Three Jackson residents will appeal a judge’s ruling that upheld House Bill 1020’s mandate for Mississippi’s white Supreme Court chief justice to appoint unelected judges to serve in majority-Black Hinds County, a coalition of organizations supporting their efforts said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
“The Mississippi Free Press is a nonpartisan outlet; these are my opinions,” MFP Publisher Kimberly Griffin writes. “This column is actually more concerned with genuinely competitive elections and ensuring that we have a healthy ecosystem that supports democracy at large. Any super-majority of any kind does not support a healthy democracy.”
Future rape victims in Mississippi can have more confidence that the State will process their rape test kits in a timely manner after Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 485 into law on April 17, but much work remains to be done, Ilse Knecht told the Mississippi Free Press.
The NAACP is suing to stop two new laws designed to give the State of Mississippi more control over the City of Jackson and alleging they amount to race-based discrimination in a 52-page lawsuit the organization filed in federal court Saturday.
Funds for improving infrastructure in Jackson’s capitol district will be spread thin if Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signs House Bill 1020 into law, Capitol Complex Improvement District Project Advisory Committee Chairperson Rebekah Staples said at Thursday’s quarterly meeting.
“We must take action to ensure that (our children) are kept safe and protected from these horrific acts of gun violence,” Duvalier Malone writes in response to the recent mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian Church School campus in Nashville, Tenn. “It is our responsibility as adults to make sure that our children are safe and secure and that they have the support they need to heal and move forward.”
Mississippi election officials will be able to purge names from voter rolls more easily if Gov. Tate Reeves signs House Bill 1310 into law.
Christian minister Jason Coker, a native of Shaw, Miss., is looking for other white religious leaders to break their silence and stand up against House Bill 1020 and the revised Capital City Improvement District. “Stand with me and ask our elected officials to pass policy that creates a better future for all Mississippians,” he writes.
Jackson residents who commit local misdemeanor offenses could soon appear before an unelected, Mississippi Supreme Court-appointed municipal judge from any part of the State after the Mississippi Legislature sent the final version of House Bill 1020 to Gov. Tate Reeves’ desk. If signed, the bill would take some authority away from elected judges and prosecutors over the 83% Black city’s capitol district.
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