Your Aug. 10 article ("State's drug war changing") contains a pretty good clue about how to reduce the harm of illegal drugs. Consider this paragraph: "Moonshine whiskey produced in the state ran the gamut from the finest sipping whiskey to rotgut brews that left customers sick or dead from lead poisoning. The advent of legal liquor and beer in the state proved the death knell of the vast majority of illegal stills in the state beginning in the early 1970s." So let's legalize drugs and allow users to purchase clean, cheap, quality tested drugs at the corner store as tobacco users do today. Alan Randell Victoria, B.C., Canada [end]
Violence, drug dealers, crack cocaine addicts and abandoned homes ruined Blonda Young Mack's west Jackson neighborhood. The neighborhood's future seemed bleak until about five years ago, when it and four other west Jackson neighborhoods were selected as sites for a Weed and Seed project. "It's better off now," said Mack, president of the Washington Addition Neighborhood Association. "We can sit on our porches and walk up and down the street." Now, the city wants to expand the program into a larger area of west Jackson. The U.S. Justice Department, which runs the program, has approved the expansion, and the city is now preparing an application for funds. [continues 473 words]
Cost Is $5,000 For Drug Program Compared To $16,800 To Keep Offender In Prison The number of drug courts in Mississippi is growing as judges seek treatment instead of prison for those convicted of narcotics charges. Serving more of the state New drug courts have been proposed for: The 12th Circuit Court District, covering Forrest and Perry counties. The 2nd Circuit Court District, covering Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties. The 11th Circuit Court District of Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman and Tunica counties. [continues 344 words]
As shown in today's Perspective section, Mississippi has its own homegrown problems with illegal drugs. Importation from other countries is a problem, as seizures of drugs such as cocaine and marijuana from Colombia and Mexico are intercepted here. I-20, for example, is considered a corridor for drugs from the west to the Eastern Seaboard, say officials, just as a "drug pipeline" is said to exist north/south to Chicago. But of greater concern, as shown, both crack cocaine and crystal methamphetamine, both highly addictive drugs, can be made and sold in large quantities locally, addicting our children and promoting crime. [continues 258 words]
Crack, Marijuana And "Crystal Meth" Now The Drugs Most In Demand Some things never change in Mississippi: The bad guys are still "cooking," but the recipe has changed. Corn mash is out. Ammonia and pseudoephedrine are in. In 2003, there were 443 manufacturing operations working across Mississippi that weren't listed in the Mississippi Development Authority's files - all illegal drug laboratories and most manufacturing illegal "crystal" methamphetamine or "crack" cocaine. There are more such laboratories operating across the state as you read this sentence. The 443 cited are simply the ones discovered and destroyed in the state in 2003 by federal, state and local law enforcement agents. [continues 905 words]
The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics has placed a minister-agent over its marijuana eradication program amid an investigation into alleged records falsification and misconduct. Elbert Craig, a 14-year MBN agent and a Baptist minister, was named earlier as agent-in-charge of the eradication program and its evidence, MBN director Frank Melton said Monday. Melton said that during the three months Craig has been in charge, the program's accountability has improved. "It has been streamlined, it has been put under new management," Melton said. "(Craig's) integrity is above reproach." [continues 254 words]
Mention random drug testing in school, and many envision a burly athlete having to give a urine sample. But a seventh-grade scholar? Under the Madison County School District's new random-drug-testing policy, the playing field is level for talented thinkers and musicians, as well as athletes. Any student in an extracurricular activity, be it choir or football or National Honor Society, is subject to testing. The goal is to discourage drug use across the board, Superintendent Mike Kent said. "We hope we don't catch anybody and that the threat of losing eligibility will inspire these kids and give them a reason to say 'no,' " he said. [continues 777 words]
Extortion count added by state Tunica County Sheriff Jerry Ellington was charged Thursday with extorting $2,500 from a Jackson bail bonding company just a day after facing similar charges in federal court. Ellington, elected in 1999, is accused of demanding money from Hampton Company National Surety of Jackson, which issues bonds throughout the state, including Tunica. Ellington took a $2,500 check from the company when he met with bondsman Marty McKee on June 6 at the Flying J truck stop in Rankin County, Rankin County prosecutor Richard Wilson said. [continues 429 words]
