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Monday nights at Hal & Mal’s are usually crowded with karaoke, live blues and Capital City Pride trivia. But even the Jackson staple could feel the effects of the typically slow season. 

“August can sometimes not be the busiest month as people are transitioning out of summer break back into their routines,” said Damien Cavicchi, the restaurant’s owner.

Visit Jackson, the city’s marketing agency, is hoping to help bridge that gap across the city through JXN Restaurant Week, a weeklong campaign that runs through Saturday aimed at boosting restaurant sales during a notably slow time. 

“JXN Restaurant Week is an opportunity to celebrate the chefs, restaurateurs and hospitality professionals who help define Jackson while encouraging residents and visitors to discover new favorites and support local businesses,” Visit Jackson CEO Ricky L. Thigpen said in a statement.

Urban Foxes is just one of 12 restaurants running a special this week — offering a 15% student discount. The coffeehouse’s co-owner Cody Cox said the weeklong event has helped put a focus back on local restaurants. 

“Everyone’s getting back to school and getting back to a work schedule,” Cox said. “So it’s good to be like, ‘Hey, here’s some favorites that you might have not been visiting this summer.’” 

Patrons browsing Visit Jackson’s website can find localized dining itineraries alongside special discounts and menus. 

Visit Jackson will also host a daily scavenger hunt alongside a spend-to-win  giveaway during the week. It’s a new tactic Destination Development Manager Kim Lewis said is meant to boost participation among diners. 

Patrons who spend $25 or more can message their receipt to 601-509-5674 for a chance to win two VIP tickets to the 2027 Jackson Food and Wine Festival. Runner-up prizes include a gift card basket valued at $150.

Clues for the scavenger hunt are posted to Instagram and Facebook every day at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., leading scavengers to restaurant gift cards ranging from $10 to $50.

“We’re really trying to engage with the community. Not just saying, ‘Hey, these restaurants are here. Go see them.’ But to really engage and get people involved,” Lewis said. 

In previous years, restaurant week coincided with the state fair or National Travel and Tourism Week. Conversations with restaurant owners led Visit Jackson to move the event to the end of the summer. 

Those conversations also led to many of the changes implemented this year. The adjustments include meal times beyond lunch. Neighborhood-based itineraries changed to reflect new restaurants in the area.

Despite Visit Jackson’s efforts, some restaurant owners told Mississippi Today that they weren’t informed about the event – and aren’t participating.

Lewis urged restaurant owners who want to participate to reach out.

With the newly updated schedule and implemented changes, Visit Jackson hopes to continue growing restaurant week to draw more tourists to the city. 

“There’s Michelin-recognized restaurants and James Beard award-winning restaurants,” Lewis said of the capital city’s culinary scene. “There’s some great stuff here in Jackson, and sometimes we just have to remind people of that.”eople of that.”

Federal investigators have charged at least two more out-of-state people with allegedly threatening a witness and state court employees authorities believe are connected to the Nolan Xavier Wells’ death investigation. 

Ohio resident Michelle Edwards and Illinois resident Edward Porter each face a federal charge of transmitting threatening communication to kill or injure. Court records do not state what the maximum penalty would be if convicted, but the portions of federal law under which they are both charged carry sentences between five and 20 years. 

The court unsealed their charges Friday, the same day a California man was arrested for allegedly sending a bomb and death threat to a Mississippi Gulf Coast chancery judge who is the stepmother of a friend who went to Horn Island with Wells and others on July 4. A park ranger discovered Wells’ body on the island on July 6, after his friends had already returned home. 

Investigators from an FBI task force said Edwards called in bomb threats to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department the afternoon of July 23. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is leading the death investigation, and George and Jackson counties are both in the chancery judge’s district.

Edwards allegedly used a blocked phone number when she called the clerk’s office 21 times between 1:34 and 1:42 p.m., according to the criminal complaint. During the calls, she said, “Do not go outside,” “the clock is ticking,” and “die.” 

She also allegedly called the sheriff’s office twice using the *67 function, which makes the caller ID appear as private, unknown or blocked. Those calls led law enforcement to place the building on lockdown and use a bomb detection dog to sweep the area. 

Investigators submitted disclosure requests to telephone companies, which identified an Ohio number. A Cash App account and law enforcement records listed the phone number under Edwards’ name. Cell site information from July 23 included an area in Cincinnati where Edwards had two listed addresses. 

