Jackson Free Press

Congressional mail authorities have confirmed that a letter sent to Mississippi's junior U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker contained ricin, a bean-based poison, POLITICO reports.

POLITICO reports that U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri indicated the letter came from someone who frequently writes to lawmakers, but McCaskill would not name the person.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said no other senators received the ricin-laced mail.

Apparently whoever did it was just mad at Wicker that day.

There were some high-dollar contributors at a private meeting Speaker Philip Gunn had in his office last night. An unusual amount of activity at the Capitol yesterday evening led a TV news crew and a print reporter to investigate, but the journalists were turned away by Capitol security, wrote Clarion-Ledger political editor Geoff Pender today.

According to Pender's report, Gunn's policy director Nathan Wells called the meeting small and consisting of Gunn supporters who hadn't had a chance to visit the speaker's office.

Attendees included oilmen Billy Powell and Billy Mounger as well as Wirt Yerger and their spouses. All the men are high-rollers when it comes to political donations.

Mounger, who has worked in oil and gas development, gave more than $100,000 in both 2007 and 2011, but a quick review of those disclosure filings reveal that Gunn was not a recipient from Mounger in those two cycles.

Mounger has also given handsomely to federal campaigns, including former Gov. Haley Barbour's political action committee and to Republican members of Mississippi's congressional delegation. Powell of Powell Petroleum has also given while Yerger, president of Cavalier Wireless, gave $3,500 to candidates in 2011, including $1,000 to Gunn.

Wells insisted that the meeting was not a fundraiser. He told Pender: "We have food brought in for meetings all the time. This was completely paid for by (Gunn). There were no contributions, and none asked for. It’s not an event. We eat food here at meetings all the time.”

I was just at the Hinds County Circuit Clerk's doing research for a story , and a couple of employees were talking about a mini-plague of serpents in the basement office.

This week, employees have stumbled across five earth snakes in the file room, Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn said. Earth snakes are nonvenomous and grow up to around 8 inches. Employees said they have been unable to ascertain how the asps are getting in the building.

The thing that really made my skin crawl, though, was being charged $1 per page to make copies. Mississippi has some of the nation's worst open-records laws, which makes a lot of documents public but lets government agencies charge whatever they want. What stung the most was that I had to make the copies myself, and still had to fork out $84 for a pretty skimpy stack of paper (pictured).

Where's Nick Fury when you need him?

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The state of Mississippi is moving closer to carrying out the first execution of 2013.

The Mississippi State Supreme Court denied today Willie Jerome Manning's requests for a rehearing and a stay of execution. Manning wants DNA tests that were not available at the time of his conviction in the early 1990s. Manning received the death penalty for the December 1992 killings of two Mississippi State University students, Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler.

Manning has maintained his innocence. This Mississippi Innocence Project filed a brief in support of Manning. Innocence Projects usually don't get involved with cases that lack compelling evidence of innocence. Of the seven people Innocence Project helped exonerate, six of them were freed because their DNA was absent from the scene of the crime, the brief states.

In addition to the DNA request, Manning's attorney said one of the prosecution's jury-selection tactics in Manning's trial was discriminatory. Voisin said some candidates listed publications such as Jet and Ebony magazines on a jury questionnaire. Prosecutors dismissed some of the potentials because they read liberal publications.

In 2012, Mississippi tied with Arizona and Oklahoma for second-most executions carried out in the United States, with six in each state. Texas led the nation with 15 executions in 2012. Manning is scheduled to be executed May 7 at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.

Willie Jerome Manning, convicted of the 1992 murders of two Mississippi State students, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday May 7.

Manning has always said he did not commit the crime; in fact, he says he was at a club on the night of the murders. For years, he's been trying to convince the state to test DNA from the crime scene. As gruesome as the murders were, there should be lots of biological material to test. One of the victims, Tiffany Miller, was shot twice in the face at close range. One leg was out of her pants and underwear, and her shirt was pulled up. Her boyfriend John Steckler's body had abrasions that occurred before he died, and he was shot once in the back of the head. A set of car tracks had gone through the puddles of blood and over Steckler's body.

