End Mindless ‘Tough-on-Crime' PoliciesA few weeks ago, the Jackson Free Press published a lengthy cover story exposing the mindless politics behind juvenile-justice policies that treat children as adults and end up turning many children into hardened adult criminals, increasing dangerous crime rather than …
[Balko] Conservatives Rethink 'Tough on Crime'Last week I received an e-mail press release directing me to a new public-policy website. On that website, a quote from Reagan administration Attorney General Ed Meese says it's time to reconsider mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders.
Of Barbour and the ‘Uptown Klan'It seems Haley Barbour went too far this time. In an interview with the conservative Weekly Standard, he downplayed the terror and racial caste system of his town and our state during the Civil Rights Movement.
Bluntson Questions DA Over Bail BondsCity Council President Frank Bluntson was certainly not alone in his frustration at last week's council meeting. Venting about the Dec. 11 arrest of a 16-year-old suspect in connection with an early-morning burglary and armed robbery in south Jackson, Bluntson …
[Balko] The SWAT Team Would Like to See Your PermitIn August, a team of heavily armed Orange County, Fla., sheriff's deputies raided several black and Hispanic-owned barbershops in the Orlando area. More raids followed in September and October. The Orlando Sentinel reported that police held barbers and customers at …
Scott Sisters Appear Before Parole BoardInvestigations into the pardon petition for sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott have concluded, and the request for their release now awaits Gov. Haley Barbour's decision.
Sanaa HillOne year ago, on Dec. 9, Sanaa Hill was doing her homework at the Sykes Road Boys and Girls Club when a stray bullet from an AK-47 came through the wall and struck her in the head. Paramedics rushed her …
[Wilkes] TSA: Terrorists Screw AmericaThe Transportation Security Administration implemented new policies that, in essence, give strippers more rights in their places of employment than airline passengers in an airport.
All God's ChildrenOne image won't leave my head since I finished my part of the cover story I wrote this issue with freelance writer Valerie Wells (starts here): A deputy with his foot against a door as a desperate mother tries to …
You Get What You Pay ForThe confluence of two events brought home hard truths about the values that some Mississippians seem to hold dear: The first was Gov. Haley Barbour's budget recommendations for fiscal year 2012. The second was our cover story this week about …
Scott Sisters' Clemency Momentum GrowingSupport for imprisoned sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott is growing as an anticipated deadline for their clemency petition nears. The sisters, who are in the 17th year of their double life sentences for armed robbery, have a petition for clemency …