The complaint accuses Porter of threatening to kill a witness in the Wells death investigation and another person in Mississippi on Friday morning; in both cases, Porter threatened to kill the person’s family members.

He allegedly told the witness, who is identified in court records as “W-1,” that he knew where they live and provided proof by texting the witness their address. Porter told the other person, identified as “W-2,” that he would cut them up and put them into a suitcase. Then, investigators say Porter called the witness back to say he was outside their home to kill them. 

The threats came from a Gulfport-area text free number, which allows people to make calls and send texts over the internet. Agents requested information from a company called Pinger about the number, and the company provided two IP addresses tied to Porter, which included a Chicago-area number and a Maywood, Illinois, address.

Agents found that the Pinger account used to make the threats was created the same day the threats were sent. Cell site information placed an iPhone under Porter’s name at his residence in Berwyn, Illinois. 

Wells’ disappearance and death have captured national attention, which has included the spread of theories and misinformation on social media and threats made against people believed to be involved. 

The FBI is investigating threats received by friends of Wells, their families, Wells’ parents and local and state public officials working on the case. So far, none of the threats against Wells’ family has resulted in an arrest. 

Wells, 18, traveled by boat with a group of friends to Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast to celebrate the Fourth of July. He did not return to Ocean Springs and was reported missing. 

His death remains under investigation and a cause of death has not been released. The case is expected to be presented to a grand jury once the investigation is complete. 

Mississippi Today Ideas is a platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share their ideas about our state’s past, present and future. Opinions expressed in guest essays are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of Mississippi Today. You can read more about the section here..   

Since 1999, the MARVET, Marine Veterinary Medicine Team, has introduced veterinarians and students to aquatic medicine with an emphasis on the ecosystem and the inclusive One Health model, typically hosting two international workshops per year.

Our session this summer, which for the second consecutive year was hosted by the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport, was among our most remarkable experiences yet.

Mississippi Aquarium’s critical watershed connection to Gulf waters and its proximity to other regional marine facilities make it a perfect and dynamic venue for teaching the One Health model, highlighting the bonds between human, animal and environmental health.

This summer, the beautiful, world-class facility brought together students and expert instructors from diverse backgrounds and institutions from across the globe, including institutions from Alabama, Cornell, Iowa, Disney, Florida, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (The University of Southern Mississippi), Mississippi State University, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, with students coming from Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin, Brazil, Grenada and the United Kingdom.

The success of the workshop was driven by Alexa Delaune, the vice president of Veterinary Care, and her outstanding team. Delaune volunteered her time to lead high-energy clinical lectures and critical hands-on labs for experiential learning – including an extraordinary opportunity for our group to observe the release of two sea turtles back to the wild, following their successful rehabilitation by the Mississippi Aquarium veterinary care team.

The entire staff inspired us with their genuine enthusiasm, warmth and willingness to share their knowledge on marine species and the marine environment.

Gulfport and the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast should be incredibly proud of the Mississippi Aquarium. It is a vital asset to both the local community and the global scientific field. Because of this exceptional partnership, we are already planning to bring MARVET back to the Mississippi Aquarium in 2027.

Christine A. Curry is a passionate advocate for environmental stewardship, combining science, creativity and community engagement to drive change. An experienced project and product developer, she has spearheaded initiatives in marine conservation and sustainable agriculture and now collaborates across Iowa and the Mississippi River watershed to protect clean water, restore ecosystems, improve soil health and strengthen climate resilience. She is co-founder of MARVET, the Marine Veterinary Medicine Team, and a trustee of the nonprofit “Institute for Global Health and Health Policy”, which sponsors MARVET as an educational outreach. 

Just over halfway through 2026, Mississippi received its third federal disaster declaration of the year.

President Donald Trump approved the declaration on Tuesday to help the state recover from Tropical Storm Arthur.

From June 18-20, Arthur brought dangerous flooding, tornadoes, straight-line winds and severe weather to south Mississippi, damaging 532 homes and killing one person in Franklin County.

“I’m grateful to President Trump and his administration for assisting Mississippi as we recover from the storm,” said Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement Tuesday. “This declaration will further strengthen our recovery efforts and deliver additional support to Mississippians. We continue praying for every community impacted. The state of Mississippi will continue to assist for as long as it takes.”