Jerry Ellington Indicted On Two Counts Of Extortion And Two Counts Of Bribery Authorities arrested Tunica County Sheriff Jerry Ellington Wednesday - the second Tunica County sheriff to face corruption charges in the past four years. He faces charges of taking kickbacks from bail bondsmen and receiving kickbacks from money stolen from drug dealers. His arrest is the latest setback in a county that in recent years has been overwhelmed by corruption. Former Sheriff John Pickett III was sentenced to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to extorting more than $86,000 from a bail bondsman. That conviction was one of 10 resulting from a federal probe into corruption in Tunica County several years ago. [continues 754 words]
Mention random drug testing in school, and many envision a burly athlete having to give a urine sample. But a seventh-grade scholar? Under the Madison County school district's new random drug testing policy, the playing field is level for talented thinkers and musicians, as well as athletes. Any student in an extracurricular activity, be it choir or football or National Honor Society, is subject to testing. The goal is to discourage drug use across the board, not catch miscreants, said Superintendent Mike Kent. [continues 354 words]
Watchdog group adds names for Mississippi patients to check out Dr. Lloyd Gordon of Brandon is a nationally recognized physician specializing in the treatment of addiction. He's a delegate to the American Medical Association and a director of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. And he's also a "questionable doctor," according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit maintains a Web site listing, "Questionable Doctors," that lists physicians who have either violated Medicare policies, been in trouble with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency or disciplined by their state board of medical licensure. [continues 619 words]
People arrested on misdemeanor charges and taken to the Lee County-Tupelo Adult Detention Center are being subjected to illegal strip and body cavity searches, a federal lawsuit claims. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen, says 39 plaintiffs, 24 of whom were arrested on traffic violations, had their privacy invaded by such searches. Tupelo attorney Will Bristow and Iuka attorney Mike Cooke claim in the lawsuit filed Monday that the jail has operated under a policy in which "officers were encouraged to strip search and perform visual body cavity searches and other intrusive searches upon persons." The searches were done "without a search warrant and in situations where it was not reasonable to believe that any contraband or weapons had been concealed on their person," the suit adds. [continues 423 words]
Ex-JPD Officer's Cooperation Cited In Other Convictions A former Jackson police sergeant, whose cooperation with the FBI led to the convictions of four fellow officers for pocketing cash to protect people posing as drug dealers, will self-report to federal prison Sept. 1. Ronald Youngblood, 37, of Prentiss, was sentenced Friday to two years and one month in prison, and a year of supervised release. Youngblood was the first police officer investigated during a 15-month FBI sting operation and the last to be sentenced. [continues 450 words]
The City Will Begin Drug Testing Most Municipal Employees. The Board of Alderman approved the policy this week. A date when testing would begin has not been announced. Aldermen said details would be worked out in the coming weeks. The plan would affect 163 employees in positions defined as "public safety" - those who drive city vehicles, carry weapons, fight fires or deal with sensitive information. Aldermen said the city will perform random tests on half that number each year, meaning that some employees may be tested more than once while others may not be tested at all. Drug and alcohol tests will also be required of new public safety employees before they start work. [continues 117 words]
Coast counties' district attorney enlists merchants in drug fight PASCAGOULA - Officials in south Mississippi want local merchants to tip off law enforcement officers when shoppers buy household products that could be used to make methamphetamines. The District Attorney's office in Jackson County said a Meth Watch Program like those in George and Greene counties should encourage the public to help fight drugs. "The public's got to get involved," Assistant District Attorney Dustin Thomas said. "They have to know about the methamphetamine problem so they can help." [continues 191 words]
Among the new laws taking effect with the state's fiscal year that began Tuesday is creation of Drug Courts, that with nurturing could become a major deterrent to crime. The bill, approved by the 2003 Legislature, sets up special venues for first-time drug offenders. The courts allow treatment instead of incarceration, though a quick ticket to prison awaits those who don't successfully complete this alternate sentencing program. The main consideration for lawmakers facing an election year (terrified of being seen as "soft on crime") was cost, given the state's tight finances. The bill was boosted when State Auditor Phil Bryant calculated that just 500 participants could save the state up to $5.4 million annually. [continues 156 words]
