Connect with us

Mississippi

Mississippi prosecutors call attorney general’s request to overturn a conviction ‘unprecedented’

Published

on

Mississippi prosecutors call attorney general’s request to overturn a conviction ‘unprecedented’


JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The prosecutor’s office in Mississippi’s largest county says the state’s attorney general made a politically motivated decision to ask an appeals court to overturn the conviction of a former police officer in the 2019 beating death of a man who was pulled from a vehicle and subdued by three officers.

The Hinds County District Attorney’s office issued a statement Wednesday criticizing Attorney General Lynn Fitch for taking an “unprecedented” step of opposing a jury verdict, WJTV reported.

“It is the Attorney General’s job to defend this verdict,” the statement said. “If the Court of Appeals wishes to overturn the verdict, that is their job, not hers.”

Advertisement

The Justice Department says a new Mississippi law discriminates against residents of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson.

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves speaks to his reelection platform before attendees of the Mississippi Press Association annual meeting in Flowood, Miss., Friday, June 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves continues to raise significantly more campaign cash than Brandon Presley, the Democrat trying to unseat him.

Advertisement

Mississippi Supreme Court Presiding Justices Leslie D. King, left, and James W. Kitchens, listen as lawyers argue over the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that would authorize some judges who would be appointed in a state where most judges are elected, Thursday, July 6, 2023, before the state supreme court in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The Mississippi Supreme Court is weighing arguments about a state law that has sparked a monthslong dispute over whether white state officials are stomping on local self-governance in the state’s majority-Black capital city, Jackson.

FILE - Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph confers with his attorneys on May 10, 2023, in Hinds County Chancery Court in Jackson, Miss., where a judge heard arguments about a Mississippi law that would create a court system with judges who would be appointed rather than elected. The chancery judge removed Randolph as a defendant and dismissed the lawsuit. Randolph has recused himself from hearing an appeal on Thursday, July 6, 2023, as the plaintiffs ask the state Supreme Court to revive the case. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear an appeal as some Jackson residents try to revive a lawsuit that challenges the appointment, rather than the election, of some judges in the capital city.

In an email, a spokesperson for Fitch said the attorney general believes there is legal precedent to support overturning the conviction.

Advertisement

Last August, a Hinds County jury convicted former Jackson detective Anthony Fox of culpable negligence manslaughter in the 2019 beating death of 62-year-old George Robinson. News outlets reported Fox was accused of pulling Robinson from a car and striking him in the head and chest as police were searching for a murder suspect. Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart ruled the death a homicide by blunt-force trauma.

Circuit Judge Adrienne Wooten sentenced Fox, 38, to five years in prison — a 20-year sentence with 15 years suspended. He is in the Madison County Jail, according to Mississippi Department of Corrections records.

In papers filed Monday with the appeals court, Fitch argued that prosecutors failed to prove the core element of culpable negligence manslaughter, which is “wanton disregard of, or utter indifference to, the safety of human life.”

Robinson received “a small, superficial abrasion on his forehead” but had no other visible injuries from the struggle, Fitch wrote. Robinson, who had health problems and was on medication, had a seizure hours later and died two days after that from bleeding in his brain.

The Hinds County District Attorney’s Office said it could find no other case in which the attorney general, who represents the state in criminal appeals, took such a position. The statement also says several law enforcement agencies issued prepared statements within minutes of Fitch filing the brief on Monday, indicating the statements “could only have been coordinated at the request of the Attorney General.”

Advertisement

“The Attorney General’s job is to make the best possible argument for the State of Mississippi,” the district attorney’s office wrote. “It is a critical part of the adversarial process. It is not her job to assist or represent the interests of a criminal defendant convicted by a jury of his peers.”





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Mississippi

Mississippi legislature hosts Alabama for softball game at Trustmark Park

Published

on

Mississippi legislature hosts Alabama for softball game at Trustmark Park


PEARL, Miss. (WLBT) – Saturday, the Mississippi legislature welcomed the Alabama legislature to Trustmark Park for the inaugural Battle of Tombigbee softball game.

