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After weeks of back and forth, the widow and brother of Dau Mabil have agreed on a pathologist who can perform an independent autopsy. 

Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas wrote in a Wednesday order that Dr. Daniel Schultz, president of Florida-based Final Diagnosis, may perform the autopsy. 

Thomas denied a motion that asked for the autopsy to be performed by Bul Mabil’s choice pathologist, Dr. Matthias Okoye of the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences. 

“Although the independent autopsy is to be conducted at the direction and expense of Bul Garang Mabil, this court did not exclude Karissa Bowley from the process,” the judge wrote. “As the surviving spouse of Dau Mabil, Karissa Bowley has a legal right to be included in all matters concerning this process.” 

Dau Mabil – a Belhaven Heights resident in his 30s who had been one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” and came to Jackson in 2000 –  disappeared in March after leaving his house to go on a walk. Early on, Bul Mabil questioned what happened to his brother and whether someone was responsible. 

Weeks later, Dau’s body was found over 50 miles away in Pearl River in Lawrence County. The State Medical Examiner report released in June found Dau died from drowning, but the manner of death was undetermined. 

Bul Mabil has continued to ask whether there was any foul play, and he and his attorneys have previously said that an independent autopsy can help answer that question. 

Thomas previously ordered that an independent autopsy would need to happen within 30 days of the conclusion of any law enforcement investigation. Capitol Police completed its investigation around the end of June.

Karissa Bowley, Dau’s widow, disagreed with Bul’s choice of Okoye, pointing out how the pathologist faced a lawsuit that questioned his findings in an autopsy report. She proposed several other pathologists who could perform Dau’s autopsy. 

Bul Mabil rejected Bowley’s alternatives and provided two more before they agreed on Schultz, according to court records. Shortly after, Bul’s attorney said he chose Okoye and only agreed to Schultz if Okoye was not available. 

In Wednesday’s ruling, Thomas said Schultz met all requirements previously set by the court, but he did not make a determination about Okoye or other “allegations of incompetency and partiality” raised about the pathologist. 

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Rick and Tyler are brimming with pride after two Jackson Metro Area prospects went in the Top 12 picks of the Major League Baseball Draft, and the Cleveland boys make picks for this week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Stream all episodes here.

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Delta State University has launched a new program to help STEM teachers in the Delta.

The Collaborative for Rural STEM Education program provides resources and professional development. Its funding comes from a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

This year’s program has 22 teachers from 12 districts, including Clarksdale Municipal School District and the Holmes County and Sunflower County Consolidated school districts.

Each teacher receives specialized training and resources based on a needs assessment. They’ll also receive support throughout the year and stipends for travel and lodging each summer.

“The need for STEM teachers in the Delta is crucial due to their relevance in today’s society and

workforce,” project director Jessica Hardy  said in a statement.

Teachers and instructors spoke highly of the program and its potential.

“The power of this program is in the growth of teachers and their capacity to develop and enhance not only STEM content, but also STEM dispositions and skills in students,” said faculty instructor Daphne Smith, 

Said Yazoo County Middle School teacher Melanie Hardy: “I am honored to have been selected to study alongside so many outstanding Mississippi Delta educators, and I look forward to implementing all of the resources provided by the CRSE into my middle school math and science classes.”

The program will run throughout the year until summer 2025. 

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First things first: Jackson Prep baseball phenom Konnor Griffin, 18 years young, will become approximately $7 million richer when he signs a Major League contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates one day soon.

The Pirates made Griffin, the national high school player of the year, the ninth pick of Sunday night’s MLB Draft about 55 minutes into the proceedings. It might have seemed more like three hours to those in attendance at a draft watch party at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. As the first eight drafted players, all college players, were announced, the tension mounted among the scores of Griffin’s family, friends, teammates and classmates in attendance. Konnor Griffin, dressed in a dapper grey suit, clasped and unclasped his hands while seemingly staring a hole through the TV screen. Kevin Griffin, his father, kept a stoic face, but his legs twitched, belying his nerves. Dendy Hogan, Konnor’s girlfriend, silently prayed.

Then at 6:55 p.m. came the news: The Pirates had picked Konnor Griffin, and the crowd thundered its approval in a startling, prolonged explosion of noise. Immediately, Konnor and Kevin Griffin stood and embraced. Behind them, Griffin’s Jackson Prep teammates hooted, hollered and high-fived, several in tears.

“I saw my name, but I couldn’t hear a word,” Konnor said, minutes later. “We’re recording it at home. I’ll hear it later.”

In the several minutes between virtually every earlier pick, the Griffin family retreated to a more private room for phone calls with agent, Joey Devine of Excel Sports. Sources told this reporter the Griffins turned down an offer from a team that drafted several notches above the Pirates because that team wanted him to sign for far less money than the slot value. Behind-the-scenes negotiation is common before and during the draft.

