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Speaker White asks GOP leaders to explore restoration of voting rights to some people convicted of felonies

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Speaker White asks GOP leaders to explore restoration of voting rights to some people convicted of felonies

Top leaders in the Mississippi House are in the early stages of crafting a pathway for some people convicted of disenfranchising felonies to have their voting rights restored — the first such effort at the Capitol in more than a decade.

Speaker Jason White, a Republican from , told Mississippi Today that he has tasked Constitution Committee Chairman Price Wallace and Judiciary B Committee Chairman Kevin Horan with proposing legislation that would restore suffrage for Mississippians convicted of certain felonies.

“I’ve talked to some members in the House, and I haven’t gotten any negative response,” said Wallace, a Republican from Mendenhall.

The two committee leaders at this stage have different ideas about which types of disqualifying felonies shouldn’t be subject to the lifetime voting ban. But both agree that suffrage should be restored only after someone has completed the terms of their sentence.

Wallace said he was open to restoring suffrage for people convicted of nearly all nonviolent crimes. Horan, a Republican from Grenada, said he also wants to explore restoring suffrage to people convicted of some lower-level violent crimes, with the exception of people convicted of embezzling public money.

“I don’t see why we wouldn’t at least look into it,” Horan said. “But I haven’t really thought that much about it at this stage.”

Under the Mississippi Constitution, people convicted of any of 10 felonies — including perjury, arson and bigamy — lose their voting rights for life. A 2009 opinion from the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office expanded the list of disenfranchising felonies to 22.

About 37,900 names are on the Secretary of State’s voter disenfranchisement list as of Jan. 29. The list, provided to Mississippi Today through a public request, goes back to 1992 for felony convictions in state court. That number, however, may not be wholly accurate because no state agency tracks people once they are struck for the voter rolls. Studies commissioned by civil rights in 2018 estimated between 44,000 and 50,000 Mississippians were disenfranchised.

READ MORE: Not all ex-felons are barred from voting in Mississippi, but no one is telling them that

For someone to have their suffrage restored, a lawmaker has to introduce a bill on their behalf, and two-thirds of lawmakers in both legislative chambers must agree to it. A person can also seek a gubernatorial pardon, though no executive pardon has been handed down since Gov. Haley Barbour’s final days in office in 2011.

When the drafters of Mississippi’s 1890 Constitution created a new framework for Mississippi’s , their stated intent was to reinstitute white supremacy following Reconstruction and bar Black citizens from holding office.

One way to accomplish that goal was to impose a lifetime voting ban on people convicted of certain crimes. The framers included crimes they believed African Americans were more likely to commit.

“There is no use to equivocate or lie about the matter … Mississippi’s constitutional convention of 1890 was held for no other purpose than to eliminate the n—– from ,” Mississippi Gov. James K. Vardaman said at the time.

organizations have filed two federal lawsuits over the constitutional provisions.

One group argued the list of disenfranchising crimes violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause under the 14th Amendment, but federal courts rejected that argument.

Another group argued the lifetime voting ban violates the 8th Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. A panel of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit initially agreed with the plaintiffs, but the full circuit is reconsidering the panel’s ruling. That case is still pending, and attorneys have indicated the case will likely be appealed to the regardless of the outcome at the appellate level.

READ MORE: AG Lynn Fitch to federal court: Mississippi law to prevent Black people voting was not punitive

Legislative efforts to reform the disenfranchisement law face an uphill battle. Changes to the state constitution bypass the governor, but they require approval by two-thirds of the members of both the House and Senate — the highest legislative threshold requirement on the books. Then, if lawmakers pass the measure, a majority of voters must approve the change on a statewide ballot.

Rep. Kabir Karriem, a Democrat from Columbus, has filed numerous bills over several years to grant people convicted of disenfranchising felonies a way to regain their voting rights, but his legislation has never gained serious traction in the Legislature. He told Mississippi Today on Wednesday that he is working with Horan and Wallace on the legislation.

“I’m encouraged by it, and it has the potential to impact many Mississippians,” Karriem said.

