Mississippi
Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi's felony voting ban is cruel and unusual
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era practice of removing voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft, attorneys say in new court papers.
Most of the people affected are disenfranchised for life because the state provides few options for restoring ballot access.
“Mississippi’s harsh and unforgiving felony disenfranchisement scheme is a national outlier,” attorneys representing some who lost voting rights said in an appeal filed Wednesday. They wrote that states “have consistently moved away from lifetime felony disenfranchisement over the past few decades.”
This case is the second in recent years — and the third since the late 19th century — that asks the Supreme Court to overturn Mississippi’s disenfranchisement for some felonies. The cases use different legal arguments, and the court rejected the most recent attempt in 2023.
The new appeal asks justices to reverse a July ruling from the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the laws.
Stripping away voting rights for some crimes is unconstitutional because it is cruel and unusual punishment, the appeal argues. A majority of justices rejected arguments over cruel and unusual punishment in June when they cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places.
Attorneys who sued Mississippi over voting rights say the authors of the state’s 1890 constitution based disenfranchisement on a list of crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit. A majority of the appeals judges wrote that the Supreme Court in 1974 reaffirmed constitutional law allowing states to disenfranchise felons.
About 38% of Mississippi residents are Black. Nearly 50,000 people were disenfranchised under the state’s felony voting ban between 1994 and 2017. More than 29,000 of them have completed their sentences, and about 58% of that group are Black, according to an expert who analyzed data for plaintiffs challenging the voting ban.
To regain voting rights in Mississippi, a person convicted of a disenfranchising crime must receive a governor’s pardon or win permission from two-thirds of the state House and Senate. In recent years, legislators have restored voting rights for only a few people.
The other recent case that went to the Supreme Court argued that authors of Mississippi’s constitution showed racist intent when they chose which felonies would cause people to lose the right to vote.
In that ruling, justices declined to reconsider a 2022 appeals court decision that said Mississippi remedied the discriminatory intent of the original provisions in the state constitution by later altering the list of disenfranchising crimes.
In 1950, Mississippi dropped burglary from the list. Murder and rape were added in 1968. The Mississippi attorney general issued an opinion in 2009 that expanded the list to 22 crimes, including timber larceny, carjacking, felony-level shoplifting and felony-level writing bad checks.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in a 2023 dissent that Mississippi’s list of disenfranchising crimes was “adopted for an illicit discriminatory purpose.”
Mississippi
An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century
A 174-year-old brick parsonage house on a bluff above the Mississippi River is now for sale in Natchez, Mississippi, asking $1.985 million.
The home, completed in 1852, was built by architect James Hardie as a residence for Methodist ministers, according to historical records. The land was donated by Peter Little, a wealthy cotton broker and slave owner who built the city’s historic Rosalie mansion.
MORE: ‘Hunger Games’ Director Gary Ross Dug Under His Brooklyn Home to Build a ‘Magical’ Theater
The house was initially built as a one-story residence with an “English” basement and a carriage house; a two-story annex was added later, according to the listing with Douglas Adams of Crescent Sotheby’s International Realty, informed by the Historic Natchez Foundation.
“The location is what is superb because it is one of the highest points in Natchez overlooking the Mississippi River,” said Adams, who posted the listing Thursday.
In 1893, the Parsonage changed hands for the last time when it was purchased by James and Agnes Metcalfe, and has been in the Metcalfe family ever since.
Known as the Parsonage, the residence is considered a classic example of Greek Revival architecture from the pre-Civil War South, with a wide portico, raised porch and sash windows. It is located on South Broadway Street, in a commanding position that overlooks Bluff Park, the Mississippi and downtown Natchez. It spans 6,500 square feet with five bedrooms, two formal parlors flanking a central hall and richly detailed interiors that include original exposed-brick walls, fireplaces and stained-glass windows.
In addition to a front porch, the property includes several outdoor terraces and balconies, including a second-floor wraparound deck and a balustraded rooftop—which has the best vantage point from which to see the wide views.
The home was occupied for many years by the late Albert and Gay Metcalfe, who married at the Parsonage in 1959, and would host events for friends. “It became something of a social hub,” Adams said. “They’d host families to celebrate someone’s life; there may have been some weddings that occurred there.”
Gay Metcalfe died in 2023 and the heirs are her three children, Adams said. The family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Hardie, the architect, was a Scottish immigrant who built several other notable buildings in Natchez, including most prominently St. Mary Basilica, a Gothic Revival structure on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Homewood plantation, a Greek Revival mansion.
