Jackson Free Press

"Robert, you're like a little brother to me. I love you and I'll always love you, and I had to distance myself from your campaign ...."

Just a hint of what's coming shortly on the audio of Frank Melton's remarks last night while introducing new D.A. Robert Smith. We will post the audio shortly.

Click to listen or right-click to download: Melton Intros Robert Smith (MP3, 4.93MB).

Previous Commentsshow

Smith is already saying that Melton crashed his party.

pikersam

Aug 29 2007

"I thank God tonight that I have somebody who will put these drug dealers in jail." That's Frank Melton, introducing Robert Smith. It's interesting that Melton would make this statement when you consider that his hand-picked police chief has presided over a year in which not a single arrest was made of a drug dealer. Not a SINGLE ARREST was made by the JPD for the sale or manufacture of drugs in 2006 according to Jackson's own Unform Crime Report. How will the new D.A. change that?

Todd Stauffer

Aug 29 2007

Smith is already saying that Melton crashed his party. Well, he better get used to that. ;-)

Todd Stauffer

Aug 29 2007

But, then in the TV story nothing was said about that. In the teaser ad, they implied that Melton came uninvited or unannounced according to Smith. Anyone else hear that on Kim Wade? Once WAPT rolled the story they just had a sound bite of Smith saying he was his own man, and the mayor was being gracious by showing up. I wait till they post the videos to watch again. It going to be fun watching this comedy of errors. Safe to say, Smith will be prosecuting past drug cases made under prior leadership as Melton has yet to take down a real drug dealer as iTodd points out. Well, at least legally and above the board! The one time he had a chance, he decided to say it was the white girls fault. Let's hope the feds are keeping an eye on the Municipal Court where he can directly make trouble.

pikersam

Aug 29 2007

Melton claims in his intro that Smith is not his puppet. I'll believe it when I see it.

LatashaWillis

Aug 29 2007

In the raw footage I saw, it seemed clear that Bob Hickingbottom was directing what was happening at the party. Melton made a bigger entrance than Smith, but Smith didn't look upset about any it. He looked compliant, I thought—he definitely didn't look bothered by Melton's presence. Melton et al definitely were running the show. I was struck by how prominent a role Melton played, considering how vehemently Smith has denied that he was part of the campaign. And I thought it was kind of gross how Melton talked about Smith like he was a child, and about the work they were going to start doing. I'm really surprised they're letting their close relationship out so quickly. There were lots of city employees, and Melton hugged the Advocate's Alice Tisdale, then Stephanie Parker-Weaver ran up and bear-hugged him. It was an overwhelmingly African American crowd, but Wilson Carroll—the white Republican defeated by Peterson last time who gave money to Smith's campaign—was prominent, along with a young woman I didn't recognize. Very prominent, before the remarks, Marcus Wright was holding a Smith campaign sign and cheering as the cameras focused on him -- whooping, maybe. Recio was right behind Melton the whole time. I saw Rep. Erik Fleming in the crowd, and Marshand Crisler came up at one point and congratulated Smith. Let's see ... I'll post other stuff as I remember it. I may have to watch it again to pick up more faces.

DonnaLadd

Aug 29 2007

That was disturbing. Remember that Melton and Anderson have now let the number of narcotics officers drop to six. The DA can't prosecute drug crimes if the police are not making arrests, and the police are never going to do better than netting a crack rock or two if there are not--you know--narcotics officers. It is a very, very good time to be a drug dealer in Jackson. If Melton is so dedicated to protecting "our children" from drugs, why is the narcotics unit in an absolute shambles? Can any man really be this delusional and incompetent? Beyond that, why oh why oh WHY can't Melton get it through his skull that crime in Jackson is not driven by children? The majority of crimes in Jackson--especially felonies--are committed by men in their mid-twenties to late thirties. Period. Yet from hearing Melton talk, you would think that Hinds County had just elected a new youth counselor. This is really, really f-ed up. If Smith runs the DA's office anything like Melton has run the city, we should expect prosecutions to plummet, costs to skyrocket, and political loyalty to supplant professional competence. I pray it won't be so, but this is a dark day for Jackson.