“We got a challenge at the beginning of the year to play the Alabama legislators in a softball game,” said Rep. Troy Smith, who represents Mississippi’s 84th District. “They’ve been doing this for several years; this is our first go around.”

The meeting on the diamond was initiated with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety delivering the game ball to the field via helicopter and kicked off a fun and friendly rivalry between the two states.

“It’s great for the two states to come around and play together, it’s going to be an annual thing,” Smith said.

The state representatives were happy to take a day to have fun with their statesmen and neighbors to the east.

“You can see on the bench, we’re all one team, [we have] camaraderie,” said Mississippi District 1 Representative Lester Carpenter. “We work in the House together, we play ball together, so it’s a wonderful thing.”

“We have a job, we discuss laws, we get a lot of criticism on things we do, a lot of gratitude too,” Smith said. “To come out and mix it with other people who have got the same job, use the same stories, it’s fun.”

While it’s been a minute since some of the state reps took reps on the field, they were able to get back into the swing of things.

Advertisement

“It takes us a while to get used to this,” said Alabama House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen. “We’ve been stretching and trying to run, but we’ve got to knock the dust off us a little bit.”

“We’ve got one in their 20s, one in their 30s, the rest 40 and above. A lot of us ain’t been on a ballfield in 20-30 years, but it feels good,” Smith said.

The best part of the whole event: revenue generated from the game went to benefit the Mississippi Children’s Hospital.

“The kids are the real winners, right?” Stadthagen said. “Hopefully we raise a lot of money for it, and hopefully it benefits a lot of kids.”

Saturday’s game did not disappoint. The showdown at Trustmark Park went into the 10th inning, and Alabama won 7-5.

Advertisement

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Mississippi

Highest-rated beer in Mississippi

Published

on

Highest-rated beer in Mississippi


If you drink beer—any beer—you’re probably familiar with the craft beer explosion that began in the late 2010s, and you likely fall into one of two camps: IPA warrior or lager loyalist. The great thing about a beer-related revolution is that there is no wrong side. Whatever your preference, cheers to you.

The brewery business is indeed a revolution by many counts. According to the Brewers Association, the number of breweries in the United States grew by 567% from 2003 to 2023—all while beer consumption, on average, was declining. For the first time since 1999, beer shipments fell below 200 million barrels in 2023, making it the lowest amount of beer consumed in the U.S. in a generation.

Like all revolutions, this began as a desire for change—as an overthrow of the old and the monopolistic. When combined, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors (formerly MillerCoors), two of the largest beer companies in the world, comprised roughly 72% of total beer sales in the U.S. around 2013. A decade later, that share dropped to 65.7% in 2023, with smaller brewers claiming a larger share.

With a taste of the innovations and variety coming out of craft breweries, consumers are demanding a higher-quality product—and are willing to pay more for it. Over the last decade, between May 2014 and May 2024, beer prices have risen 21% overall.

Advertisement

But how can you determine the best craft beers in an increasingly crowded market? If you’re curious about the most popular beers in your home state, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated beers in Mississippi using ratings from BeerAdvocate. A maximum of five beers per brewery were included.

Read on to plan your next local beer tour!

Note: Photos of each beer are included where available from BeerAdvocate; otherwise, stock images are shown.

You may also like: Best colleges in Mississippi

#15. Vanilla Pecan

– Rating: 3.58 (13 ratings)
– Type: English Brown Ale
– ABV: 4.50%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

Advertisement

#14. Coffee Shoppe

– Rating: 3.67 (12 ratings)
– Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
– ABV: 6.00%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Gulf Sour Series – Blueberry Crumble

– Rating: 3.74 (11 ratings)
– Type: Berliner Weisse
– ABV: 5.70%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. Good Bug

– Rating: 3.79 (11 ratings)
– Type: American Blonde Ale
– ABV: 4.50%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Lil’ Miss Sour