MORE: Manhattan’s Richest Home Buyers Were Out in Force as $10 Million-Plus Sales Surged in the First Quarter
According to local lore, the Parsonage was commissioned by Little because his wife, Eliza’s religious devotion led her to welcome every passing minister into their home, according to “Natchez,” a 1940s history of the city. Displeased with the “long siege of such guests,” Little decided to build a separate home for his wife’s visitors.
Little’s own mansion at Rosalie still stands today near the site of the 1729 massacre of the Natchez Native Americans, from whom the city takes its name.
Latest
Local News
Weather
Sports
Mississippi Insight
Pine Belt News
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball swept its previous two SEC opponents but fell on the other end against Georgia.
No. 4 MSU (25-7, 7-5 SEC) was swept by No. 5 Georgia (27-6, 10-2) at Dudy Noble Field. It was the first time MSU was swept under first-year coach Brian O’Connor.
Mississippi State lost 10-9 on April 2, 3-1 on April 3 and 8-5 in 10 innings on April 4.
The three straight losses created the longest losing streak of the season. Georgia’s last sweep of MSU at Dudy Noble Field was in 2004.
“I’m not concerned,” O’Connor said. “Listen, you see it all over the place in this league. People get swept and things like that. When I talk to the team, I talk about taking each game like its own individual game.
“… There were certainty plenty of bright spots, but just not enough. I believe we got away from what got us to this point for whatever reason. We have to own that; we have to stand up as men and acknowledge what happened and make the adjustments to get back on the right track and play winning Mississippi State baseball.”
Star third baseman Ace Reese launched a shot that looked like it was going to win Game 3 in the ninth inning, but it was caught at the warning track.
“It’s not concerning at all,” Reese said. “We’re a great ball club. I know what we can do. It was just unfortunate. We didn’t play good enough. We didn’t hit in situations well enough, and we didn’t pitch at the right time well enough.”
What Brian O’Connor wants more of from Mississippi State baseball
O’Connor said he agreed with a reporter’s observation that there was negative body language from Mississippi State players throughout the series.
“Words matter, and I met with the team before the stretch this morning and talked to them specifically about that and what a winner’s mentality looks like,” O’Connor said. “We just have to be better from that standpoint. We have to grow in that area. We showed some immaturity this weekend, and Georgia exposed that.”
Mississippi State fell behind 10-2 in Game 1 in the fifth inning after a poor start from Charlie Foster and relief appearance by Jack Gleason. MSU scored seven unanswered runs after that but failed to drive in the tying run in the ninth inning.
MSU got another outstanding pitching start from Tomas Valincius in Game 2, but never scored after the first inning. Game 3 was tied at 5-5 through six innings until Michael O’Shaughnessy hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning.
Mississippi State left 32 batters on base throughout the series and batted 1-for-22 in the final two games with runners in scoring position.
Georgia also scored numerous runs throughout the series because of passed balls and wild pitches.
“Just overall a tough weekend,” O’Connor said. “That can happen in this league. It’s no excuse. We don’t accept it. We just have to learn from it and play be a little bit more tough-minded and approach the game the right way.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Benefit held Maine man badly injured after getting hit on I-95 while shielding teen
Best places for sea glass at the Jersey Shore: Try these hotspots
New Mexico leaders push colleges to keep tuition flat
Carrie Everett, crowned Miss North Carolina in 2024, dies of stomach cancer, family says
Greenpeace seeks new trial, claiming jury pool biased in case over Dakota Access Pipeline
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
GOP races to pass ICE, Border Patrol funding bill as priorities pile up, divisions emerge
Jet fuel crisis: Rationing triggered at four airports in Italy
NASA’s Artemis II crew readies for Monday’s lunar flyby. Here’s what you need to know
Tax day is next week: Avoid these 5 common mistakes that can cost you money
Hamas armed wing says disarmament demands not acceptable
-
South-Carolina1 week agoSouth Carolina vs TCU predictions for Elite Eight game in March Madness
-
Atlanta, GA1 day ago1 teenage girl killed, another injured in shooting at Piedmont Park, police say
-
Vermont1 week agoSkier dies after fall at Sugarbush Resort
-
Movie Reviews4 days agoVaazha 2 first half review: Hashir anchors a lively, chaos-filled teen tale
-
Politics1 week agoTrump’s Ballroom Design Has Barely Been Scrutinized
-
Entertainment4 days agoInside Ye’s first comeback show at SoFi Stadium
-
Atlanta, GA1 week agoFetishist ‘No Kings’ protester in mask drags ‘Trump’ and ‘JD Vance’ behind her wheelchair
-
Politics1 week agoJD Vance says he was ‘obsessed’ with UFOs, believes aliens are actually ‘demons’