Jackson Free Press

There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them:

1. Ten black residents in Madison County are suing the county and sheriff's department, which stopped, searched or arrested them. They allege that the county's policing strategies disproportionately target them and not white residents—with officers even pre-checking 'black,' 'male,' and 'arrested' on paperwork before knowing who they would apprehend.
2. If Gov. Phil Bryant signs House Bill 387 into law, Mississippians will not automatically go to prison or jail if they do not pay fines or court fees.
3. Mississippians will have to elect both U.S. senators and four representatives in the November 2018 election after Sen. Thad Cochran announced he will retire on April 1, opening up his seat for a special election.
4. Hal's St. Paddy's Parade (formerly known as the Mal's St. Paddy's Parade) may be a cultural staple of Jackson now, but for residents on their way home from work in 1983, its first iteration was simply the cause of a traffic jam in downtown.
5. Interim Police Chief Anthony Moore has not released the names of any JPD officers who have shot at civilians since he took the position in January 2018.
6. House Bill 1510 is designed to "bait" abortion-rights proponents into a fight over ending abortion outright, the bill's architect group, Alliance Defending Freedom, admits.
7. The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Prison Project of the ACLU and two other law firms brought a class-action lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections back in 2013 due to conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility.
8. Around 50 middle-schoolers ranging from ages 9 to 14 competed in the 2018 Mississippi Spelling Bee at Jackson State University on March 13.
9. Just after 9 a.m. on Monday, March 12, a woman drove her car into McDade's Market on Fortification Street, crashing through the brick wall outside the cafeteria.
10. Pastors and advocates gathered at the Mississippi Capitol last week to express support for criminal-justice reform bills still alive this session.

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