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Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

Courtney Webster receives her diploma at during Greenville High School’s graduation Thursday, May 21, 2020.

COVID-19 closed schools across Mississippi and the nation, and left districts scrambling to figure out how to plan one of the most memorable events for high school seniors: graduation.

Mississippi Today reached out to all of the 233 public high schools in the state to ask what their graduation ceremony plans are. Respondents’ plans, if they have any, fall into one of three categories. Traditional ceremonies will have graduates walk the stage to receive their diploma while following social distancing measures. Virtual-only ceremonies can only be viewed via live stream or by video. In-person, non-traditional ceremonies are an abbreviated version of a graduation ceremony including, but not limited to: drive-thrus, parades, and movie drive-up graduations.

As of June 2, almost 16 percent of schools did not respond to Mississippi Today’s request or had no information on their websites or social media pages. About a third will hold in-person, non-traditional ceremonies. Less than a quarter of schools will hold traditional ceremonies. Almost 20 percent indicated they were planning to host a graduation ceremony but did not provide specific details, and 17 percent of respondents plan to hold virtual-only ceremonies.

In late May, the Mississippi Department of Education provided guidance to school districts including that outdoor traditional ceremonies should have no more than 100 people present, and 50 present for indoor ceremonies. These types of ceremonies come with increased risk and “are strongly discouraged and should not occur in counties with higher levels of transmission,” the department wrote.

Additionally, some districts will hold multiple types of ceremonies at later dates. For example, East Webster High School conducted a virtual ceremony on May 17. However, the school plans to have a formal, traditional graduation ceremony on July 19.

As a way to celebrate the Class of 2020, Mississippi Today created a landing page to share their stories on how the coronavirus pandemic interrupted their final moments of senior year.

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16th Circuit Court website

Scott Colom, the district attorney for Columbus and surrounding counties

The district attorney in Columbus, a predominantly African American city of about 20,000, called Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s decision last week to dismiss 2015 charges brought after a black man was killed in an officer-involved shooting a “slap in the face.”

District Attorney Scott Colom initially transferred the case from his office to the state in 2016 to put a distance between the outcome and any local influence.

“I don’t know if they’re just not aware of how serious this case was in Columbus back in 2015 and early 2016,” Colom said.

Ricky Ball, 26, was shot to death during a police traffic stop in October 2015. Columbus Police Department officer Canyon Boykin, who is white, was later fired and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges brought by the state in 2016.

As tens of thousands protest inequities in the criminal justice system and the police killings of black Americans, Fitch announced last week that her office had dropped the charges against Boykin. In a two-sentence statement, Fitch’s office said its review of the evidence concluded Boykin had acted in self-defense.

“The Attorney General’s Office did a thorough and independent review of the thousands of documents in this case file and concluded that there is not evidence on which to prosecute the case against Officer Boykin,” the statement read. “In fact, all evidence, including forensics and the sworn statements of four separate MBI investigators, points to necessary self-defense.”

Fitch’s office did not answer questions asking to elaborate on the findings or about the timing of the decision, as protests continue nationwide in response to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and George Floyd in Minnesota involving current or former law enforcement.

“It was not something that I expected to happen,” said CPD Chief Fred Shelton of the case’s dismissal.

Photo by: Deanna Robinson/Dispatch Staff

Protesters gathered at Leigh Mall Saturday to protest Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s decision to drop the manslaughter charge against former Columbus Police Department officer Canyon Boykin in the 2015 shooting death of Ricky Ball.

“They just thought (releasing) two paragraphs, we’re dismissing it, that’s all we need to do. That to me was kind of a slap in the face,” added Colom.

About 250 demonstrators gathered at Leigh Mall in Columbus on Saturday to protest the decision, the Commercial Dispatch reported.

Colom said he plans to request the evidence used in the finding, which he expects to get back in the next 10 days.

After his election in 2016, Colom said, he had conversations with then Democratic AG Jim Hood’s office about making sure the case was independent of any local influence. Fitch, a Republican, replaced Hood in last year’s statewide elections and became the first Republican elected to the statewide seat since Reconstruction.

Colom called the dismissal’s timing a “gut punch,” emphasizing that there were no deadlines and the officer was out on bond, and there was little to no ability to hold a trial right now due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We need to put the information out there in the public so people can know what happened in this case because there are a lot of unanswered questions,” he said. “There are a lot of people (wondering), what happened? How did you make the decision to dismiss this case after four years and you’ve only had it for four, five months?”

