JFP: Preventing Violence
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COVER PHOTO: From left: Marzavier “Zeakyy” Harrington, Monterius “Mon” Griffin, Jay McChristian and Jordan Alexander hang out in the Washington Addition, where they are working to overcome cycles of crime in their neighborhood.
photo credit: Imani Khayyam

Preventing Violence: An Ongoing Series by the Jackson Free Press

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Brotherhood of Destruction: An Addiction-Fueled Journey to Hell and Back​

by 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 Prisons​

by 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 Gangs​

by 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 Violence​

by 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 Gunfire​

by 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’ Policing​

by 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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'Not A Dungeon'

The Evolving Approach to
​Juvenile Detention

by Arielle Dreher
Sierra Mannie
and Tim Summers, Jr.


​The Hinds County Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center has been the subject of lawsuits, reforms and face-lifts in its struggle to address the roots of juvenile deliquency and crime.
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Murder in the City: Deep Causes, Harmful Biases, Unexpected Solutions to Gun Violence​

by Donna Ladd
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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.
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Reforming Criminal Justice: Is Mississippi Making Progress?​

by Arielle Dreher
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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.
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The Right to Pre-Trial Justice for All

​by 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.

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Beyond Detention

Exploring Smarter, Cheaper Alternatives to Locking Kids Up

by 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.
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Junior Jail: Surviving Mississippi’s Juvenile Justice System​

By 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.
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Caught in the Revolving Door of Juvenile Detention​

by 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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More Preventing Violence Coverage from JFP

News Stories

- Only Black People Prosecuted Under Mississippi Gang Law
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- Former Criminals Training to Stop Violence in Jackson with $150,000 Grant
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- Behind the Badge: Two JPD Officers Who Shot Multiple People in Jackson
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- State May Block Naming Jackson Officers Involved in Shootings
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- Jackson Cop Involved in 3 Shootings; Teen Shot 2 Times in Back, Family Says
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- No ID of Cops in Head-Trauma Death; Other JFP Officers Involved in Shootings Finally Revealed
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- 'They Brutalized My Brother': George Robinson's Family Accuses JPD of 'Murder'
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- Lumumba Added to 'Smart Crime Initative' Despite Policing Decisions at Home

-Stuck Behind Bars, Waiting for Mental Care

-The Henley-Young 'Emergency Room' Shows Progress, Houses Fewer Youth
- Politicking Over Mental Healthcare in Neshoba County
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Wrapping Around the Most Vulnerable
- State Settles Kids’ Mental Health Litigation
- JPD: Crime Down in Jackson Despite Recent Horrendous Murders
-  Previously Secret Children's Mental Health Report: State Institutionalizes Too Many Kids
- When Children Can’t See: Vision Problems Can Lead to Failing
- Families Explode in Emotion Over Child Murder Charges, Rumors Dispelled
- UPDATED: Teens Quiz Mayor Hopefuls on Crime, Sidewalks, and Myths About Youth
-'Spoiled' Criminal Justice Reform Bill Dies After Governor's Veto
-Mental Illness: Behind Bars and Beyond 
- A M Gang By Any Other Name
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'Big, Black or Boy' Preschoolers Face Higher Expulsions and Suspensions
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- Slain Teen's Mother Sues Business Owner Charged with His Murder 
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'Transform Your Hustle': 'Shark Tank'-Style Re-Entry Program Coming to State
- How to Prevent Gun Violence
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Task Force: Invest in Criminal Justice Reforms
- Lawmakers Address Blight, Praise God
- JPS Students Avoid Conflict with Peer Mediation
​- Mississippi Expands Pre-K Education
​- Teaching Teens Financial Literacy

- Federal Violence Liaison Visits JPD; Homicide Suspect Named, Sought
​- JPS Students Confront Police Brutality with Art

- Murders Reach 54, Kidnapper Nabbed, City Joining Federal Anti-crime Network
- Replacing Military-Style Detention
- Henley-Young Increases Mental Health Care
- Youth Judge Fights School-to-Prison Pipeline
- Youth Judge Now Adhering to Fed Regs
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- ‘Tough Love’: Harlem Gang Expert Visiting Jackson
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- Juvy Intervention Programs Losing Federal Funds

- Avoiding the School-to-Prison Pipeline​
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- ‘Police vs. Black’: Bridging the ‘Racialized Gulf’

Opinion and Analysis

- Editor's Note: America We Need to Stop Dehumanizing Our Children
- Editor's Note: Jackson, Lil' Lonnie Must Not Die in Vain
- Editor's Note: Right, Left Must Work Together for Criminal Justice Reform
- Editor's Note: Time for Mississippi To Get Smarter on Crime
- Editor's Note: Parkland Kids Lead By Talking Back, Listening
- Editor's Note: Move on From 'Antiquated and Useless' Gang Bill
- Of Love, Ego, and Believing All of Our Children
- Mayor Must Repair City's Transparency Related to Policing, Crime 

- Let's Talk About Violence, Then Take Action

- Learning From Henley-Young's Progress
-Editorial Awards Are Encouraging For Our 15th Anniversary 
- We Must Treat All Addiction, Addicts The Same
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New City Administration Must Be Smart on Crime
- Address Racial Inequity in Education Now
- I Refuse to Be a Victim
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Facing the Mirror, From Kingston Frazier to Karl Oliver

- Address Racial Bias in Policing Now, Not Later
- State Testing Presents Bigger Equity Question
- Where the City's Sidewalk Begins: Real Solutions
- Vetoing Criminal Reforms Shortsighted, Dangerous
- Next Mayor Must Lead on Preventing Youth Crime
- Celebrate Progress, Yet Push Forward on Criminal Justice Reform

- Use the T-word: Trauma Matters, Must Be Treated
- Last-Hour Gang Law Overhaul Is Self-Defeating
- Providing Hope for Kids is In Our Self Interest
- The Dark Side of the Hinds Justice System
- Data Needed to Change Young People's Lives
- All Must Take Responsibility for Preventing Crime
- Recognizing Racial Injustice in Incarceration
- Data Needed to Change Young People's Lives
- All Must Take Responsibility for Preventing Crime
- Recognizing Racial Injustice in Incarceration
- The Road Less Traveled In Jackson
- Mindset Must Change to Stop Juvenile Crime
- Help Kids with Action and Planning, Not Ego
- Mental Care Needed for All, Including Inmates
​- Jackson Teens Need Mentors, Opportunity

- Face, Vote the Truth About Juvy Detention
- Juvenile Crime: Identify the Problem

- Priester: Having the Space to Try New Ways to Prevent Crime
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- Needed: Public Engagement in Policing

Events

- Town Hall: Reduce Youth Crime with Less Incarceration, More Engagement
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- Mayor Yarber on Crime: Saw ‘7 or 8 Dead Bodies’ Before Age 13, All Must 'Get Out of Our Bubble'
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- Schools, Guns, Family, Bad Policing: Chief Vance Discusses Crime-Fighting with JFP Editor

Podcasts

- Let's Talk Jackson: Benny Ivey (interviewed by Donna Ladd) Part 1  -  Part 2

Public Events: Preventing Violence

JFP 'One on One' with Chief Vance

Donna 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 Batteast

JFP Staffers sit down with violence interrupter Dr. Kai Smith and local activist Cassio Battest

JFP 'One on One' with Mayor Yarber

Donna Ladd sits down with Mayor Tony Yarber to discuss combatting youth violence in Jackson.

JFP 'One on One' with Christopher Freeze

Donna 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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Copyright Jackson Free Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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