Mississippi
Bills to bring Mississippi rape laws into 21st Century move to Senate
![Bills to bring Mississippi rape laws into 21st Century move to Senate Bills to bring Mississippi rape laws into 21st Century move to Senate](https://mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Rape-kit-introduced-scaled.jpg)
Two measures geared toward serving to rape survivors get justice have unanimously handed the state Home and are earlier than the Senate, the place they had been killed and not using a vote final 12 months.
However Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who oversees the Senate, on Wednesday voiced help for the measures, which may assist their probabilities significantly.
“The lieutenant governor helps the payments and is encouraging the chairmen to convey them out of committee,” mentioned spokeswoman Leah Rupp Smith.
Home Invoice 485, authored by Rep. Angela Cockerham, I-Magnolia, would standardize the dealing with, well timed testing and monitoring of sexual assault proof or “rape kits” in Mississippi. Not like 36 different states, Mississippi has no statewide guidelines and advocates say there’s a giant — albeit unknown as a result of lack of monitoring — backlog of unprocessed rape kits. It might additionally give survivors the best to know the standing of their kits.
Home Invoice 995, authored by Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, would take away archaic, misogynistic language from the 1800s from Mississippi’s rape and sexual battery legal guidelines and take away a spousal protection for many who commit marital rape. The invoice would make clear the definition and components of rape and sexual assault, changing passages resembling “assault with the intent to forcibly ravish a feminine of beforehand chaste character.”
Sandy Middleton, director of the Middle for Violence Prevention, mentioned, “Mississippi has a backlog of rape circumstances, but it surely’s not on the crime lab. The kits are sitting in hospital emergency room fridges or the trunk of police cruisers.”
Middleton and different advocates mentioned statistics are scant, however one overview confirmed that from 2019 via 2021, solely 20 rapes had been prosecuted in Mississippi. Whereas there are issues discovering statistics on reported rapes, one nationwide report mentioned Mississippi had 1,148 reported circumstances in 2020.
A 2019 Related Press report mentioned that on the time there was a backlog of 600 rape kits that had not been DNA examined.
Middleton mentioned a Jackson space hospital lately reported that it had 50 rape kits in a fridge awaiting regulation enforcement to choose them up, and a few had been there for a 12 months and a half. Of these, 15 had been from circumstances the place kids had been raped.
Apart from lack of testing of proof, Mississippi’s antiquated rape legal guidelines hinder prosecution.
McLean mentioned she believes many prosecutors use the state’s sexual battery legal guidelines as an alternative of the rape statute with harsher penalties as a result of the latter’s language is so antiquated.
READ MORE: Lawmaker continues bid to take away archaic, misogynistic language from state rape, sexual battery legal guidelines
McLean’s invoice would delete language within the regulation that claims an individual wouldn’t be responsible of rape or sexual battery if the alleged sufferer was the defendant’s authorized partner on the time of the offense and the couple isn’t separated and residing aside. It might additionally change regulation that mentioned a authorized partner could also be discovered responsible of sexual battery if the partner engaged in forcible penetration with out the consent of the alleged sufferer. McLean mentioned as a result of present regulation makes use of language resembling “forcible” and “consent,” this may very well be used as a protection if a partner was incapacitated, resembling handed out drunk or on medication.
Though for the reason that early Nineties each state acknowledges marital rape as a criminal offense, some together with Mississippi nonetheless have legal guidelines on the books that both present safety for the perpetrator or lesser penalties.
Each payments lately handed the Home unanimously. However they each handed the Home overwhelmingly final 12 months as nicely, solely to die in Senate committee.
Advocates supporting the payments, flanked by a number of Home and Senate lawmakers, held a press convention on the measures on Wednesday. They mentioned Senate Judiciary A Chairman Brice Wiggins, who’s been assigned the rape package invoice, has labored with them and appeared supportive. Wiggins didn’t reply to a request for touch upon Wednesday.
Home Invoice 995 to take away archaic and misogynistic language and a spousal rape protection from the regulation has been assigned once more to Senate Judiciary B Chairman Joey Fillingane’s committee. Final 12 months, after he let the invoice die and not using a vote in his committee, Fillingane mentioned he agreed with the invoice’s intent, however mentioned there have been quite a few payments in each chambers geared toward altering rape and assault legal guidelines. He mentioned he needed to have hearings out of session and make sweeping modifications as an alternative of getting a number of completely different payments.
Fillingane on Wednesday was noncommittal on whether or not he would take the invoice up for a vote in committee this 12 months, solely that, “We’re actually it and learning it.” He mentioned he has not had hearings or drafted sweeping modifications to rape and assault legal guidelines, however is doing such work with different older state code. He mentioned the rape code McLean’s invoice goals to replace “could be very outdated and the entire part is in want of a revision.”
Advocates on Wednesday mentioned rape survivors need justice and need to know the standing of testing of their case.
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Mississippi
Arizona State eyes first win against an SEC opponent vs. Mississippi State
Mississippi State at Arizona State, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Arizona State by 6 1/2.
Series record: First meeting.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Arizona State and Mississippi State both had dominant wins in the season-opening weekend and now have a tougher challenge when they face each other on Saturday night. The Sun Devils are trying to build off an impressive 48-7 win over Wyoming and prove they might be a factor in the Big 12 race. Arizona State has never beaten an SEC opponent. Mississippi State plays its second game under new coach Jeff Lebby. The Bulldogs beat Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in their season opener..
KEY MATCHUP
Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen vs. the Arizona State defense. The Sun Devils scored a touchdown on the second play of their opener when Zyrus Fiaseu picked off a pass and returned it to the end zone. It was one of two interceptions on the day for Arizona State. Shapen had a great debut against Eastern Kentucky but will face a much tougher defense on Saturday.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mississippi State: Shapen had a terrific first game with the Bulldogs, throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 44 yards and a TD against Eastern Kentucky. The 6-foot-1 senior played the previous three college seasons at Baylor with mixed success. Shapen has thrown a TD pass in 12 consecutive games dating to this time at Baylor in 2022.
Arizona State: RB Cam Skattebo led a balanced rushing attack against Wyoming, gaining 49 yards and scoring a touchdown. Skattebo was a do-it-all player for Arizona State last year, spending time at quarterback, running back and receiver. The Sun Devils might not need him to be as versatile this season, but he’s still a threat from just about anywhere on the field.
FACTS & FIGURES
Mississippi State had six different players score touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. … The Bulldogs’ 93.7 passing grade in the opener was the second-best mark in all of the FBS, trailing only Purdue, according to Pro Football Focus. … Mississippi State’s Kevin Coleman Jr. returned five punts for 117 yards last week. … Arizona State was credited with just two missed tackles on defense in the opener, tied for the third-lowest tally among FBS schools. … Skattebo is 270 rushing yards away from reaching 3,000 in his career. He is 342 all-purpose yards away from reaching 4,000 and 202 receiving yards away from reaching 1,000.
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Mississippi
How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff
![How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/03/PNAS/75060541007-usatsi-24129028.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5472,3078,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is preparing to play a team that, at least through one game, looks vastly improved from last season.
Coach Jeff Lebby admitted on Monday, and Bulldog players have noticed it too after Arizona State (1-0) thumped Wyoming 48-7 in its opener.
MSU (1-0) must also factor in the late kickoff that is scheduled Saturday (9:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Mississippi is hot, but so is Arizona — a different kind of hot, too.
Modifications and remedies are being made, such as the team leaving Starkville on Thursday instead of how it normally would on a Friday for a Saturday game.