The storm brought 30 inches of rain to the state over five days and forced several rivers into major flood stages, threatening multiple dams, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River and Stone counties all are approved for individual assistance, which provides direct aid to affect residents. Approved for public assistance, which sends grants to support local governments, are Covington, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River, Stone and Wayne counties.

The declaration marks the third one Trump has approved for the state this year, following Winter Storm Fern in late January and seven tornadoes that struck south Mississippi in early May. It marks the most federal disaster declarations the state has received since 2020. Mississippi saw six declarations approved that year, including for Hurricane Zeta and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impacted residents in counties approved for individual assistance can apply for support by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA app. They can also visit the MEMA website for more information.

STONE COUNTY — As Hood Industries prepares to permanently close its Wiggins plywood mill at the end of August, community organizations are working to help approximately 250 displaced employees find new jobs and connect them with financial, mental health and other support services. 

A two-day job fair for former Hood Industries employees will be held Aug. 14 from noon to 6 p.m. and Aug. 15 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Perkinston campus. The event is part of a coordinated rapid response effort following the company’s announcement that the mill would close after Tropical Storm Arthur caused significant damage to the facility. 

The mill has operated in Wiggins for 56 years. 

“We are part of the rapid response team,” said Rachael Kunz, associate vice president of workforce solutions at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. “Rapid response starts immediately after the announcement of the closing of an industry partner … as a community college, we want to serve our community.” 

Kunz said the job fair was organized within a week of Hood Industries announcing the closure July 7. 

The rapid response team includes Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the Mississippi Department of Human Services and Stone County Economic Development. In collaboration with MGCCC, Stone County Economic Development has also launched a website connecting residents with job opportunities, school supply assistance, mental health resources, food assistance and other community services. 

Kunz said the effects of the closure will extend beyond the mill’s workforce. 

“It’s not just the employees,” she said. “Suppliers, restaurants and other small businesses throughout the community will also feel the impact.”

Hood Industries said approximately 250 employees are affected by the closure. Company President Jay Galloway called the decision difficult.  

“We are well aware of the impact this decision will have on the Wiggins employees, their families and community,” Galloway said in a statement. 

The company said affected employees will meet with Hood Industries representatives to discuss transition assistance and opportunities at other company facilities. Employees will continue receiving pay through Sept. 5 as part of the company’s transition plan. 

For longtime employees, the closure marks the end of decades of work. 

Joseph Fairley spent 25 years at the mill as a lift driver before being laid off July 24.

“It was sad because I just never thought that it would close,” Fairley said. “It’s been there so long. I didn’t see it coming. It didn’t hit me that day … but the next day it did.” 

Fairley said the facility needed repairs before Tropical Storm Arthur damaged the mill, including work on the roof, but he hoped the problems would eventually be addressed. 

Lew Douglas Schuit, who worked at the mill for 13 years as a machine and forklift operator before also being laid off July 24, described hearing the news as “a sinking feeling.” 

“I wasn’t necessarily expecting it,” Schuit said. “With what they had said was the cause, it’s something I knew would happen eventually. I figured it would be able to be reconciled.” 

Hood Industries is also expanding operations elsewhere in Mississippi, with a new sawmill in Wayne County and a new plywood mill in Perry County expected to be completed later this year. Fairley believes those investments influenced the company’s decision not to repair the Wiggins facility.

“I don’t think the owner wanted to put a lot of money in here because he put a lot of money into the new mills,” Fairley said. 

As the community prepares for the mill’s final weeks, Fairley said he is focused on taking time to recover before deciding what comes next. 

“Right now, I’m going to take some time off, just for my mental health,” he said. “I’ve been working so long. I’ve raised my kids through that mill, so I’m going to take a couple of months off.” 

Shortly after Chokwe Antar Lumumba pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge, his attorneys shepherded the former mayor of Jackson into a witness room on the fifth floor of the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse. 

As the door closed, Jaribu Hill, the founder of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights, hugged the 43-year-old and reassured Lumumba that he was still a lawyer. 

Soon, that will no longer be the case in Mississippi. On Monday, Lumumba informed the Mississippi Supreme Court he would give up his law license after the state bar association filed a complaint against him. 

Lumumba pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery – a federal felony charge – in early July. His pleading came one week before he was expected to go on trial in a case stemming from an FBI operation that rocked Mississippi’s capital city.

In Mississippi, those convicted of most felonies cannot practice law. Lumumba did not respond to a call and text from Mississippi Today seeking comment. 

