Mississippi Today

Mississippi to pay more than $400K in attorneys’ fees over unconstitutional sodomy law

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2023

Mississippi will have to pay more than $400,000 in attorneys’ fees after the attorney general’s office spent years defending a sodomy law that criminalizes oral and anal sex.

The law in question — Section 97-29-59 — was deemed unconstitutional in 2003 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case Lawrence v. Texas that private sexual conduct was constitutionally protected.

But Mississippi kept its sodomy law on the books, opening the door for a 2016 legal challenge that resulted in the expensive attorneys’ fees.

The AGs office, under both Democrat Jim Hood and Republican Lynn Fitch, fought the class action lawsuit by the Center for Constitutional Rights and other advocacy legal organizations, which sued on behalf of five Mississippians who were required to register as sex offenders for sodomy convictions.

The case was finally resolved this summer when the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed and affirmed the attorneys’ fees – and that Mississippi’s sodomy law is unconstitutional. The deadline for the state to appeal passed earlier this month.

Yet Mississippi’s “unnatural intercourse” law is still law. A state representative introduced a bill earlier this year to repeal it, but it received no attention and died in committee. And according to an attorney who worked on the lawsuit, there are still 14 people on the Mississippi Sex Offender Registry who were solely convicted under that law.

They could sue at any time, said the attorney, Matthew Strugar, and put the state on the hook for even more fees.

“They could file a lawsuit tomorrow,” Strugar said. “And given what the Fifth Circuit has said about the law being unconstitutional, it should be an easy win for those people.”

A spokesperson for the AGs office said Fitch does not have the authority to remove these 14 Mississippians from the registry. Mississippi code requires sex offenders to petition a circuit court in order to be removed from the registry.

Because the state’s unconstitutional sodomy law does not distinguish between consensual and nonconsensual sex, the circumstances that led to the convictions of the 14 Mississippians aren’t immediately known.

Rep. Jeramey Anderson, D-Escatawpa, said he did not expect his bill to repeal the sodomy law to go anywhere because leadership has prioritized passing laws that harm, not help, the state’s LGBTQ+ community. He has introduced the same bill three times since 2018; it has died in committee each time.

“I mean, the legislative process within itself is built for a small group of people from one side of the political spectrum,” he said. “In an ideal world, yes, I would love to have a meeting with leadership about this issue, whether that’s with the chair or whether that’s with the speaker.”

Anderson doesn’t have much hope that’ll happen even though he plans to reintroduce the bill next year.

“Because of the legislation (that’s) being pushed, it’s a waste of time to do that,” he said. “I’d rather introduce the bill and have some pressure put on by folks outside the Capitol. That’s where the rubber meets the road.”

Buttressing the lack of action on this law in Mississippi, legal experts on sodomy laws say, is the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade last year. In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the court should reconsider other cases like Lawrence that deal with privacy rights.

“And probably for some states that means they’ll be reluctant to repeal it,” Gregory Nevins, a lawyer at Lambda Legal, told the New York Times. “As we saw, there were a lot of old abortion laws on the books that got dusted off after Dobbs.”

When Lawrence was decided in 2003, Mississippi was one of 13 states that still enforced a sodomy law banning consensual, non-procreative sex between adults. Strugar and the Center for Constitutional Rights brought lawsuits against a handful of these states, including Mississippi.

In some states, the lawsuit led to change. In South Carolina, the state settled shortly after a similar lawsuit was brought, removing people who were convicted under the state’s “buggery” law from its sex offender registry. So did Idaho.

Not in Mississippi. No other state fought his lawsuit as long or as hard as Mississippi did, Strugar said.

“We tried to reason with them and not file a lawsuit whereby the state of Mississippi would end up having to pay all this money,” he said. “They didn’t want to budge, so we had to do what we had to do.”

Mississippi’s law dates back to the early 1800s and bans oral and anal sex between consenting adults as well as bestiality.

It reads: “Every person who shall be convicted of the detestable and abominable crime against nature committed with mankind or with a beast, shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not more than ten years.”

Anyone who is convicted of one offense under this law is put on the sex offender registry for 25 years, after which time they can petition for removal. But two convictions result in a lifetime registration. And coming off the list is a rare feat: As of 2018, only four people had ever successfully petitioned for removal, according to the lawsuit.

The law primarily targeted poor and Black Mississippians, Strugar said. Their status on the registry imposed harsh burdens, preventing them from getting jobs, providing crucial care to their kids and even from going to public campgrounds or parks — places “where minor children congregate,” the complaint says.

There were two ways that Mississippians who were plaintiffs in the lawsuit ended up on the registry. The first, which applied to one plaintiff named “Arthur Doe,” was a conviction under the “unnatural intercourse” law in Mississippi. The second scenario involved people who had moved to Mississippi from Louisiana where they had been convicted under that state’s law that criminalized solicitation of sodomy.

Even though Mississippi does not criminalize solicitation of sodomy, the state still required these people to register as a sex offender — simply because the act of oral and anal sex is a registerable offense in Mississippi.

“We tried to negotiate with them for months,” Strugar said. “They refused to budge. They refused to take people off the registry. They were like, ‘well, that was Texas’ law the Supreme Court ruled on, not ours.”

“That’s a wild way to think about it,” he added, because Mississippi’s law is nearly identical to the Texas law that was ruled unconstitutional.

The lawsuit wound through the courts for years. In 2018, the AGs office agreed to a partial settlement to remove the people with Louisiana convictions from the registry.

But there was a wrinkle: U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves required Arthur Doe to have his petition heard in state court before the federal lawsuit could be resolved.

By then, Fitch had taken over the case. Strugar said Fitch’s office never settled with Arthur Doe, but his federal claims were ultimately dismissed by Reeves after the Hinds County Circuit Court vacated his conviction thus removing him from the registry.

But most of the responsibility for the attorneys’ fees lies with Hood, Strugar said. When he brought the lawsuit, Strugar said he’d heard complaints from people in Mississippi that it was a bad look for Hood, who was contemplating a run for governor.

“They said, ‘oh, you liberal civil rights folks, Jim Hood is the only chance we’ve got for statewide office, his case could look bad for him,’” Strugar said. “Then you shouldn’t fight it.”

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

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Mississippi Today

1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed

Published

5 hours ago

April 26, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-26 07:00:00

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
April 26, 2025

April 26, 1964

Aaron Henry testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention.

The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.”

In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity.

In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election.

The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.

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

Mississippi Today

Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

Published

20 hours ago

April 25, 2025

Staff Editor

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

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

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.

Mississippi Today

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

Published

21 hours ago

April 25, 2025

Staff Editor

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

by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today
April 25, 2025

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.