Before the University of Mississippi terminated Dr. Garrett Felber, an anti-racist history professor, his public criticisms of its ties to the private-prison industry drew concern from administrators on campus who had monitored social-media activities, emails this publication obtained show.
Pritchett is one of 370 Mississippi inmates serving virtual life sentences, meaning they are on the inside for 50 years or more. Of those “virtual lifers,” 22 were juveniles like him when they committed the crimes that led to their incarceration, as a recently released national report “No End in Sight: America’s Enduring Reliance on Life in Prison” by The Sentencing Project revealed. In addition, Mississippi has 2,041 incarcerated people serving life sentences, with 1,600 of them serving life with parole, Mississippi Department of Corrections data show.
The Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act, loosens Mississippi’s parole requirements, which are currently among the most restrictive in the nation. Large majorities of lawmakers in both of Mississippi’s Republican-dominated chambers approved the changes earlier this year. It will take effect on July 1.
The Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act bans Mississippi prisons from shackling pregnant women and expands visitation rights for minor children.
As the last days of the 2021 legislative session quickly expire, long-sought efforts to achieve criminal-justice reform through the softening of stiff automatic penalties and expansions in parole eligibility look less and less likely to pass due largely to the late-hour dissension of the state’s law-enforcement organizations.
Incarcerated pregnant women and mothers of minor children will gain new protections under Mississippi law after the state senators, like their House colleagues, unanimously passed House Bill 196, “The Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act,” on Thursday.
Mississippi’s trans youth may find themselves barred from school sports if the Mississippi House of Representatives confirms a Senate bill, passed in the waning hours of last week’s legislative deadline, that targets trans children, especially trans girls. Both chambers saw similar bills to limit trans rights this session.
The anti-trans bill passed the Senate in the long hours of a Thursday session extended into early Friday morning. A contentious battle over a parallel marijuana program—an alternative to 2020’s successful ballot initiative 65—derailed regular floor debate until late at night.
Disability Rights Mississippi—a private, nonprofit, federally mandated protection and advocacy organization, just released a report, “Cruel and Unusual Punishment in Mississippi Prisons: A Tale of Abuse, Discrimination and Undue Death Sentences,” to describe realities for people with disabilities on the inside. Disability Rights Mississippi is accusing the Mississippi Department of Corrections of “subjecting offenders to cruel and unusual punishments” such as the denial of medical care and the refusal to make required accommodations for inmates with disabilities.
U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, a Trump appointee, leaves behind a racist crime policy in Project EJECT. But he couldn’t have done it without help and support of Black Democratic officials, attorney Adofo Minka writes.
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