by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
May 28, 2025

Advocates who oppose the death penalty and are organizing to halt further executions in the state stood outside the Mississippi Supreme Court Wednesday to send a message to the justices and the attorney general: Stand down. 

They said Mississippi is headed down a deadly road with the scheduled June 25 execution of 79-year-old Richard Jordan, the state’s oldest and longest-serving death row inmate. In the past several years, Attorney General Lynn Fitch has also asked the court to set execution dates for Willie Manning, Robert Simon and Charles Crawford. 

“These folks on death row are humans, and we can’t continue to be human if we continue to have a fixation on snuffing them out,” said the Rev. Jeff Hood, a spiritual adviser to death row inmates across the country who has also communicated with those in Mississippi’s death row.

The Arkansas resident has witnessed nine executions since 2022, which is when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they could be allowed into the chamber if the inmate requested it. 

His work is based on meeting the death row inmates where they are and helping members of the public see that executions don’t have to be the answer. He said his faith is centered around the idea of helping “who is ostracized the most” as a way to serve God. 

Hood directly addressed justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court and elected officials like Fitch and Gov. Tate Reeves, saying they can support and approve executions, but they have never had to witness one or carry one out. 

He described the worst execution he witnessed, that of Kenneth Smith in Alabama, who struggled against the restraints and his veins looked like “a million ants under his skin.” That sentence was carried out using nitrogen gas – an execution method Mississippi has allowed if lethal injection is not available. 

For lethal injections, he saw how the drugs flowed in through a line into the person’s body and how their breathing began to labor. Jordan is a lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the drugs used for lethal injection. 

Mitzi Magleby, a Mississippi-based prison reform advocate, began to tear up when she shared how a looming execution weighs heavily on the death row inmates. It’s extremely depressing and it affects their mental health, but she said they try their best to keep their spirits up. 

She said to consider the person Jordan has become since entering prison nearly 50 years ago. He’s held a job for most of that time, he’s stayed out of trouble and has changed for the better. 

“We know his life is worth saving,” she said. 

Abraham Bonowitz, co-founder and executive director of Death Penalty Action, hosted a virtual version of the Wednesday press conference. He noted that Jordan is one of six people who have a scheduled execution in the month of June. 

Bonowitz talked about how Jordan is a Vietnam War veteran with three tours of duty, and with the recent passing of Memorial Day, he asked people to consider the effect of combat. 

Jordan returned from the war and didn’t receive the support and services, which Bonowitz said is an experience of other veterans, some of whom ended up in prison or worse. A 2015 Death Penalty Information Center report estimated that at least 300 veterans were on death row.   

Jordan asked the U.S. Supreme Court in March to hear his case and that petition for writ of certiorari is awaiting a decision. That petition centers around his access to a mental health expert separate from the prosecution to develop and present sentencing mitigation as an indigent defendant, which was established as a constitutional right through the U.S. Supreme Court’s Ake v. Oklahoma decision. 

The petition states he was not diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his combat service in Vietnam, but instead incorrectly as having antisocial personality disorder. 

Hood said he’s built relationships not just with the death row inmates, but also their families and sometimes the family members of victims. He and Magleby said they consider the impact on families. 

“I think 50 years is torture for any family that’s been through this,” Hood said when asked about the family of Edwina Marter, the victim of Jordan’s crime. 

With death penalty cases, families are put through years worth of appeals and recurring news stories, which isn’t always the case for those sentenced to life without parole, Magley and Hood said. 

Death Penalty Action has started a petition to stop Jordan’s execution, and as of Wednesday it has received 840 signatures. It’s a similar petition that the organization uses to collect signatures for all pending executions, including other death row inmates whose executions have not yet been scheduled. 

Bonowitz said the plan is to deliver signatures of the petition to the governor and the organization is encouraging people to call his office asking for him to halt the execution. 

