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LEXINGTON — A Lexington alderman denied Wednesday, at a retrial of several bench trials he claimed he missed last month because he wasn’t properly served, a litany of harassment, stalking and assault accusations three city employees made against him.

In the end, Charles Earl Simmons was found guilty again but only of one charge.

Justice Court Judge Abraham Gates upheld his Aug. 5 guilty verdict on harassment and stalking claims Lexington Deputy Clerk Brenda Powell made against Simmons. But Gates withheld final judgment on allegations of harassment, stalking and simple assault brought by City Clerk Casshondra Pitchford and Public Works Director Timothy Brown. He previously found Simmons guilty in absentia for all of the accusations. 

Simmons will have to pay a fine, but the amount was not immediately available. He was previously ordered to pay $2,675 for the criminal charging affidavits the city workers filed. Gates put Simmons on probation for the remaining affidavits filed by Pitchford and Brown. He said he would dismiss the charges if Simmons put a stop to his behavior at work sites and at city hall. 

“You not knowing the limits of your authority as alderman is getting you in trouble,” Gates told Simmons. “You have to take into consideration how you’re talking to people.”

Simmons contended that city employees retaliated with false accusations because he held them accountable, which he felt was his duty.

“You’ve got employees who are disgruntled at City Hall and make stuff up,” Simmons explained to the court.

Chuck Edwards, Holmes County prosecutor, argued Simmons exceeded his authority by getting involved in the city’s day-to-day operation. He explained aldermen are responsible for policy, not management, according to statute.

“I’m the only alderman who asks questions,” Simmons said. As a result, he felt he was targeted.

The Lexington Board of Aldermen voted in September 2025 to ban Simmons from City Hall — something he argued Wednesday they couldn’t do. The ban was still in effect at the time of the alleged harassment of Powell and Pitchford.

The ban was a response to several complaints Powell filed with Robin McCrory, Lexington’s previous mayor. She testified that before he was elected as alderman, Simmons made lewd remarks about her body and inappropriate sexual advances. Once elected, Powell said, Simmons would silently stare at her in the City Hall foyer. Simmons later bullied Powell over the phone and in-person about work orders, which she had no authority over as the clerk responsible for billing for the city water department.

Powell said complaints to two mayors and the board’s ban hasn’t stopped Simmons’ behavior. He followed her to City Hall on a day when the office was closed. She left a city employee orientation event to retrieve some employees’ paychecks, and was frightened to see Simmons’ car outside the office. She left out a side entrance, she testified. 

Simmons told the court Powell lied. He accused her of being rude to him and retaliating for a complaint he said he filed against her with the former mayor. 

“I don’t know why she figures everything I say and do is about her,” Simmons said

A pattern of bad behavior

Other Lexington city employees described on the stand a pattern of behavior from Simmons that made it harder to do their jobs. They also said they were nervous they might get fired because of his actions.

Pitchford and Powell said they felt scared to be alone at City Hall when Simmons visited. Pitchford said she cut back the bushes and trees in her yard so she could see if Simmons was there. Powell said her doctor prescribed her antianxiety medication after she relayed Simmons’ harassment. She said the doctor noticed her elevated blood pressure.

Pitchford recalled calling the police department in April when Simmons’questioning of her took a threatening turn. She said she feared for her safety and barricaded herself in a back room.

When a police officer asked Simmons to leave, he responded he “wasn’t done yet,” Pitchford testified.

“It just got to a whole new level,” she said. “I had to do something to protect myself.”

Brown, the public works director, testified that Simmons would show up at work sites to record him and his crew. He also accused Simmons of having residents file complaints against him. Simmons would file work orders for “petty” requests such as shutting a gate, Brown testified, to waste his time. Sometimes the requests came well after normal business hours. 

Gates acknowledged Simmons’ behavior with Pitchford and Brown bordered on unlawful conduct.

“He still does what he wants to do,” Pitchford said.

‘I’m trying to save you’

Simmons testified he should be allowed to monitor construction work undertaken by city employees in the ward he represents. He said he was trying to get his point across in the encounter with Pitchford, and argued he should be allowed to question employees of the city he represents. 

