Mississippi has one of the highest inmate incarceration rates in the country, and the state's prison population keeps growing, amid concern about pending budget woes and a shortage of inmate beds. Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said his staff expected the inmate population to grow by 594 between July 1 and June 30, 2007. Instead, the inmate tally hit 610 additional prisoners Dec. 10. "I can't tell you what the next six months is going to bring," Epps said. House Corrections Chairman Bennett Malone, D-Carthage, said the number of empty beds in state prisons went from about 1,200 earlier this year to fewer than 200, Malone said. [continues 702 words]
It has become a familiar scene on the evening news across the country: Neighbors watch in stunned silence as police raid the house next door and the nice couple who for the most part kept to themselves is hauled away for running a methamphetamine lab in their basement. How could this happen, the neighbors ask, in our neighborhood? Isn't this the kind of thing you only see . . . somewhere else? Compared to marijuana, heroin or cocaine, methamphetamine, or "meth" as it is commonly known, is relatively new in the headlines. But this drug has had a tremendous and terrible impact in a short time. [continues 753 words]
Public Safety Commissioner George Phillips was right to reverse a recommendation to cut funding for the state's largest narcotics task force. A committee appointed by Phillips earlier turned down a $228,000 grant application for the North Central Narcotics Task Force, citing a cut in federal funding to the state. The U.S. Department of Justice cut the state's funding from $5.3 million to about $2 million, saying money was shifted from drugs to homeland security needs. That is a shortsighted shift in priorities, especially for rural states like Mississippi. Much crime is driven by drugs, as Phillips points out. Federal funding is needed for this overwhelming task. Second District U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton, will be assuming chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee and says he supports restoring the law enforcement grant funding. That would help Mississippi do what it must to fight drugs. [end]
Is America giving up on the "drug war" in favor of fighting the war in Iraq? Mississippi's 14 multijurisdictional narcotics task forces were told on Sept. 29 that their federal funding was being cut. Cuts are blamed on the Iraq war. The U.S. Justice Department's Byrne Justice Assistance Grant used to fund the task forces has dropped from $5.3 million in 2003 to about $2 million this year, forcing some to shut down already. It's particularly acute in the Delta, where the state's largest task force - the eight-county North Central Narcotics Task Force - is losing its $280,000. It netted 162 drug arrests in the past fiscal year. [continues 132 words]
Owner Also Forbidden From Providing 'Harassing' Information Jackson officials are prohibited from referring to a Virden Addition duplex the mayor allegedly damaged as a crack house, Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie T. Green ruled Tuesday. "Unfettered use of the terms 'drug house,' 'crack house,' 'dope house' or 'drug distribution center' publicly and before the media has the effect of unfairly swaying the opinions of potential jurors who may be called upon to try the issue in related litigation," Green wrote in her ruling. [continues 664 words]
You and your law-abiding neighbors in Mississippi might be just one street address away from a life-threatening, midnight raid by a local paramilitary police unit. As these so-called SWAT squads increasingly become America's favored search warrant delivery service, bungled raids - including many to the wrong address - have skyrocketed. In these assaults on private property, scores of innocent citizens, police officers and nonviolent offenders have died. In a recent CATO Institute report titled "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America," Radley Balko describes how, "Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units (most commonly called Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT) for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home." [continues 436 words]
As a retired police officer with 18 years experience, I am surprised that in 2006 you still say that "crime is driven by drugs" ("Budget cuts: What happened to drug 'war?' " Oct. 5 editorial). It is the prohibition of drugs which causes 75 percent of felony crime - not the use. If we were as wise as our grandparents and ended the new prohibition, we would experience a tremendous drop in felony crime. Also, a serious drop in DUI deaths would result because then officers could focus on drunk drivers instead of Willie Nelson. As Thomas Paine wrote in The American Crisis in 1776: "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." Howard J. Wooldridge Member Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Frederick, Md. [end]
The News That Two Drug Task Forces In Mississippi Are Shutting Down Couldn't Come At A Worse Time. Crime is on the increase, nationally and here in Mississippi. Much of the crime is driven by drugs. It is a problem not limited to urban areas. In fact, rural areas of the state have unique and difficult drug problems that require special enforcement. Yet, at the time crime is on an increase, much-needed federal grant money is being cut. The North Central Narcotics Task force and the Metro Narcotics Unit in DeSoto County have been informed that the federal grant money that funds the state's 14 narcotics units is drying up. [continues 151 words]
Two drug task forces in the state will be shut down because of cuts in a federal grant program. Law enforcement representatives for the eight-county North Central Narcotics Task Force and the Metro Narcotics Unit in DeSoto County received word this week that they had lost their funding. At least six employees of the North Central Narcotics Task Force will be left without a job. "We kind of knew it was eventually going to come," said DeSoto County Sheriff's Department spokesman Chief Steve Atkinson. "We didn't know it was going to be this year." [continues 536 words]
Cory Maye's version of an incident five years ago sounds like a compelling argument for the Castle Doctrine, the controversial law that gives Mississippians broader authority to defend their homes and other property. Maye said he was home with his 18-month-old daughter when he fell asleep in a chair. He said he was awakened by what he believed were intruders and, like most people, wanted to protect his home and his family. He reached for a nearby handgun and shot Ron Jones as Jones entered Maye's duplex. [continues 428 words]
