Monday, May 9, 2016

Mitchell crusading or muckracking?

Jerry Mitchell has apparently made crazy sentences in Mississippi his latest crusade.  The Clarion-Ledger published stories by Mr. Mitchell on the front page of its last two Sunday editions.  Both stories covered Rankin County justice in extreme cases.  One story was about a killer who only served four years while the other is about a young man who agreed to serve 50 year as part of a plea bargain if he pled guilty to several counts of burglary.

Read the story for yourself.  JJ will publish a post later today about this story but wanted to give readers the opportunity to peruse Mr. Mitchell's story as it is rather long.

One little question for Mr. Mitchell: Is he ever going to write a story about catch and release and its victims?  Funny how he attacks one criminal justice system that does work while ignoring one that well, let us just say it seems to fail on an all too regular basis. 



36 comments:

Unknown said...

Jerry Mitchell? Is that tired windbag still writing?

The C-L has released writers of much greater talent than that old goat, but I guess if you fit their lib-genda, you can hang around, no matter hoe irrelevant you are.

Anonymous said...

Jerry Mitchell has won national journalism awards and was a Pulitzer finalist. He's anything but irrelevant. You may not like what he tends to write about. Which likely makes you irrelevant to a modern society.

Anonymous said...

our legal system will never give consistent sentences for similar offense because the facts and defendants vary so wildly.

example: in unrelated events, two defendants broke into churches and took items. each plead guilty. one was sentenced to 14 years in prison; one was sentenced to one year, suspended, and six months probation, both by the same judge. why? the first burglar broke into the church and took electronics, icons, and vandalized areas. the second broke into a church and took some soft drinks, bread, and peanut butter to feed his homeless brother.

plea bargains are also effected by the quality of evidence and litigation issues in certain communities among many other factors. Mitchell may have some prestigious awards, but these articles are very misleading using anecdotal evidence.

Anonymous said...

@1:09 You're right on.

Freudian Drip said...

Winning a national journalism award is worth at least a frame on the outhouse wall. And we learned the true value of a Pulitzer during Obama's first weeks in office, didn't we?

Mitchell, for some odd reason, is stuck in the mud of one subject and if facts don't support his drivel, he makes up his own. Some psychologist or therapist needs to write a book about the man's oddities and what drives his behavior.

Anonymous said...

And Millsaps gave him an honorary degree yesterday: Clarion Ledget

Anonymous said...

Mitchell is a smart guy and a very talented writer. He does tend to overemphasize race in his stories though.

Anonymous said...

2:22, get your awards straight. The Peacemaker-in-Chief won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Anonymous said...

Why not focus on the criminal justice in Hinds County? It's a train wreck and would probably sell more stories. Unless Mitchell is being paid under the table by the Hinds Co Judges and RSS. Liberals won't work without getting paid some kind of compensation.

Anonymous said...

2:22, get your awards straight. The Peacemaker-in-Chief won the Nobel Peace Prize.

And Al Gore also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Safe to say the Nobel Peace Prize no longer has any meaning or value.

Anonymous said...

Libtards want to legalize drugs yet don't want any punishment when caught stealing to feed their habit. Dope is cheap. Problem with dope heads is that they can't keep a job.

Anonymous said...

As with most at the CL, looking for recognition, awards and promotions by creating sensationalism and drama! Where are the true, respectable journalists???

Anonymous said...

@3:09. Details. Details. Most of the folks that comment on this site don't worry about little things like that. Difference between Nobel and Pulitzer. They are close together in the alphabet, after all.

Burke said...

Crusader.

Anonymous said...

I guess it would matter if anyone actually read that fish wrap AKA the CL.

Anonymous said...

Not a fan of Mitchell, but, the Craptown Gazette does have a couple of good reporters. I'm old enough to remember when the C.G.'s front page was actually filled with type, not huge pictures and empty space.

Anonymous said...

Right, Burke
Don Quixote was a crusader, as well.

Anonymous said...

The CL is dead in the water. I've wondered WTH they paid Mitchell to spark a little conservative thought. I buried the CL a couple years ago and refuse to even link to them.

Anonymous said...

No doubt Mitchell has won awards and been recognized. But, he is lazy (like virtually all journalists). Rather than confirm facts he is prone to simply rely on well crafted innuendo to accuse/convict those whom he pursues. But, it works because readers prefer sleazy accusations and innuendo to well researched facts. Thus, he will probably continue to win awards.

Anonymous said...

Jerry Mitchell and Bill Minor - 2 of the main reasons I no longer read the CL.

