Jackson Free Press

Anyone else think it's odd that Mayor Melton is reacting so dramatically different to the latest acquittal of alleged gang members after being so lukewarm about the "Grayhead" acquittals? In both trials, a major witness backed out of testifying, helping enable acquittals. In both cases, the young men are accused of horrible crimes. But in the Grayhead case, Mr. Melton seemed offended that they were called "gang" members, and in this case, he is clamoring for Vidal Sullivan to be re-arrested, even saying he will take it to a different county—leaving a Mississippi College professor to warn that the public should be very concerned about Mr. Melton's statements.

The Clarion-Ledger reports today:

Sullivan's aunt, Carolyn Boone of Jackson, said, "It looks like he (Melton) has a personal vendetta against my nephew. I can't understand why he is steadily picking on him."

Boone said Melton is trying to railroad Sullivan to prison. "So far, they haven't proved he did anything," she said.

Melton said he will seek new charges against Sullivan in the 1997 beating death of Reginald Versell, 16.

District Attorney Faye Peterson said new charges can be filed, but there must be new evidence.

Matt Steffey, a professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, said it is not uncommon for a dismissed homicide case to be presented again to a grand jury, based mostly on new evidence. That can happen as long as the case hasn't gone to trial.

Melton said he will push for a jury outside of Hinds County to hear the case. But Steffey said anyone who cares about civil liberties should be troubled by that. Generally, only the defendant can ask for a trial in a different county, he said.

It's understandable that Mr. Melton isn't happy if killers got off the hook, but why this case and not the first one?

Previous Comments

ID

121142

Comment

Here's more background form 2004: A murder charge won't be pursued against an alleged Wood Street Players gang member charged last year by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics in the 1997 beating death of a Jackson teenager. Hinds County District Attorney Faye Peterson said her office dropped the charge against Vidal Sullivan, 32, after "my one main witness turned uncooperative." Sullivan, one of 12 individuals in the Wood Street and Cohea Street area accused of crimes, was charged in the death of Reginald Versell, 16. Versell was found beaten to death behind a house on Wood Street. An informant linked Sullivan to the crime. The informant said Wood Street Players alleged boss Albert "Batman" Donelson ordered Versell beaten to death because the teenager made disrespectful comments to him at a nightclub, said former MBN Director Frank Melton. Versell's family members couldn't be reached Monday. Melton said he could have gotten the witness to cooperate if he had been contacted. Since he personally arrested Sullivan, Melton said someone from Peterson's office could have given him a courtesy call to inform him the charge was being dropped.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-25T19:33:53-06:00

ID

121143

Comment

From WAPT Friday, about Melton's "weekend manhunt" for Sullivan: Melton said he didn't come forward with the information earlier because he didn't want to interfere with Thursday's trial. "We had a jury empaneled and it would have been disrespectful of me to do anything to influence to this case while these three men were before a Hinds County jury. That would have been wrong," Melton said. Melton won't release any details about the witnesses, he said are now ready to testify. Sullivan was arrested for the same killing back in 2003 when Melton was the state's director of the Bureau of Narcotics. The case never went to trial because a witness wouldn't take the stand. OK, wait. I'm not sure I'm understanding this. He had evidence, but he didn't present it until after he was acquitted in this case because it would be disrespectful??? Huh? Wouldn't he have presented the evidence to someone who did have the authority to have him arrested, and then perhaps they could have quietly arrested him rather than let him go free, if that's what the evidence called for? And this: Melton said he didn't have Sullivan arrested there because it wasn't safe. Does a mayor have the authority to "have" someone arrested? I feel like we're living in the Wild, Wild Twilight Zone here. I hope they don't have some sort of shoot-out out there between the Earps and the Clantons.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-25T21:07:43-06:00

ID

121144

Comment

I heard Frank say that Sullivan had warrants out for his arrest even at the time of his trial. If this is true, then why wasn't he arrested? It's not like police didn't know where he was. He was in the courtroom all day. I smell a rat here and I think Frank has something up his sleeve that we just don't know about yet.