“She just doesn’t like me. I make her sick,” he said of Powell’s court testimony.

Simmons also said he respects women; he has four daughters and granddaughters. Gates reminded Powell the clerks are not his daughters.

He called written statements from a city police officer, Mayor Percy Washington and Pitchford “fabrications.” He accused the clerks of being “privileged” and claimed the mayor protects them.

“For some reason, they’re trying to silence me, and I don’t have that much of a voice,” Simmons told the court. “The deck’s stacked against me.”

Gates later admonished Simmons for his behavior, and ordered him to stay away from City Hall and city work sites except for official business as an alderman. If there’s another reported incident of Simmons stalking or harassing someone in the next three months, Gates warned, the charges against him could be revisited.

“I’m trying to save you,” Gates told Simmons. “You are an alderman, you should be there for official business.”

A panel of federal judges heard arguments Wednesday over whether prescribing rules should be tightened for a key drug used in the most common abortion method in the United States, one of several ongoing efforts to restrict abortion access four years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to decide the issue.

The case before the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is one of three making its way through the courts as abortion opponents try to block providers in states where abortion is legal from sending drugs for medication abortions into states where it is not.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also says it’s reviewing the rules and could call for a change — and that the agency process should take precedence over court action.

It comes in a midterm election year in which President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion supporters are frustrated that a legal workaround to abortion bans remains. At the same time, most voters favor legal abortion access in most cases.

It will be up to the Supreme Court to sort out

At least 3 in 5 U.S. abortions are now obtained using a two-drug combination. At issue before the appeals court is just one: mifepristone.

Wednesday’s arguments were part of a case brought by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Rosalie Markezich, who says she was coerced into taking abortion pills. A survey conducted for the Society of Family Planning, which supports legal abortion access, estimates that between 770 and 900 women in Louisiana obtained abortions each month in 2025 by using pills prescribed online or by doctors or nurse practitioners in other states that have “shield laws” intended to protect those prescribers.

The three judges hearing the case are two nominated by Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and one nominated by Republican George W. Bush.

Three other three-judge panels on the 5th Circuit — one in this case and two in an earlier one — and two district courts have already agreed that rules for prescribing mifepristone are too loose.

But the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an effort to roll back availability in 2024 — not because of the core legal argument, but because the court found the anti-abortion groups who brought the challenge didn’t have legal standing to make it.

On Wednesday, lawyers for the FDA and mifepristone manufacturers argued that Louisiana also lacks legal standing. One of the judges, Stephen Higginson, questioned whether the FDA’s role is a reason pills are flowing into Louisiana. “Those are state shield laws,” he said. “The government has nothing to do with the shield laws.”

Benjamin Aguinaga, Louisiana’s solicitor general, said the state is impacted, though, because some women who use the pills seek treatment for complications and, he said, perhaps half also have state-funded Medicaid health coverage.

Another ruling from the 5th Circuit would not immediately change the landscape because the Supreme Court has also blocked changes to the prescribing rules until it sees the case again. Even if the FDA makes changes without court approval, such an action would surely be challenged.

Other GOP state officials are also challenging the FDA’s rules. The attorneys general of Florida and Texas have filed one lawsuit and the top government lawyers of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri have another. Separately, Louisiana and Texas have attacked shield laws by bringing criminal and civil cases against some out-of-state providers.

Meanwhile, over the past year, federal judges in Hawaii and Virginia found that current FDA rules for mifepristone prescribing are too restrictive.

Abortion methods have changed since Roe was overturned

Abortion pills were already widely used before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that allowed states to enforce abortion bans.

Currently, 13 states ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Another four do so after about the first six weeks, before many women realize they’re pregnant.

Opponents say the shield laws in some Democratic-controlled states, along with the rules allowing mifepristone to be mailed to patients, have undermined the bans.

“This case is going to have a huge impact,” said Gabriella McIntyre, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing Murrill and the other plaintiff in the case. “The promise of the Dobbs decision was that states would be able to decide on their own how to regulate abortion.”

