Jackson Jambalaya

The trial for Kameron Woodard is set for May 7, 2012. Kameron Woodard, Derrick Johnson (Not the President of the Mississippi NAACP), and Aaron McNair are charged with capital murder in the death of James McKinney. Mr. McKinney was a security guard at the Shell gas station on the corner of Jefferson and Fortification Street. The three defendants are also charged with using a handgun to commit a felony in attempting to "cause injury" to store employee Suvin Sharth. >


Attorney Faye Peterson represents Woodard after the court declared Woodard to be an indigent defendant. The case is assigned to Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd. Derrick Johnson is represented by attorney Terrance High. Woodard sent a handwritten statement (see page 15 in the documents posted below. I'm sorry if its illegible, it was written in pencil. ) to the circuit clerk. Woodard addressed the letter to District Attorney Robert Smith. Woodard writes "I would like to talk to you about my case because I understand that a life was lost and someone has to pay. The other to people on the charge don't fully understand like I do. I know that is not what happens in lifie that determines my future. Its what I do about what happens. With ath being said, I would like to write the wrongs that took place. Before all these events I was a 21 year old student at Hinds. I'm not the killer I have been made out to be. I just want to explain what happened. I know one life has been lost because of a bad decision. I'm trying to right the wrong and save my life..."

All three defendants are also charged with aggravated assault. The crime of capital murder carries the death penalty.




Note: We are going to remember Mr. McKinney on this website. Maybe Tony Yarber and Donnal Ladd forgot all about him, but we don't forget him here. That means we will be at the trial and judge permitting, with a video camera. James McKinney was a hero. Period. He died protecting a store clerk. He probably wasn't getting paid much. He probably didn't have much. However, its not what you have that counts but what you are that does. When these three thugs showed up at the Shell station that night to rob and possibly kill that clerk, James McKinney stood his ground defending young Suvin. James McKinney didn't get any rallies. He didn't get feature stories written about him. The Southern Poverty Law Center probably does not know he existed. The media treated him as just another statistic. Another black guy killed a black guy, unfortunately for the victim, the killers' race was the wrong color for them to pay notice. Six months later, there are no headlines, just silence. Say a prayer for the family of James McKinney.