Author

golden eagle '97

Date

2006-02-25T21:21:24-06:00

ID

121145

Comment

Right, I agree. It doesn't make sense.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-25T21:29:13-06:00

ID

121146

Comment

In a previous blog, someone stated that Frank had one of the worst conviction rates of any of the past MBN directors. He seems to be continuing his string of losses. I am not in favor of putting a criminal back on the streets, but this man was found innocent by a judge. I guess that now he will "SHUT THE JUDGE DOWN" also. What is Frank after? Will he now start holding his own hearings so that he can win? He seems to have a severe case of tunnel vision when he get an idea in his head. He refuses to believe that he can be wrong sometimes. If this man is truly who Frank says that he is, it will come out. The only thing that seems to be out now is Frank's Pitt Bull tenacity on proving that he is right.

Author

lance

Date

2006-02-25T21:35:07-06:00

ID

121147

Comment

He did have a bad conviction rate at MBN. Barbour put out a press release about it himself the next year after his replacement got the rate back up. That, of course, is the problem with Mr. Melton "loose cannon" style -- and the idiocy of thinking that was, somehow, going to lower crime or put criminals away. I still want to understand why he isn't having the same conniption fits over the Grayhead acquittals. I expected him to go ballistic then, as he's done now. Instead,he closed more strip clubs.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-25T21:39:06-06:00

ID

121148

Comment

Oh, and people inside drug agencies say Mr. Melton spent his time going after these same gangs -- but not trying to get many drug convictions, which probably accounts for his poor record there. Interesting strategy for the head of MBN. And now the gangs he "brought in" are getting getting out. I guess that cowboy crime-fighting for ya.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-25T21:41:12-06:00

ID

121149

Comment

I'm sure all here have heard the same rumors about Frank that I have over the years. A conspiracy type could easily connect a lot of dots. I too find it more than alittle odd to withhold evidence on one crime while the accused is being tried for a separate offense. Strange times indeed.

Author

JLYerg

Date

2006-02-25T23:56:09-06:00

ID

121150

Comment

Conspiracy theories aside, this whole thing is just plain odd. I agree with you: Why withhold evidence?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-26T00:43:39-06:00

ID

121151

Comment

A real baffler to me is that this guy was held in pretrial for how long with a bench warrent out on him and nobody noticed?? That does however make me feel better than I did Thursday night when Frank sent SWAT out with what sounded like shoot on sight orders and no justification given other than Frank was PO'd.

Author

JLYerg

Date

2006-02-26T01:23:15-06:00

ID

121152

Comment

Yeah, that is friggin' scary. I hope people are paying attention.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-26T01:27:51-06:00

ID

121153

Comment

No doubt when Mr Sullivan is brought in and tried Franks "most dangerous man in Mississippi" "Murdered before and will murder again" statements will be a real help at the trial.

Author

JLYerg

Date

2006-02-26T01:55:57-06:00

ID

121154

Comment

Well, that will be good. If he is guilty, then he needs to go to jail. Same with the Grayhead men.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-26T10:43:48-06:00

ID

121155

Comment

I guess I have waited long enough to get the mslink participating on your site

Author

mslink

Date

2006-02-26T18:03:02-06:00

ID

121156

Comment

and the craziness just keeps on coming. How are we going to get our city back on track? People of good will just keep praying and maybe sooner rather than later we will have devine intervention. I believe that is the only one who can stop "Mad Frank"

Author

jada

Date

2006-02-27T00:27:55-06:00

ID

121157

Comment

Praying is good. So is demanding accountability. Speaking up, and talking back. Paying attention.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-27T00:34:09-06:00

ID

121158

Comment

How can we demand accountability from a liar? His administration will never tell the truth out of fear and his supporters will never admit he is wrong or call him to task. This is so frustrating. I think I will take a long vacation and maybe when I come back things will be different. Maybe I can learn from another city how I can better serve Jackson. I would love to stay and fight but I am to tired now. I will take a rest and come back ready to do whatever I can to help make Jackson the Best of the New South.

