Jackson Jambalaya

So that's how you get the DA to get fired up. If he would only get that fired up about crime....

so mr. fish, where is the video?

Who cares what that ignorant dumbass D.A has to say. I hope the mayor told him to kick rocks(that's a nice way to say it).

Generals have many ways to fight battles!

I keep checking back to see if the video has been posted yet or not......

This is a perfect example of lazy prosecutors. At the very least, any plea bargain should have required that the defendants serve their time as habitual offenders.

Did I hear that right? Smith is throwing Faye Peterson under the bus?

Generals have many ways and so do Airborne Rangers.

How can you be a budget hawk constantly complaining about government spending and at the same time, demand spending 20-30k per year for seven years per count for someone stealing out of a car? I get rapists, traffickers, AG assault, etc. While I get the frustration, spending 150 to 200 k or more(maybe way more)housing a guy who broke a car window and stole a purse, phone, change etc. is nuts.

Kudos to Fisher for speaking up. More leadership than we'll ever see from Young Harvey Yarber.

Is 'draws in a wad' an appropriate summary?

brilliant politics. get a very white conservative mayor to disrespect a relatively popular black elected official. its certain that General Fisher just persuaded legions of black voters to unite to defeat Smith...

Give us a break 6:50 PM and stop the dodge. Smith isn't bringing them to trial habitual offender tag or not. HindsCo is a joke and no amount of snappy marketing campaigns and happy talk from downtown big mouths is stopping the relentless march of rooftops and businesses to Madison and Rankin counties. New sweet spot housing developments are springing up like row crops there and many buying those new houses are middle class Jacksonians, black and white, who are fed up with a justice system that is inexorably broken and political leadership ranks with their heads forever stuck up their asses doing nothing year after year after year.

6:50:

Please give em your address, and park out on the street tonight.

That's called a press conference hijacking. But Phil said what needed to be said. Too much reading though. And he needs to stay out of the onion rings.

7:46 and :47 please make sure you call your senator and Represenative and tell them to please raise your taxes. I'm taxed enough, thank you.

This is why he's the KINGFISH. Res ipsa loquitur!

If Hinds is 4th out of 10 counties in getting the "bitch" (aka habitual offender status) in cases, why is the DA proud of that?

Hinds is almost twice the size as Harrison, Jackson, and Rankin. It is 20 times larger than most counties.

On shear numbers alone, Hinds should have the highest number. Also if the other counties in the mix are Issaqueena, Benton, Sharkey, Jefferson, and so on, the numbers mean nothing. Crime doesn't exist where there are no people to rob, rape, and murder.

I challenge anyone to go to the Hinds County Courthouse and sit in a courtroom where an actual criminal trial occurs. If Smith tries a case, that is news conference worthy.

Also, go to the courthouse in August. It is deserted. The entire judiciary takes the MONTH off. But hey, We're number 4!

Excellent reporting KF!

In response to- Are you that idiot Adam? said...
I totally went back to read that in Adam's voice, smh and laughing anyway. Can't forget the time he "just got back from Israel" and called someone a "coon" on Kim's show. You know, he was for Thad before he was against him, before he was for him again.

I usually don't weigh in on Hinds county matters, but this is very enlightening. I agree w KF about half the time. This is important. Great Job, KF.

spot on 8:52.

8:52 - I thought the exact same thing about Hinds' size relative to the other counties. For it not to be #1 made no sense. I was shocked Smith would brag about this statistic.

But then it gets even more pathetic. C-L reports the following:

Smith told reporters that Hinds County is fourth in the state in convictions of habitual offenders. He said he got his information from a 2010 Clarion-Ledger article by Nicklaus Lovelady. That article actually had Hinds County ranked sixth, with 81 habitual offenders incarcerated, with Harrison County at 319, Lauderdale at 153, DeSoto at 149, Forrest at 101, and Panola at 86.

Damn its hard to tell here who is the most incompetent in their job, RSS or the local media!! RSS is so full of BS that he couldn't address the questions raised by Fisher with even acknowledging the problems with the four. All he could do correct was count them and come up with four - over, and over, and over.