Two officers at the State Penitentiary in Parchman face accusations they skimmed money from an inmate's bank account and brought marijuana into the prison, Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a statement released Monday. Jonathan A. Cox, 22, of Ruleville and Terry B. Thomas, 30, of Greenwood are both charged with extortion and conspiracy to introduce contraband on state prison grounds. Cox allegedly received $2,000 from an inmate's bank account and was supposed to take a portion of the money back into the prison, but kept it instead, according to the statement [continues 202 words]
Policy Aimed At Students Involved In School Organizations The Associated Press Petal High School students involved in extracurricular activities will face random drug tests this fall. The Petal School Board on Tuesday approved the plan. "This is something we have been wanting to do for several years," Prin-cipal Jack Linton said. "We've been conducting drug tests on all of our athletes for the past 10 years and wanted to extend it to include students who are involved in competitive-based extracurricular activities." [continues 117 words]
Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton, in his zeal to fight drugs, is suggesting that we the people give up more and more of our constitutional rights to privacy and freedom. For example, he wants to have more arbitrary road blocks to check for illegal drugs, in addition to search and seizure without a search warrant. He says he's mainly wanting to stop the harder stuff like crack cocaine and meth manufacturers. Mr. Melton is not above the law, even though he seems to think he is. Furthermore, what he's trying to do will not only weaken an already battered Constitution, but will drive drug prices higher, which will cause even more pain and suffering to the families already affected by the users. [continues 174 words]
Fifteen Officers Blanket Neighborhood; Marijuana, Guns, Stolen Car Seized The rain was the only thing keeping children who live near Corinth and Lynch streets from playing outside Friday. The drug dealers who normally roam the area were gone. The west Jackson intersection is the latest target of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics' Operation Safe Schools/Safe Neighborhoods. "You can tell those kids that they can come out and play," bureau Director Frank Melton said to a mother who lives near the intersection. [continues 363 words]
William Raspberry's article ("Threat of jail not only way to treat a sin," May 12) broaches a subject citizens of these United States need to begin to seriously consider: Decriminalization of drug possession. The failures of the "Drug War," "rehabilitation" of addicts in state prisons, and "Truth in Sentencing" laws, which have taken away the authority of judges to determine just sentences in individual cases and helped to congest penal systems with non-violent drug abuse cases, demand a re-evaluation of the way we approach the problem of addiction. [continues 165 words]
"There has to be a logical reason to stop autos," said Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Columbus, a member of the House Judiciary A Committee ("MBN chief: State laws hinder job," May 26). He said the U.S. Constitution guarantees protection against unreasonable search and seizure. "I'd be willing to help in my capacity as a lawmaker, but some of that is going to be out of our hands," Smith said. In other words, Smith would help, but, dang . . . that pesky Constitution thing keeps getting in the way of upping the drug arrests. [continues 125 words]
I agree wholeheartedly with your editorial ("Drug laws: Melton can't play judge, jury, too," May 22) about the need for equal enforcement of the laws in the matter of Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton's "leniency" toward some drug offenders. Selective enforcement and selective leniency are equally repugnant and a denial of our equality before the law. The law is not Mr. Melton's to play with, nor to any single man, no matter what position he holds. All must be equal before the law. Harry D. Fisher Woodland Hills, CA. [end]
Melton Has A Point On 'Red Tape' Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics chief Frank Melton is understandably frustrated with "red tape" that prevents his agents from busting dangerous drug labs without first obtaining a search warrant, or running roadblocks for drugs. Melton told The Associated Press he would like state laws rewritten. He's right: there's too much red tape. It's a frustration shared among "the good guys" seeking to enforce our nation's laws. And it should be removed, wherever possible. [continues 54 words]
Melton: Red Tape In Way (AP) - Methamphetamine and crack cocaine are two of the biggest problems facing Mississippi, yet state laws can put drug fighters at a disadvantage and the public at risk, the Bureau of Narcotics chief says. Frank Melton said he hopes to convince legislators to make some changes next year, but until then he'll find unconventional ways to fight the drugs that prey on both children and adults. For one thing, the narcotics chief said, his agents have to go through too much red tape when it comes to arresting meth manufacturers, who use explosive chemicals to produce the drug. [continues 335 words]