Author

jada

Date

2006-02-27T01:26:43-06:00

ID

121159

Comment

Mr. Garrett, it's great to have you here. Thanks. I'm a huge fan of your paper. jada, I am not overwhelmingly fond of the Melton administration, but I'm also not fond of the Barbour administration, the Bush administration, or for that matter the several billion years of evolution which preceded it in which the strong ruthlesly exterminated the weak and the weak had no recourse. Life is horribly unjust. Having an incompetent mayor of a midsize Southern capital city is among the milder injustices the world has had to endure, particularly since, only 15 years ago, it would have been unprecedented to have a black mayor at all--and 40 years ago...dear God. Would anyone have even dreamed it? There are things in this world that really depress me. The mayoral administration of Frank Melton, incompetent though he may be, isn't really one of them. The fact that undocumented immigrants are being enslaved and forced to work in hazardous conditions on the coast is higher on my list. The unsolved murder of Wharlest Jackson Sr. ranks much higher on my list. So, too, do the unsolved murders of Henry Dee and Charles Moore. The untold civilian casualties in Iraq rank higher on my list. The Darfur genocide ranks higher on my list. The fact that the world has 6.5 billion people of whom perhaps 2 billion live anything we would recognize as a modern-age life is higher on my list. The fact that some 100 billion human beings have died throughout our history as a species is higher on my list. I can't get angry at Human Adaptation #99,190,619,011, Mr. Frank Melton, a product of biology and environment, a maybe well meaning man boosted by maybe well meaning supporters who is only being himself, who will at his worst merely stall the inevitable progress of a city of some 180,000 people which will continue to grow and flourish and prosper regardless of who happens to serve as mayor at the time. There are terrible evils in this world, heartbreaking injustices, and an obituary page every morning that is full of bigger problems and deeper agonies than the Frank Melton administration. We survived two Red Scares, Mayor Thompson, and the Bomb. I am not terribly worried about Mayor Melton. Hell, I'm not even that angry at him. But if I thought there was anything I could possibly say that might convince him to realize the error of his ways, resign, and leave the city in more competent hands in the interim, I'd say it. And I do look forward to 2009. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-02-27T02:28:30-06:00

ID

121160

Comment

"I can't get angry at Human Adaptation #99,190,619,011, Mr. Frank Melton, a product of biology and environment, a maybe well meaning man boosted by maybe well meaning supporters who is only being himself, who will at his worst merely stall the inevitable progress of a city of some 180,000 people which will continue to grow and flourish and prosper regardless of who happens to serve as mayor at the time." TH Tom, you are right that we do have bigger issues then Melton. For me it is my family. But.... I don't think we expected the Isiah Thomas style of rebuilding "team" Jackson. ;-)

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-02-27T06:45:12-06:00

ID

121161

Comment

You are so on point that we have bigger fish to fry that Frank Melton, but I am worried that if he does not stop this maddness right here in Jackson that the things that he is doing will contribute to the problems that we are now facing worldwide. I believe that we can begin to help make the world better by starting right here. Our youth is our future but he has lost their trust on several fronts. He went on a rampage throughout the city picking up kids that some of them needed to be picked up, but there were some that did not. These kids will only remember that he didn't try to make any distinction. The issue of the immoral police officers with the fifteen year old has just faded from the news. It should be a priority to clean up the P D where this form of child abuse is concerned. He always will rush to the camera to give the impression that he wants to help troubled youth, but where is the follow-up? What happened to the jobs that he promised them in his inagural speech? Did he squander the money set aside for them on his personal agendas? He is slowly but surely alienating Jackson from neighboring cities by accusing them of being the ultimate contributors to our strip clubs, and many othere problems, but then he will hire everyone and their mother from outside this city to his staff. He says that the cars in the parking lots of these clubs are mainly from neighboring towns which he says that is his logical deduction of our problems. He has not even stopped to think about how many Jackson residents have out-of-town tags because they are much cheaper. That dosen't make it right, but it's the truth. He has put fear into city employees to do as he says or else be fired. He does not allow the room for constructive arguements. As I said in an earlier blog, he has this mentality "roll with me, or get rolled over". Does this not sound like Saddam, Osama, or any other totalitarian leader thay we are now fighting? In my opinion, I believe that he is the type of person that is in the position to contribute to the problems that we have in the world today. Everything big starts out small and he is growing. I love reading this internet version of news because it allows us to express our opinions even though they differ sometimes, but I learn from each one of you everyday. I wonder does Frank take the time to read these blogs also?

