ACLU of Mississippi
Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself
Press Releases
ACLU Report Calls For Immediate Reform Of Mississippi Drug Enforcement System
March 28, 2011
Excessively Harsh Sentences For Minor Drug Offenses And Misuse Of Confidential Informants Undermines Criminal Justice System
CONTACT: Elizabeth Beresford, ACLU National, (212) 519-7808 or (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Nsombi Lambright, ACLU of Mississippi, (601) 354-3408 ext. 223 or (601) 573-3978; nlambright@aclu-ms.org
JACKSON, MS – Overly harsh and punitive sentences for low-level, non-violent drug crimes feed a racially discriminatory criminal justice system in Mississippi that fails to protect the public’s safety, according to a new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi.
According to the report, “Numbers Game: The Vicious Cycle of Incarceration in Mississippi’s Criminal Justice System,” black Mississippians are three times more likely than whites to go to prison on drug charges, even though drug use rates across the state are virtually identical for blacks and whites. And because the state’s drug task force funding is contingent upon securing convictions, low-level drug offenders ensnared in the system feel compelled to become confidential informants who are used indiscriminately to ramp up the quantity of drug arrests with little regard to the quality of the cases they help to build.
“There is an urgent need to reform the policies that govern the drug enforcement system as a whole in Mississippi,” said Nsombi Lambright, Executive Director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “Arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement tactics need to be replaced by policies that actually enhance our public safety, protect civil rights and ensure the state’s fiscal solvency.”
The report reveals that while the use of confidential informants is a cornerstone of the state’s regional drug task force operations, the practice is shrouded in secrecy. As part of the investigation that led to the creation of the report, the ACLU of Mississippi spent nearly two years seeking basic information about the nature and extent of the practice by requesting access to documents that state officials acknowledged should be publicly available under the Mississippi Public Records Act. Yet no access was ever given.
Law enforcement justifies the practice of using confidential informants – especially in drug cases – as an essential means for identifying those who commit crimes and for securing their convictions. But the many perverse incentives embedded in the practice invite abuse and disparity, undermining the fundamental legitimacy of the criminal justice system.
The report offers a number of solutions for improving the effectiveness and fairness of the state’s criminal justice system, including replacing mandatory minimum sentences with a flexible set of sentencing standards and guidelines, requiring corroboration of testimony by all informants and making information regarding the reporting requirements and evaluations of drug task forces publicly available.
A copy of the report is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/numbers-game-vicious-cycle-incarceration-mississippis-criminal-justice-system
Tags: Criminal Justice Reform
Posted in Press Releases
ACLU of MS Calls for an End to Inhumane ICE Raids
February 25, 2011
The ACLU of MS will join MIRA, MS Immigrant Rights Alliance at a press conference today at noon after receiving reports from citizens about ICE raids that started during the weekend of February 18th in Jackson, MS. While the facts surrounding these incidents are still under investigation, the stories are shocking and shameful. We’ve heard stories about ICE officers posing as pizza delivery workers in order to raid apartment complexes, threats and violent acts towards individuals. This is being done despite the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of warrantless intrusions into private homes, which apply to all persons, regardless of immigration status.
This is only a small glimpse of the hateful, race-based profiling that will occur if Mississippi law makers pass Senate Bill 2179, the racial profiling bill that will enable law enforcement to question individuals based on whether or not they look like they were born in this country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has aggressively stepped up enforcement efforts by conducting numerous and far-reaching worksite and residential raids. The stories that we’ve heard today are not new. ICE has been doing this all over the country. They are known to engage in a pattern and practice of selectively targeting predominantly Latino neighborhoods and worksites; entering people’s homes without proper warrants; and manipulating, coercing or intimidating already scared individuals to “consent” to enter their homes in order to conduct interrogations about their immigration status. This is simply unacceptable.
Looking Latino and speaking Spanish is not enough to justify probable cause for questioning and arresting a person. We live in a country where the Constitution ensures that all persons should be given equal protection and fair treatment under the law regardless of the color of their skin, their appearance or their accent.
