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Fact or fiction: What to make of Reeves’ claims about Jackson crime

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When Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation to create a separate court and police district within Jackson, he said the focus was public safety and used various statistics to make his point about crime in the capital city.

“Jackson has to be better,” he said in an April 21 statement. “This legislation won’t solve the entire problem, but if we can stop one shooting, if we can respond to one more 911 call – then we’re one step closer to a better Jackson.”

As the law faces two lawsuits seeking to block it from going into effect in July, Mississippi Today is fact checking some of the claims Reeves made and providing more context about what these numbers say and efforts Jackson police and leaders are taking to address crime and community safety.

Claim: “The capital city is approximately 6% of Mississippi’s population yet, in 2020, accounted for more than 50% of the homicides in our state.”

Reeves is incorrect about the number and portion of homicides committed in Jackson compared to the rest of the state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks homicide mortality for all states, and in 2020 found that Mississippi’s rate was 20.5 per 100,000, which was 576 homicides.

Half of the CDC number would be 288 homicides in Jackson – a number that is higher than the 130 recorded in 2020 and higher than the city’s all-time high of 157 set in 2021.

Gov. Reeves may have reviewed information from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report expanded homicide data for 2020, which says Mississippi had 213 homicides and Jackson had 107, which is roughly 50%

But this data does come with limitations. In 2020, 113 of 251 law enforcement agencies in the state reported crime data to the FBI, meaning calculations made about it are not complete.

Claim: “In 2021, Jackson’s homicide rate was almost 100 murders per 100,000 residents – nearly 13 times higher than the U.S. rate of 7.8 per 100,000.”

Reeves is correct in about the capital city’s homicide rate for 2021 compared to the national homicide rate.

The way to calculate the homicide rate is to divide the total number of homicides,155, by the total population, estimated at 156,800, and multiply that result by 100,000, which would result in a rate of nearly 100 homicides per 100,000.

A similar figure has also been reported in local and national news sources.

City leaders have acknowledged Jackson’s high number of homicides and, along with community members, have tried to find ways to address crime, including by taking a more holistic approach.

Jackson is launching an office focused on violence prevention and trauma recovery.

During a January forum with the U.S. Marshals Service, participants from the city said they want to see root causes of crime such as poverty, trauma and mental health to be addressed and the support of community violence interruption and credible messenger programs, which aim to prevent crime and people’s involvement in the criminal justice system.

Claim: “In 2022, it (the homicide rate) was approximately 88.9. On the global level, Jackson found itself in the company of Tijuana, Acapulco, and Caracas as one of the most dangerous places in the world.”

Reeves is correct that Jackson’s homicide rate last year would rank it among the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Acapulco and the Venezuelan city of Caracas with high homicide rates.

In 2022, Jackson had 135 homicides and a population of about 156,800, giving the city a rate of about 87 per 100,000, according to data kept by the city and shared with Mississippi Today.

The Citizens Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, based in Mexico, releases yearly rankings of the most violent cities in the world. Its report for homicides in 2022 ranked Tijuana as fifth with a homicide rate of 105.12 per 100,000 and Acapulo at tenth with a rate of 65.55 per 100,000.

Its list does not include Jackson, but if it did based on a homicide rate of 87 per 100,000, the capital city would rank seventh.

Instead, the first United States city listed is New Orleans in eighth with a homicide rate of 70.56 per 100,000.

Another list of the most dangerous cities in 2022 by Statista ranks Tijuana, Acapulco and Caracas as the top three with homicide rates of nearly 100 and higher.

Again, Jackson is not mentioned on the list, but based on its rate for 2022, it would make the top five. The only U.S. cities mentioned are St. Louis, Baltimore, Detroit and New Orleans.

Claim: “We can arrest all the violent criminals in the city, but if the judicial system puts them right back on the street—what have we really accomplished?”

Reeves does not specify who in the judicial system is allegedly responsible for releasing people nor does he provide evidence that this is happening.