Columbus Councilman Larry Upton has suggested the city's random drug testing policy be broadened to include more employees - and council members and the mayor. Upton's comments came Tuesday after the arrest of a city truck driver on a marijuana possession charge. Elliott Trimuel, 37, was charged with a single count of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana. He was released Tuesday on a $300 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Columbus Municipal Court on June 11. Columbus Police Lt. Tom Thompson said police were told a city worker had been spotted smoking marijuana on the job. Thompson said a drug dog was sent to the city barn to check all the vehicles and Trimuel's truck came under suspicion. [continues 163 words]
"The Higher Education Act" was signed into law over three decades ago by President Lyndon Johnson to open the door for all Americans to a college education. It establishes federal financial aid programs and work-study programs. The act is periodically reviewed and updated by Congress. The 1998 revision to the HEA included a new provision that blocked college opportunities to students revealing drug convictions on their free application for federal student aid. This is completely discriminatory to children of lesser means or adults who want to continue their education and better themselves but cannot because of a possession charge. This is strictly a law against poor people, but what else is new? Over 150,000 students have lost their chance at education and we're still counting. This is an outright disaster. [continues 138 words]
Melton can't play judge, jury, too Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton may have his heart in the right place in wanting to go light on some teens arrested for drugs, but it's really not the role of law enforcement to play judge and jury, too. He told The Associated Press that some teens MBN has nabbed have been put "on Plan B," as he called it, saying: "Now, I've told the kids - and this is not legal but I'm going to continue to do it - that if they don't finish high school, that if they're not enrolled in somebody's college in August, I will pull those charges back up and I will prosecute them." [continues 77 words]
Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton says he is taking an unconventional approach to his job, giving some young drug users a chance to straighten out their lives rather than face criminal charges. "There's a big gap between what's legal and what's right," Melton said Tuesday to The Associated Press staff in Jackson. He said the illegal trade of methamphetamine, crack and other illegal drugs has reached a crisis, putting people's lives in danger. "I'm going to do what I think is in the best interest of the people of the state of Mississippi, and if y'all get tired of that, get you somebody else," said Melton, who spoke as part of AP's periodic series of meetings with newsmakers. [continues 305 words]
William Burroughs was an author who appealed to a varied audience from the 1960s until his death recently. Personally, I found his writings to be among the most eloquent defense of constitutional liberty of the last 50 years. In his later years, he worried that our government's disdain for illicit drugs would become a popular excuse for the loosening of our personal rights in the name of a war against Americans who use these drugs. Our personal liberties have been threatened by this "War on Drugs" as evidenced by the seizures allowed by local authorities all the way up to the national law enforcement agencies in a "guilty until proven innocent" fashion. In my lifetime, I have seen the scourge that is drug addiction change the great man into the most sick man. Let us find a way to help the sickly, enforce the anti-drug laws, and show compassion without bending the "rules" that we as Americans value as our birthright. John Caldwell Jr. Jackson [end]
No Jail Time On Drug Charges, Judge Rules A former Meridian police officer has pleaded guilty to drug charges but will not serve jail time if he can successfully complete his probation. Don Morgan received a five-year, non-adjudicated sentence Tuesday from Circuit Judge Robert Bailey, Clarke County Circuit Clerk Beth Doggett said. The non-adjudication means that Morgan will not be jailed and his record can be erased if he successfully completes his probation. The judge also assessed a $1,000 fine and court costs. [continues 118 words]
Need For Protecting Drug-Endangered Children Topic Of Conference Narcotics agent Jeff Killion says the scene of methamphetamine lab busts involving children reminds him of conditions in Third World countries. "Lots of dirty diapers. Cockroaches. Food has been laying there out in the open for days on end. Horrendous odors," he said. The children have "that far-off look in their eye and bugs crawling on them," he said. Killion and dozens of other law enforcement officials and Department of Human Services social workers were in Jackson on Tuesday for a conference focusing on how to better protect drug-endangered children. [continues 319 words]
