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 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]
From the street, the campus looks ordinary. A main building with several adjacent manufactured structures. The dwellings are situated behind a junkyard on Country Club Drive, and the parking lot is in dire need of repair. Welcome to the Country Oaks Recovery Center, where despite the facilities, extraordinary work gets done. Eric Stringfellow Country Oaks, like many nonprofits, is struggling to survive. The center still needs money to pay its electric bills. Public donations have reduced the amount from $8,000 to about $3,000. [continues 437 words]
There have been a number of experiences that have prepared me over the years. First, growing up in the inner city of Houston, Texas. Next developing a good work ethic at an early age. Getting a quality education and starting a management career at a very early age. In Mississippi with the help of many people I have grown as a person over the past 18 years. Without their help and support I would still be at first base. The difficult challenges that we face today are also great opportunities for progress. These challenges include the economy, which is a national issue. Next, we must have safe schools and safe neighborhoods. Next we must develop the ability to do what is right without regard to politics, race, or other influences. This is critical. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bottom Line was a commentary and it originated from a tough time I experienced. A kid in Jackson was killed - shot four times. When I buried that kid nobody attended his funeral. He was 14. That is when I put up the billboards going after the bad guys. That kid had just left my office at WLBT and something told me that I needed to take that kid into my custody. I made a mistake and I will have to live with that mistake for the rest of my life. This is a very painful issue because I made a mistake in judgment and this kid died. Instead of taking the kid home I had a boring speech to make. Two hours later he was dead. [continues 943 words]
In Frank Melton, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove named an intriguing choice to lead Mississippi's drug-fighting efforts. Melton, a colorful television executive and commentator for nearly three decades, is the new director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. A native of Houston, Texas, Melton will go from being an arm-chair quarterback in the peanut gallery to the locker room to suit up and then be a key player in the game. Melton's an underdog, given his lack of game experience. It's been well-documented that he doesn't have any law enforcement experience or training, something many believe is essential to running a multi-million dollar drug-fighting operation. [continues 474 words]
In a sense, it's old, stale news. The nonprofit Grassroots Leadership group on Monday told us something we already knew - that in Mississippi, like many other Southern states, we spend millions of tax dollars to lock people in cages, money we could spend to educate them to become productive citizens. In a report titled "Education versus Incarceration: A Mississippi Case Study," the Charlotte, N.C.-based organization also observed that: a.. Mississippi's appropriations for corrections rose 115 percent from 1989 to 1998, while its higher education appropriations increased less that 1 percent over the same period. b.. The state built 16 new correctional facilities in the 1990s, including six private prisons. c.. There are nearly twice as many African-American men in state prisons as there are enrolled in the state's institutions of higher learning. [continues 450 words]
A few summers ago, I spent an afternoon cutting down a giant plant that my mother dear once thought was cute. It had become an ugly burden. This plant had overtaken a corner of her house -- so tall that it reached the roof. When I finished, I thought the plant was dead, gone. We could again see the corner of my mother's house. Oddly, the plant returned. And it grew just as tall. My brother-in-law chopped it down the last time, and I hope my brother's turn is next. [continues 484 words]
