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Seale Under Review
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled its en banc review of the James Ford Seale case for the week of May 18.
‘The Nightmare Is Over'
After serving 18 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, Levon Brooks walked away from the Noxubee County courthouse a free man on March 13. Arrested for the rape and murder of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Courtney Smith, in 1990, Judge J. Lee Howard released Brooks on his own recognizance on Feb. 15, pending today's hearing. Brooks received a life sentence for the crimes in 1992 after two years in jail waiting for his trial.
Seale Granted Hearing
In a rare move Nov. 14, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted federal prosecutors an en banc rehearing on the court's Sept. 9 decision that overturned the conviction of James Ford Seale. In that decision, the court ruled that the statute of limitations had expired on the federal kidnapping charges prosecutors used to convict Seale.
State Not Good for Business?
Mississippi's competitive environment is the worst in the U.S. So says the "Eighth Annual State Competitiveness Report," from the independent, non-partisan Beacon Hill Institute, an economic research organization at Boston's Suffolk University.
Lessons of Spencer's Death
Awareness has a huge role in making Mississippiand the U.S.a safer place for women. Created in 2006, the Attorney General's Office Domestic Violence Division, works with the entire judicial system to raise awareness of the issues surrounding domestic abuse.
Hate-Crimes Grossly Under-Reported
There were no hate crimes in Mississippi in 2005 or 2006, according to the most recent FBI statistics. Nationwide, say the stats, hate crimes rose 7.8 percent in '06, with 7,722 incidents.
Prosecutors Provide Court Info on Cold Cases
Responding to an Oct. 16 request from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case of James Ford Seale, federal prosecutor Tovah Calderon wrote that the Federal Bureau of Investigations "currently is reviewing 22 civil rights related 'cold casesҔ under that Court's jurisdiction, with seven cases being "particularly promising."
Bringing Traditions Together
Dr. Beverly Lanzetta isn't afraid of life's Big Questions. The New Mexico author, ordained interfaith minister and monastic is the founder of the Desert Interfaith Church and the Interfaith Theological Seminary. She has written and edited six books on spiritual contemplation and contemporary religious thought.
Jackson's Crime Rate
Jackson's crime rate put Mississippi's capital city at the No. 23 spot of 385 U.S. cities, according to "City Crime Rankings, 2008-2009," released by the CQ Press earlier this month. The city's ranking puts it in a better light than New Orleans, which had the highest crime rate, followed by Camden, N.J., Detroit, St. Louis, Oakland, Calif., and 17 other U.S. cities.
National HIV/AIDS Town Hall Comes to Jackson
The White House Office of National AIDS Policy selected 14 cities for community discussions to develop and implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy. Among the stops is Jackson on Monday, Nov. 16.
JPS: Secrecy, Please
On Friday, the U.S. District Court will rule on a Jackson Public Schools motion for a protective order that will allow virtually any document, file or record connected to the termination of former Chastain Middle School principal, Michael Ellis to be marked "confidential," without the court's review.
Lawyers Needed
Herding cats. That's the unwritten job description for soft-spoken Shirley Williams, executive director of the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project. Formed in 1982, the MVLP is one of a handful of organizations providing pro bono legal services for Mississippians with low incomes and limited means. MVLP assists clients with non-criminal cases such as divorce, bankruptcy and adoptions, and is currently handling a number of FEMA cases, representing clients with insurance issues, contractor fraud and appeals.
Bringing Up the Rear
The number of binge drinkers in Misssissippi is significantly lower than the national average, state residents are pretty good about wearing seatbelts, and we are third in the nation for the number of beds in community hospitals in the state. Otherwise, the state brought up the rear in the "Health Care State Rankings 2008," published by CQ Press in March—earning the dubious honor of being named the nation's unhealthiest state.
We-the-Fat
On Tuesday, speakers from the Coalition for a Healthier Mississippi unveiled their plans for the third annual Mississippi Health Awareness Day, scheduled for Jan. 15, 2009.
UPDATED: Government Ignores Own Bio-Lab Safety Studies
Alert: The government's deadline for comments on the bio-lab facility is Monday, Aug. 25. See below for contact info.
Oakley Training School: A 'Bad Model'
Mississippi is wasting time and money in its attempt to bring the decrepit Oakley Juvenile Training School up to humane, livable standards. Calling large-scale, centralized juvenile facilities ineffective, Bear Atwood, director of the Mississippi Youth Justice Project, is advocating for the state to close Oakley permanently in favor of small community-based programs.
Ellis Termination Justified?
This is an expanded web edition of an article that appeared in the Feb. 14 print edition.
Hurricane Green: Who Profited?
By now, it should be clear who is making the big bucks on Katrina recovery: contractors and consultants. The storm's victims haven't fared so well.
Rev. Olivier Returns to South Africa
Rev. Ross Olivier, "Reverend Ross" to his Galloway Methodist Church parishioners, will return to his native South Africa in January after serving the Jackson church since July 2004. In recent years, Olivier (pronounced Ollie-FEE) has become a Jackson staple at social justice and racial reconciliation events, drawing from his work and experience during the apartheid era in South Africa, where he was a vigorous opponent of the brutal oppression he found there. Archbishop Desmond Tutu asked Olivier to establish a council of churches during that time, and in 1994, the year of South Africa's first democratic elections, he facilitated the Methodist Church's re-visioning for the new, emerging democracy, chronicled in the book "Journey Begun," which he co-authored.
Murrah Junior Dies in Crash
A few minutes after 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 23, 16-year-old Murrah High School junior LeChristopher "Chris" Ulmer was returning to school with three of his basketball teammates for a game. The green Ford Explorer was reportedly travelling around 70 miles per hour on Riverside Drive, twice the posted speed limit of 35.