Brian C Johnson

Aug 29 2007

I hope that Smith is truly independent of Melton. Faye was NOT a good DA. She was ineffective with victims and prosecutions. (I say that as an attorney and as someone who dealt with some of the victims that she was horrid to) She allowed Rankin and Madison residents to be ADA's while denying many hinds county residents the chance to apply. She also inherited an amazing staff and office that saved her on more than one occasion. She did stand up to Melton and I commend her. I did hate her last second negative ads. I hope the new DA will improve the office, yet also continue her stance of opposing Melton. I am scared it will turn out like the Mayor's race last time a friend of mine said "Harvey was steady slow and not getting things done. I knew Melton was off, but I hoped he would keep it between the lines enough to avoid the ditch and maybe jump start this city." She admits Melton not only could not keep it between the line proverbaly, and maybe literally, but wrecked this city. I Hope and Pray Robert can be better than Faye, and avoid Melton's grasp. If he is in Melton's true grasp, I would take not effectual Faye any day over Melton's utter destruction of this city Smith has the potential to be a good DA. If he falls in line with Melton, he will be a DISASTER.

AGamm627

Aug 29 2007

Frankly, I've been trying to stay out of the post-election commentary for fear that my remarks might be taken as sour grapes. AGamm627's post at 12:12 this morning, however, draws me back in. Some of what I have to say would be true regardless of who won the DA's race; some might not apply otherwise; but none of it would qualify as "sour grapes." The election is over; I'm over the election; and it's time for Hinds County to move forward. It might be a good time for the bitchin' to stop, too. Contrary to the assertions of that post, Faye was an outstanding district attorney. While some victims did not get justice as quickly as they wanted, victim satisfaction was/is high on Faye's list of priorities. None of us are happy with how slowly the system moves, but that's not the fault of the district attorney's office. As part of the "amazing staff" she inherited and a full-time prosecutor for 28 years, I think I'm entitled to an opinion on that. Faye tried more cases herself every year than her predecessor did in the total of his last 3-or-so years that I observed. And she won nearly all of them. I personally tried a half dozen murder/capital murder cases with her, including three in one month, and we won them all. Of course, the victims in those cases weren't able to express how they felt about how she treated them. She has not been afraid to take on the toughest cases and do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. Obviously, the consequences were severe, since being opposite the mayor is apparently what ultimately cost her her job. AGamm627, you would do well to emerge from the fog and try to somehow grasp the obvious. Now that Frank and Robert came out of the closet Tuesday night, you can forget about your hopes and prayers and start getting ready to watch the show. It's not just a coincidence that both of them used the term "puppet" in their remarks. By the way, you are off base on your remarks about out-of-county hiring, as well. Faye's policy has always been to hire the best talent available, regardless of where they come from. Once hired, if they lived outside Hinds County and then changed residences, their move had to be into Hinds. I know of only one exception to that, and that was an assistant DA who had been hired by Ed Peters and lived in Madison County and wanted to stay there after she remarried for the sake of stability for her child. Now, if you think she/they should have been forced to uproot for some reason, I can't help you with that. Your concern for all those "hinds county" residents denied employment here would be a little more touching if you had capitalized it like you did "Rankin" and "Madison" and if there were any indication that you had the slightest idea of what you're talking about. Your comments might lead an objective reader to surmise that you were one of the rejects.... You have said "I did hate her last second negative ads." Well, all of Smith's ads were so positive that I can see how that would offend you. The Patton ad was especially uplifting -- a bereaved couple talking about the loss of a young loved one and blaming the Faye for not doing something about it. One minor detail, as brought out in Mr. Pattons too-little-too-late apology, was that no one ever brought a case on that to the district attorney's office and there was nothing for her to prosecute, and Patton had been lied to or totally misled into making the ad. Yes, the power of positive politicking is a thing of beauty. Having supporters who took down Faye's signs repeatedly from locations where the owners had given permission to place them adds to the upbeat image of the victor's campaign as well. So sit back and watch closely for the next four years. You're not likely to see the likes of it again in your lifetime.

PSW

Aug 30 2007

Thanks for your comments, Mr. Weinberg.

DonnaLadd

Aug 30 2007

Excellent commentary, PSW. I wish Faye the best and also believe she did a very good job. As they say, it will all come out in the wash. I'm hopeful Robert won't let Frank be any guide or role model for him.

