice? DA Smith Back on Trial
The second trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith kicked off at 9:03 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, with a jury of seven women and five men who did not seem all that happy to be there.