Author

lance

Date

2006-02-27T08:16:48-06:00

ID

121162

Comment

Jada, I'm going to snip the personal insult part of your post, although the "liar" part is perfectly legitimate. Mr. Melton has shown that time and again, including to a judge in Meridian. Otherwise, I understand what you're feeling, and there are times when I feel similarly. I'm definitely more concerned than Tom, and suspect he will become more so as she goes. There is much at stake here—Mississippi needs a strong capitol city, a nucleus for the state. Mr. Melton, purposefully or by sheer incompetency, is unraveling much of that strength in various ways that are adding up quickly. I urge everyone to keep your eye on the big picture, even as you're watching the small pieces of the puzzle. I can understand getting frustrated and leaving -- but that's exactly what certain segments of our society want. They want Jackson just as it was 10, 20, 30 years ago, so they can do/own/control what they want. And they don't want new energy here. My plea to you is: Don't let the a$$holes win. Stay and fight back, and help us keep this city on track despite a mayor who seems determined to derail it. As for Mr. Melton being black, Tom. Frankly, his use of race is part of what bothers me the most about all this. Follow his public record -- media, Bottom Lines, public statements -- and you'll see that, once again, he talks out both sides of his mouth. He is anti-talking about race in front of certain audiences, but quick to use it in front of others for political gain. For instance, the breakfast with the ladies at Bravo! last year was an astounding, just astounding contrast to his comments to the M.A.P. Coalition at Birdland a few weeks later. Also, Mr. Melton's comments to his critics over the years, including last spring when he was called out for lying about his homestead exemption to his "own" political party, just about always include the excuse that they just don't want to see a black man be so successful! WTF!?! And you know as well as I don't that he got so many white votes because they thought he was going to run all the (black) thugs out of town, or put them in prison. Everyone knows this, and many people are now regretting goingn along with the strategy. I can't tell you how many people apologize to me personally ... but this isn't about apologizing to me. The JFP just happened to have not been snookered. The point now is not "I told you so"; I could not be more upset that Mr. Melton has not proved the JFP wrong about him. My concern here is the city and our future, and we must keep our chins up, and demand accountability. I will give everyone a major hint on one major, major issue on the horizon: budget. Budget, budget, budget. If all the early intelligence is correct, these folks can't manage money, or they're intentionally trying to make the city go bankrupt. I can't tell you which one it is, but it is a grave concern for everyone, regardless of your partisan leaning. BTW, there is not and never has been anything particularly partisan about Mr. Melton. It has always been a question of competency, integrity and honesty. I think he was completely honest when he said he hates both parties -- but that doesn't mean he knows how, or is willing to be, a good mayor and public servant. People of all parties should be very concerned right now and band together to save our city.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-27T09:52:40-06:00

ID

121163

Comment

Jada, to directly answer your question about accountability: The truth is that people both within the city administration and from his campaign are indeed speaking out what is going on. (This is likely why they're trying to block all access to the press, as if they can.) I suspect more and more of them will start attaching their names more often in the near future if we don't see a radical turnaround right away. You just can't treat people like this city is doing and expect loyalty. The house of cards has a very shaky foundation. So, the point is: Hang in there with us. Keep talking and asking questions. And if you hear anything we need to know about, get in touch with us directly.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-27T09:57:59-06:00

ID

121164

Comment

Thanks Ladd I will. I am only going for 2 weeks that is enough to rejuvenate me. I will keep up with the JFP along the way. When I return I will be ready to continue the fight.

Author

jada

Date

2006-02-27T15:09:32-06:00

ID

121165

Comment

That's OK, girlfriend. You need a break. So do we all! Have a peaceful trip, Donna

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-02-27T15:21:12-06:00