The media could not ask the real questions of RSS - but focused a lot of their energy on his sidestepping. Four in Clinton sounds like a lot because its smaller than Jackson. Damn - that's good. Or, "4th". Are you still 4th? Not 4th of what, or how measured. While I give the media a crappy grade, RSS wins the incompetence award.

This could make a good story if Jackson still had any investigative reporters. Simple - Excel program and percentage formulas. How many cases; how many eligible for habitual status; how many prosecuted under habitual status; how many plea bargained.

But asking accountability from county officials has not been on our local media's radar screen for decades. Too bad for us. Good for Shuler Smith.

Per the census, Hinds is the most populated county and is about 20% bigger than the next county and is 50% bigger than the third county. And I can only imagine by how much Hinds outranks all counties in crimes committed. Smiths bragging about being 4th (which is actually 6th) discredited his office better than anything Fisher said. But kudos to Fisher for bringing it up.

There definitely were some eyebrows raised at that press conference.

The only number that matters is how many of those charged who meet the criteria as an habitual offender are tried as an habitual offender?

It's the percentage, not the number.

Costs involved and jail/prison space can be a real factor. The current state of the monitoring system is a problem that needs to be examined.

The quality of the case and evidence gathering can be a real factor.

Attaching habitual offender status to violent criminals should be a priority.

The adequacy of the judiciary can be a factor as well as getting juries seated.

I don't know if Mr. Smith is faced with " Mission Impossible" or he is a terrible administrator.

What I am certain of, having lived and worked with law enforcement elsewhere, is that the county sheriff system here competes for money and equipment and is not as co-operative as it should be. The role of the sheriffs department is unlike the usual division of labor found in other states especially when there are cities larger in population than the county areas. It's highly dysfunctional and a piss poor use of limited resources!

Hinds county should have ONE cohesive law enforcement body with the responsibility for solving crimes instead of our current mishmash!! Indeed, there should be a METROPOLITAN police force !

If Rankin and Madison deal more effectively with criminals, I want to know the reasons. Compare the number of arrests to the number of judges to hear the cases! KF does the crime stats. Compare the dockets and numbers. Compare the costs per case. Compare the salaries. Compare the abilities to seat juries.

While there is always some competition between law enforcement agencies, the lack of cooperation in this state is not for who gets credit but who will work together at all.

What I do know for certain is that serious problems exists and I want those problems to be addressed .

And, most certainly, personal attacks don't solve problems. Gathering facts, identifying specific problems and offering solutions is what needs to be done .

What the mayor should have done ( it's how people who are competent and not arrogant or egotistical do things) is first meet with Mr. Smith, ask him what specifically happened in each of these cases before doing a press conference.

After doing that, he might still have called the press conference.

But, to solve problems, Mississippians have to start working together rather than casting blame and claiming territorial/tribal superiority. The tribalism would have to end.

DA Smith should have stayed his ass home and worked. Showing up to look like a jackass is never a good strategy.

Smith spends more time defending his abysmal record than he does working. He needs to go.

I don't know all of the details, but from what I understand, there is a lot of money to be made working as a part of the catch-and-release program; hence it's continuance. Bail bondsmen and the like are doing pretty well in Jackson.

LOL @7:26

On a more serious note, F---- you Robert Smith for making a hard time in Jackson even worse. Please go away.

When it comes to Durr, it was only two rapes. Right Smith?

What the mayor should have done ( it's how people who are competent and not arrogant or egotistical do things) is first meet with Mr. Smith, ask him what specifically happened in each of these cases before doing a press conference.

Smith's talk is cheap. Your own is also.

According to the CL, the study of habitual offenders took place in 2010 and found that Hinds county had 81 inmates within MDOC that were serving habitual time. I very seriously doubt that all 81 of those were sentenced after RSS took office in 2008. Habitual offenders usually refuse to plead to habitual time because they have nothing to lose by going to trial since they will get the max either way so why not make the prosecution earn it.

I would be willing to wager that a good number of that 81 were convicted prior to 2008 under a prior administration.

"It's only 4." I don't care if it's 1. His attitude reveals a lot. One murder, one theft of property from someone that is part of the catch and release program is too much. As for 6:50, I'm the first to say that I think we put too many in jail. But, if someone steals my stuff, I want them thrown in jail to serve hard time (something we don't have) for a long time. My right to enjoy what I have earned in peace is a critical part of civilized society.