A lawyer for mifepristone maker Danco Laboratories, though, told judges Wednesday that the 2023 rules were not intended to do so.

Abortion rights advocates also believe major consequences would arise if Louisiana eventually prevails. “They’re asking to restore an in-person requirement for every person across the country to access this medication regardless of whether they live in a state with strong legal protection for abortion access,” said Amanda Allen, executive director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.

The political situation is tricky for Trump

Anti-abortion groups who want to rein in pill access have been Trump’s key supporters.

Abortion opponents have called on the FDA to settle the lawsuit with Louisiana and roll back prescribing rules to how they were before telehealth prescriptions were allowed. They also want the administration to enforce an 1873 “anti-vice” law to bar mailing the pills.

Some states, including Mississippi and Texas, have adopted laws with civil or criminal penalties for those who prescribe abortion pills.

READ MORE: This medication saved a Mississippi lawmaker’s fertility. Her colleagues criminalized it

But on state ballot questions and in public opinion polls, voters have generally supported legal abortion access in most cases.

The administration has been mostly quiet through the legal battles, even though the FDA, whose scientists have repeatedly found mifepristone to be safe and effective, is the defendant in the cases.

The FDA says it’s studying mifepristone’s safety and reviewing prescribing rules around the drug. But Trump’s latest nominee to head the agency, Dr. Heidi Overton, the deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, has publicly criticized the agency for relaxing its prescribing rules for the drug — the most recent change coming in 2023.

One judge ordered the agency to provide a status update by Oct. 7, less than a month before the midterm elections in which control of Congress is in play. It’s not clear how detailed an update might be — or when the full study could be completed.

Prescribers are preparing to shift which drug they ship

Even if mifepristone access is curtailed, advocates say it won’t end access to abortion pills.

The most common regimen for pills in the U.S. is a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol. Misoprostol, which is commonly used to treat stomach ulcers and has never been formally approved for abortion, can cause abortions on its own. According to the FDA label on mifepristone, the combination completes medical abortion 97.4% of the time. Some studies have found misoprostol’s individual effectiveness at around 80% or higher.

Organizations that prescribe abortion pills by telehealth for women who are in states with bans say they would shift to sending misoprostol alone if mifepristone could be dispensed only at medical clinics rather than at pharmacies and through the mail.

The Jackson Police Department is investigating the death of a 29-year-old woman found hanging from a tree in west Jackson last month as a homicide, Chief RaShall Brackney told the City Council during its Tuesday meeting.

Brackney said an autopsy on the woman, Tasia Fortune, was completed four weeks ago.

“To date, we have not received the outcomes of that autopsy,” Brackney told Jackson City Council members. 

“However, the Jackson Police Department has been investigating this case from day one as a homicide until we hear otherwise from the medical examiner’s office,” she said.

Brackney’s statements were in response to Councilman Kenneth Stokes and a letter from Fortune’s mother, who lamented the lack of information about her daughter’s death and what she said was the lack of communication from investigators.

“I’m not sure what you can do, but if you need me to present I will travel to Jackson so my voice is heard. I will attend anything I need to attend,”  Christy Spivey, who lives in Kentucky, wrote in her letter, which was read out loud during the meeting.

Brackney said that investigators have been in constant contact with Spivey and her estranged husband. 

In early August, Fortune’s body was found hanging from a tree behind a vacant house at the 500 block of Road of Remembrance in a mostly Black neighborhood in west Jackson. The manner in which she was found – a Black woman hanging in a place with a history of racial terror lynchings – drew national attention.

Authorities have identified a person of interest, who was arrested on an unrelated gun charge.

Stokes, who shared the letter, said, “Hanging is an ugly, ugly part of our past that we never ever want to come back again.”

Spivey previously told Mississippi Today that she believes her daughter was killed but was not the victim of a hate crime. She insisted Fortune was not suicidal.