Already the Mississippi State Supreme Court has denied Manning's request to have DNA tests done that were unavailable in the early 90s. Now, Manning's attorneys have produced information that shows the Federal Bureau of Investigation erred in its testimony in Manning's case. In a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted the case, U.S. Justice Department officials state "that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used" in Manning's case.

The letter goes on to say that information the FBI presented in its testimony "exceeded the limits of science, and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI offered to perform the mitochondrial DNA testing, and requested Allgood's office respond by May 6 -- the day before Manning is to be put to death.

It's unclear whether Allgood will be receptive. One of the issues Manning raised in his appeal is that Allgood illegally kept African Americans off Manning's jury by dismissing potential jurors who said they read African American magazines for reading liberal publications. David Voisin, Manning's attorney, said if approved the testing could take several weeks depending on which lab is used.

This afternoon at the Capitol, death-penalty opponents and Manning supporters called on Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution. The Mississippi Innocence Project field a brief in support of Manning this week. Kennedy Brewer, who was freed in 2008 with DNA tests after being convicted and sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend's young daughter, also wrote Bryant asking to give Manning the same opportunity to clear his name that Kennedy received.

Sister Maati, of Our Community Against Racism, invoked this year's 50th anniversary of Medgar Evers' assassination and said allowing Manning's execution take place, considering the discriminatory fashion in which his lawyers say the DA picked his jurors, would demonstrate that Mississippi has not moved beyond its legacy of injustice.

"Mississippi, prove that institutional racism is no longer a part of your southern heritage, or admit that the execution of Willie Manning is yet another Mississippi lynching," Sister Maati said this afternoon.

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors established the procedure for replacing District 2 Supervisor Doug Anderson, who died recently.

To replace Anderson on a temporary basis, board President Robert Graham said the board would accept resumes through County Administrator Carmen Davis' office until the end of May or early June. From there, the county would make sure the applicants live in District 2 and then interview top prospective candidates.

Supervisors scheduled the special election for Tuesday, Nov. 5. Candidates wishing to run must collect signatures from 50 qualified voters; the qualifying deadline is Sept. 6.

Hinds County could also soon have another void to fill. District 2 Supervisor Phil Fisher is a candidate for mayor of Clinton, which, like Jackson, votes tomorrow May 7.

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The Mississippi State Supreme Court has granted a stay of execution for death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning. Manning was scheduled to be put to death this evening at 6 p.m. at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

Manning, accused of killing two people in Oktibbeha County in 1992, has maintained he is innocent and has been fighting to clear his name. Since last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has twice admitted to errors in Manning's original trial, stating that investigators overstated the evidence against Manning.

Prosecutors said Manning had been in possession of items that belonged to the victims and that bullets from Manning's gun matched bullets recovered from the victims' bodies. On May 6, the FBI said in a letter: “The science regarding firearms examinations does not permit examiner testimony that a specific gun fired a specific bullet to the exclusion of all other guns in the world.”

In a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted Manning, U.S. Justice Department officials stated last week "that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used" in Manning's case.

The letter, which went to Manning's lawyer and the Mississippi Innocence Project, which is monitoring the case, goes on to say that information the FBI presented in its testimony "exceeded the limits of science, and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI offered to perform the mitochondrial DNA testing.

Manning has always said he did not commit the crime; in fact, he says he was at a club on the night of the murders. For years, he's been trying to convince the state to test DNA from the crime scene. As gruesome as the murders were, there should be lots of biological material to test. One of the victims, Tiffany Miller, was shot twice in the face at close range. One leg was out of her pants and underwear, and her shirt was pulled up. Her boyfriend John Steckler's body had abrasions that occurred before he died, and he was shot once in the back of the head. A set of car tracks had gone through the puddles of blood and over Steckler's body.

One of the issues Manning raised in his appeal is that Allgood illegally kept African Americans off Manning's jury by dismissing potential jurors who said they read African American magazines. David Voisin, Manning's attorney, said if approved, the testing could take several weeks, depending on which lab is used.

On May 3, at the Mississippi Capitol, death-penalty opponents and Manning supporters called on Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution. The Mississippi Innocence Project filed a brief in support of Manning this week. Kennedy Brewer, who was exonerated in 2008 with DNA tests after being convicted and sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend's young daughter, also wrote Bryant asking to give Manning the same opportunity to clear his name that Kennedy received.

Update: Statment from Attorney General Jim Hood

I am sorry that the victims’ families will have to continue to …

A week after the deadline for submitting campaign-finance reports, and on the morning of Jackson city elections, Councilman and veteran attorney Chokwe Lumumba filed his campaign-finance report.

The report, dated May 6, shows that Lumumba raised $68,753 since the beginning of the year and spent $59,292, leaving the campaign fund with $17,963 in cash on hand.

Meanwhile, Lumumba's largest donor was attorney Barry Howard who contributed $10,000 while Lumumba gave himself $4,500 in two installment. Howard has given to at least one Democratic candidate for statewide office, Gary Anderson, who ran for insurance commissioner in 2007. Dr. Demitri Marshall of Port Gibson gave $2,000 and Jeannette Felton, also of Port Gibson, gave $1,000.

Several lawyers and businesses donated. Fidelity Refund and Check Cashers, whose telephone number goes to an AT&T store in Michigan, gave $300; Moore's Used Auto Sales on Gallatin Street in Jackson, gave $1,300 and La Quinta Inn and Suites gave $500. Marlboro, Md.-based Bowie Construction LLC and Jackson Fuel gave $500 a piece. A1 Bail Bond in west Jackson gave another $500.

Most of the donors listed Jackson addresses, with a smattering of Michigan and Georgia contributors. John Burge, whose address is not listed on the form, contributed $3,500. Michigan attorney Adam Shakoor, who has contributed to Democratic and Republican candidates in his home state, gave Lumumba $1,000.

Cochran Firm Mississippi, the local branch of the law office the late defense attorney who represented O.J. Simpson founded, and Precious Martin Sr. & Associates, each gave $1,000. Lumumba's law partner, Harvey Freelon, gave $1,100.

Eleven people on Lumumba's form list their address as "N/A." However, Lumumba has had at least three out-of-state fundraisers in the California Bay Area, in New York City and Washington D.C., but none of the people on the donor form list addresses near those cities.

Lumumba has explained the out-of-town fundraisers saying that fellow human-rights activists throughout the country support his candidacy. Saladin Muhammad, a North Carolina labor leader, gave $1,000. The Washington D.C.-based Black is Back coalition that advocates for reparations, single-payer health care, ending U.S.-led wars, freeing prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal and other "U.S. political prisoners/POWs/exiles" and rescinding the Patriot Act, gave $265. Eve Rosahn, who was indicted for providing a getaway car in a famous 1981 Brink's robbery, also gave $265. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Rosahn, who works at a legal-aid clinic in New York City.

Advertising consumed the bulk of Lumumba's spending. He spent $13,205 with Space Age Graphics, $7,342 with WKXI (Kixie 107-FM), $3,545 with Comcast, $2,776 with YMF Media and $7,050 with Lamar Advertising.

Here's the list of election night watch parties we've cobbled together. We'll update it as we get more information:

Harvey Johnson Campaign Headquarters, 4436 North State Street

Jonathan Lee The Penguin, 1100 J.R. Lynch Street

Chokwe Lumumba Clarion Hotel, 5075 Interstate 55

Regina Quinn Regency Hotel, 400 Greymont Ave.

Last night's mayoral forum/debate/"job interview" seemed to have been born of a desire to shake things up, to breathe new life into the stodgy, old question-and-answer-from-a-fixed-podium-style debates of yore. For that effort in thinking out of the box, the organizers at Leadership Jackson probably deserve a cookie.

A small cookie, made of shortbread and perhaps with a bit of mint flavor given the clumsy execution of the event. It began with a Jeopardy-style quiz game designed to test the candidates' knowledge of such trivial matters as how many city council members does it take to sue the mayor and how many bond referendums voters have rejected in the past 30 years (answers: one and zero, respectively)

Organizers didn't have a clear understanding of how much time each of the candidates was supposed to have to answer, or even how long the thing was supposed to last. At the end, one moderator invited closing remarks while another moderator (who works with one of the campaigns) insisted on continuing to ask questions.

However bizarre, there were a few takeaways from the forum that featured Democratic runoff candidates Councilman Chokwe Lumumba and businessman Jonathan Lee--both of whom seemed agitated by the debate format--and an independent named Richard Williams who goes by "Chip."

First, and most strikingly, is that Councilman Lumumba needs to get up to speed on Jackson Public Schools. While Lumumba aced questions relating to the city council, where he stumbled was on questions about the composition of JPS' budget. Although the city has no hand in running the schools, the mayor does appoint members to the JPS Board of Trustees, and the city provides local funding for schools through property taxes.

Second, there isn't much room between Lee and Lumumba when it comes to some personnel issues, mainly whether department heads should be required to live in the city of Jackson. Lumumba added that because his administration would "encourage" property owners to live inside the city, having his department heads live in the city would set a good example.

Third, Lee is staying on message that he is a "second-generation operator of a small business." In the weeks leading up to the Democratic primary on May 7, news that the company Lee's father started was being sued by several companies came to light. When the Jackson Free Press asked Lee about the default judgments during an interview at JFP HQ, Lee said that the problems occurred after he stepped away from running the company as its president although questions remained about what he knew and when. Since Lee went on to finish in first place in the election, Lee clearly thinks the ensuing maelstrom didn't hurt his chances, so he's staying on message.

Fourth, judging by the crowd response, Lumumba's supporters are a little more fired up than Lee's polite backers. In winning the primary, Lee arguably had the most cohesive coalition of young African Americans and whites, pockets of west Jacksonians--the Koinonia Crowd, I call them because of Lee's …

Here's a list of Chokwe Lumumba's top campaign donors* this year, over the past two reporting cycles:

Barry W. Howard ($10,000) - Madison, Miss. Howard has given to at least one Democratic candidate for Mississippi statewide office, Gary Anderson, who ran for insurance commissioner in 2007.

Chokwe Lumumba ($6,000) - Jackson, Miss. Lumumba, the sitting Democratic Ward 2 councilman, gave himself money on two separate occasions. One sum totaled $3,000; the other $1,500. Lumumba is an attorney who has represented a number of high-profile clients and has a long and sometimes controversial history in civil rights and law.

Adekuule Adekuubi ($5,000) -- Mississippi The name that shows up on the most recent campaign finance report appears to be a misspelling of Adekunle Adekunbi, vice president of business development for Garrett Enterprises Consolidated, the company owned by Jackson developer Socrates Garrett.

John Burge ($3,000) - N/A

Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. ($2,000) -- Baton Rouge, La. Its website states: "Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc. opened its Jackson office in 2012 to serve the expanding Jackson area market as well as to provide services to the Mississippi Dept. of Transportation and other state agencies." With Mississippi offices Ocean Springs and Jackson eight total branches in Louisiana and Alabama Baton Rouge-based engineering consulting firm, Burk-Kleinpeter is an equal-opportunity political donor. On the federal level, the firm has given to the election campaigns of Sen. David Vitter and former Rep. William Jefferson, convicted on federal bribery charges in 2009. The firm, has also been in state races where the company operates, giving $29,700 total since 1998. In Mississippi, Burk-Kleinpeter or its principals, William Burk and George Kleinpeter, has in recent years contributed to Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves

Dr. Demitri Marshall ($2,000) - Port Gibson, Miss. In 2011, a Houston grand jury indicted Marshall for nonpayment of child support and related medical expenses a child who resides in Texas. The one-count indictment charged Marshall with failing to pay more than $10,000 in child support and medical expenses ordered by a Harris County family district court dating back to 1997.

Moore's Auto Sales ($1,300) - Jackson, Miss. Moore's bills itself as "the finest luxury vehicles in metro Jackson." A search of the Mississippi secretary of state's website yielded no results for the business.

New England Contractors LLC ($1,300) - Jackson, Miss. Formerly known as East Parke Properties is listed as a general contractor based in Jackson. Abby G. Robinson, the registered agent for the company, secretary of state records show.

*Note: Lumumba also collected $300 on May 7, 2013 from a person listed only as "Anonymous Donor." Gerald McWorter and Judith Green whose addresses are listed as "PayPal" gave $1,000 and $500, respectively.

Read more about Councilman Lumumba: jfp.ms/chokwelumumba.

"Look, Judge, if we've got to pay for justice around here, I will pay for justice. I've paid other judges to try to get justice, pay you, too, if that's what is necessary."

That statement, made by attorney Chokwe Lumumba to Leake County Circuit Judge Marcus D. Gordon on October 17, 2001 got Lumumba in trouble -- big trouble.

Gordon cited Lumumba for contempt, fined him $500 and ordered him to serve three days in the county jail. According to an Associated Press story written at the time, Lumumba was referring to the fine itself, meaning that he would happily pay the fine if it meant justice for his client at the time, Henry Payton.

A 2003 tribunal recommended a public reprimand for Lumumba but the bar sought a harsher punishment.

"Instead, the Mississippi Bar wanted Lumumba suspended from the practice of law for an unspecified period of time. The Mississippi Bar stated that the length of suspension would be left up to this Court to determine," records show.

The court ruled that in addition to the fines he'd been ordered to pay, a six-month suspension of Lumumba's law license would be appropriate. Lumumba appealed the decision to the Mississippi State Supreme court on the grounds that his speech was protected by the First Amendment. Both courts disagreed.

However, the appellate court found in August 2003: "Lumumba's behavior was done in the presence of the court and intended to embarrass or prevent orderly administration of justice. Further, it was both disrespectful to the judge and disruptive to court proceedings. We cannot fathom any situation that would warrant such behavior. This Court finds that the statements made toward the judge about how he can better get along with lawyers in the future, about the judge's "henchmen," about being proud to be thrown out of the courtroom, and about paying the judge for justice were made to embarrass the court or impede the administration of justice. This Court finds that the statements go far beyond zealous representation of one's client, and makes a mockery of the court and its proceedings."

In 2005, the state Supreme Court declined to hear Lumumba's appeal. The state high court reinstated Lumumba to the bar in 2007 with an 8 to 1 decision.

Verbatim statement from the US DOJ:

MISSISSIPPI CORPORATION PLEADS GUILTY AND AGREES TO $ 1 MILLION FINE FOR ILLEGALLY FILLING PROTECTED WETLANDS

WASHINGTON – Mississippi-based Hancock County Land LLC (HCL) pleaded guilty today to the unpermitted filling of wetlands near Bay St. Louis, Miss., and agreed to pay a $1 million fine and take remedial measures for two felony violations of the Clean Water Act, announced Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Gregory K. Davis. HCL admitted causing the unauthorized excavation and filling of wetlands on a 1,710 acre parcel of undeveloped property in Hancock County, west of the intersection of Route 603 and Interstate 10.

According to the charges filed in federal court in Jackson, Miss., when HCL purchased the property, it had been informed by a wetland expert that as much as 80 percent of its land was federally protected wetland connected by streams and bayous to the Gulf of Mexico and, therefore, that the property could not be developed without a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Such permits typically require that developers protect and preserve other wetlands to compensate for those they are permitted to fill and destroy.

The charges allege that in spite of additional notice of the prohibition against filling and draining wetlands without authorization, HCL, principally through its minority owner /general contractor, hired an excavation contractor to trench, drain and fill large portions of the property to lower the water table and thus to destroy the wetland that would otherwise have been an impediment to commercial development. In pleading guilty, HCL admitted that it knowingly ditched, drained and filled wetlands at multiple locations on the Hancock County property without having obtained a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers as required under the Clean Water Act.

It is a felony under the Clean Water Act for any person knowingly to discharge pollutants into waters of the United States, including wetlands, without a permit. A corporation convicted of this offense is subject to a penalty of not more than $500,000 per count.

HCL agreed and was ordered to pay to the federal government a total penalty of $1 million ($500,000 for each of the two counts). HCL also agreed and was ordered by the court to restore and preserve the damaged wetlands as provided in separate agreements HCL reached with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a citizen group, the Gulf Restoration Network. The agreements require HCL to re-grade and then re-plant, with appropriate native vegetation, the wetland area it excavated and filled and donate approximately 272 acres of the southwest quadrant of its property to the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain to be preserved in perpetuity. HCL is also required to fund its management and maintenance, to pay $100,000 toward the litigation costs of the Gulf Restoratio

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson is wading into the Jackson mayor's race, and endorsing Councilman Chokwe Lumumba over political upstart and businessman Jonathan Lee.

In the R-and-B-laced radio ad, Thompson refrains from naming Lee but says: "When I see Republicans from Rankin and Madison counties endorsing the other so-called Democrat, I know something is fishy."

Thompson goes on to say that the Republicans supporting the other candidate are the same people who "opened their checkbooks last fall for Mitt Romney in an effort to kick President Obama out of the White House."

As JFP city reporter Tyler Cleveland has pointed out, six of Lee's 10 biggest contributors have given to the GOP or Republican causes in the past. Thompson hits every buzzword, saying "these Republicans want to pass charter schools, create voter-ID laws, cut Pell Grants, end Medicare and reduce Social Security benefits."

At the end of the ad, Thompson advises voters not to fall for "old Republican tricks" and to "vote for the real Democrat" on May 21.

In other states I've lived, it would have been highly unusual for a Congressman to get involved in a party primary. Perhaps this is normal for Mississippi. Or, maybe it's just normal for Rep. Thompson?

An email is circulating Jackson asking voters to write in the name of Ward 1 Councilman and lobbyist Quentin Whitwell, a Republican, for mayor in the June 4 general election.

The email implores supporters to back Whitwell but to keep it on the low, meaning not to spread the news via the Internet and social media.

The message, which someone forwarded to the Jackson Free Press, states:

"We need your help! A week from today we have one last chance to vote in a mayor that will work for us! We need each of you to text, send emails, to at least 20-30 people in Jackson to go write in vote Tuesday June 4th for Quentin Whitwell! We believe that the turn out for Chuckwe [sic] will not be huge, due to the fact he thinks he already has won. We have to keep this off Facebook, and on the low until the actual day June 4th! That day we need as many volunteers, to help get out the vote for Quentin. We need each of you to tell your neighborhood associations to send out an email, go door to door Monday and Tuesday. We will need signs made to hold up in ridgewood , Old Canton , and anywhere else. I truly believe if we all can do our part we can pull this off! Please let me know if you are willing to help in anyway!"

We left a message with Whitwell to get his response.

The entertainment value of tonight's city council meeting just skyrocketed.

Stay tuned.

Editor's Update: The Clarion-Ledger stooped to new levels of bad journalism when one of its reporters tried to denigate R.L. Nave's coverage of this effort. Read all about it at http://www.jfp.ms/brianeason

Mississippi Democrats are basking in the post-electoral bliss of having held on to or picked up a number of mayor's seats yesterday.

A shock to no one, Democrat Chokwe Lumumba coasted to a W in Jackson (lesson here for future secret campaign engineers: being on the down-low never helped anyone).

Other incumbent Dems who also won reelection include Parker Wiseman of Starkville, Connie Moran of Ocean Springs and Patt Patterson of Oxford. Two sitting Democratic lawmakers, George Flaggs Jr. and Billy Broomfield, will also become mayors of Vicksburg and Moss Point, respectively. Each man defeated fellow Democrats and incumbents in those cities in primaries this spring.

What Democrats are beaming most about are the cities they took away from Republicans. In Tupelo, it was young Jason Shelton, in Meridian it was Percy Bland and in Booneville, it was Derrick Blythe. Tupelo was particularly sweet for Democrats, who haven't had the mayor's chair for three decades.

State Rep. Steve Holland, a Tupelo-area Democrat, credits Democrats' strong messaging and investment of "sweat equity" for yesterday's victories. Holland called Shelton a super guy with lots of energy and spunk.

"He had a cooler campaign that I would have had," Holland said of Shelton. "He tried to out conservative the other guy, and apparently it worked."

Two other Democrats--Glen Cook of Stonewall and James Young of Philadelphia -- also won election.

In a unanimous and completely unsurprising move, the Mississippi Republican Central Committee rejected the federal Affordable Care Act, which Congress passed three years ago.

The state GOP said it was supporting the positions of the state's Three Tops--Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Speaker Philip Gunn--in resisting the implementation of the ACA as well as the expansion of Medicaid.

“Our party is unified and supports the prudent and careful approach advocated by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker. At a time when we learn more every day about improper government intrusion into the lives of ordinary citizens, it defies logic to embrace an expansion of that intrusion,” MSGOP Chairman Joe Nosef said through a press release.

Of course, Obamacare is being implemented anyway. Last summer's U.S. Supreme Court decision assured that the ACA, including its controversial individual mandate provision, would be the law of the land even if it lets states opt out Medicaid expansions, which the architects of the law hoped would pay for a big chunk.

Nosef is right on one point, though: Mississippi Republicans have been unified in saying they reject Obamacare.

Emphasis on saying.

Most Mississippi state Republicans have stated their opposition to the federal health law, but there is evidence that the party's armor is starting to chink, most notably Sen. Billy Hudson, R-Hattiesburg's recent coming out in favor of expanding Medicaid.

Meanwhile, Republican congressmen are quietly soliciting Obamacare funds for a Rankin County health clinic.

There'll be more about that in tomorrow's paper.

Veteran state Rep. George Flaggs will officially retire from the Mississippi House of Representatives on June 30.

Flaggs, a Democrat, recently survived a gauntlet of a race for Vicksburg in which the incumbent became the focus of a federal corruption probe and another contender became a victim of her own past as a sex worker.

Flaggs, formerly chair of the House Banking and, more recently, Corrections committees will be sworn in at 6 p.m. on June 30 in Vicksburg.

Before the Legislature finished its work this spring (well, unless you count that whole Medicaid thing), Speaker Philip Gunn appointed Flaggs long enough to gavel the body adjourned sine die. Gunn will officiate Flaggs' Vicksburg inauguration.

Through a release, Flaggs called serving in the Mississippi House an "amazing journey."

“I’ve grown a lot during my time here, and I’m thankful for everything I’ve learned and accomplished through the years. The decisions I’ve made and the relationships I’ve cultivated motivated me to run for Mayor of Vicksburg where I can be more hands-on with the city and the people," he said.

“However, I’m looking forward to continuing my work with the leadership of the state...I want to make Vicksburg the most competitive city in Mississippi. Vicksburg is open for business!”

The East Mississippi Correction Facility, which recently became the subject of a class-action lawsuit, is getting a new warden.

Management and Training Corporation, the Utah-based private company that operates the prison for the Mississippi Department of Corrections, released the following statement:

EAST MISSISSIPPI CORRECTIONAL FACILITY WELCOMES NEW WARDEN

Jerry Buscher Named New Warden

June 13, 2013 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(MERIDIAN, Mississippi) – Management & Training Corporation (MTC) is pleased to announce Jerry Buscher has been named new warden of the East Mississippi Correctional Facility effective June 17, 2013.

Warden Buscher will replace Warden Frank Shaw. Mr. Buscher spent more than 25 years with the Illinois Department of Corrections, most recently serving as executive chief to the director. He also served as warden multiple times, regional deputy director, and operations security director.

“Warden Buscher brings decades of experience to East Mississippi,” said MTC Senior Vice President of Corrections Odie Washington. “We are confident he will continue the pattern of excellence established at the East Mississippi facility.”

Warden Frank Shaw will take over operations at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility in Woodville, MS.

Mr. Washington added, “Warden Shaw has done an excellent job of creating a safe, secure, and clean facility. In the last 11 months alone, Warden Shaw and his staff were responsible for a 74 percent reduction in offender on offender violence and a 60 percent reduction in use-of-force incidents. He has been instrumental in making significant improvements at the facility since MTC first took over in July 2012.”

Also during Warden Shaw’s tenure at the East Mississippi facility, his team was responsible for developing 45 educational and vocational classes for inmates including Adult Basic Education, GED, literacy, anger management, life skills, computer technician, and facility maintenance. More than 700 offenders currently participate in these programs.

Mr. Washington said, “We know Warden Shaw will do an equally effective if not better job of operating the Wilkinson facility—that’s why we made the decision to relocate him.”

With the addition of the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, which MTC will begin operating on July 1, 2013, MTC will partner with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) in operating all four of its privately-run facilities.

“MDOC has been a tremendous partner. They have provided effective monitoring of these facilities and have been extremely supportive of MTC’s initiatives to enhance and improve the conditions at prisons,” said Mr. Washington.

MTC has also recently announced the addition of Vice President Marjorie Brown who will oversee MTC’s new Mississippi/Florida region which includes the following facilities:

East Mississippi Correctional Facility Walnut Grove Correctional Facility Marshall County Correctional Facility Wilkinson Correctional Facility Gadsden Correctional Facility (Quincy, FL)

Vice President Brown was most recently MTC’s senior medical director. Ms. Brown has an MBA, and has been in corrections for more than 34 years. She served in many leadership positions including deputy director of a major correctional system for nearly a decade, state administrator of MTC’s medical operations in Tennessee, and warden.

Mr. Washington said, “Marjorie will …

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's office sent out the following news release this afternoon:

Jackson, MS—A Hinds County resident has been arrested a second time for depraved heart murder, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.

Tracey Lynn Garner (formerly known as Morris Garner), age 52, of Jackson was arrested Thursday (June 13) by Investigators with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division Intellectual Property Task Force, with assistance from investigators with the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit, and charged with one count of depraved heart murder.

Garner has been indicted in Hinds County on the recent charges involving the death of a Selma, Alabama resident while Garner was performing a buttocks augmentation. The indictment alleges that Garner, on or about January 13, 2010, “did kill Marilyn Hale…by means of injecting a silicone substance into the body of Marilyn Hale, thereby committing an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart.”

Garner was arrested at his home where he was under house arrest facing charges in another depraved heart murder case involving the death of Atlanta Georgia resident, Karima Gordon, who also allegedly received injections of a foreign and possible counterfeit substance during an illegal buttocks augmentation performed by Garner at his 1020 Peyton Avenue address in Jackson.

“Our intellectual property task force is involved in these cases to investigate the possibility that the substances injected into the victims were a counterfeit version of silicone,” said Attorney General Hood

The Attorney General encourages anyone who may have received a buttocks or breast augmentation from this defendant to please notify the AG’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-281-4418.

If convicted of these crimes, Garner faces up to life in prison. As with all cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by Lee McDivitt and Richie McCluskey of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division Intellectual Property Task Force. Prosecution of the case will handled by the division director, Assistant Attorney General Patrick Beasley.

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