Mississippi Today (https://mississippitoday.org/author/mliu/)
Michelle Liu, a Texas native, is a 2018 corps member for Report for America, a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms. She has covered criminal justice issues across the state since joining our team June 2018. Her work has appeared in the New Haven Independent.
Savannah is one of 18 women Mississippi Today identified charged with felony child abuse by the Jones County district attorney’s office, which has partnered with the sheriff’s office to target women suspected of using drugs while pregnant. The assistant district attorney has argued that using controlled substances during a pregnancy is tantamount to poisoning a child.
A reform group recently called for a federal investigation into prison conditions after photos circulated on social media
A Jones County prosecutor and a top sheriff’s official found a new way to punish pregnant women suspected of using drugs. The duo believe their approach, which has resulted in 20 prosecutions in four years, will break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and incarceration in southern Mississippi. But is it constitutional?
The rising Democratic Party star received an honorary degree and delivered the 150th anniversary speech at the historically black college where her parents attended
Organizers expect the event, which will be broadcast in Mississippi state prisons, to draw over 60,000 people. Planners also hope thousands of attendees, including invited Jackson public school students, will “surrender their lives to Jesus Christ” at the Night of Unity.
Corrections officials in some states have launched investigations into prison employees’ posting memes that make light of subjects such as shooting inmates with Tasers, placing them in solitary confinement or confiscating their personal belongings
In 2014, Byrom almost became the first woman to be executed by Mississippi since World War II until the Mississippi Supreme Court granted her a reprieve
Under a settlement reached to avoid a lawsuit, Meridian will also stop using money bail in most misdemeanor cases
While some note that the current legislation is strong, they also say that it doesn’t address state’s high incarceration rate.
In Mississippi, the attorney general, a statewide official, and the district attorneys, who are elected by district, have separate responsibilities.
The current Hinds district attorney, Robert Shuler Smith, is seeking the Democrats’ nomination for governor
Case ignited debate over differing state laws on marijuana. Patrick Beadle was facing at least eight years behind bars.
Attorney says Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice are investigating Hill’s death.
Federal judge grants class action status to a suit challenging the constitutionality of state’s felony disenfranchisement laws.
Mississippi one of three states to deny access to benefits. Critics say law hurts children and others in household.