Stokes previously wrote to the U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger, and U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, both Mississippi Republicans, requesting federal assistance in the case. He also called for answers at a press conference outside City Hall on Sunday.

By and large, Mississippi’s college football teams had a successful first weekend and the Clevelands break it down game by game, with some high school football on the side.

A recent financial plan from JXN Water, the court-appointed receiver in charge of rebuilding the capital city’s water and sewer infrastructure, is now proposing Jackson sell the systems altogether. The idea comes amid the utility’s call for yet another set of rate increases. 

In February, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate, who is overseeing the receivership, greenlit a 12% rate increase after a drawn-out debate. Through court hearings that spanned nearly a year, JXN Water faced pushback from local advocates and city officials who blamed the utility for driving up costs to a point where rates would become unaffordable for residents. 

JXN Water is now saying it needs to increase rates again in 2027 by 10%, followed by 9% and 8% hikes in 2028 and 2029, respectively. Those numbers are a stark jump from figures the utility mentioned in court hearings last year, where it said it would need 3% annual rate increases from 2027 to 2029. 

But Ted Henifin, the head of JXN Water, said the city could reduce the need for rate increases if it sold its water and sewer infrastructure. With the revenue it would get from selling those assets, the city could pay off significant debt that’s driving the need for rate increases, Henifin explained in the August financial plan. 

“What it does is create greater financial stability for the system, which lessens the need for larger rate increases in the future,” JXN Water told Mississippi Today. 

The idea comes as city and state officials, as well as Wingate, are deliberating what to do with Jackson’s water and sewer systems once JXN Water’s interim control is over, which the utility projects to be in 2027. The Mississippi Legislature approved a plan this past session to put the systems under a regional authority, but Wingate halted the state law in June. 

Under the judge’s orders, Henifin has to propose his own transition plan, which is due near the end of September.  

Jackson City Council members, who repeatedly have publicly criticized JXN Water over the last year, pushed back at the utility’s latest proposal. Ward 7 Councilman Kevin Parkinson said while he doesn’t think the city is ready to regain control of the water system, Henifin’s idea to sell it is a bridge too far.

“ I think the city is not well positioned to take over that water system anytime soon,  but I don’t think that should mean the city has absolutely no say and should be forced to sell off its assets,” Parkinson said.  ”I’m all for creative solutions, but I’m hoping that those can involve the city having a seat at the table.”

Ward 2 Councilwoman Tina Clay went further, arguing the infrastructure should return to city control once JXN Water’s term has ended. 

“ I am totally against the concept saying that the city of Jackson can’t run its own water department,” Clay said. “ When it left the city, it was run down, it was torn up, it was broken, the city had no money. But now that it’s fixed, the city can run the water department. Anything that’s broken and with no money, nobody can run effectively.”

The councilwoman disagreed with recent comments from Mayor John Horhn, who said it was unlikely the systems would come back under city governance. 

“That should not be a thing of the past,” she said. “ Jackson State (University) has an engineering department. We have a lot of resources that we can reach out to. We don’t have to give up and give away things.”

Under the proposal, whatever authority assumes control after JXN Water would take out a tax-exempt bond to give the city the $121 million needed to pay off its outstanding debt. Henifin said the tax benefit “hinges on the new authority not being connected to the city or under city control.”

“(T)he Internal Revenue Code allows the bonds issued to finance the acquisition price to be issued on a tax-exempt basis, as long as JXN Water (or its successor) is not related to the City for federal tax purposes,” according to the financial plan.

Horhn’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment. 

Mississippi Today asked to clarify whether JXN Water outright supported the idea of Jackson selling its infrastructure, to which the utility responded in an email, “Yes.”

Other council members said they needed a chance to review JXN Water’s proposal, but most were skeptical about increasing water rates again. Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote said the collection rate — which the utility said has now climbed above 80% — needs to improve before charging more to those who already pay their bill. 

Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell said the city should have increased rates earlier to avoid the huge jumps customers are seeing now. The increases Henifin proposed are too much for Jacksonians, he said.