“For our guys, just knowing exactly what we are getting into,” Lebby said. “We continue to talk about that through yesterday and this morning and (are) having those conversations to understand what it’s going to look like late in the week. We got to do a great job from a preparation standpoint of how we are hydrating, how we are eating and how we are resting to give us the ability to go on the road on this flight and be able to be at our best Saturday night.”
Just this week, Phoenix broke a record with its 100th straight day of 100-degree temperatures. According to AccuWeather, the high on Saturday in Tempe will be 107 degrees with a low of 86. The temperature should dip to around 91 near kickoff with a humidity of 24%.
“Coach Lebby has already been harping on that,” tight end Justin Ball said. “We’ve already been hydrating and making sure we are getting rest every single day. We leave on Thursday, so we already talked about the plan to make sure we are hydrating the entire plane ride there, making sure when we get there we get acclimated as quickly as you can and just staying together. Making sure we’re focused, make sure we keep the goal first and then execute the game plan.”
MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong
Mississippi State played well the last time it played in Arizona
The Bulldogs played Arizona in Tucson two seasons ago. They squandered a pedestrian Wildcats team 39-17. Kickoff for that game was at 8 p.m. PST though the temperature was 84 degrees at game time.
Not many players remain on Mississippi State’s roster from that 2022 season. But the ones who are, like linebacker Nic Mitchell, can benefit from the experience and also share it with teammates.
“We know it’s going to be a long flight, so we know we got to be hydrated,” Mitchell said. “It gives people experience that have done it before and they can tell the young guys how it’s going to be in the flight, how you got to hydrate and stuff like that.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Playing for Mississippi State not an option for Arizona State back Kyson ‘Sipp’ Brown
Arizona State forces 3 turnovers in win over Wyoming to start 2024
All offseason, coach Kenny Dillingham preached getting turnovers. Forty seconds into the season’s first game, the defense produced its first one.
Sophomore running back Kyson Brown is one of the faster players on the Arizona State football team. But Brown seems to have a little more pep in his step this week. Why? Well, the Sun Devils (1-0) are set to take on Mississippi State (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
Sure an SEC opponent is enough to get any athlete fired up. But the 6-foot, 200-pounder hails from Tupelo, Mississippi, which is where he got his nickname, Sipp. Tupelo is 67 miles north of the Mississippi State campus in Starkville that Sipp has visited a handful of times.
“I have family, growing up they were all Mississipp State fans and some Ole Miss fans,” he said. “Some of my family are debating whether they want to cheer for me or not. It’s going to be good. A lot of hometown friends. Got a couple guys I went to high school with there. It’s going to be good seeing those guys and hopefully, we compete at a good level and get the W.”
Brown, a mechanical engineering major, is enrolled in ASU’s Barret honors program, He emerged as one of the team’s most improved players. He saw some time on special teams as a true freshman in 2023 and has set himself up for a bigger role, although the ASU backfield has a lot of depth.
In the last week’s 48-7 win over Wyoming, Brown pitched in with six rushing attempts for 25 yards and two receptions for 73 yards. His 68-yard touchdown reception was the longest play from scrimmage that ASU had on the night.
“It felt amazing just to get back in the end zone again,” Brown said. “You come out of high school, you know I’m used to being in the end zone every game, all the time. That play, I knew — once I made the first guy miss — I knew I wasn’t going to let anybody catch me.”
Brown lived in Mississippi until moving to Lancaster, Texas, outside of Dallas, after his sophomore year of high school. He sat out junior year after the transfer. As a senior he averaged 9.5 yards per carry, finishing with 707 yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 carries while adding 14 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Sitting out his junior year hurt his recruiting, but he still had notable offers from Purdue, Missouri and Houston. The balance of his options were lower-profile schools. Mississippi State didn’t offer.
He is happy with the end result. A place on the ASU football roster. In the offseason, he worked on his agility, flexibility and catching the ball, which was evident in his recent scoring play.
“We all have the big-play potential,” he said of his fellow running backs. “I feel my role is to make plays, wherever they put me be able to perform.”
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