Mississippi

Mississippi Judge Affirms Settlement After 62-year-old Died in Police Encounter

Published

2 years ago

June 6, 2024

Mississippi Judge Affirms Settlement After 62-year-old Died in Police Encounter

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A judge has ordered the enforcement of a lawsuit settlement between Mississippi’s capital city and the family of a man who died after police officers pulled him from a car while searching for a murder suspect.

George Robinson, 62, died in January 2019, days after the encounter with three Jackson police officers. His relatives sued the city in October 2019, saying Robinson was not the subject of any warrant and alleging the officers “brutally, viciously and mercilessly beat Mr. Robinson by striking and kicking him.”

The Jackson City Council on April 23 unanimously approved the payment of $17,786 to settle the lawsuit with Robinson’s relatives, including his sister Bettersten Wade. City documents said the settlement was not an admission of liability by the city or the three officers named in the suit. Robinson was Black, as are the three officers.

But Wade’s attorney, Dennis Sweet III, released a letter April 24 saying the city violated a confidentiality agreement that was part of the settlement. Sweet said that because of the public disclosure and because the city “appears to claim or infer some sort of perceived victory,” Wade would continue suing the city.

In a ruling Friday, Circuit Judge Faye Peterson wrote that she found “no merit” in arguments made by Sweet. Peterson wrote that the plaintiffs and the city had entered a legally binding settlement.

“Moreover, the City of Jackson cannot legally choose to keep settlements confidential, and this fact does not amount to some abstract form of fraudulent misrepresentation,” Peterson wrote.

Robinson had been hospitalized for a stroke days before the police encounter and was on medication, Wade has said. He had a seizure hours after he was beaten, and he died two days later from bleeding on his brain.

Second-degree murder charges against two of the officers were dropped in the case. In August 2022, a Hinds County jury convicted former detective Anthony Fox of culpable negligence manslaughter. In January of this year, the Mississippi Court of Appeals overturned Fox’s conviction. A majority of the appeals court wrote that prosecutors failed to prove Fox “acted in a grossly negligent manner” or that Robinson’s death “was reasonably foreseeable under the circumstances.”

Wade is the mother of Dexter Wade, who was run over by an off-duty Jackson Police Department officer in March 2023.

Dexter Wade was buried at the Hinds County Pauper’s Cemetery. But it was October before his mother was told about the burial. His body was exhumed Nov. 13, and an independent autopsy was conducted. A wallet found in the pocket of his jeans contained his state identification card with his home address, credit card and a health insurance card, said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Wade’s family.

On Nov. 20, Dexter Wade’s family held a funeral for him, and he was buried in another cemetery.

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Mississippi

Thompson defeats Turnage to highlight U.S. House primaries in Mississippi – SuperTalk Mississippi

Published

28 minutes ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Thompson defeats Turnage to highlight U.S. House primaries in Mississippi – SuperTalk Mississippi

Political newcomer and Capitol Hill attorney Evan Turnage proved no match for longtime U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who defeated him and one other challenger to earn the Democratic nomination for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday.

Some politicos thought Turnage – who went to Yale and later worked for some of Thompson’s Democratic colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – wouldn’t necessarily win but could make waves as one of the more viable candidates to challenge Thompson in recent years. However, that wasn’t the case as Thompson garnered approximately 85% of the vote when the race was called.

Democrat Evan Turnage, who is challenging Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in the March primary, poses for a portrait in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates, File)

Thompson, 78, is seeking an 18th term. The civil rights leader who chaired the Jan. 6 Committee was first elected in 1993 and serves as a ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. He will face either Ron Eller or Kevin Wilson on the Republican side, a race yet to be called as of late Tuesday night, and independent Bennie Foster in November’s general.

All of Mississippi’s U.S. House seats are up for grabs this year.

In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Trent Kelly ran unopposed, while civil rights attorney and University of Mississippi School of Law professor Cliff Johnson beat former state lawmaker Kelvin Buck in the Democratic primary. Libertarian challenger Johnny Baucom awaits Kelly and Johnson in the general.