In 2024, a sweeping federal indictment alleged that Lumumba participated in a conspiracy to commit bribery along with former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and former Jackson City Council Member Aaron Banks. 

Prosecutors alleged that in exchange for $50,000 in campaign donations, Lumumba directed a city employee to shorten a bid deadline to benefit a pair of out-of-town developers that were working with Owens. Unknown to the local politicians, the developers were undercover FBI agents. 

Lumumba described this action as “ministerial at best,” according to court documents, thus not in line with how federal law and the courts have defined an official action a public official must take as part of a quid pro quo. 

Elected mayor in 2017, Lumumba had promised to make Jackson the “most radical city on the planet.” His overwhelming victory in the Democratic primary came after he unsuccessfully ran in a special election to succeed his late father, Chokwe Lumumba, who was elected in 2013 but died months into his term.

Mayor of Jackson was not the only vocation into which Lumumba followed his father. Chokwe Lumumba was a famed attorney who once successfully defended rapper Tupac Shakur from charges of shooting two off-duty police officers. 

Inspired by his father’s career, Lumumba decided to become a lawyer, according to a profile in the Oxford American. He was admitted to practice law in Mississippi in 2008. 

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Tuesday announced that she will seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2027, calling herself a “Trump conservative who doesn’t back down from a fight.”

Fitch opted to announce her gubernatorial candidacy a day before Wednesday’s start of a statewide tour where her campaign had said she would make an announcement about her future.

Fitch joins a Republican primary field to replace term-limited incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves that includes Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson and former House Speaker Philip Gunn. Several other candidates will likely enter the race in the weeks and months ahead. In a news release and accompanying video, Fitch highlighted her work fighting the spread of illegal drugs, human trafficking, and the harms of technology on children — experience she said equips her to lead the state.

“Mississippi is on the verge of moving from the nation’s best-kept secret to the nation’s leader in conservative governance,” Fitch said. “We need the right leader to make this moment count. I have the experience, the record and the proven leadership to take Mississippi to the top.”

Fitch also cited her role in overturning what had been a nationwide right to abortion, an issue that earned her national attention in 2022.

Attorneys from her office argued the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, and now abortion is almost entirely banned in Mississippi and in several other states. Fitch’s role in that case has made her a lightning rod for supporters of abortion rights, as Mississippi has some of the worst maternal health outcomes in the nation.

It also led to support from some elements of Mississippi’s conservative base, which remains loyal to President Donald Trump. Fitch made several overtures to Trump supporters in her announcement, saying she backed him “from the beginning” and that she has “battled the radical left and won.” She also said she was elected after “insiders” spent millions trying to defeat her.

“I am a Trump conservative with Mississippi values,” Fitch said. “Together, we will make bold and sustaining change for Mississippi. That is how we make the most of this moment in time. That is how we make Mississippi the nation’s leader. That is how we give you and your family your best future.”

Fitch will likely have to contend with a crowded field of Republicans who will be vying for support from the president’s base, if not support from the president himself. Other Republicans considering entering the race for governor in bright-red Mississippi include Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, state Auditor Shad White, former U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, and billionaire businessman Tommy Duff.

Fitch had over $3.5 million in cash on hand last year, second only to White.

Fitch, a Holly Springs native, served two terms as state treasurer before being elected attorney general in 2019. She began her legal career in the attorney general’s office as a special assistant attorney general. She has also served as executive director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board, worked in private practice and was deputy executive director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

Fitch is the first woman to serve as attorney general in the state, and would also be the first woman to serve as Mississippi’s governor, if elected.

Fitch’s “announcement tour” begins Wednesday, with stops planned in Jackson, Hattiesburg and Gulfport, Meridian, Columbus, Tupelo, Cleveland and Southaven.

Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, a Republican candidate for governor next year, says he’s concerned the proliferation of data centers in Mississippi puts the state at risk and that he’s hearing major concerns about data centers and AI from Mississippians as he campaigns across the state. Gipson said data centers and the AI boom are being funded by debt and “circular financing,” similar to what happened with other tech before the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. He said he’s also concerned about the “AI impact on humanity,” the environment and utility consumers’ costs.

Mississippi’s foster care system continues to endanger children under its care at higher rates than a federal court order permits, according to a new report for a federal lawsuit the state seeks to dismiss. 