In the end, everyone in the building was thrilled. Griffin, as predicted, was the first high school player picked. And he was picked by what appears to be an up-and-coming Pirates team that has improved its record dramatically in 2024. The Pirates boast several outstanding young players, including Paul Skenes, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, who has instantly become one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Despite Konnor Griffin’s enormous talent, his path likely will take longer than Skenes’ meteoric rise. Skenes, 22, pitched three years of college baseball, the third for national champion LSU. Griffin, recently turned 18, reclassified from the Class of 2025 to 2024, completing four years of high school in just three years in order to fast-track his baseball career. He will need at least a couple years — maybe more — of minor league seasoning to make it to The Show. He is expected to begin his pro career at Bradenton, Fla., playing for the Pirates’ Class A Bradenton Marauders in the Florida State League. Griffin had signed to play college baseball at LSU, but Baton Rouge seems a highly unlikely destination now.

The best Mississippi comparison to Griffin in recent years is probably Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley, picked by the Braves in the first round (41st pick) as an 18-year-old in 2015. For the next four years Riley, who had signed to play college ball at Mississippi State, worked his way through the Braves’ farm system, step by step, until his promotion to the Major League team in 2019. He has since become a two-time National League All-Star.

The good news: Konnor Griffin already knows the lengthy task ahead — and relishes it.

“I’m ready to work,” he said. “I’m ready to do what it takes. This is the starting line. I’ve got a journey to the Big Leagues ahead of me.”

Sunday’s MLB Draft was a reward for many years of hard work, and nobody knows that better than Kevin Griffin, the father who pitched hundreds of hours of batting practice and hit countless ground balls and fly balls for his middle son to field. “That’s what makes this so special,” Kevin Griffin. “I know how hard Konnor has worked.”

As Kevin Griffin talked to reporters, the TV above him flashed the news that former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery was the No. 12 draft pick of the Boston Red Sox and is expected to sign a contract for the slot value bonus of $5.5 million. 

When a reporter pointed that out to Kevin Griffin, he responded, “That’s just awesome. What does that tell you about Mississippi baseball, and the quality of baseball in the Jackson metro area? Two of the first 12 picks are from right here. It’s a tired act when people around the nation downplay the quality of competition in Mississippi.” 

It really is, and with the No. 15 pick, the Seattle Mariners chose Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. Surprisingly, State’s slugging outfielder Dakota Jordan, projected as a top 30 draft prospect, fell out of the first two rounds. The draft continues today with rounds 3-10. Rounds 11-20 will take place Tuesday.

Over the course of these three days, many dreams will be realized, others dashed. Konnor Griffin lived the first part of his dream Sunday night. He seems more than ready to pursue the second part sooner rather than later.

The post For young Konnor Griffin, MLB Draft night could not have gone much better appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Editor’s note: This is a breaking and developing story. It will be updated.

Former President Donald Trump appeared to have blood on his face and was rushed to a hospital by the U.S. Secret Service following an apparent shooting during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

A spokesman for the Secret Service said Trump was safe after “an incident,” and a Trump campaign spokesman said the former president was “fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility.”

Numerous national news reports on Saturday evening indicated the suspected shooter was deceased, a rally attendee was deceased, and at least one more attendee was rushed to the hospital following the incident.

A nation closely following the 2024 presidential election — including Mississippi’s elected officials and other prominent public figures — responded to the news on Saturday evening.

State Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez, the Democratic leader of the Mississippi House: “We need to find a way to become less strident, less divisive. This kind of atmosphere is not good for our country.”

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Delta State University is still working out the number of faculty it needs to lay off after the college board last month approved the president’s plan to achieve financial sustainability.

The regional college in the Mississippi Delta had initially planned to let its more than 200 faculty know on July 1. But the president, Daniel Ennis, wrote in an email a few weeks ago that he can’t finalize the number of layoffs until he knows more about the shape of the four new interdisciplinary degrees that will replace the 21 programs the university is shuttering.

This means faculty will learn whether they need to start looking for new jobs for the 2025-26 academic year on a case-by-case basis around the start of the fall semester — a delay that Ennis wrote is necessary but regretful.

Other considerations for layoffs, Ennis wrote, include if faculty will be needed for general education courses or to teach students who are currently enrolled in degrees the university plans to stop offering, like English, history and mathematics.

“We are working throughout the summer to finalize next steps,” Ennis told Mississippi Today through a university spokesperson.

The cuts come as Delta State has been struggling amid the region’s population decline to keep its tuition-dependent budget in the black — a situation likely to be exacerbated by increased competition among the eight public universities for the declining number of high school graduates going to college.

Last month, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved Delta State’s proposal to close 21 programs the university selected through an academic review process that weighted metrics like total enrollment and awarded degrees more heavily than departmental profits or enrollment growth and decline.

Initially, some faculty were relieved to see in the IHL board book that just 16 faculty would be “affected” in four programs — music, art, languages and literature, and chemistry.

But Ennis wouldn’t say why faculty would be laid off from those four departments and not others, or if 16 is the total number of faculty that will be laid off considering some have already departed from the institution.

In total, about $750,000 needs to be cut from the payroll, Ennis previously told Mississippi Today. Seventeen staff have already been laid off, and 49 vacant positions were left unfilled.