Rev. Jeremy Tobin has good reason to question Mississippi's use of private, for-profit prisons ("State's future with education not with prisons," April 21). For decades, entrenched interests riding the drug war gravy train have dominated the drug policy debate. As a result, state budgets favor incarceration over education. Prison guard unions and for-profit prisons fund the campaigns of politicians willing to support mandatory minimum sentencing and zero-tolerance drug laws. This is the business approach to drug policy. [continues 80 words]
This is in regard to your April 20 editorial ("Medicaid: With tight budget, what do you cut?). I have this message for our elected lawmakers: Stop sending non-violent drug offenders to prison! Save our prison space for violent criminals. The money we spend on the miserably failed War On Drugs would give Mississippi many millions of badly needed dollars to spend, not only for our Medicaid patients, but for several other deserving programs as well. We need Medicaid. So why don't lawmakers at least try "cutting the fat" where it needs cutting? Anita T. Mayfield Nettleton [end]
MERIDIAN (AP)- The director of the Mississippi Narcotics Bureau and one of his agents are named in a lawsuit related to the investigation of the transfer of two agency airplanes. MBN director Frank Melton of Jackson and MBN agent Warren Buchanan of Meridian were named as defendants in the suit filed by Earl Pierce, Jimmy Saxton, Bill Taylor and Ronald Pitts. The complaint represents one side of a legal argument. The plaintiffs allege Melton released the MBN memo to the media knowing it contained unfounded, uncorroborated and false information. [continues 422 words]
Suspect Arrested On The Job At Canton Police Station A Canton police dispatcher was at work this week when she was handcuffed and hauled off to the Madison County Jail - the same jail where authorities allege she conspired to sneak in drugs. Cynthia Nicholson, of 2312 N. West St. in Canton, was charged with conspiracy to commit a felony. "I guess you'd say the subtitle is that the felony is ... to introduce a controlled substance into a prison facility," said Madison County Sheriff Toby Trowbridge. [continues 246 words]
Professionalism An Essential Facet Probably the biggest public criticism regarding the Jackson Police Department is "attitude." Complaints have ranged from police being slow to respond to calls to officers and detectives generally having a "So, what?" attitude. That's not "professionalism." It doesn't aid in police work and contributes to public perceptions of police indifference to crime. That is why it is encouraging that Police Chief Robert Moore has made professionalism the second point of the new "Five Point Plan to Fight Crime in Jackson." The policy change, as outlined by Moore, is twofold: [continues 308 words]
Down With Absurd Laws The War On Drugs is a complete failure. Our prisons are overflowing with hundreds of thousands of victims from this War On Drugs. Families are ripped apart with people's homes, life savings, and their children stolen from them and disbursed to state agencies. Non-violent citizens are being locked up with murderers, rapists, child molesters and very often receive more prison time than these true criminals. Why are we letting our elected officials get by with this? [continues 205 words]
During an election year, the last thing state lawmakers want to deal with are fears of state prison overcrowding (again), dredging up the "soft on crime" epithet. Yet, latest figures show Mississippi's prison population is close to capacity. As of April 6, The Associated Press reports, there were 5,648 inmates in the State Penitentiary at Parchman (which has a capacity of 5,711), and growing. Systemwide, the state inmate population has grown from 19,206 in June, 2002, to 20,143. [continues 665 words]
The Bush administration's antagonistic stance toward marijuana is misguided and counterproductive. A recent series of full-page ads placed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in newspapers across the country pleaded with parents to talk to their teens about marijuana and repeated exaggerations and distortions about the drug. Marijuana was first made illegal under federal law in 1937, a time when only a small fraction of the U.S. population had ever used the drug. By 2001, some 83 million Americans - or nearly a third of the population - had used the drug at least once. Under a prohibition regime, marijuana use has increased by 2,000 percent. [continues 130 words]
Claims Must Be Openly Investigated Claims that Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics equipment was swapped around to curry political favor, pay back political favors or allocated according to political influence and personal use are serious and must be openly investigated. A report obtained by Gannett News Service to MBN chief Frank Melton characterizing transfer of MBN airplanes to the Harrison County Sheriff's Department and the Hancock County Port Authority as political deals involving U.S. Sen. Trent Lott's office should be pursued aggressively by state and federal investigators. [continues 133 words]
A former Jackson police sergeant, whose cooperation with the FBI led to the convictions of four fellow officers on corruption charges, will be sentenced in July. Ronald Youngblood, a 13-year JPD veteran before resigning in 2000, has pleaded guilty to one count of concealing a felony. He faces up to three years in prison. U.S. District Judge William Barbour will sentence Youngblood at 9 a.m. July 18. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office wouldn't say Monday if there was a plea arrangement for how many years Youngblood will be recommended to serve. [continues 310 words]
