I returned to Jackson today to the staggering news that Maurice Warner was murdered on Christmas Day. Warner has been very close to Mayor Frank Melton for many years. I will have a story next week for more details about Warner; meantime, click here to read past JFP articles that mention Warner, as well as his relationship to Melton. Stay tuned.
Previous Comments
I wish I could say that I am suprised but there has already been 72 murders in the City of Jackson and it’s not even 2009 yet. I offer my prayers for his family. I grew up in the hood and I was bless to have positive roll models in my life. Warner down fall was his association with Melton and the negative role model he was not only for Warner but for so many other children that had the misfortune to associate with Frank Melton. You reap what you sow! The lies and false promises that Frank Melton gave to these children were their destruction and a thing that Frank Melton will be held accountable for when he face his judgement day. How many of Frank Melton’s mentees are dead, in jail, on drugs, comitting crimes? We always want to reduce the crime in the City of Jackson then it’s time for Melton to go to jail on his way to an eternity in Hell!!!!
#142527 | Author: Hot Sauce | Date: Dec 28 2008
dang…hot sauce…that’s a good point.
#142542 | Author: Queen601 | Date: Dec 29 2008
I hated to hear about this, as well as all the other 72 murders and counting that were committed in Jackson this year, but it sadly is another in the long count of Melton mentees who have fallen by the wayside and met their untimely fate. While I don’t expect a perfect score for mentees Melton has turned around, why do so many seemingly turn out just as bad, if not worse, post-Melton than they were pre-Melton? I know he has told many times the stories about the number of young men he has had to lock up and even bury, but he makes himself look like a hero and things just don’t add up.
#142543 | Author: golden eagle | Date: Dec 29 2008
I will never forget the strange scene I witnessed when accompanying Melton on a manhunt for Vidal Sullivan in 2006, just weeks before the Ridgeway incident. We brought the whole sorry mess of the MCC and half a dozen police cruisers on to Wood Street, and Melton got out to talk to people as his police entourage kept watch. Melton met Maurice Warner in the middle of the street and embraced him, as Warner struggled with tears, presumably over the trouble Sullivan was in. I knew Warner by sight from Donna’s reporting on the Bias murder investigation. I can’t describe how shocking it was to see being so intimate Melton was with this murder suspect. It was like they were brothers, or at least very close friends. If I remembered how to post photos to this danged internets, I would share the image I shot. May Warner rest in peace.
#142559 | Author: Brian C Johnson | Date: Dec 30 2008
Brian, try the [img] coding.
#142560 | Author: LatashaWillis | Date: Dec 30 2008
Golden eagle, I share your concerns. I mean for someone to be so dedicated to making life better for these young men, why are they coming up dead or in jail. Is his approach ineffective? I don’t understand. Some of these boys commit crimes while under his supervision (if we can call it that). I just have to wonder the same. Why isn’t all this attention he gives to young inner city boys to create something good, not doing any good; not saving these young men? At some point one has to wonder what exactly he’s trying to save them from, if it’s not jail, death or a life of crime??? Makes you say hmmmmm…..
#142564 | Author: Queen601 | Date: Dec 30 2008
Recent Immigration Stories
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