– Rating: 3.82 (27 ratings)
– Type: Wild Ale
– ABV: 5.50%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

You may also like: How road conditions in Mississippi have deteriorated since 2000

Advertisement

#10. Ole Buddy

– Rating: 3.96 (10 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 6.20%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Timber Beast

– Rating: 3.94 (519 ratings)
– Type: Imperial IPA
– ABV: 9.00%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Gulf Sour Series – Lovebug

– Rating: 3.99 (21 ratings)
– Type: Fruited Kettle Sour
– ABV: 6.00%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Gulf Sour Series – Guava Jelly

– Rating: 4.02 (17 ratings)
– Type: Fruited Kettle Sour
– ABV: 6.00%
– Brewery: Chandeleur Island Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Altered Beast

– Rating: 4.01 (23 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 6.10%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

Advertisement

You may also like: Best public high schools in Mississippi

#5. Soul Glo

– Rating: 4.05 (32 ratings)
– Type: Saison
– ABV: 8.40%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Cream Stout

– Rating: 4.13 (12 ratings)
– Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
– ABV: 5.40%
– Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. Space To Face

– Rating: 4.22 (21 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 5.90%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Crowd Control

– Rating: 4.22 (203 ratings)
– Type: Imperial IPA
– ABV: 8.00%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

Advertisement

#1. Paradise Lost

– Rating: 4.27 (74 ratings)
– Type: New England IPA
– ABV: 8.10%
– Brewery: Southern Prohibition Brewing
– Read more on BeerAdvocate

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states and Washington D.C.

You may also like: Counties with the highest heart disease rates in Mississippi



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Mississippi

Fishermen rescue 38 hunting dogs from drowning in Mississippi lake

Published

on

Fishermen rescue 38 hunting dogs from drowning in Mississippi lake


***Learn about swimming safety in the video above.***

(WJW) – A small group of fishermen are being hailed heroes after making an unexpected catch that day — more than three dozen hunting dogs treading water in a Mississippi lake.

It all started when Bob Gist, a 61-year-old State Farm agent from Arkansas, went on a fishing trip to Lake Grenada with his friend Brad Carlisle, a State Farm agent from Tennessee, as reported by Fox News.

Gist told Fox News they were out on the lake with a fishing guide, Jordan Chrestman, when they suddenly heard dogs barking.

Advertisement

“Pretty soon we saw some dogs on the horizon in the water,” Gist told the news outlet.

The friends noticed the group of dogs, which were part of an annual fox run, were trying to catch a deer in the water, according to reports.

The group went on fishing for another 10 to 15 minutes when the guide said he wanted to check back on the dogs.

“We’re just flabbergasted because it’s dogs everywhere,” Gist told Fox News. “They’re all going in different directions because they can no longer see the bank on either side.”

The fishermen then sprung into action, bringing as many hunting dogs as they could onto their bass fishing boat.

Advertisement
Courtesy of Robert Gist

Reports say the rescuers returned about 25 to 27 dogs to shore when their owners came running over, pleading for help.

With help from a man on shore with a GPS tracker, they were able to rescue the remaining dogs that, according to Gist, “were on the verge of drowning,” Fox News reported.

Gist posted photos from the rescue on his professional Facebook page, with the caption reading, “Like a Good Neighbor Bob Gist was there!”

The fishermen have received plenty of praise since the rescue, with one commenter saying, “All of you guys are true HEROES! Love this story!’

“Our family have dogs of our own and I know how much this means to those owners! Thank you!” another said.

Advertisement

Gist said he’s grateful they were in the right place at the right time, but he’s giving the most credit to their fishing guide.

“Jordan realized there might be a problem and said we needed to go check. He was so correct,” Gist said on Facebook. “We all pulled dogs from the water and Jordan managed (the) recovery like he had done it before. He is the hero here for sure.”

He told Fox News that the dog owners tried to pay Chrestman for rescuing the pups, but the fishing guide refused to take the money.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending