Brotherhood of Destruction: An Addiction-Fueled Journey to Hell and Backby Donna Ladd
Benny Ivey grew up in South Jackson as part of a generationally addicted family, turning to a life of crime early and spending time in and out of the system. Once he went to prison, he became a member of the Simon City Royals, eventually reaching leadership within the predominantly white gang.
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Oh, the Places You'll Go: Project EJECT Expels Gun Offenders to Faraway Prisonsby Donna Ladd and Ko Bragg
U.S. Attorney Hurst called a press conference on the steps of the U.S. District Court in downtown Jackson. President Donald Trump had appointed Hurst in a second wave of U.S. attorney nominees and described him as sharing "the President's vision for 'Making America Safe Again,'" the June 29, 2017, White House announcement reads.
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Never Back Down: Mississippi Escalates War on Gangsby Donna Ladd
Four 16-year-olds are standing on a street corner in Richland, Miss., all wearing identical hoodies. One of them has a little more than 30 grams of marijuana on him. A police officer stops the young men, believing they are a gang because they're dressed alike, and finds the pot. Under normal circumstances, the young man with the pot would face a possible three-year sentence under state law.
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A Hunger to Live: The Struggle to Interrupt the Cycle of Violenceby Donna Ladd
Before he walked to Jim Hill High School each day, senior Stephen Butler would gather up a sack of weed and pills—bars, tabs, Percocet—to sell to other students. Once he got there with his product, though, his customers had to follow his strict business rules.
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Ceasefire in the City? How Police Can (and Cannot) Deter Gunfireby Donna Ladd
The 17-year-old who goes by the name Kvng Zeakyy was first arrested when he broke into Isable Elementary School near where he stayed on Florence Avenue in the Washington Addition. He and his buddy wanted to steal some laptops, but they only saw desktop computers when they got inside.
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JPD Targets ‘Bandos’: A Different Kind of ‘Broken Windows’ Policingby Donna Ladd and Tim Summers, Jr.
Anna Wilson sat on her porch in the fading afternoon sun, lording over the 10-foot-tall piles of debris in the lot across from her house. Her lawn, immaculately cut, heavily decorated and bordered by a chain-link fence, contrasts heavily with the overgrown and wild space of the other houses on the street.
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Murder in the City: Deep Causes, Harmful Biases, Unexpected Solutions to Gun Violenceby Donna Ladd
On the night of Thursday, Feb. 9, a group of twenty-something Jacksonians were hanging out in Westwood Apartments at 3150 Robinson Road playing dominoes. Suddenly, several men walked in pointing guns and demanding their belongings. |
Reforming Criminal Justice: Is Mississippi Making Progress?by Arielle Dreher
The Reentry Council has been working to make it easier for inmates to find jobs and re-acclimate to life free from bars. Starrett says the ultimate goal of the council is community safety. Legislation is necessary for some of those changes to the state's criminal justice system, and this session lawmakers have taken a multifaceted approach, with several avenues for change to happen. |
The Right to Pre-Trial Justice for Allby Arielle Dreher
Scott County law enforcement officers arrested Joshua Bassett on Jan. 3, 2014, under a warrant for grand larceny and possession of meth. Bassett could not know then that he would sit in jail without legal representation for almost a year before standing trial due to a muddled and slow judicial process. |
Beyond DetentionExploring Smarter, Cheaper Alternatives to Locking Kids Upby Arielle Dreher
"He's out on the street. He comes home sometimes. He has that little anklet, he doesn't care. It makes no difference to him. He's afraid of nothing." The mother of a Jackson teenage boy told her story to BOTEC Analysis researchers in 2015 as part of a state-funded study on Jackson crime. The "anklet" is an electronic homing device placed on the teen so he wouldn't have to go into the criminal-justice system.
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Illustration by Zeakyy Harrington, a member of the Mississippi Youth Media Project who first went to the Hinds County detention center in the fourth grade for breaking in his elementary school with a friend to steal a computer. |
Junior Jail: Surviving Mississippi’s Juvenile Justice SystemBy Arielle Dreher and Maya Miller
Alonté Davis Anderson, then 17, was riding his bike through his quiet west Jackson neighborhood one afternoon in November 2010. He had skipped school that day because he wasn't feeling well, and after his mother sent him to the corner store, he stopped for a quick smoke break.
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Is Quality Education in Juvenile Detention Possible in Mississippi?by Sierra Mannie
Jelin "Jay" McChristian, 19, said he gets excited when he is around a lot of people. Not like nervous, just that he's social, he says.
He's tall and serious and thoughtful, but quick to smile. He is a self-described extrovert. |
Caught in the Revolving Door of Juvenile Detentionby Tim Summers, Jr.
Yvette Mason lives a mother's nightmare. On June 21, 2016, she drove her 17-year-old son Charles McDonald to the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, where he had been eight times since his 13th birthday, most recently after failing a drug test.
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JFP 'One on One' with Chief VanceDonna Ladd has a one-on-one conversation with Police Chief Lee Vance of the Jackson Police Department.
JFP Town Hall with Kai Smith and Cassio BatteastJFP Staffers sit down with violence interrupter Dr. Kai Smith and local activist Cassio Battest
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JFP 'One on One' with Mayor YarberDonna Ladd sits down with Mayor Tony Yarber to discuss combatting youth violence in Jackson.
JFP 'One on One' with Christopher FreezeDonna Ladd sits down with FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze about solutions to youth crime and violence.
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The JFP’s ongoing “Preventing Violence” series is supported, in part, by grants from the Solutions Journalism Network and fellowships from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s Center of Media, Crime & Justice. email [email protected].
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