Members of churches and community groups can also take action by ringing bells at the time of the scheduled execution, which is through a project called For Whom the Bells Tolls. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Advocates for death row inmates challenge 'fixation with snuffing them out' appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article presents a perspective that is sympathetic to death row inmates and critical of the use of the death penalty, emphasizing humanizing narratives and concerns about mental health, veteran status, and lengthy incarceration. The tone and framing suggest an ideological leaning that questions capital punishment and advocates for prison reform, which aligns with a Center-Left viewpoint. However, the article mainly reports on the advocates’ positions and activities without overtly attacking opposing views or government officials, maintaining a largely factual and respectful presentation. The focus on reform and human rights influences the overall left-leaning tone.

by Martha Sanchez, the Sun Herald, Mississippi Today
May 28, 2025

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday it is investigating Democrat Sonya Williams Barnes’ campaign for Gulfport mayor after allegations that residents had received meal vouchers in exchange for voting.

In a letter addressed to Barnes, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said her office “has reason to believe” the candidate violated several state campaign finance laws.

Mike Hurst, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, said Wednesday he has asked District Attorney Crosby Parker and Fitch to investigate the alleged “vote buying.”

“This is something that strikes at the heart of our democracy,” he said in a news conference across the street from the Gulfport Police Department. “Votes should not be for sale.”

Barnes did not immediately return messages on Wednesday. In a statement posted to social media, she said she is committed to “voter engagement, civic responsibility, and ensuring that everyone participates lawfully.”

“I am not affiliated with, nor do I support, any illegal voter activity of any kind,” she said. The accusation of vote buying came less than a week before the election and intensified an already contentious race between Barnes and Republican Hugh Keating.

The Rev. Eddie Hartwell Sr., a pastor at St. James Baptist Church, said the voucher idea was his. The group behind it is called All Souls to the Polls and members say they want to increase voter turnout. Hartwell said he is not a member of either mayoral campaign and denied the efforts were illegal.

“All we’re doing is saying, ‘Go and vote,’” he said. “As far as me telling somebody who to vote for? No, sir.”

The accusation of vote buying came less than a week before the election and intensified an already contentious race between Republican Hugh Keating and Democrat Sonya Williams Barnes. Mississippi Sen. Joel Carter of Biloxi alleged last month that “cronies” of Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who in 2018 nearly defeated Georgia’s Republican governor, were “highly involved” in the election. Barnes said she alone is responsible for running her campaign and called the statement divisive.

Hurst said he became aware of the allegations Monday night and believes vouchers are still being handed out to absentee voters.

The vouchers, according to photos provided by the Republican Party, give voters “one entry” to Ms. Audrey’s Southern Kitchen and Catering in Gulfport for a “special prepared meal now through June 3.”

Hurst also said he had asked state authorities to investigate an event on Saturday that was advertised by Barnes’ campaign. The event, called “Project 35’s Vote & Vibe,” encouraged voters to meet at City Hall then attend brunch together.

Mississippi law says it is illegal to try to influence absentee voters through money, rewards or any item of value. Anyone convicted of doing so can face fines between $500 and $5,000 and between one and five years in prison.

Hurst also said he believes the efforts violate a law that forbids offering money or “anything of substantial value” for a vote. Hartwell said the vouchers are worth about $10.

By Wednesday, city officials said they had received 805 absentee ballots. There were just 177 absentee voters in the last mayoral election four years ago, according to the city.

The Gulfport mayoral race has drawn some national attention and spending from outside interests, with Democrats seeing a chance to flip the seat leading the state’s second-largest city from red to blue and Republicans working to keep it.

Dirt Road Democrats, a PAC initially started by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and now supported by former Mississippi gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley, is helping Barnes and a separate Presley PAC has contributed to Barnes’ campaign. Barnes has also received endorsement by her childhood friend, national Democratic operative and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Abrams.

State Republicans are fearful that Gulfport’s changing partisan makeup make it less a GOP stronghold than it was in years past, and worry about a low Republican voter turnout in a June general election.