In the 3rd Congressional District, both Republican Rep. Michael Guest and Democrat Michael Chiaradio ran unopposed. They will meet Libertarian Erik Kiehle in the general.

In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Rep. Mike Ezell had over 80% of the vote when his race was called against former Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officer and political staffer Sawyer Walters. State Rep. Jeffrey Hulum easily won the Democratic nomination over Paul Blackman and D. Ryan Grover. Ezell and Hulum will face independent Carl Boyanton in the general.

Arguably the most watched races of the night occurred in the state’s lone U.S. Senate seat in this year’s cycle. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith had no problem with Ocean Springs doctor Sarah Adlakha, seeing her name bolded around 30 minutes after the polls closed. It wasn’t long after that when Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom was announced the winner of the Democratic primary over Priscilla Till and Albert Littell. Independent Ty Pinkins will meet Hyde-Smith and Colom in the general on Nov. 3.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Mississippi

Mississippi First Congressional District Primary 2026: Live Election Results, Buck vs. Johnson

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi First Congressional District Primary 2026: Live Election Results, Buck vs. Johnson

Source: Election results are from The Associated Press.

By The New York Times election results team: Michael Andre, Neil Berg, Matthew Bloch, Lily Boyce, Irineo Cabreros, Nico Chilla, Nate Cohn, Annie Daniel, Saurabh Datar, Andrew Fischer, Martín González Gómez, Jasmine C. Lee, Alex Lemonides, Zach Levitt, Ilana Marcus, Alicia Parlapiano, Dan Simmons-Ritchie, Caroline Soler, Charlie Smart, Jonah Smith and Christine Zhang.

Additional contributions by Sarah Cahalan, Amanda Cordero, Patrick Hays, Jacob Meschke and Jessica White.

Edited by Wilson Andrews, Lindsey Rogers Cook, William P. Davis, Kenan Davis, Amy Hughes, Ben Koski and Allison McCartney.

Source: Election results are from The Associated Press.

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Mississippi

Mississippi Top Reads for week of March 15, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi Top Reads for week of March 15, 2026

Staff Reports
| Special to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger

Sunday, March 15, 2026

1. (tie) “The Irish Goodbye,” Beth Ann Fennelly, Norton; and “Vigil,” George Saunders, Random House

2. “Theo of Golden,” Allen Levi, Atria Books

3. “The Widow,” John Grisham, Doubleday

4. “The Correspondent,” Virginia Evans, Random House

5. “When It’s Darkness on the Delta,” W. Ralph Eubanks, Beacon Press

6. “Eradication,” Jonathan Miles, Doubleday

7. “Neptune’s Fortune,” Julian Sancton, Random House

8. “The Dean,” Sparky Reardon, The Nautilus Publishing Company

9. “Kin,” Tayari Jones, Random House

10. “Brawler,” Lauren Groff, Riverhead

Children and young adults

1. “The Bear and the Hair and the Fair,” Em Lynas, Little Brown

2. “The Hybrid Prince,” Tui T. Sutherland, Scholastic Press

3. “One Mississippi,” Steve Azar,Sarah Frances Hardy (Illustrator), The Nautilus Publishing

4. “If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone,” Gideon Sterer, HarperCollins

5. (tie) “Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity,” Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator), HarperCollins; and “The Dark is For,” Jane Kohuth, Simon and Schuster

Adult events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)

Amy McDowell in conversation with Jodi Skipper for “Whispers in the Pews,” 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262

Tayari Jones on Thacker Mountain Radio Hour for “Kin,” 6 p.m. Thursday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262

Children’s events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)

No Cap Book Club (kids 10-13) will be reading “A Kid’s Book About…,” 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207

Storytime, “Clifford: Dream Big,” 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207

Chapter Captains Book Club (kids 6-9) will be reading “Princess in Black: Bathtime Battle,” 6:00 p.m. Thursday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207

Storytime, “What a Small Cat Needs,” 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207

Story Time, “Very Hungry Caterpillar” Day! 10 a.m. Saturday, Lemuria Books, 202 Banner Hall, 4465 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-7619

— Sales and/or Events Reported by Lemuria Books (Jackson); Lorelei Books (Vicksburg); Square Books (Oxford).

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