“At some point, we have to recognize that affordability matters just as much as financial sustainability,” Grizzell said. 

“Ratepayer input and city ownership of the assets are not mutually exclusive,” JXN Water said in response to concerns over the city losing its voice in governing its water and sewer systems. “This proposal does not mean ratepayers go unrepresented, and it does not mean the city loses its voice in how the system is run.”

The utility told Mississippi Today it is still drafting its transition plan, and will “have more to share as it progresses.”

Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, and Darren Walker, president and CEO of Anonymous Content and former president of the Ford Foundation, will headline Mississippi Today’s 10th Anniversary Celebration on Oct. 7 in Jackson.

Bill Bynum, founding CEO of HOPE and a national leader in community development, will moderate the conversation between two of the nation’s most influential voices in philanthropy, storytelling and social impact. The nonprofit newsroom is marking a decade of mission-driven reporting and launching its next chapter serving communities across the state.

The celebration is part of a two-day anniversary event that includes Mississippi Today’s second annual “All In on Mississippi” summit on Oct. 8 beginning at 1 p.m. at the Two Mississippi Museums. 

“Mississippi Today was founded on the belief that independent, nonprofit journalism could strengthen our state,” said Emily Wagster Pettus, editor-in-chief of Mississippi Today. “We’re honored to welcome two global leaders whose work reflects that same belief — that informed communities, powerful storytelling and bold ideas can create meaningful change.”

A conversation on storytelling, democracy and the future

Powell Jobs and Walker will appear together during the Mississippi Today 10th anniversary event in conversation with Bynum, exploring the role of storytelling and journalism in strengthening democracy and expanding opportunity.

Their discussion will frame an evening celebrating the impact of independent journalism while looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities facing communities across Mississippi and the South.

About Laurene Powell Jobs

Laurene Powell Jobs is the founder and president of Emerson Collective, a company that combines venture investing and philanthropy to address some of the most consequential challenges in education, economic mobility, immigration and energy.

She founded the Waverley Street Foundation to support community-driven climate solutions and College Track to help students become the first in their families to graduate from college, with continued support as they begin their careers. She also co-founded the XQ Institute to drive innovation in high school education.

She is the lead investor and board chair of The Atlantic, board chair of College Track and a member of the Ford Foundation board.

About Darren Walker

Darren Walker brings decades of leadership across philanthropy, finance and the arts. Currently, he serves as president and CEO of Anonymous Content, leading the company’s next phase of growth — overseeing its management and commercial business, guiding its international partnerships, and shaping a global strategy across film, television, and emerging media.

Prior to Anonymous, Walker served as president of the Ford Foundation for more than 10 years, which followed leadership roles at Rockefeller Foundation, the Abyssinian Development Corporation and senior positions across international law and finance.

He is president of the board of the National Gallery of Art and advises some of the world’s most prominent organizations on governance, strategy and leadership. Additional board service includes the Ralph Lauren Corporation, the Obama Foundation, Bloomberg L.P., the Clooney Foundation for Justice, the Waverley Street Foundation, the Perelman Performing Arts Center and Art Bridges.

A trusted connector across business and culture, Walker has long championed artists and storytellers worldwide. His move into media reflects a belief that great storytelling not only shapes culture but defines it.

Mississippi Today 10th Anniversary Celebration

Taking place at the Two Mississippi Museums on Wednesday, Oct. 7, the celebration will honor a decade of public service journalism through an evening of conversation, music, storytelling and immersive experiences that showcase the newsroom’s work.

Guests will hear firsthand accounts of the newsroom’s impact while getting a look at Mississippi Today’s vision for the future. The celebration is made possible through sponsorship from Carol and John Palmer, Collaborative Solutions LLC and The McMullan O’Connor Fund. 

‘All In on Mississippi’ summit

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Mississippi Today will host the second annual “All In on Mississippi” summit, focused on innovative solutions, economic opportunity and community impact.

Presented with support from JPMorgan Chase, the Foundation for the Mid South, Centuri, Butler Snow and Brown Bottling Group, the summit will bring together leaders from business, education, workforce development, philanthropy and journalism for forward-looking conversations about Mississippi’s future.

