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[Balko] Trial By Ordeal
A couple of centuries after the age of King Arthur, much of Europe began to engage in similarly ridiculous rituals to determine guilt in cases that lacked eyewitnesses or physical evidence. These rituals, called ordeals, were usually conducted in a church by high-ranking clergy
A Candid Candidacy
After Sen. John McCain announced he would not attend the presidential debate last week until a bailout deal was reached, many people, including the two nominees, began throwing around the phrase "The next president of the United States will have to" more and more frequently.
Let Us Begin Again
Not long ago, an evangelical minister and his teenage son visited me at the JFP offices. We sat in the classroom, under the watchful gaze of Emmett Till from a movie poster on the wall, and talked about being inspired to live a good life. The dad is well known in the state for his very conservative views and, well, I'm not.
[Mott] ‘Bring On the Rest'
Driving away from Parchman Penitentiary on the night Mississippi executed Joseph Burns, I was having trouble putting my feelings into words. I had just watched a man die in front of my eyes and yet, I was oddly calm, as if I had just walked out of a movie theater.
Media Literacy Project: The Mouth Of Babes
"Idle hands are the tools of the devil." At least, that's what city officials like Mayor Frank Melton and Ward 3 City Councilman Kenneth Stokes seem to think about Jackson youth.
[Balko] Killed on a Technicality
In 1994 Eddie Lee Howard was convicted of raping and murdering 84-year-old Georgia Kemp. Firefighters found Kemp dead in her Columbus, Miss., home after a neighbor noticed smoke coming from the house. Investigators determined the fire was intentional.
[Balko] Trust Me: You Can Trust Us
In April I wrote a column about the secretive habits of three large police departments in Virginia's Washington, D.C., suburbs: Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington. As Connection Newspapers reporter Michael Pope showed in a series of reports that began in March, they are among the least transparent departments in the country, having interpreted Virginia's Freedom of Information Act in a way that allows them to turn down nearly all requests for information.
Celebrating Manhood
Whenever I've had something I needed to say to my brother but couldn't verbalize, I wrote him a letter. There have been two letters, in particular, that have proven to be the most important. And this, in a way, is an open letter to him, but it is, most especially to all of you.
A Letter to Caller Number One
"Why don't y'all just leave him alone?" The passion in the caller's voice was alarming. "He's an old man. Just leave him be. Let sleeping dogs lie." When I heard these words back in February, I stepped away from the sink where I was washing dishes and stood in front of my television, with suds dripping down onto my feet and the hardwood floors below. The anonymous caller was ranting to the hotline of a local news station, and the "old man" was James Ford Seale.
Listen to the Moans
Sunday morning, I was organizing my new writing room at home and turned on the Galloway Methodist broadcast on WAPT to keep me company. I didn't pay much attention until I heard Rev. Ross Olivier challenge his audience to "listen to the moans." I pulled up a chair to listen.
Art For the People
After an exquisite breakfast of fresh fruit and hot flapjacks during our recent honeymoon in Belize, my husband, J.P., and I slowly sipped our glasses of orange juice and walked 20 feet from the Turtle Inn restaurant to the sandy beach. The Caribbean Sea seemed to stretch for miles down the shoreline, and we wanted to explore.
[Stiggers] Turkey Day Parade
Miss Doodle Mae: "As the holiday season approaches, Jojo's Discount Dollar Store is gearing up for a special event during Thanksgiving. It's an event the financially challenged community will enjoy."
Happiness Worth Celebrating
In my own relationship with an abusive man, "You're the best" turned fairly quickly into "I'm the only one who loves you," along with overt attempts to demonize my friends and isolate me.
[Stiggers] The Four-Way Test
Miss Doodle Mae: "The staff of Jojo's Discount Dollar Store just finished the daily staff meeting, similar to the meeting seen on the television series ‘Hill Street Blues.' Our morning meeting is a great opportunity to prepare for the work day."
[Balko] Drug Warriors Want Your Assets
The Supreme Court reviews Illinois' awful asset forfeiture law.
[Stiggers] This Funky Society
Mr. Announcement: "In the ghetto criminal justice system, the people are represented by members of the Ghetto Science Community: police officer and part-time security guard at the Funky Ghetto Mall, Dudley ‘Do-Right' McBride; attorney Cootie McBride of the law firm McBride, Myself and I; and Sista Encouragement, co-host of the Rev. Cletus Car Sales Church Broadcast. This is their story."
[Stiggers] An Already Angry Sista
TaaQweema: "I'm Boneqweesha's star student and Suma Cum Lawd Have Mercy graduate of the Hair Did University school of Cosmetology. You're watching 'Ask 'TaaQweema,' the new call-in and advice television show. Before I close, I must address a question via e-mail from 'AlreadyAngrySista-N-2007.' She writes:
[Dortch] Legislature: Raise Cigarette Tax by $1
"Of all the concerns, there is one—taxation—that alarms us the most. While marketing and public and passive smoking restrictions do depress volume, in our experience taxation depresses it much more severely. Our concern for taxation is, therefore, central to our thinking. …"
[Stiggers] Future Paradise
Rudy McBride: "This may sound weird, but an epiphany came to me. It happened while I was doing some paperwork and listening to the 'Good Morning Ghetto' Drive Time Morning Crew on the Serious Ghetto Science Team Radio Network."
We Like ‘Obamacare'
With the U.S. Supreme Court considering health-care reform, we thought we'd mention that (a) our health-insurance rates are down, (b) we appreciate the tax credits for our small business, and (c) we've already seen cases where pre-existing conditions or gaps in coverage—which used to keep employees from getting insurance—are no longer barriers to coverage.