He said any next steps in the case depend on if the charges were dismissed with or without prejudice.

Colom also noted the importance of accessing footage in any officer-involved shooting. Boykin and the other officers on the scene during Ball’s death were wearing body cameras but did not turn them on.

“If you look at what happened in Minnesota, if you look at what happened in Georgia, without the video, we only get one version of events,” Colom said.

Shelton said new policies and structure in the department have improved accountability of officers. After Ball’s death, CPD enacted stricter penalties for officers who do not turn on their cameras during public interactions, including suspension and termination, and since have had no such issues, Shelton said. The department also now has an oversight committee to receive complaints about excessive use of force.

Shelton said he is meeting with Colom’s office this week to plan a public forum that will both be used to discuss the use of force and racial profiling, and then to institute new training policies for police officers.

“We’re continuing to build and foster the trust we that we have in the community,” he said.

The post ‘Slap in the face’: Columbus DA rips AG Lynn Fitch for dropping charges against white officer who killed black man appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Madison County Prosecutor Pamela Hancock

Pamela Hancock, the second-term prosecutor of Madison County, defended herself Monday after posting and later deleting a Facebook comment in which she suggested “the deadly strain” of coronavirus should spread among rioters who are protesting inequity in the criminal justice system.

Hancock, who was first elected county prosecutor in 2015 and re-elected in 2019, wrote the post as a comment to another person’s post: “Does Covid spread during massive street riots or just in bars and restaurants? Asking for a friend.”

Hancock, in a since-deleted comment, replied: “We can only hope the deadly (coronavirus) strain spreads in riots!”

In a phone interview with Mississippi Today on Monday, Hancock defended the comment.

“My job is to prosecute all crimes, including civil disobedience,” Hancock said. “I’m against any breach of peace or criminal activity, and I would prosecute it. I have nothing against people peacefully protesting, but breaking into businesses and stealing things is a crime.”

When asked specifically about her expressed notion that the virus kill rioters, Hancock rebuffed.

“I was really just making light of it,” she said. “I was not serious about wanting anyone to die. That’s not who I am. The post was kind of a joke, and I was attempting to joke back. Obviously, I did it very poorly. If you ask anybody that knows me, I don’t hold any ill will towards anyone or any group. I only try to be fair.”

County prosecutors in Mississippi bring misdemeanor charges against individuals in justice court and county court. Those charges would include disorderly conduct, trespassing and driving under the influence. County prosecutors are elected every four years.

Black Americans, upset with inequities in the criminal justice system, organized the recent protests in dozens of cities across the country that have garnered international media coverage. Inspired by the recent police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia — all black victims — many of the protests have become violent after police, in many cases, escalated the conflicts.

Madison County, the sixth-most populated county in the state, is home to at least 40,000 African American residents.

“It’s been an incredibly difficult few days,” said Brandon Jones, policy director at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Jackson. “You’d hope in moments like this that people throughout the law enforcement community and certainly prosecutors would be reflective about how we talk about these issues. Because she’s an elected official, it’s an office of public trust. Frankly, (her post) sends all the wrong messages.”

Jones continued: “We worry when people like Ms. Hancock say these things because of what message it might send to people who might have to face her in court. It erodes the public’s trust that they’re going to be treated fairly with comments like this, even if they were in jest.”

In the phone interview on Monday, Hancock discussed, unprompted, how her Facebook post had been perceived as racist.

“I never meant to offend anybody, and it was not directed toward anyone except for people that were rioting,” Hancock said. “What I saw on TV seemed to be people of all races. If you ask anybody that knows me, I don’t hold any ill will towards anyone or any group.”

Hancock continued: “When I prosecute, I don’t look at someone’s color. I look at the crime they committed, the facts of the case… I only try to be fair.”

The post Madison County prosecutor: ‘We can only hope the deadly coronavirus strain spreads in riots’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Protesters gathered in downtown Jackson Sunday in a peaceful demonstration against police brutality following the recent death of George Floyd who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

The protest started at the Governor’s Mansion and ended at the Jackson Police Department. 