Jackson lawyer Rhonda Cooper said Monday she did her job in defending Cory Maye of Prentiss, who was convicted of killing a police officer in a 2001 drug raid. "I was trying to save somebody's life," she said. "It was do or die." On Thursday, Circuit Judge Michael Eubanks ruled that Maye should be removed from death row, concluding that Cooper did not represent her client adequately during the penalty phase of Maye's trial. Eubanks overturned the sentence and ordered a new sentencing hearing for Maye, who fatally wounded Prentiss police officer Ron Jones. The judge said he would rule later on the other matters raised by Maye's new defense team. [continues 605 words]
Charges 'Silly,' Political, Says Attorney Jackson Mayor Frank Melton's attorney said the fiery, first-term mayor would not resign and called three grand jury indictments handed down Friday "silly" and "politically motivated." Melton, 56, turned himself in to authorities at the Hinds County Courthouse shortly past noon, after a specially convened grand jury indicted him on five felony charges related to the Aug. 26 partial destruction of a west Jackson duplex, along with three gun violations, one of which is a felony. If found guilty, Melton faces up to 50 years in prison. Marcus Wright, 30, and Michael Recio, 37, Jackson police detectives and Melton's bodyguards, also were indicted on five felony charges related to destruction of the duplex. [continues 1412 words]
Jackson City Council President Ben Allen was actually insightful in explaining his logic for wimpish inaction instead of taking a stand against Mayor Frank Melton. "This isn't Iraq. This is the United States of America . . . We are the legislative branch of government. We are not the Gestapo," Allen said in explaining why he joined three colleagues in deciding not to investigate the mayor's possible participation in the partial demolition of a Virden Addition duplex. That this is Jackson, not Baghdad or Moscow, is precisely the point. Citizens by law are afforded due process and a presumption of innocence and not subjected to financial penalties based on suspicion, even if it's the mayor. [continues 382 words]
CARROLLTON, ALA. -- A state judge arrested on methamphetamine charges in Mississippi resigned after being indicted on similar charges in Alabama, where authorities said they found the drug in his office. Pickens County District Judge Ira Colvin said in a letter delivered to the presiding judge in the west Alabama circuit, James Moore, that he was stepping down for personal reasons."I regret any inconvenience this may cause you. Thank you for your consideration," wrote Colvin. Colvin quit on Monday, or two days after District Attorney Chris McCool said a grand jury had indicted Colvin on charges of methamphetamine possession after investigators discovered a small amount of the drug in his office in Carrollton, located near the Mississippi line. [continues 95 words]
Has the federal government given up on the Drug War? Is it raising the white flag and admitting defeat in attempting to curb crimes involving illegal drugs? Or is it simply saying to local communities and states: You pay the cost. Those are logical questions since Mississippi's 14 local drug task forces have been asked to trim grant requests by 25 percent because of federal funding cuts. Federal assistance to local law enforcement in Mississippi during the Bush administration has dipped from almost $5.3 million in 2003 to just more than $2 million this year. Federal officials say the funds are being shifted to fight terrorism. [continues 120 words]
New Tactic Vs. Youth Crime Brittany Weathersby, 10, carefully etched two sentences into her workbook about the day's lesson. "I learned that it's better to make good decisions than bad decisions. I learned that D.A.R.E. stands for drugs," she said Thursday. Drug prevention education kicked off this week in the Hinds County School District and a program geared toward older students - G.R.E.A.T. - will accompany the traditional D.A.R.E. program this year. [continues 473 words]
Students In Some Activities To Get Random Checks Madison County will perform more random drug tests on middle and high school students this year. The district has decided to test 25 percent of each school's projected enrollments, up from the 10 to 15 percent tested this past year. Random drug tests are performed on students who participate in extracurricular activities that engage in competition, such as yearbook, newspaper, band, cheerleading, athletics and choir. "The rationale (behind the testing) is to give kids a reason to say no if they're tempted," Superintendent Mike Kent said. "The more the tests are widely available, the more reason there is to say no." [continues 370 words]
Five members of the Aryan Brotherhood have been arrested for allegedly being involved in a methamphetamine ring that was directed from inside a Mississippi prison, the U.S. AttorneyThe investigation started in 2004 when correctional officers heard through telephone monitoring and confidential informants about the ring, MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps said. The scheme lasted for about a year, Luzinski said. He added there may be another arrest. The investigation is ongoing.'s office said Thursday. Several imprisoned members of the white supremacist prison gang allegedly enlisted the assistance of former inmates and criminal co-conspirators outside of the prison to produce and distribute the drug. [continues 159 words]
Regarding Perspective Editor Sid Salter's June 11 article ("Miss.: 25 years of AIDS"), needle exchanges have been shown to reduce the spread of HIV without increasing drug use. They also serve as a bridge to drug treatment for an especially hard-to-reach population. Drug users are not the only beneficiaries. U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57 percent of AIDS cases among women and 36 percent of overall AIDS cases in the United States are linked to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. [continues 61 words]
Robin Webb doesn't dodge tough questions about AIDS. He's a veteran. Webb, 49, of Jackson has been carrying the AIDS virus for the last 15 years after contracting the disease from what he said was "some sexual activity" in the 1980s. "I remember those horrible early days in the 1980s when this (AIDS) affected almost everyone I knew," said Webb. "So many people died, so many suffered and all of us were treated like outcasts." Today, Webb manages his illness as a chronic disease utilizing drugs that cost over $3,000 a month. "I'm on Medicaid and right now I'm getting what I need to fight the disease." [continues 905 words]