The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services met 22 of 107 applicable safety measures related to the agency’s care of foster children throughout most of 2025, a court monitor found. The measures are agreed upon by the department and plaintiff lawyers in the Olivia Y. v. Barbour federal lawsuit, a decades-old case that alleged Mississippi frequently endangers those in the state’s child welfare system. 

The report, published on July 29, says that children in the state’s care experienced abuse or neglect at more than twice an acceptable rate, were frequently placed in unlicensed facilities or with relatives before the department finished background checks and often went without required visits from caseworkers.

The department also undercounted how many foster children experienced abuse and didn’t provide enough information for the monitor to determine whether some requirements were being met, according to the report. The monitor did find that caseworkers more frequently had appropriate caseloads and foster children were less often placed in overcrowded homes compared to previous years. 

The latest assessment is the first full court monitor report published since 2021, when lawyers for both sides agreed that Mississippi’s child protection department doesn’t “have the capacity to comply” with the settlement.

In an affidavit filed in May, Department Commissioner Andrea Sanders said through policy and organizational efforts, the state has since made positive changes to its foster care system that “have been far reaching, covering the work of the Agency across many areas” like staffing improvements and technology upgrades.

Sanders is the fourth commissioner of Mississippi’s child protection department, an agency created in 2015 as a result of the Olivia Y. lawsuit. 

Gov. Tate Reeves and the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, represented by Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office and the national law firm Baker Donelson, are trying to dismiss the lawsuit. Their lawyers said earlier this year that Mississippi has made sufficient progress in keeping children safe. 

Reeves and the state’s child welfare department did not respond to emails from Mississippi Today. MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Fitch’s office, said the office does not comment on active litigation and would speak through its court responses.

Chief U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden, who’s overseeing the lawsuit, said lawyers representing Mississippi foster children could wait until the court monitor submitted its 2025 report to file a response to the state’s motion to dismiss. Marcia Lowry, the lead lawyer for the foster children, told Mississippi Today the report contradicts the state’s position on the case. 

“It’s one thing to make grand statements,” Lowry said. “‘We’re going to keep all children safe. We’re going to give all children whatever they need.’ But then you have to find out whether you’re really doing that, and they’re not doing it in Mississippi.” 

Lawyers for Reeves and Mississippi’s child welfare agency asked Ozerden to require a response from Lowry about their motion to dismiss the case before the report was published, saying it “has no bearing” on their argument. Lowry disagreed in a filing, saying that the report would contain core elements related to the motion. 

Underreported abuse and insufficient investigations

Many of the dozens of required safety measures Mississippi’s child welfare agency didn’t meet have direct implications on foster children’s wellbeing. 

For example, lawyers for both sides agreed that except in certain circumstances, no foster child under the age of 10 should be placed in group housing — where abuse and mistreatment can be a high risk. But the monitor found 22 children under the age of 10 living in these facilities who shouldn’t have been placed there. Additionally, the department only completed reports on mistreatment in a timely manner about half the time, far below the court’s 90% standard. 

Case workers make in-person visits to assess the physical and mental wellbeing of foster children, but the report says they are doing so at much lower rates than the standard. It found that the child welfare agency self-reported its workers attending less than half of their required meetings with children, foster parents and biological families.

The report also highlighted specific examples of alleged abuse from last year that Mississippi’s child welfare department may have mishandled. In one investigation the monitoring team reviewed, three teenage children alleged a range of abuse from their foster parent, from encouraging fights between the children to leaving one child so traumatized that the teenager needed acute care for suicidal thoughts. The state’s investigation found insufficient evidence for the allegations, but the monitor report says the state did not look into several of them.

In another, different children had reported a foster mother of being physically and verbally abusive four times within a year and a half, including restricting how frequently they could use the bathroom. Mississippi’s child protection department said all the allegations were unsubstantiated, but the report says caseworkers documented enough evidence at least once to suggest that professionals should address the concerns. It was unclear to the monitor if the department ever provided that intervention. 

Lowry blamed Sanders, who has led the agency since 2020, for many of the issues the report identified. She said the changes Sanders cited in her May affidavit haven’t resulted in tangible results for Mississippi foster children. 

“She’s gotten the overall number of workers to be within a reasonable limit, but I don’t know what else she’s been doing,” Lowry said. “Because there are so many issues here that are so important to kids and to their safety.”

Lack of data makes some measures unknown

Data collection and reporting issues made it difficult for the monitor to determine whether the state’s child welfare agency was meeting certain lawsuit safety standards, according to the report. For a dozen measures, the monitor said the Mississippi agency didn’t provide enough information to make a reliable assessment. 

