NAACP Blasts MDPS' DecisionThe Mississippi NAACP is condemning Department of Public Safety Commissioner Steve Simpson's decision to ignore a May 11 finding by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the department fired Horn Lake trooper Michael McField for racially motivated reasons.
Be the ActorsI was running late and felt lost in the hallways of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C, last week, as I attempted to find Sen. Roger Wicker's office. My feet ached because I had bought into the "pain …
Joyflow YogaDebi Lewis has been at her new Joyflow Yoga location since 2009, but has been teaching and developing her style of yoga for 18 years. She connected earlier health problems to posture, and constant shoulder tension from her job as …
Karen Irby Sentenced to 18 YearsHinds County Judge Tomie Green sentenced Karen Irby, who pleaded guilty March 26 to two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of two doctors, to two 18-year prison terms, which Irby will serve concurrently. State law prevented Green from ordering …
Dr. Alan BeanBy using narrative and story telling, Dr. Alan Bean hopes that others will start to evaluate the criminal-justice system and seek the truth.
Woodward Execution Date SetAttorney General Jim Hood is asking the state of Mississippi to execute two death-row inmates, the first since 2008. Hood's office submitted requests to the Mississippi Supreme Court last month to set execution dates of May 19 and 20 for …
[Balko] Watching the DetectivesGeorge Orwell famously said, "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face–forever." He may still be right.
Crime Declines City WideThe Jackson Police Department reports an overall decrease in major crimes from April 19 through April 25 in the city. But Assistant Chief Lee Vance is cautious not to attribute the decline to the department's implementation of the High Enforcement …
Women's Fund Gets It Wrong … TwiceThe Jackson Free Press has been a strong supporter of The Women's Fund—including giving proceeds raised by our production of "The Vagina Monologues" this year to the group. We applaud the Fund for tackling the issue of domestic abuse and, …
Mayor and Police Chief Announce Police Task Force<i>Verbatim Statement:</i> At a press conference this afternoon, Mayor Johnson and Jackson Police Chief Rebecca Coleman announced the implementation of Operation H.E.R.O. (High Enforcement and Response Operation). Operation H.E.R.O. will involve Jackson Police in partnership with the Hinds County Sheriff's …
Family ValuesOur history as a state and a nation is filled with atrocious efforts to destroy the self-esteem of black men. During the entire arc of slavery and then Jim Crow laws--which did not end until the U.S. Supreme Court finally …
Things Can Change, MississippiMississippi's prison system is in desperate need of reform. Under "tough on crime" legislation like increased zero-tolerance penalties for minor drug offenses and the 85-percent rule, which mandate that prisoners serve 85 percent of their sentences prior to parole eligibility, …
[Collier] Matters of the HeartJust about all my formal education was whitewashed. The things I knew about the parts of American history that weren't white, I learned from my family.