If someone is arrested on a felony charge in Jackson, a Hinds County judge has a say in whether to approve bail, which if paid could allow the person to await their next court date from home, or to order them to be held in jail before trial.

Rep. Ed Blackmon Jr., D-Canton, who has spoken out against HB 1020, said under the state constitution and presumption of innocence, people have a right to bail. It’s a judge’s discretion of what amount to set and whether to allow bond.

“The judges in Hinds County follow the same guidelines as any judicial district in Mississippi,” he said, referring to rules and guidelines for bond release set by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Blackmon said the state should not be empowered to hold a person who has not yet been convicted unless there is a reason, such as they are a flight risk or if they pose a risk to public safety.

It is possible for people to be released on their own recognizance without posting bail, but this release is usually for minor and nonviolent offenses and whether the person isn’t found to be a safety threat to the community or if they don’t have an existing criminal record. If they fail to appear in court, an arrest warrant could be issued.

For years, Jackson police officials have also been talking about how the lack of a misdemeanor holding facility has led to letting most people charged with misdemeanor offenses go until their appearances in Municipal Court.

Between March 2020 and November 2021, police released at least 3,000 people charged with misdemeanors, Chief James Davis said during a community meeting in November 2021.

Police haven’t been able to take those charged with misdemeanors to the Raymond Detention Center because of a 2016 federal consent decree.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi Today

Court to rule on DeSoto County Senate districts with special elections looming

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:06:00

A federal three-judge panel will rule in coming days on how political power in northwest Mississippi will be allocated in the state Senate and whether any incumbents in the DeSoto County area might have to campaign against each other in November special elections.  

The panel, comprised of all George W. Bush-appointed judges, ordered state officials last week to, again, craft a new Senate map for the area in the suburbs of Memphis. The panel has held that none of the state’s prior maps gave Black voters a realistic chance to elect candidates of their choice. 

The latest map proposed by the all-Republican State Board of Election Commissioners tweaked only four Senate districts in northwest Mississippi and does not pit any incumbent senators against each other. 

The state’s proposal would keep the Senate districts currently held by Sen. Michael McLendon, a Republican from Hernando and Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven, in majority-white districts. 

But it makes Sen. David Parker’s district a slightly majority-Black district. Parker, a white Republican from Olive Branch, would run in a district with a 50.1% black voting-age population, according to court documents. 

The proposal also maintains the district held by Sen. Reginald Jackson, a Democrat from Marks, as a majority-Black district, although it reduces the Black voting age population from 61% to 53%.  

Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Michael Watson, and Attorney General Lynn Fitch comprise the State Board of Election Commissioners. Reeves and Watson voted to approve the plan. But Watson, according to meeting documents, expressed a wish that the state had more time to consider different proposals. 

Fitch did not attend the meeting, but Deputy Attorney General Whitney Lipscomb attended in her place. Lipscomb voted against the map, although it is unclear why. Fitch’s office declined to comment on why she voted against the map because it involves pending litigation. 

The reason for redrawing the districts is that the state chapter of the NAACP and Black voters in the state sued Mississippi officials for drawing legislative districts in a way that dilutes Black voting power. 

The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU, are likely to object to the state’s newest proposal, and they have until April 29 to file an objection with the court

The plaintiffs have put forward two alternative proposals for the area in the event the judges rule against the state’s plans. 

The first option would place McLendon and Blackwell in the same district, and the other would place McLendon and Jackson in the same district. 

It is unclear when the panel of judges will issue a ruling on the state’s plan, but they will not issue a ruling until the plaintiffs file their remaining court documents next week. 

While the November election is roughly six months away, changing legislative districts across counties and precincts is technical work, and local election officials need time to prepare for the races. 

The judges have not yet ruled on the full elections calendar, but U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick said at a hearing earlier this month that the panel was committed have the elections in November. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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