Private, for-profit prisons are sapping vital resources from education and the future of our children. For-profit corporations have convinced many states, including Mississippi, that they can run prisons cheaper and more effectively than the state's penal system. A growing body of data has emerged to show that this is not the case. Like other parts of the country, Mississippi has placed several for-profit prisons in depressed communities with the promise of jobs. The communities remain depressed. A limited number from the community, as well as outside the community, fill the fixed number of positions needed to run the prison. [continues 502 words]
Drug Treatment Center Opens MERIDIAN - Stuffed animals and dolls dot the living room of Dr. Betsy Storms' newly opened drug addiction treatment center for women. The toys are not there for children, but for the women who come to Storms for help in rebuilding their lives after drugs, like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, prescription pills and alcohol, have taken their toll. "We have those around because it's so important that they go back and remember what it was like to be free as a child, and what happened that stopped that spontaneity," Storms said. "It's important to heal all those places when we started to feel that fear, to regain our abilities and creativity." [continues 580 words]
More than 65 people, including a Mississippi woman, were arrested by federal agents in 10 U.S. cities and Canada on Tuesday as the result of an 18-month investigation targeting the illegal importation of pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine is one the main ingredients in the production of crystal methamphetamine. Kimberly Easterling, 30, of Picayune was arrested at her home about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to possess pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, officials said. In Mississippi, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of methamphetamine labs discovered the past few years. [continues 146 words]
{AP} - A Lowndes County couple have been jailed on drug charges after their daughter reported them to sheriff's deputies. Lowndes County narcotics agent Tim Howell said Shawn Harrison, 37, and his wife, Nancy, 34, along with Stoney Ray, 36, were arrested Sunday on charges of the manufacture and possession of methamphetamine. Howell said the Harrison's 14-year-old girl alerted police after she said she saw her mother and stepfather begin producing the drugs in their home. Howell said deputies found two methamphetamine labs and confiscated the drug-producing materials. [continues 126 words]
A Hattiesburg minister says a decision to help one of his church members has him in hot water with drug enforcement authorities. The Rev. Kenneth Fairley said he will not violate the sanctity of the ministry by providing agents with the name of a woman who gave him a 60-pound bag of marijuana. Fairley, pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church, said the incident occurred in February when the woman came to him for advice about what to do with the marijuana she had found in her house. [continues 72 words]
I-20 Now A Major Drug Portal Homeland security? It's not always about protecting Mississippi citizens from what is traditionally defined as terrorism. Sometimes, it's protecting us from the scourges within our own borders - and illegal drugs is chief among those dangers along Mississippi's Interstate 20 corridor. How significant a drug portal has this federal highway crossing Mississippi from Vicksburg to Kewanee become? Consider this week's activity: * State Department of Transportation officers seized $412,000 worth of marijuana (206 pounds) from a tractor-trailer load of watermelons bound for Baltimore that was stopped on Interstate 20 near Meridian, officials said. [continues 102 words]
Bid Improprieties Examined; Federal Funds At Stake An FBI inquiry and high bids have delayed Hinds County in applying for a federal grant for its drug court. FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said the FBI investigated allegations of bid improprieties after Professional Associates submitted a low bid of $45,000 among three bidders to evaluate the drug court program. Pathfinders and Associates and MPART each bid $48,000. "We took our information to the U.S. attorney's office," Madden said. "It was evaluated there, and as a result, we closed the matter." [continues 261 words]
Former TV executive and controversial gubernatorial appointee Frank Melton was sworn in Friday as head of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Melton has been on the job since December, leading a series of "street sweeps" around the state. Early on, he led a high-profile sweep in front of the Capitol in downtown Jackson while lawmakers were in session, a move that raised eyebrows. Melton, 52, is the former chief executive officer of WLBT-Channel 3 in Jackson. The state Senate confirmed his appointment late last month. [continues 342 words]