Endless race baiting drivel.

Anonymous said...

I ended a 30 year subscription to the CL because of his endless race-baiting drivel.

Anonymous said...

Most of Mr. Mitchell's awards seem to be mutual admiration awards from his fellow "journalists".

Salter and Vicksburg's Mitchell Too said...

Exactly, 9:58. They meet in annual circle-jerks and massage each other with lofty praise, albeit insincere. Some say these awards are rotated among the faithful but it takes five years at the trough to qualify. Mitchell, Salter and Minor always get a leg up, head start, five points at the starting line.

Whoever can stir up the largest pile of racial-stink while dredging up the most skeletons is a shoe-in while honorable mentions are handed out like plastic key fobs in a bowl at the registration table.

Anonymous said...

How about Anthony McQuitter? In in 2006, he gunned down three people in a parking lot on Northside Drive. Charles Blackmon, Dexter Booth, and Jharoski Davenport were trying to unlock Blackmon’s car when they were approached by Anthony McQuitter who asked them what it was they had been saying (there had been an argument over one of them calling a girl a “ho” on Facebook). McQuitter started shooting. Blackmon and Booth were injured. Davenport died. Apparently McQuitter pleaded guilty and served a year or two. Explain that one.

Anonymous said...

Jerry has found a niche with his journalism. Very few places outside of Mississippi would employ a guy like this that writes with emotion and speculation, rather than facts. He does a poor job actual "reporting" or of even writing a fair and insightful personal perspective pieces. When I read his stuff, I can pretty much see the path he's going to take with an article even before I read it. He and Jervis Deberry are pretty much the same. He's not a reporter or even a good writer, but rather a crusader and activist.

Part of the problem is that the Clarion-Ledger does a really bad job of actually reporting the news. The same stories stay on their front page site for days at a time. With "nothing to report", Sam depends on Jerry to write caustic stories with very little facts or simply rehashed historical pieces. Add that to the mindless "opinion" pieces that they publish and one no longer has to wonder why the Clarion-Ledger has been abandoned. It has basically become a larger version of the Jackson Free Press.

Anonymous said...

Lots of CL bashing by people who claim not to read the paper. Almost like people saying they won't eat at McDonald's anymore, but stuffing their gullet with Big Macs and Diet Coke for lunch each day.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Mitchell's writing has been very lazy the last few years. His series on Mississippi's prison system a couple years ago was nothing more than copying and pasting talking points he received from the ACLU and SPLC, two extremely liberal and non-credible organizations who warped the truth to advance their agenda. No effort to visit any of the prisons himself. It was terrible reporting.

Anonymous said...

Actually, virtually all of Jerry's reporting (as well as most other journalists nowadays) is commentary poorly disguised as reporting.

Anonymous said...

TunaFish: What was wrong with the circle-jerk post? Having a bad day?

Burke said...

I think that Mitchell has done a good job over all, but I agree with the comment that he engages way too much in recycling old stories. The C-L front pager on the Milam father and son was a good example. JM apparently found the son's name in the Panama Papers, which has zero interest in itself, but leveraged it into yet another rehash of the murder of Emmett Till. Scarcely front page news, Mr. Mitchell. You're undercutting your hard-won credibility.

Anonymous said...

I swanee I think CL is being run by a former top official of the Democrat Party. It certainly reads like it. Surely the great Gannett Fathers wouldn't do something that obvious. Right?

Anonymous said...

That's hardly muckraking. "Why won't Mitchell write about this and not this" sounds a lot like "this reporter doesn't cover things I like?" I mean, hottest reporter polls and an a comment section that reads more like the aggrieved, impotent suburban male dairy is something media folk should all aspire to.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen Cecil Brown lately? He's gaunt, has grown a beard, (loosely described) and almost smiled on the six o'clock news tonite. But, his PERS and SLRP calculators are still clicking along right well.

Kingfish said...

Damn straight. You also left out food fight posts.

Cecil is in great shape. Just as lean and mean as ever. Dude can throw around some serious weight in the gym.

Anonymous said...

He writes a story that a thief was given 50 years with no mention of the fact he will be out in about 5. Yet he leads with man only serves 4 years the next week, and gives one sentence to the fact that he was given 10 years. Maybe he just write about the fact that no one will serve more than a tiny fraction of their sentence?

Anonymous said...

Jerry Agenda-Driven Mitchell is a complete joke. So many stories over the years that he's conveniently missed because the wrong race was to blame. Didn't fit his narrative. In 2016 Mississippi, there's a white racist around every corner, don't you know?



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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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