Faculty have been working over the summer to write plans for the four new degree programs that will replace the deleted 21: Visual and performing arts, humanities and social science, digital media and secondary education.

Ennis said these four programs will be introduced to faculty in the fall through a curriculum review process, with the goal of implementing the programs by January 2025.

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MONTICELLO — Even with an adjusted proposal to tackle flood risk in Jackson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still faces a steady flow of opposition downstream along the Pearl River.

“Let me assure you that Louisiana and Mississippi will sue you,” Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, told a panel of Corps officials Thursday night. “We will be in court fighting over you destroying our recreation, our way of life, our wildlife, our fishing and hunting and recreation. We will be in court.”

Last month, the Corps released a new draft environmental impact statement as part of the process for selecting a plan to create flood control in Jackson. The report suggested that a plan that would cost anywhere from $487 million to $655 million may be the most justifiable under the agency’s cost-benefit analysis.

The agency is receiving public feedback on the report until Aug. 6 after recently extending the deadline. The Corps will then use feedback from the public, as well as other government agencies, to craft a final EIS. The agency’s timeline projects a final decision in December from Michael Connor, the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works .

Over the last decade or so that Rankin and Hinds County officials have pushed a flood control plan known as “One Lake,” officials and residents downstream have shouted back. They argue that the plan, which would relocate a dam and widen the Pearl River near Jackson, would disrupt the river’s downstream flow and, thus, also the wildlife and industries that rely on it.

In its June report, the Corps suggested that One Lake may have too large of a price tag to justify. However, the report also says that “Alternative D,” which includes similar components as One Lake, may be the most justifiable based on the agency’s cost-benefit analysis.

Alternative D would create a smaller lake (about two-thirds the size) than what the One Lake plan would, and decrease mitigation costs by avoiding potential hazardous waste sites along the river. Alternative D also includes the option of elevating homes and voluntary buyouts for some of those in the floodplain.

Regardless of the differences, though, those in Monticello on Thursday still saw the fundamentals of what they’ve spent years protesting: a lake that, to some degree, is being advertised as recreation for those in the Jackson metro area.

“What’s this going to do to my paper mill?” Scotty McCloud asked the panel. McCloud has spent the last 44 years working at the local Georgia Pacific paper mill, one of the largest employers in the area. He argued that, if the mill doesn’t get the right quantity of water at the right temperature, not only would the mill suffer but so would Lawrence County as a whole.

Troy Constance, an environmental expert for the Corps, said that the agency’s modeling of the remaining flood control proposals shows minimal impact to the Pearl River’s flow once it reaches Monticello.

“We’re not seeing huge changes very far from (where the proposed weir, or dam, would go),” Constance said, adding later that the models the Corps used were some of the best he’d work with in his 39 years on the job.

Others in the audience, such as Alton Letchworth, argued that the Corps’ cost-benefit analysis didn’t make sense.

“You could buy out every home in the flood area, and you wouldn’t use half the money that you’re going to spend on this,” Letchworth said.

So far, the federal government has made $221 million available for the flood control project, meaning if Alternative D were selected, the project would still need another $266 million to $434 million in funding. Moreover, the local sponsor for the project — in this case the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District — would be responsible for 35 percent of those costs, or $170 million to $229 million.

Constance replied to Letchworth that Alternative D would have a wider impact in terms of flood control than simply just offering buyouts, which would vary in success depending on the participation rate of property owners.

Earlier, though, a Corps official clarified how the agency calculates a project’s potential benefits: while at least 50 percent of the benefits have to come from flood control, additional benefits from recreational opportunities can be included in the agency’s analysis. Constance explained that the benefits of damming the river — which is what separates Alternative D and One Lake from other options the Corps is considering — would be recreational, not flood control-related.

Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie and others argued, despite the Corps’ hydrological models, that the weir would harm those downstream similarly to what they saw after the Ross Barnett Reservoir was built in the 1960s.

“I do think there’s some responsible ways to do (this project) without creating a weir,” McKenzie said. “I don’t want any of my tax revenue to be spent on recreation of the lake in Jackson.”

Another possible impediment to the project is the Pearl River map turtle.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Pearl River map turtle as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, estimating that only 21,000 of the species remain in existence. The Pearl River map turtle’s habitat, the agency says, includes the Pearl River system in Mississippi and Louisiana.

“The science that the Service has gathered on the Pearl River map turtle indicates it could become endangered in the near future,” said Fish and Wildlife Biologist Luke Pearson in a press release. “These native freshwater map turtles are at risk and need our help. Working with state fish and wildlife agencies and our partners to conserve them is a priority.”

According to the Corps’ draft EIS, Alternative D is “likely to adversely affect but not likely to jeopardize the continuing existence of” the turtles. During Thursday’s meeting, Corps officials said they are still consulting with the USFWS on potential impacts to animals listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and that the agency’s advice will be incorporated into the final EIS.

“(The project) would require some excavation for the banks (along the Pearl River), and those turtles have been known to rely on those banks,” Brandon Davis with the Corps said.

For more information on how to submit comments before the Aug. 6 deadline or on the draft EIS, visit the Corps’ project website here.

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