For More Information, contact: Nsombi Lambright, 601-573-3978
Tags: Immigration
Posted in Press Releases
Mississippi School District To Clarify Gang Policy As Part Of Settlement Of ACLU Lawsuit
February 9, 2011
CONTACT:
Will Matthews, ACLU national, (212) 549-2582 or 2666; media@aclu.org
Nsombi Lambright, ACLU of Mississippi, (601) 354-3408 ext. 223; nlambright@aclu-ms.org
SOUTHAVEN, MS – The DeSoto County School District will make publicly available at school offices and on its website a list of prohibited gang signs as part of an agreement to settle an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed last year. The lawsuit, filed in September 2009 by the ACLU and the ACLU of Mississippi, charged that a middle school student was wrongfully expelled from school after authorities illegally searched his cell phone and found what they claimed were photos depicting “gang-related activity” – when in reality the photos mainly depicted the student dancing in the bathroom of his own home.
“It is imperative that schools discourage gang activity, but overbroad gang policies that don’t provide any notice of the kind of conduct that is prohibited are subjective, violate the due process rights of students and can be used to unjustly push students of color out of school and into the criminal justice system,” said Courtney Bowie, staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. “Unnecessarily pushing kids out into the streets not only violates their rights but also serves to exacerbate any problems with gangs communities might be experiencing; expulsion makes innocent children vulnerable to gangs.”
As part of the settlement agreement, religious symbols like the Star of David and the Star and Crescent will no longer be considered prohibited gang symbols.
Richard Wade was a 12-year-old honor student at Southaven Middle School when he had his phone confiscated and searched in 2008 by several of his football coaches, his class principal and a Southaven Police Department sergeant after he read a text message during football class in violation of school rules.
After receiving a text message in August 2008 from his father in South Carolina which he thought might indicate an emergency, Richard flipped open his phone to read the message. But rather than simply confiscating the phone and turning it in to the school office as required by Southaven Middle School policy, several school officials, including football coach John Stevenson and the school’s principal Kenneth Walker, searched through the private and personal pictures Richard had stored on the phone, despite not having any reason to believe that Richard had done anything wrong other than possessing the cell phone. The phone was subsequently turned over to Sergeant Nicholas Kennedy of the Southaven Police Department, who claimed that the pictures constituted “gang-related activity” and “indecent pictures.” Richard was initially suspended for three days and ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing the next week.
During the disciplinary hearing, which Richard attended with his mother Jennifer and a family friend, Walker argued without substantiation that Richard posed a threat to school safety and Kennedy asserted, also without providing any factual basis supporting his claim, that he recognized gang signs in the photos Richard had stored in his phone. As a result, Richard was expelled from school by the county school board.
“This was a case where an honor student was expelled from school because a police officer and school officials decided without any basis that innocent pictures of a kid dancing conveyed ‘gang-related’ messages,” said Nsombi Lambright, Executive Director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “By putting a policy in place that gives students clear notice of what conduct and signs are prohibited, and which only prohibits deliberate conduct, school officials can focus on keeping students safe while at the same time protecting their constitutional rights.”
The ACLU lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi and charged that the searches and expulsion violated Richard’s rights under the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as his rights under the Mississippi Constitution.
A copy of the DeSoto County School District’s new gang policy is available online at: www.aclu.org/racial-justice/desoto-county-school-district-s-new-gang-policy
Additional information about the school-to-prison-pipeline is available online at: www.aclu.org/stpp
Tags: Students' Rights
Posted in Press Releases
ACLU of MS Applauds Suspension of Scott Sisters Sentence
December 29, 2010
Contact: Nsombi Lambright, nlambright@aclu-ms.org, 601-573-3978
JACKSON – Today the ACLU of MS joined a coalition of organizations including the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, the NAACP and the Worker’s Center for Human Rights to celebrating the suspension of the Scott Sisters double life sentences. Gladys and Jamie Scott were convicted of armed robbery in Scott County MS during an incident where less than $11 was allegedly stolen in 1993. The sisters have maintained their innocence and other witnesses have admitted committing perjury during the trial, yet the sisters were allowed to languish in prison for the past 16 years.