Featured sessions include:

• Boots on the Ground: Mississippi Industry, AI and the Future of Work.
• A New Era for Apprenticeship Programs in Mississippi.
• The Literacy Launching Point and What Comes Next.
• Mississippi on the National Stage.

Additional speakers and agenda details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets and sponsorships

Celebration tickets begin at $150, with additional options including premium seating, tables and sponsorship packages.

Tickets for the “All In on Mississippi” summit are $25.

Organizations interested in sponsorship opportunities can contact sponsorships@mississippitoday.org.

Registration, sponsorship information and the latest event updates are available at summit.mississippitoday.org.

Editor’s note: Emerson Collective is a funder of Mississippi Today. Donors to Mississippi Today have no influence or control over editorial decisions.

For most of the summer, the former Family Dollar on Terry Road in south Jackson has sat vacant, leaving people in the community with fewer convenient options for everyday necessities. 

Family Dollar’s shutdown in May is part of a recurrent theme of business closures in the capital city in recent years, with south and west Jackson hit the hardest. 

Now, over 41,000 pounds of clothing fill the store’s back room, visible through the glass doors of the storefront.

The mountain of clothing is part of what Niyah Sessom and George Roethemeyer have been working toward — a new secondhand goods store named Mega Thrift.

The store will sit adjacent to Roses, a regional discount store, in the Roses Plaza in southwest Jackson. Owned by Nashville-based Brookwood Capital Advisors, the plaza has undergone renovations the past two years. 

According to company founder Ben Hamd, $900,000 has been put into the plaza and the July opening of the Roses. The parking lot also hosts a flea market on weekends — an effort to turn the space into a community hub, Hamd said.

Renovations are currently underway to prepare Mega Thrift for an opening no later than Oct. 1, according to Roethemeyer, who serves as the store’s property manager. To keep the community informed of their progress, the store posts “A Day in the Life” videos on social media. 

“You’re really seeing a sense of community emerge online, and I think that’s going to translate to a real world community where people want to get involved with something like this,” Hamd said.

The store’s pricing model is what stands out. Most items are marked below $5, with clothing costing customers $1.79. Those who donate items get a 50% discount on their next purchase.

“We don’t cherry-pick our inventory,” Sessom said. “So whatever we get, we put out there.” 

After Family Dollar closed its doors, Hamd said Brookwood Capital attempted to lease the building to grocery chains, but was unsuccessful.

“In a perfect world I would have loved to put a grocery store, because I think it’s needed in southwest Jackson,” Hamd said. “But this is the next best thing.”

The lack of options continues to leave south and west Jacksonians without access to food unless they travel to other local communities. 

“Even though it’s a thrift store, it could be the beginning for other types of stores,” said Johnny Byrd, the vice president of the Association of South Jackson Neighborhoods. 

He said the new thrift shop could help keep “bad actors” out of the area.

Ward 7 City Councilmember Kevin Parkinson and Ward 6 Councilmember Lashia Brown-Thomas, who represent swaths of south Jackson, have voiced their frustrations about the recurrent closures in the area, telling Mississippi Today in May that they had met with several groups who were planning projects in the area. 

Parkinson said the area still has potential for development as residents want to support more local businesses. 

“They’re tired of going to Byram,” Parkinson said. “They want Jackson options and I think they deserve Jackson options.”

For the past year, men from Mississippi’s death row have been able to share with the public who they are and their experiences while incarcerated through an online platform.

The nonprofit organization Humans Remain, which several of the men formed a year ago with England-based advocate Liz McCann, hosts the platform. McCann runs the website, creates the videos and shares them on the group’s social media pages. Personal tablets enabled users to make video calls and send electronic messages. 

On Aug. 7, Mississippi Today published a story about the group’s first anniversary, purpose and work with the 34 men from Unit 17 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. The story quoted McCann and a death row prisoner and included one line about the use of tablets that helps the group do its advocacy and educational work.