Showing up at this press conference and calling out a white mayor is a great strategy for Smith considering who will be voting for him in August.

I think all of the Mayor's whose cities have been tormented by repeat Hinds Co. offenders should hold a press conference and call out R.S.S. Between all of the cities and towns in Hinds County PLUS the cities and towns in Madison and Rankin there would be PLENTY to talk about.

It's possible the pleas bargins are given in exchange for information on other cases or in exchange for confessions. This is a powerful tool. In JPD's/RSS case, they're using it as a crutch, which has turned into laziness in solving cases.

Hinds County Prosecutors office has had competency problems for over 15 years. It is a habitual problem with the office, caused by any number of reasons....Laziness, Incompetence, Providing Friends and Family opportunities and breaks, and possibly even corruption involving money. A thorough Federal Investigation into the entire Justice System of Hinds County may be in order.

April 30, 2015 at 8:29 AM
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So is there any question at all about what 'D.A.' actually represents?
I believe it must be Dumb Ass.

In the video RSS says @ 10:51 that they had a meeting and it "went well".

I live in the Fourth Precinct in Jackson, and we have gotten a great response from Chief Vance and Precinct Commander MacGowan. They are making fast arrests whether the crime is major or minor. Now the problem is lack of response from the Mayor and the DA. Nothing new, I know, but I believe that we can build on the solid performance of the JPD and finally get DA Smith to lead or get out of the way. As for the Mayor, where is he? Where in the hell did he go?

That meeting was in the late fall. Remember that two page lists of no bills that made the news? Clinton PD had 8 no bills. Mayor was not happy so CPD supervisors, detectives, and chief had a training session with the DA's office on how to prepare cases for a grand jury. Was very productive from what I understand and frankly, more of it between the DA's office and PD's needs to take place. That is one area where police can't get enough training regardless of where they are.

Had nothing to do with what took place yesterday. The 2014 meeting was between prosecutors and police on how to prep cases for grand juries. Yesterday was about decisions made by prosecutors and judges on cases and their dispositions.

Don't make any wagers 2:21 PM that you'll ever get a response from Young Harvey Yarber because you'll lose your shirt waiting.

Lee Vance:

"It's what I've said and will continue to say is the vast majority of the criminals we arrest for violent offenses, are people who have already been through the criminal justice system multiple times," he said. "The answer to the question is a resounding yes as far as us dealing with repeat offenders, it's a terrible problem in this county. Or it's people committing crimes while they're out on bond, they're on probation, or are out on parole."

An NCIC report does not prove that an individual is an habitual offender. You must get certified court records. Most of the time NCIC only shows an arrest for a crime. Sometimes there no records to be found. Law enforcement does not obtain the records, the prosecutors do. Sometimes it does not pan out and habitual offender status has to be dropped.

Mayor Fisher does not know what has to be done. He does not know anything about how the judicial system works. If you don't know what an NCIC report is, it is the RAP sheet which is not admissible as proof. I am not a lawyer, only someone who makes it worth my time to be somewhat knowledgeable. I am familiar with what NCIC does.

As I have told many people since 1998, Jackson is on the same road as Detroit. Ripe with corrupt officials and a ignorant Sheriff and DA, what else can one expect?

But the real issue here is how these people live their lives?? I would be willing to say most of these criminals grew up in fatherless homes.

Again, this is our fault for allowing this to happen. The feds instituted the Civil Rights movement to secure votes. Anyone who disagrees is ignorant and just plain dumb. They want this group of people to remain ignorant and dependent upon them for a reason.

Blacks ran Detroit into the ground and have 90% of the job completed in Jackson. Jackson will be lucky if it's a semblance of itself in 10 years.

10:08 Each media outlet attending was provided copies of the court documents from the Circuit Clerk for the previous convictions. Each document showed convictions (up to nine in one case), plea agreement and sentence. They were not NCIC lists (RAP sheets).

Nice try. The Mayor got the info from their court files and MDOC. Each court file contained a verdict, plea agreement, and prisoner commitment notice. Each indictment listed their previous felony convictions. Want to try again?