Governor Haley Barbour announced his decision to suspend their sentences after receiving a report from the state parole board on yesterday. Local Jackson attorney Chokwe Lumumba has led a team of lawyers to file appeals for their release over the last few years. The Scott Sisters will be released from custody within the next few days. This victory comes after the tireless work of many attorneys, legislators, activists and media outlets who have been filing legal actions, petitions, hosting marches and rallies all calling for Glady’s and Jamie’s release.
The ACLU is delighted that the Governor took this step toward justice and we’re overjoyed that these sisters will be reunited with their families. We also help that Jamie Scott can now receive the adequate medical care that she has so desperately needed since her kidneys began to fail years ago while incarcerated.
The ACLU has been committed to the release of the Scott Sisters and overall sentencing reform in the state of Mississippi. There are many other cases that deserve reconsideration and we hope that this is a first step in sentencing reform in Mississippi. The Scott Sister’s 16 year incarceration represents another blotch in the state’s history of racial injustices within the criminal justice system.
The judge who sentenced the Scott Sisters, Marcus Gordon, is the same judge who sentenced Edgar Ray Killen to 20 years for the murders of the three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Mikey Swerner in Neshoba County in the late 1960′s.
For more information on the Scott Sister’s story and for updates about their release, please visit our website, www.aclu-ms.org.
Tags: Criminal Justice Reform
Posted in Press Releases
ACLU Secures Settlement for Family Assaulted by Moss Point Police
November 11, 2010
CONTACT:
Bear Atwood, ACLU of Mississippi Interim Legal Director, (601) 862-8658, bearatwood@aclu-ms.org
Nsombi Lambright, ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director, (601) 573-3978, nlambright@aclu-ms.org
JACKSON, MS. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi today announced a settlement in a lawsuit brought on behalf of Otis Ashford and his sister, Dell Jones, who were brutally assaulted by Moss Point Police Department officers in 2008. The settlement includes an agreement by the Moss Point Police Department to implement reforms including updating officer training to include conflict resolution, the appropriate use of tasers, and the right of individuals to observe police officers while the officers are performing their duties.
The assault occurred when Moss Point police officers entered Jones’ home without a warrant. Ashford was beaten with a police radio, sprayed with pepper spray and tasered by police. Jones was sprayed with pepper spray as she called 911. Ashford was hospitalized for 24 hours and incurred thousands of dollars of medical expenses related to the assault.
“I never want another sister to have to watch the police beating up her brother,” said Jones. “What happened to my brother and me was horrifying. I’m pleased the Moss Point Police Department has agreed to improve training for its officers. This must never happen again to anyone in Moss Point.”
The ACLU of Mississippi learned of the assault while conducting a town hall forum in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. After speaking with Jones and Ashford and reviewing photos of the assault that Jones took with her cell phone, the ACLU chose to represent Ashford and Jones for violation of their constitutional rights. The Moss Point Police Department has also agreed to evaluate, and revise as necessary, internal department investigation procedures to ensure that each citizen complaint is thoroughly investigated and appropriate sanctions are in place for violations.
“Police exist to protect, not violate, our rights,” said Bear Atwood, ACLU of Mississippi Legal Director. “Jones and Ashford were in a private home, engaged in no criminal activity, yet Moss Point police officers stormed into the home without a warrant where they proceeded to savagely beat Ashford while pepper spraying his sister. No monetary settlement can ever compensate Ashford and Jones for that night. The ACLU applauds, however, the Moss Point Police Department for agreeing to reform its training and internal investigation policies.
“Dell Jones and Otis Ashford are to be commended,” said Nsombi Lambright, ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director. “By coming forward, they exposed incidents of violence against citizens by law enforcement that happen every day in this country. This settlement should send a clear message to every law enforcement agency in Mississippi that citizens will no longer be silent about racial profiling and police brutality.”