Ray Carter

Aug 30 2007

One thing Faye didn't do was lie in her campaign ads, or from what I heard, in her campaigning interviews, etc. HOW MANY times did her opponents mislead, misrepresent the truth, and LIE? But as PSW said, what's done is done. It's over and the citizens of Hinds County, and even the surrounding counties, will have four years at least to deal with it.

xxgreg

Aug 30 2007

frank has told the true "Tail of This City." Again, Jackson has been "Tricked, Fooled, Hood Winked and Bamboozeled." frank melton washed the faces of Smith supporters by letting them know that he was a part of the plan from the very beginning; that he has known and has loved Smith since he was 15 years old; that the relationship will be much better now that Faye Peterson is out of office and the BIG BOMB was " I stayed my distance from you...." (obviously)so that I could fool the pi$$ out of that 65% who only needs only "a little dab to do ya" Just remember that there are many cases facing frank and it will be very interesting watching Smith deal with him. If you have Parker-Weaver/ Jim Evans and Hickinbottom(sp) in your back-drop, you don't need melton to say anything. His mouth-pieces were in place. Too bad this community didn't hear it. Jackson is financially, up to its A$$ in alligators and frank continues to talk about plans for helping "the kids." I can't believe that he would hire rev. polk at this juncture when so many City jobs at at stake. Faye's concession speech was a class act. I do believe that she will go far because not only is her head right; Faye's heart is right.

justjess

Aug 30 2007

"Robert, you're like a little brother to me. I love you and I'll always love you..." Why do I have visions of Frank doing a bad Whitney Houston impersonation a la Martin Lawrence on Martin?

golden eagle

Aug 30 2007

It seems like Melton's comments about how close he is to Smith would get defense attorneys an excuse to scream should Smith decide to prosecute some of Melton's other "kids." Speaking of, what happens if Michael Taylor, for instance, comes up on another charge? Melton hid him from the D.A. and sheriff and Smith was his attorney in armed robbery charges. ADAs, does that mean that Smith simply recuses himself? But, then what about him giving a case like that to ADAs he himself hired? Isn't this a recipe for disaster? Not that any of Melton's friends would ever be brought up on charges. But, you know much he can't stand sitting next to felons.

DonnaLadd

Aug 30 2007

It struck me that Melton's goal at Smith's party was to (a) gloat, (b) claim credit and (c) send a message to whomever that Smith is his boy. It's amazing that the new D.A. would allow him to stand up there and treat him like a child. Melton certainly made it clear that he and Smith go back a long way, and that scares the hell out of me. It is also counter to what Smith himself told me when he was downplaying being at Melton's home on the eve of the Batman trial (when he was representing one of the people on trial, and he, Christopher Walker and Melton went out back to talk). Oh, and it's hilarious how The Clarion-Ledger is acting like it has suddenly woke up from a long winter's rest and figured out that Melton just took over the D.A.'s office. They editorialized today as if they had been reporting all along that Smith was Melton's candidate when, in fact, all they did was make it sound in one article like Peterson was using that as a campaign ploy. I truly think that since the day they endorsed Peterson, they are editorializing based on our reporting, considering that their metro editor apparently doesn't believe in it.

DonnaLadd

Aug 30 2007

Donna, back to your question re Taylor, don't you mean "when" rather than "if?" No ethical DA or any of his/her assistants would knowingly be involved in the prosecution of someone he/she/they had represented in the past. In fact, when Peters was still DA here, he and I were appointed to prosecute a capital murder case in the 15th district in which the defendant's former lawyer had become an assistant DA in that district, and that DA's office couldn't be anywhere near the case. "(R)ecipe for disaster?" The disaster is already fully cooked.... We'll just have to see how many innocent people die from eating it.

PSW

Aug 30 2007

So the entire office would have to recuse with defendants the D.A. has defended? That sounds efficient. And as I said, it seems like Melton is putting himself in a role that could further conflict the new D.A.'s office.

DonnaLadd

Aug 30 2007

With Smith as the new DA, does that mean Darnell Turner and gang have a "get out of jail free" card?

honey2me

Aug 30 2007

Most likely, many Melton minions might.

PSW

Aug 30 2007

Michael Taylor should be prosecuted by the AG's office. You think Robert Smith will zealously prosecute someone that Frank Melton has gone to bat (and to chambers) for?

xxgreg

Aug 30 2007

So the entire office would have to recuse with defendants the D.A. has defended? That sounds efficient. If that's the case, any of those defendants were to commit a crime in Hinds County and stand trial for it, could a judge intervene and have the trial moved to another county with that county's DA office? Otherwise, it seems like the defendant would have to wait until Smith is out of office and who knows how long that could be.

golden eagle

Aug 30 2007

Yeah, I suspect the AG's office is going to have to now work overtime to help Hinds County prosecute cases. That is, if the cases manage to get to the prosecution stage. I still can't get over Melton yuckin' it up about putting drug dealers in jail, being that his chief isn't arresting any. And that he was fired by Barbour as MBN director because he wasn't bothering with drug arrests.

DonnaLadd

Aug 30 2007

Now, you know Shirlene can't be arresting drug dealers! If so, she would have to start on Carter's Grove and work her way out.

honey2me

Aug 31 2007