“We are tired of black lives being taken by police officers and we are just tired of racism, period,” protest organizer Bria Williams said. “We want to know how Mississippi leaders feel about what is going on in America with race.”

Protests have been taking place in cities across America after the video of Floyd in handcuffs and police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck went viral. Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. 

People from various racial backgrounds and ages took part in Sunday’s protest in Jackson. 

“We want to show the nation that although we have a past that is tainted with racial tension, that today we wanted to make a change and show the world that Mississippi can care about racism in a peaceful way,” Williams said. Here is a collection of images from the demonstration:

The post Jackson Protest: ‘We are tired of black lives being taken by police officers’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Rogelio V. Solis / Associated Press

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, left, confers with an unmasked Gov. Tate Reeves in Senate Chambers at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann recently warned members of the Mississippi Senate to wear their masks or risk being photographed or videotaped by media outlets without one.

Whether a politician eschewing the wearing of a mask would be harmful to a Mississippi politician is debatable. But a day before Hosemann warned members of the possibility of being photographed without a mask, Gov. Tate Reeves went maskless while visiting the Senate chamber – his old stomping grounds – where he presided for eight years as lieutenant governor. Not only was Reeves not wearing a mask, but he also appeared at times to be challenging social distancing guidelines as he carried on conversations with members in the ornate Senate chamber.

Bobby Harrison

And yes, there was a photograph of the event taken by Associated Press photojournalist Rogelio Solis of Hosemann, sporting a mask, and Reeves, sans a mask, in deep conversation.

The scene was a bit surprising since the Republican Reeves often has gone out of his way to agree with state Health Officer Thomas Dobbs about the importance of wearing masks in their near daily news conferences conducted to provide updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the argument often is made that politicians asking their constituents to do something that could be a sacrifice – such as social distancing or wearing a mask – should lead by example. Reeves was not that day.

When asked about his maskless foray into the Mississippi Senate, Reeves to his credit did what most modern-day politicians have become reluctant to do – essentially to say he made a mistake. Now Reeves did not utter the words “I made a mistake,” but for a politician it was fairly close.

“What I would tell you is that when I have gone out in public, which has been rare in the last three months, I have tried to wear a mask..,” he said. “I probably should have had on a mask. It is not mandated. It is not as if it is a mandate, but it certainly is more responsible.

“Those of us in the public sector, in government, we have to take some risks, but no doubt I usually have a mask with me and I probably should have had it on (while) on the floor.”

The issue of whether to wear a mask has become politicized in recent weeks with President Donald Trump, who based on polling is more popular in Mississippi than in many other states, espousing the virtues of wearing a mask at times and in other instances belittling people who wear them. Reeves, who it could be argued is a Trump acolyte, has never said anything negative about the wearing of masks – at least not in public.

At the Mississippi Capitol, where extraordinary measures have been undertaken to ensure the building is safe while the Legislature is in session during the pandemic, some politicians and lobbyists wear masks while others do not. Most at least try to practice social distancing guidelines but many often do not. And often the people who don’t social distance and the ones who do not wear a mask are one in the same.

Of course, social distancing and wearing a mask might feel counter-productive to some in a building where communication skills and relationship building are at a premium for passing legislation. Because of all the close contact, the Capitol seems like a prime location for the coronavirus to thrive. That is perhaps the reason it is just as important to wear a mask at the Capitol as say, at the grocery store. After all, most people go the grocery store, buy their supplies and leave. People linger in the Capitol, get in each other’s space to make deals and share gossip.

Against that backdrop Reeves’ action was a bit surprising since he had been a champion of mask wearing and seemed to be a sincere supporter of Dobbs’ plea to wear a mask. At an earlier news conference, he touted his “Mississippi strong” mask that he received from a constituent.

“If we do these simple things, we will be in such a better position than if we are stubborn for no good reason,” Dobbs said of mask wearing. He said a cloth mask can block up to 90 percent of infectious particles from a person who is contagious.

At that point Reeves chimed in to add that the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard had delivered 2.25 million  masks to the state’s 82 counties.

“It is such a herculean effort,” he said, adding that masks were available in the communities for people who need them.

The next day Reeves returned to the Senate – wearing a mask.

The post Reeves concedes he should have worn mask during Senate visit, but he wasn’t only one maskless appeared first on Mississippi Today.