A PDF copy of the original complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi can be downloaded here: http://www.aclu-ms.org/downloads/ashfordvmosspoint.pdf.
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About the ACLU of Mississippi:
The ACLU of Mississippi is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to defend the freedoms guaranteed to all by the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU-MS’ work includes community forums where individuals learn about their constitutional rights when encountering law enforcement, and how to protect those rights from violation.
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Tags: Criminal Justice Reform
Posted in Press Releases
ACLU Sues Sheriff’s Department On Behalf Of Corrections Officer Fired For Being Gay
October 18, 2010
CONTACT:
Robyn Shepherd, ACLU National, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Brent Cox, ACLU of Mississippi, (601) 354-3408 x228; bcox@aclu-ms.org
HATTIESBURG, MS – The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Andre Cooley, a corrections officer for juvenile detainees with an exemplary record who was fired when his supervisors discovered that he was gay. The lawsuit claims that Cooley’s constitutional rights were violated by the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department and his superior officers.
“Andre’s sexual orientation has no bearing on his ability to perform the job of a corrections officer,” said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. “It is well established that a public employer cannot fire an employee based on irrational fears and prejudices against gay people. But Andre’s case is also a reminder that people in Mississippi who work for private companies are left almost entirely unprotected from anti-gay discrimination. There is currently no state or federal law protecting against employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”
On June 14, while at home and off-duty, Cooley called 911 after his boyfriend became physically violent. Among the officers who responded to the call was Chief of Corrections Charles Bolton, one of Cooley’s supervisors. After Cooley’s boyfriend told Bolton that he and Cooley were in a relationship, Bolton told Cooley not to return to work before speaking with his immediate supervisor. The next day, Staff Sergeant of Jail Operations Donnell Brannon informed Cooley that he was being permanently terminated. Cooley asked Brannon if he was being fired because he was gay, and Brannon responded, “Yes.”
Cooley has never received a written explanation for his firing. He has never been charged or disciplined in connection with the domestic violence precipitated by his former boyfriend the day before he was fired. The official police report of the incident identifies Cooley as the victim. After firing Cooley, the sheriff’s department attempted to deny him unemployment benefits by alleging that Cooley had engaged in unspecified “inappropriate conduct and behavior while off duty, unacceptable for an officer.” But after a hearing, an administrative law judge concluded that the sheriff’s department failed to show that Cooley committed misconduct of any kind.
Cooley was raised in the foster care system from birth. He chose to be a corrections officer so he could serve as a mentor and positive role model for troubled teenagers. Cooley earned his bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from the University of Southern Mississippi, and began working for the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department in November 2009 where he was quickly promoted to senior corrections officer. At the time Cooley was hired, he was told that he had a better resume than any other person who had applied for the job.
“I loved my job, and I did it well. It shouldn’t matter whether I’m gay or straight,” said Cooley. “Because I grew up in the foster care system, I know the types of problems faced by the kids in juvenile corrections. As a corrections officer I could give back by helping these kids turn their lives around and build a future for themselves.”
“It is shameful and baffling that the sheriff’s department would terminate Andre for being gay,” said Bear Atwood of the ACLU of Mississippi. “Andre’s life is a perfect example of what a person can accomplish through hard work and education. As a juvenile corrections officer, he was a positive role model for kids who were falling through the cracks and had no one else they could relate to.”
The lawsuit names the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department, Chief Bolton, Sheriff Billy McGee and Staff Sergeant Brannon for violating his equal protection and due process rights guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Cooley is represented by Joshua Block and Leslie Cooper at the ACLU Foundation, Bear Atwood at the ACLU of Mississippi and Lisa E. Cleary and Aron Fischer at the law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.
The complaint for this case can be found at: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/cooley-v-forrest-county-sheriffs-department-complaint
A video on Cooley’s case, as well as additional resources, can be found at: www.aclu.org/cooley
Posted in Press Releases
ACLU of Mississippi Condemns Jailing of Attorney for Not Reciting Pledge of Allegiance
October 7, 2010
CONTACT:
Bear Atwood, ACLU-MS Acting Legal Director, 601-354-3408 or 862-8658; bearatwood@aclu-ms.org
Brent Cox, ACLU-MS Public Education Coordinator, 601-354-3408; bcox@aclu-ms.org
TUPELO, MS – The ACLU of Mississippi is appalled by the unconstitutional jailing of attorney Danny Lampley. On Wednesday, Chancery Judge Talmadge Littlejohn jailed Lampley in Tupelo, Mississippi because Lampley declined to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
The state may not constitutionally compel anyone to recite the Pledge of Allegiance against his or her conscience. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects an individual’s right not to speak, as well as to speak. The ACLU-MS calls on Judge Talmadge to honor the First Amendment rights of individuals in his courtroom.
“In America, patriotism is best exemplified by exercising our constitutional freedoms, including freedom of conscience,” said Nsombi Lambright, ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director. “You can love your country and decline to say the pledge. True patriots don’t jail people for exercising their constitutional freedoms.”
“The right to be free from state-coerced oaths is a fundamental constitutional protection,” said Bear Atwood, Interim Legal Director for the ACLU of Mississippi. “This issue usually comes up in a school context, and courts have repeatedly and resoundingly upheld the right of students not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. A judge has no more right to order an attorney in his court to recite the pledge than a teacher does in a classroom.”
The ACLU has been defending freedom of conscience and the First Amendment since 1920, and the ACLU of Mississippi office was founded in 1969. Attorney Lampley’s actions remind every ACLU member and supporter that true patriotism is more than reciting words, it is standing up for fundamental freedoms, even when doing so may be uncomfortable or unpopular.
More information about the ACLU and Freedom of Speech can be found at www.aclu.org/free-speech.
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Tags: Freedom of Speech & Press
Posted in Press Releases
U.N. Report Highlights Need For U.S. Civil And Human Rights Commission
September 28, 2010
U.S. Should Implement Working Group Recommendations, Says ACLU
CONTACT:
Rachel Myers, (212) 549-2689 or 2666; media@aclu.org
Mandy Simon, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org
NEW YORK – A report examining the state of human rights of people of African descent in the United States was presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council today. The U.N. Working Group on the Rights of People of African Descent reported that, while the U.S. government has taken some steps to promote the rights of people of African descent, much more needs to be done to bring the U.S. into compliance with international treaty obligations. The international group of experts visited the United States last January at the invitation of the U.S. government, meeting with local, state and federal officials and human and civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and conducting a thorough examination of laws and policies and their impact on people of African descent.
According to the working group’s report, “due partially to the legacy of slavery, racism and discrimination, African Americans have had economic, social and educational disadvantages, as well as challenges to the enjoyment of basic human rights.” The report noted that people of African descent in the U.S. continue to face unequal access to quality education, electoral disenfranchisement and discrimination in the justice and legal systems, among other issues.
The ACLU called on the Obama administration to implement the working group’s recommendations, including by reforming the existing U.S. Commission on Civil Rights into a civil and human rights commission that oversees compliance with human rights treaty obligations.
The following can be attributed to Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
“This report serves as both a marker of our achievements and a reminder of our failures when it comes to protecting the rights of people of African descent. In order to lead by example, it is imperative that the U.S. establish monitoring mechanisms to uphold civil and human rights in the U.S. The Obama administration should work with Congress to reform the existing U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to include a mandate to monitor our human rights treaty obligations.”
The following can be attributed to Chandra Bhatnagar, staff attorney with the ACLU Human Rights Program:
“As the working group report shows, there are still many obstacles to equality facing people, and especially children, of African descent in the United States. The U.S. government should take heed of the group’s important recommendations and bring the U.S. into compliance with our international treaty obligations, including taking steps to outlaw racial discrimination and protect the rights of children.”