While numerous Democrats for years have filed proposals to change the for people convicted of disenfranchising crimes to regain their voting rights, conservative lawmakers in recent years have also started to support the policy.

Republican Rep. Tracy Arnold of Booneville said he plans to introduce a resolution this year to change the state constitution to create a way for some convicted felons to have their suffrage restored.

Arnold, an ordained minister, said Christian principles of forgiveness influenced his to advocate for restoring voting rights to people who have completed their prison sentence.

“Once you’ve paid your debt to society, that should trigger a restoration of your rights,” Arnold said. “To me, real forgiveness is restoration.”

Former House Judiciary B Chairman Nick Bain, a Republican from Corinth, shepherded a proposal through the Legislature in 2022 that sought to clarify that people who have had a disenfranchising felony expunged from their criminal record would regain their voting rights. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed Bain’s proposal, and the Legislature did not override the veto.

The last time the Legislature substantively addressed felony suffrage was when the House overwhelmingly passed legislation in 2008 to restore voting rights to all Mississippians convicted of felonies, except for those convicted of murder or rape.

The 2008 legislation later died in the Senate, where Phil Bryant — who would later become governor and not pardon a single Mississippian convicted of any — presided as lieutenant governor.

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

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1875

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-11-02 07:00:00

Nov. 2, 1875

Pictured here are U.S. Sen. Hiram Revels of Mississippi, left, with six Black members of the U.S. House, Ben J.S. Turner of Alabama, Josiah T. Walls of Florida, Jefferson H. Long of Georgia, and Robert C. De Large, Joseph H. Rainy and R. Brown Elliot, all of South Carolina. Credit: Library of

The first Mississippi Plan, which included violence against Black Americans to keep them from , resulted in huge victories for white Democrats across the

A year earlier, the Republican Party had carried a majority of the votes, and many Black had been elected to office. In the wake of those victories, white leagues arose to Republican rule and began to use widespread violence and fraud to recapture control of the state. 

Over several days in September 1875, about 50 Black Mississippians were killed along with white supporters, a school teacher who worked with the Black community in Clinton. 

The governor asked President Ulysses Grant to intervene, but he decided against intervening, and the violence and fraud continued. Other Southern states soon copied the Mississippi plan. 

John R. Lynch, the last Black congressman for Mississippi until the 1986 election of Mike Espy, wrote: “It was a well-known fact that in 1875 nearly every Democratic club in the State was converted into an armed military company.” 

A federal grand jury concluded: “Fraud, intimidation, and violence perpetrated at the last election is without a parallel in the annals of history.”

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

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Mississippi Today

Mississippi Today’s NewsMatch Campaign is Here: Support Journalism that Strengthens Mississippi

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mississippitoday.org – Mary Margaret White – 2024-11-01 12:34:00

High-quality journalism like ours depends on reader ; without it, we simply couldn’t exist. That’s why we’re proud to join the NewsMatch movement, a national initiative aimed at raising $50 million for nonprofit newsrooms that serve communities like ours here in Mississippi, where access to reliable information has often been limited.

In a time when trusted journalists and media sources are disappearing, we believe the stakes couldn’t be higher. Without on-the-ground, trustworthy reporting, civic engagement suffers, accountability falters and corruption often goes unaddressed. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Here at Mississippi we act as watchdogs, holding those in power accountable, and as storytellers, giving a platform to voices that have been ignored for too long. And we’re committed to keeping our stories for everyone because information should be accessible when it’s needed most.

Why NewsMatch and Why Now?

This year’s NewsMatch campaign runs from November 1 through December 31, giving us a special to make each dollar you give go even further. Through matching funds provided by local foundations like the Maddox Foundation, and national funders like the MacArthur Foundation, the Rural Partner Fund and the Hewlett Foundation, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar up to $1,000. Plus, if 100 new donors join us, we’ll unlock an additional $2,000 in funding, bringing us even closer to our goal. Boiled down: your donation goes four times as far.

Every dollar raised strengthens our ability to serve you with fact-based journalism on issues that impact your everyday life—whether it’s covering local election issues or reporting on decisions affecting schools, safety and economic growth in Mississippi. Your support makes it possible for us to stay rooted in the community, offering nuanced perspectives that help understand and engage with what’s around them.

Special Event: “Freedom of the Press: Southern Challenges, National Impact”

As part of the campaign, we’re excited to host a special virtual , “ of the Press: Southern Challenges, National Impact.” Join Deep South Today newsrooms Mississippi Today and Verite News, along with national experts on press freedom, for an in-depth discussion on the unique challenges facing journalists in the Deep South. This one-hour session will explore the critical role local newsrooms play in holding power accountable, highlighting recent restrictions on press freedom such as Louisiana’s “25- law,” which affects journalists’ ability to vital news.

We’ll examine what’s at stake if local newsrooms lose press freedoms and will discuss how you, as members of the public, can help protect it. This event is open to Mississippi Today and Verite News members as a special thank-you for supporting local journalism and standing with us in this mission. Donate today to RSVP!

How You Can Help

Make Your Gift Today

Together, let’s ensure Mississippi has the robust, independent journalism it needs to thrive. Your support fuels our ability to expose the truth, elevate marginalized stories and build a more informed Mississippi.

Thank you for believing in the power of journalism to strengthen the communities we love—not only during election season but year-round. With your help, we’ll keep Mississippi informed, engaged and connected for generations to come.

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

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Mississippi Today

Hinds County loses fight over control of jail

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mississippitoday.org – Mina Corpuz – 2024-11-01 12:57:00

The sheriff and Board of Supervisors have lost an appeal to prevent control of its jail by a court-appointed receiver and an injunction that orders the county to address unconstitutional conditions in the facility.   

Two members from a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with decisions by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves to appoint a receiver to oversee day-to-day jail operations and keep parts of a previous consent decree in place to fix constitutional violations, a failure to protect detainees from harm. 

However, the appeals court called the new injunction “overly broad” in one area and is asking Reeves to reevaluate the scope of the receivership.

The injunction retained provisions relating to sexual assault, but the appeals court found the provisions were tied to general risk of violence at the jail, rather than specific concerns about the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The court reversed those points of the injunction and remanded them to the district court so the provisions can be

The court also found that the receiver should not have authority over budgeting and staff salaries for the Raymond Detention Center, which could be seen as “federal intrusion into RDC’s budget” – especially if the receivership has no end date. 

Hinds County Board of Supervisors President Robert Graham was not immediately available for comment Friday. Sheriff Tyree Jones declined to comment because he has not yet read the entire court opinion. 

In 2016, the Department of Justice sued Hinds County alleging a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conditions in four of its detention facilities. The county and DOJ entered a consent decree with stipulated changes to make for the jail system, which people facing trial. 

“But the decree did not resolve the dispute; to the contrary, a yearslong battle ensued in the district court as to whether and to what extent the County was complying with the consent decree,” the appeals court wrote.  

This prompted Reeves to hold the county in contempt of court twice in 2022. 

The county argued it was doing its best to comply with the consent decree and spending millions to fix the jail. One of the they offered was building a new jail, which is now under construction in

The county had a to further prove itself during three weeks of hearings held in February 2022. Focuses included the of seven detainees in 2021 from assaults and suicide and issues with staffing, contraband, old and use of force. 

Seeing partial compliance by the county, in April 2022 Reeves dismissed the consent decree and issued a new, shorter injunction focused on the jail and removed some provisions from the decree.

But Reeves didn’t see improvement from there. In July 2022, he ordered receivership and wrote that it was needed because of an ongoing risk of unconstitutional harm to jail detainees and staff. 

The county pushed back against federal oversight and filed an appeal, arguing that there isn’t sufficient evidence to show that there are current and ongoing constitutional violations at the jail and that the county has acted with deliberate indifference. 

Days before the appointed receiver was set to take control of the jail at the beginning of 2023, the 5th Circuit Court ordered a stay to halt that receiver’s work. The new injunction ordered by Reeves was also stayed, and a three-person jail monitoring team that had been in place for years also was ordered to stop work. 

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

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