The report also says the child protection services department miscalculated some safety measures. The agency identified 25 to 30 incidents of foster child maltreatment during the monitoring period, but the monitor found at least 18 more that should’ve been included. Out of a random sample of mistreatment investigations, the report found that only 82% of the department’s conclusions were backed by available evidence.

While certain measures, including the rates of foster child mistreatment, have improved since the last full report in 2020, the number of measures Mississippi’s child welfare agency met decreased in 2025. Many of the safety measures that have improved still do not meet agreed-upon safety standards.

Lowry said she plans to incorporate this report into her team’s response to Mississippi’s motion to dismiss the Olivia Y. lawsuit, which it has to file by late August. Whether the lack of data or actual violations led to Mississippi not meeting the agreed-upon safety measures, she said, the number of unfulfilled requirements is unacceptable. 

“That’s ridiculous,” she said. “The differences are not one or two kids. The differences are significant.”

Residents and visitors who sued Lexington police have settled their federal lawsuits over what they alleged was a pattern of misconduct including excessive force, unlawful search and seizures, retaliatory arrests and detentions without due process, the ACLU of Mississippi announced Monday.

Amounts of the settlement were not disclosed, and the deal came with no admission or finding of liability or wrongdoing by the defendants, according to the ACLU. The lawsuits were against the city, the police department, several named officers and former police chiefs Sam Dobbins and Charles Henderson. 

“Police hold a powerful role in our society. While performing that role, they must balance enforcing the law and protecting constitutional rights. This settlement helps achieve that balance for the LPD, our clients and the residents of Lexington,” Joshua Tom, legal director at the ACLU of Mississippi, said in a statement. 

One plaintiff, Deborah Powell, alleged in her 2024 lawsuit that in her 2024 lawsuit that Lexington officers threw her to the ground and put her in jail for days just for trying to get a court-ordered reimbursement from the police department. 

Javarius Russell, who is also a law enforcement officer, alleged in his 2023 lawsuit that police arrested him for a vehicle crash he said didn’t happen and jailed him over a long weekend. Former chief Dobbins told him if he paid $2,700, he would be released and the charges dropped.

Plaintiff Andrial Young alleged in his 2024 lawsuit that officers stopped his car saying that he failed to wear a seatbelt, but he had one on. Officers claimed they smelled marijuana and asked to search his vehicle. Young declined the search, leading officers to remove him and search the car, anyway. They did not find any illegal substances. After the search, officers arrested Young and detained him for hours at the police station. 

On Monday, the three plaintiffs said the settlement, which was signed off on by the court, has brought them some justice. 

“I hope this settlement helps Lexington improve its policing in the future,” Young said. 

Dobbins was Lexington’s chief until his 2022 firing days after the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting first reported him using racist and homophobic language when he bragged about killing multiple people while working as a law enforcement officer. 

Henderson, Dobbins’ second in command, became the new police chief and served until January of this year, when his certification was suspended due to a violation of the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. The alleged violation took place in Jackson in November 2024 when Henderson worked for the Jackson Police Department. 

Lexington went through two interim police chiefs before hiring David Simmons in May. 

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a pattern and practice investigation into the Lexington police and its investigation report detailing the department’s violations of the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments. The DOJ found Lexington police jailed people for unpaid fines without determining whether people could afford to pay, resulting in a “two-tiered system of justice.” 

This year, the Lexington Board of Aldermen adopted some Justice Department recommendations, including efforts to ensure officers who make stops, searches and arrests are authorized to use force with clear direction, that they have sufficient training and supervision and that the department improves record-keeping to hold officers accountable for inappropriate or unlawful conduct. 

The ACLU of Mississippi partnered with law firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, O’Melveny & Myers, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, which worked on the lawsuits pro bono. 

Craig C. Martin, lead counsel for Willkie, said the settlement shows clients’ courage, the team’s hard work and a chance to restore trust and integrity in Lexington.

The Lexington lawsuits were part of the ACLU of Missisisppi’s Police Accountability Initiative, which focuses on police violence, racial discrimination and unconstitutional policing practices around the state through litigation, advocacy and partnerships. 

In the Monday statement, the ACLU of Mississippi said it will continue work on police accountability and reform and its support of people affected by unconstitutional policing.  police accountability and reform and its support of community members affected by unconstitutional policing.