The working group report is available online at: www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/racism/groups/african/docs/A-HRC-15-18.pdf
Tags: Human Rights
Posted in Press Releases
ACLU of Mississippi Applauds Jackson City Council for Passing Anti-Profiling Legislation
September 22, 2010
CONTACT:
Nsombi Lambright, ACLU-MS Executive Director, 601-573-3978; nlambright@aclu-ms.org
Bear Atwood, ACLU-MS Acting Legal Director, 601-354-3408 or 862-8658; bearatwood@aclu-ms.org
JACKSON - The ACLU of Mississippi announced today that it applauds the Jackson City Council 6-1 vote to pass an anti-racial profiling ordinance. The ordinance prohibits police officers from stopping or detaining people based on the person’s race, immigration status, perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. It also prohibits police officers from asking people about their immigration status solely to determine if they are in the United States illegally.
“I commend the council members for standing up for the protection of civil rights and civil liberties,” said Nsombi Lambright, ACLU-MS Executive Director. “A person’s race should never be grounds to suspect that someone has committed a crime. This ordinance declares that Mississippi’s capital city will not tolerate racial profiling.”
The ordinance also enforces basic Constitutional protections.
“The Constitution guarantees equal protection and prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement,” said Bear Atwood. “This ordinance underscores those protections and reminds police officers that they have a sworn duty to uphold them.”
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Tags: Immigration, Racial Justice
Posted in Press Releases
ACLU Joins Hundreds of Marchers Calling for The Release of the Scott Sisters
September 15, 2010
CONTACT:
Nancy Kohsin-Kintigh, ACLU, 601-502-4196 ; nkohsinkintigh@aclu-ms.org
Brent Cox, ACLU, 601-502-5520; bcox@aclu-ms.org
JACKSON - ACLU members joined hundred of marchers from across the state today, calling on Governor Barbour to release Jamie and Gladys Scott from prison. The Scott sisters were sentenced to double life sentences in 1993 for allegedly stealing $11. The case illustrates the problems in Mississippi’s broken criminal justice system, including excessive sentences given most often to people of color.
Jamie and Gladys Scott have already served 15 years of their double life sentences. Eyewitness statements that led to their convictions have since been recanted. Today’s marchers petitioned Governor Barbour for an Executive Pardon or a Commutation of the Scott sister’s sentences.
“We are not asking for a special favor for the Scott sisters,” said Nsombi Lambright, Executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “We are demanding fairness and an end to this travesty of justice. The ACLU works to protect the civil liberties of all Mississippians, including equal and fair access to our justice system. Jamie and Gladys did not get fair access to the justice system; they got a sentence that did not fit the crime.”
Today’s march began on historic Farish Street with hundreds chanting “Free the Scott Sisters!,” a phrase that has become a rallying cry for the Scott sisters’ pardon, as well as a cry for general criminal justice reform in Mississippi. The march wound through downtown Jackson, stopping outside the governor’s mansion where the crowd demanded the governor release the Scott sisters immediately. Marchers then continued to the Mississippi Capitol Building where the crowd grew even larger.
From a lectern on the capitol steps, speakers decried the treatment of the Scott Sisters and praised the resilience of the sisters and their supporters. Among the speakers were representatives from the ACLU, the NAAPC, Mississippi Worker’s Center for Human Rights, MIRA and others. Jackson City Councilman Chokwe Lumamba spoke, and a letter was read from Senator Horhn and Representative Jim Evans asking the governor to free the Scott sisters.
“Today we demand justice for Jamie and Gladys Scott,” said Bear Atwood, Acting Legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi. “This travesty must end. Our system of justice demands fairness, sentences must be tailored to punish the crime committed. In this case, a robbery where there was not any injury and the amount of money stolen was just over $10.00 should not have resulted in consecutive life sentences.”
Today’s march was just one small part of the ACLU of Mississippi’s Criminal Justice Campaign to reform Mississippi’s criminal justice system.
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Tags: Criminal Justice Reform
Posted in Press Releases