Within two hours of the story’s publishing, the death row men lost access to their tablets, according to advocates, leaving two communal phones, mail and in-person visits as their available forms of contact with people outside the prison. 

A month later, the tablets have not been returned. The death row men continue to wonder about why it happened, how the decision was made and whether they can get the devices back. A spokesperson from The Mississippi Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment. 

“There’s literally a wall of silence,” McCann said last week. 

The restriction has prompted some of the men to speak out through an unpublished editorial that McCann shared with Mississippi Today. 

“The application of ‘mushroom censorship’ is absurd and as outdated as the death penalty itself,” they wrote in the editorial. 

Lisa Jo Chamberlin, the only woman on Mississippi death row, had a similar communication restriction at the beginning of the year shortly after Mississippi Today published a story about her. 

As with the men, she was not able to use her tablet, but her restrictions also included phone use. Chamberlin was blocked from making phone calls, and advocates who had regular contact with her were met with silence until April. She has since regained phone privileges, according to other advocates working with her.

MDOC did not provide Mississippi Today with a comment explaining why the tablets were removed.

Prison staff gave the death row men reasons why the tablets were taken away, according to the editorial, including that Unit 17 is a restricted area, that McCann has used the devices to contact them and that Mississippi Today published the story about their efforts. 

The editorial pushes back against those justifications. Unit 29, death row’s previous location, was also a restricted area and is where they first got access to the tablets. Advocacy from death row in the form of published videos predates the formation of Humans Remain. 

McCann said she takes some responsibility for what happened because she operates the organization. 

While the death row men criticized the prison officials’ actions, they gave credit to Chief of Institutions Marc McClure, the former Parchman superintendent. Under his leadership, the men said that their quality of life has improved, including freedom of movement within the unit.

According to McCann, Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain and McClure visited Unit 17 on Sept. 4 and talked with the men. The prison officials did not explain why the tablets were taken away, including when they would be restored or whether any prison rules were broken, she said. 

McCann said she has been transparent about using tablets to communicate with the men and to show people the advocacy group is being run legitimately. 

“We’ve never tried to hide any of this advocacy stuff,” she said.

Mississippi Today welcomes back Adam Ganucheau to look back on the early days of the newsroom and the origins of The Other Side. Plus, Mary Margaret White joins editor-in-chief Emily Wagster Pettus to look ahead to 10-year anniversary celebrations and what audiences can expect in years to come.

Julie Lee is joining Mississippi Today and the Deep South Today Investigative Reporting Center as a data reporter.

Lee, who earned a master’s degree in investigative journalism and a doctorate in neuroscience, will analyze complex data sets and tell the stories behind the numbers. 

“I was drawn to journalism because I wanted to have an impact,” said Lee, who began work Tuesday. “I am honored to have the opportunity to do that two-fold, by putting my data skills to use where it is needed and to do that in a place that is full of important, untold stories.

“As a data reporter, I always strive to center the lived experiences of the real people that comprise data and documents,” she said. “I am looking forward to meeting those people through my reporting and through that of my esteemed colleagues at Mississippi Today.”  

The Deep South Today Investigative Reporting Center launched earlier this year and includes full-time investigative and data reporters, as well as New York Times local investigations fellows at Mississippi Today and Verite News in New Orleans. It receives support from Big Local News, a data-sharing journalism program at Stanford University. 

“Julie brings exceptional rigor and intellectual curiosity to her work,” Mississippi Today Editor-in-Chief Emily Wagster Pettus said. “We are eager to see how she applies her skills here as part of the investigative reporting team.”

After earning her doctoral degree, Lee spent two years as a public interest technologist in Massachusetts, conducting data-driven investigations into policing, surveillance and algorithmic decision-making systems. She then attended Columbia University, where she graduated from the masters in investigative journalism program with honors. While in graduate school, she was awarded the Philip Greer Memorial Scholarship Award for achievements in financial writing. 

Lee most recently spent a summer as a Dow Jones News Fund data intern at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland, where she worked on an investigation with the South Florida Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel.