Not to mention, but do you really want to establish a precedent that would allow someone to easily cover up a homicide by claiming that the deceased was trying to break into his car and the police say, "Fine, no need to investigate." Talk about a recipe for lazy policing (and prosecuting).

I'm SO not saying that is the case here. But the problem is that we don't know for sure because there wasn't a real investigation.

And the questions the family raises are compelling. They need to be answered, post-haste, and we will not shut up about this case until they are.

Note that the DA isn't even calling them back—and he's family. If that is the reason, then recuse, as we say in our editorial this week. But don't just let this go un-investigated.

The obvious answer, robbier, is that it shouldn't be up to you or me to decide. It should be to a grand jury after a thorough investigation of what happened on both ends: with Thomas and Williams.

What is obvious is when you should not use deadly force: when someone is in your car outside your house, not trying to break into your home. You call the police and stay inside the house. If the dude then tries to come through the door, especially with a gun in his hand, it's obviously a different scenario and much clearer under state law.

You sound like you think we live in Wyatt Earp times -- when people just gunned down people when they tried to take their stuff or wronged them. What's funny about your question is how much legal (and ethical and moral) water has flowed under the bridge since the times of the wild, wild west. It's not like they're aren't standards for when someone has the right to use deadline force on a suspected criminal. And this example -- tracking him down outside inside your vehicle, then riddling him with bullets -- ain't near a gray area. It's silly to suggest it is.

I don't know why, but JPD and the DA dropped the ball on this case. We need to know why and where the influence came from. Compare it to the case of the Indian store owner who went to a grand jury, which was appropriate.

You don't automatically get to kill someone, even under state law, for being inside your car. And the cost issue is absurd; it's not like we have that many cases in Jackson—thankfully—of a man walking outside and unloading a gun into an unarmed person inside his car, and not trying to break in and harm the people inside. This is rather exactly the kind of thing a grand jury should look at -- after a thorough investigation. And if they found it justifiable under state law, then the proper process was followed.

Meantime, Smith doesn't even tell us it was his cousin. Huh.

Understand: No one thinks it was OK for Thomas to actually be breaking into the car, if that was proved true by a proper investigation (even his mother). He should have gone to jail for that, served his time and, with any luck, been rehabilitated.

In America, we don't execute people for breaking into a car, showing no immediate threat of violence (he was even unarmed and awfully skinny to boot). We arrest them and put them on trial and find out what really happened, and then convict him if warranted.

Refusing to do a proper investigation and putting it before a grand jury in this case is a travesty and sets a very difficult standard. Just wait til it happens to some white kid from north Jackson and police say there is no need to investigate it because he was obviously guilty of a crime, so it was OK for someone to walk outside and unload a gun into him ... with no investigation. That'll go over big.

It reminds me how much some north Jacksoners loved the idea of the youth curfew law until it snagged the white girl. Suddenly, it was a travesty. Take your blinders off and look at this straight on, folks. What you see ought to scare you.

So you smash windows, not endangering anyone's life, and you get executed, and that's justified?

Seriously??

Not to mention, without an actual investigation (examined by a grand jury), there is no way to know for sure what he was doing there. And we've seen enough documents and consistency issues to at least wonder if the whole story is told.

So you feel safe just allowing the policy and the DA to say that it was justifiable without actually having to prove it.

You clearly live in a different America than I do. Yours sounds like it has more in common with Afghanistan.

But, js, that also does not mean he should have been executed, and the man who did it not even be thoroughly investigated.

And without that, we cannot know if he was actually breaking into cars; it's circumstantial at best, and that is not justification for an execution, at least in the United States.

Dr. Darryl strikes (out) again!

Statement by Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Rickey L. Cole:

governor bill allain was a true champion of the common man

jackson-Rickey Cole, Chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, issued the following statement on the passing earlier today of former Governor Bill Allain:

“Once in a while Mississippi politics will produce a leader who has the courage and the talent to make a real difference for the working people of our state. Never has there been a better champion of the common man than the late Bill Allain. Both as Attorney General and as Governor, Bill Allain made it his business to keep the interests of the average Mississippian as his primary consideration in crafting public policy. Whether battling to keep utility costs affordable, insisting upon frugality in state government, or fighting to open up the closed doors of insider politics, Bill Allain always made it clear that he was the people’s advocate, without hesitation or apology.

His was one of the most tremendous legal minds of his generation. He knew the federal and state constitutions better than just about any other member of the bar. He could see into the future in ways that too few politicians can. In constitutional reform, in government accountability, in consumer and taxpayer advocacy and in fiscal responsibility he was decades ahead of his time.

It was my privilege to know and seek the advice and counsel of Bill Allain over the last several decades. He had an agile mind, a rapier-sharp wit, a wry sense of humor, and a devotion to the public good that never wavered. He was truly one of a kind, and Mississippi is much the better place thanks to the service of her talented son and faithful servant Bill Allain.”

Two more I should have included:

11. All the friends who stepped out and helped us move and unpack after my accident, not to mention the ones who brought magazines, books, food, flowers, clothes I could wear with a cast, hugs, words of encouragement and whisky I couldn't drink with my pain meds but others could (looking at you, Tom Ramsey!).

12. An amazing orthopedic surgeon, Dr. William Geissler at UMMC. I lucked into the best. And all those doctors who show up on my insurance forms who took such good care of me. And my UMMC physical therapists who helped me get use of my fingers and arm back and lifted my spirits on every visit -- thank you, Diane and Brandi! Miss y'all.

Agreed. And it was always obvious to so many, except for his apologists. Clearly, it was Trayvon trying to defend himself from this violent freak.

Sarahmina, I know of no one at the JFP who either dislikes Mayor Lumumba or fears him. The fact that we actually report what he says indicates neither. It's our job.