[Balko] Sticklers for ProcedureIt would be difficult to cite a more shameful episode in the history of America's criminal justice system than the pedophilia panic of the 1980s and '90s. Hysteria overcame police, prosecutors and social workers all over the country who were …
Civil Rights Museum Funding Advances In HouseA proposed national civil-rights museum in downtown Jackson could receive $30 million in state funds, under a bill up for consideration by the state House of Representatives. The House Ways & Means Committee voted today to approve HB 1463, which …
Health for AllAlvin Poussaint's career reads like a hopscotch game across the touchstones of post-World War II African American history. Born in 1934, Poussaint earned a medical degree at Cornell University and studied psychiatry at UCLA before joining the Civil Rights Movement.
Of Contracts, BrokenOver the past few weeks, the Mississippi Legislature has bandied about a few anemic attempts at strengthening laws protecting victims of domestic violence. Among them is an addition to the state's divorce laws that would allow judges to grant a …
Civil Rights Museum Funding Advances In HouseA proposed national civil-rights museum in downtown Jackson could receive $30 million in state funds, under a bill up for consideration by the state House of Representatives. The House Ways & Means Committee voted today to approve HB 1463, which …
Bills to Protect Domestic Abuse VictimsAfter her husband physically and mentally abused her for nearly a decade, Joy Jones* realized her situation was only going to get worse. She gathered up enough courage to seek a divorce and secretly obtained a lawyer, who encouraged her …
On Feb. 15, Vote Ice for Ward 1The Jackson Free Press' readership is diverse in many ways, and we get criticized from the left and right for editorial stances and endorsements. Our editorial board believes in groups of people with varying opinions getting together to debate and …
Facing the TruthOn Friday night, I made the road trip to my aunt and uncle's Flowood home to finally see "Mississippi ReMixed," a documentary by Jackson native Myra Ottewell who examines her personal beliefs about relationships between blacks and whites in Mississippi. …
House Stalls on Domestic Violence GPSMonitoring domestic violence suspects out on bond is apparently a controversial issue in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The House spent most of yesterday tackling an unofficial list of non-controversial legislation. Left off that list was a bill sponsored by …
A.M.E. LoganRemaining fearless and determined even into her late 90s, civil rights activist A.M.E. Logan would frequently attend community meetings and drive herself around Jackson delivering Avon products to her clients.
Of Truth and the Shortest MonthI admit it: I've never been Black History Month's biggest fan. Let me put that another way: I don't like how media tend to treat Black History Month. Too often, it is a vehicle for selling ads on a special …
BP Claims Process Compromised?Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood asked a federal judge last week to oversee Gulf Coast Claims Facility pay-outs to individuals the 2010 BP oil spill disaster injured.
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention MonthThe Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence is honoring National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention month by promoting healthy youth relationships to prevent teen dating violence.
War On The PoorIt was 7:30 in the morning, and the smallest beneficiaries of the Richard Brandon Head Start Center at 5920 N. State St. followed their young parents into the mass of little portable units. One hobbit-sized girl lifted her legs awkwardly …
Hinds Cornered on Inmate Medical CareThe Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to approve a contract with Reddix Medical Group for medical care at the county jail. The board met this morning to approve a replacement for the county's existing contract with Reddix, which …