Records show Mayor Billy Hewes, a Republican who is not running for office again, won the 2021 general election with 2,680 votes. Barnes won the Democratic primary this spring with 3,316 votes. Keating had no Republican opponent in the primary.

Keating has recently received endorsements and advertisement appearances by current and former state leaders, including former Gov. Haley Barbour, and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott is headlining a rally for Keating.

The Sun Herald said this is a developing story and will be updated. To see updates, visit the Sun Herald here.

Sun Herald reporter Anita Lee and Mississippi Today’s Geoff Pender contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post MS attorney general investigating Gulfport mayoral candidate over meal vouchers appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

This article reports on the investigation into Democrat Sonya Williams Barnes’ Gulfport mayoral campaign over alleged vote buying, presenting detailed claims primarily from Republican officials and framing the story around concerns about electoral integrity. The coverage emphasizes accusations by Republicans, including party leaders, and legal scrutiny while also including Barnes’ denial and contextual information on the election dynamics. The tone is largely factual but leans slightly toward a conservative perspective by foregrounding allegations and Republican responses without extensive counterpoints or exploration of Democratic viewpoints beyond Barnes’ statements. Overall, it reads as slightly center-right due to focus and framing.

by Mukta Joshi, Mississippi Today
May 28, 2025

The American Civil Liberties Union launched a campaign this month to seek accountability from law enforcement departments undergoing federal investigations that the Justice Department under the Trump administration has abandoned. 

Through the “Seven States Safety Campaign,” the ACLU across seven states filed coordinated public records requests seeking to uncover police excesses in those departments. The records requested include Use of Force reports, records of Taser use, and complaints of racial discrimination and profiling. 

“We’re at the beginning of the investigation,” said Joshua Tom, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “Once we fully investigate, we can decide then what exactly we’re going to do.”

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on the same day as ACLU’s launch had announced the closure of its investigations into law enforcement departments in Phoenix, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; Memphis, Tennessee; Mount Vernon, New York; Oklahoma City;, Oklahoma; and the state of Louisiana. This came alongside an announcement that its lawsuits against the Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis police departments were going to be dismissed. An investigation into the Lexington, Mississippi, Police Department had been concluded, also, but no consent decree was issued.

In February, the Civil Rights Division had announced that it was pausing all litigation – notably an announcement that did not impact federal oversight of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department as the investigation into it had only been opened, not concluded, and not accompanied by litigation. 

The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to a request for comment. This article will be updated if they respond. 

“The purpose of the Seven States Campaign is to try to fill the gap that the Department of Justice under President Trump has left by abandoning the eight investigations that were identified last week,” Tom said. 

The Justice Department is yet to confirm if it is ceasing its patterns and practices investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department in Mississippi, which was opened in 2024, the year after five deputies from the department, who were part of a self-described “Goon Squad” went to prison for their role in the torture of two Black men – one of whom they shot in the mouth.

Tom said that accountability could take various forms, such as consent decrees, damage awards and settlements for victims, and for officers who have engaged in misconduct to lose their jobs. 

“Policing is obviously an important public service. It’s also important that when police do their jobs that they respect people’s civil and constitutional rights, and to the extent that they’re not doing that – such as with the Goon Squad – that they be held accountable.” 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post ACLU campaign seeks accountability from Rankin Sheriff’s Department appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article presents a primarily factual report on the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) campaign seeking accountability from law enforcement, specifically focusing on the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department. While the language remains mostly neutral, the framing centers on issues of police misconduct and systemic failures, highlighting the actions of a civil rights organization and criticisms of the previous Justice Department’s approach under the Trump administration. This emphasis aligns with concerns commonly associated with center-left perspectives emphasizing civil rights, accountability, and police reform. However, the piece does not adopt an overtly partisan or ideological tone, focusing instead on reporting the campaign’s efforts and context.