A Lafayette County Circuit Court judge on Tuesday found police had probable cause to arrest Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., a 22-year-old University of Mississippi graduate, for the murder of Jimmie “Jay” Lee. 

Judge Gray Tollison then denied bond to Herrington as Lee, a 20-year-old Black student who was well known in Oxford’s LGBTQ community, has been missing since July 8. 

As sheriff’s deputies led Herrington down the front steps of the courthouse and into a squad car, nearly a dozen protesters – many of them students who were friends with Lee – shouted in unison: “Where is Jay?” 

Over the course of nearly six hours, the prosecution laid out a theory that Herrington and Lee had a casual relationship. Lafayette County Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Kilpatrick argued that following an argument in the morning of July 8, Herrington “lured” Lee to his apartment where he strangled him, then “staged a cover up.” 

“In 2022 you do not need a body,” Kilpatrick said in her closing statement. “It’s not the 1870s.” 

The preliminary hearing occurred on Tuesday because Herrington was entitled to hear the evidence that Oxford police used to obtain an arrest warrant before his bond hearing. 

The prosecution argued that Herrington should be denied bond because his charge – first-degree murder – will likely be elevated to capital murder as police uncover more evidence; some of which is being processed at a private crime lab. Kilpatrick also argued Herrington was a flight risk, noting that a forensic search of his MacBook showed he had searched for flights from Dallas to Singapore. 

Herrington’s defense attorney, state Rep. Kevin Horan, disputed that Herrington, who has $1,910 in his bank account, could afford to flee the state. In his closing statement, Horan said the prosecution’s case amounted to “suspicion, conjecture and speculation.” 

“We’re not supposed to be sensational in these cases – we’re supposed to come in and treat everyone the same … no matter how many cameras are up there or how many people are outside,” Horan said in his closing statement, referring to the protesters whose chants occasionally could be heard in the second-floor courtroom. 

The hearing began with Kilpatrick calling Lee’s mother, Stepanie Lee, and Oxford Police Department Detective Ryan Baker to testify. 

Baker testified he arrested Herrington on July 22 based on the “totality of the evidence.” This included Snapchat messages, Google searches on Herrington’s computer, and DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department K-9s who he said identified the smell of a dead body in Herrington’s apartment, car and moving truck which belongs to his company, T&T Moving. Other evidence included video surveillance on July 8 of a man that Baker identified as Herrington running from Molly Barr Trail, where police believe he parked Lee’s car that morning, then retrieving a shovel and wheelbarrow from his parent’s house in Grenada.

Baker also testified that video showed Herrington retrieving a shovel and wheelbarrow from his parent’s house in Grenada. 

The most damning evidence in Baker’s testimony was a Google search that Herrington made on July 8, minutes after Lee sent a Snapchat message saying he was coming over. At 5:54 a.m., Herrington searched, “how long does it take to strangle someone gabby petito.”

Gabby Petito was a 22-year-old who gained national attention last summer when she went missing; it was later determined she was killed by strangulation. 

After Baker read the Google search, multiple people gasped in the courtroom, prompting Kilpatrick to ask him to repeat the line. 

Baker then testified that Herrington followed with a second search 156 seconds later: “does pre-work boost testosterone.” Kilpatrick argued in her closing statement that Herrington “probably” took pre-work before killing Lee. 

During Baker’s cross examination, Horan argued that the K-9 evidence – without accompanying DNA evidence or bodily fluids – is not admissible in court in Mississippi and that OPD could not prove the dogs utilized by DeSoto County had ever successfully identified the smell of a dead body. 

Horan then called four witnesses who testified to Herrington’s connection to the community in Grenada. Herrington’s mother, Tina Herrington, read several pages listing Herrington’s religious and academic accomplishments, including that Herrington was voted “most likely to be president” when he graduated high school in 2018. 

Emily Tindell, the principal of Grenada High School, testified that Herrington and his family have “the best of character in Grenada County.” 

During the hearing, Tayla Carey, Lee’s sister, sat in the front row next to her mother. She said the hearing was a “rollercoaster.” She said that Lee had just as many achievements as Herrington. 

“I’m mad, I’m sad, I’m irritated,” she said. “I’m all over the place, honestly. I just want justice, I just want peace.” 

Spectators steadily left the courtroom as the hearing dragged on. Before the hearing started, dozens of people were protesting outside the courthouse, including LGBTQ rights activists fron across Mississippi. 

The next step in the case is the grand jury hearing; the date has not yet been set.

The post Judge denies bond for UM student charged with murder in Jay Lee case appeared first on Mississippi Today.

A Leflore County grand jury has found insufficient evidence to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham for her role in the kidnapping and lynching death of Emmett Till. 

District Attorney Dewayne Richardson said the jury considered charges of kidnapping and manslaughter, but returned a “no bill” indicating they would not indict Donham, according to a news release from his office. 

“The murder of Emmett Till remains an unforgettable tragedy in this country and the thoughts and prayers of this nation continue to be with the family of Emmett Till,” Richardson said in a statement. 

Donham is in her late 80s and had a last known address in North Carolina, the Associated Press reported. 

Till, who was from Chicago, was murdered at the age of 14 while visiting his family in the Delta in 1955. 

The Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, founded by members of Till’s family, has been demanding justice by charging Donham as an accomplice in his death. 

The grand jury met last week and heard more than seven hours of testimony from witnesses who detailed the case investigation since 2004, according to the district attorney’s office. 

Last month, the original unserved arrest warrant for Donham was found in the basement of the Leflore County courthouse in Greenwood. The FBI was notified about the discovery and there were discussions between Richardson’s office and federal partners, according to the district attorney’s office. 

“Although prosecutors do not arrest people nor do prosecutors serve arrest warrants, the existence of the 1955 warrant along with additional information confirmed the decision to present this matter to the next regularly scheduled Leflore County Grand Jury,” Richardson said in a statement. 

In July, an unpublished memoir of Donham was shared with and reported on by The Associated Press. In it, Donham said she didn’t know what would happen to Till after she accused him of whistling at and grabbing her in 1955.

Her former husband Roy Bryant and his half brother J.W. Milam kidnapped Till from his family’s home and brought the 14-year-old to her in the middle of the night to identify. In the memoir, Donham said she denied it was him and claimed Till identified himself. 

The FBI investigated Till’s case from 2004 to 2007, and in 2007 the case was presented to a different Leflore County grand jury by former District Attorney Joyce Chiles. The jury declined to indict Donham for manslaughter. 

In 2017, a state and federal investigation was reopened based on information that Donham may have recanted previous statements given during the 1955 trial of her former husband or during the first FBI investigation. 

The recent investigation, which ended in December 2021, did not result in new charges. 

The post Leflore County jury declines to indict Carolyn Bryant in Emmett Till’s death appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In the small town of Louisville at a table in the local restaurant, Cameron Whitehead knew nearly everyone who walked through the doors at lunchtime. She’s the town’s nurse practitioner and treats a number of its residents.

Cameron began working as a nurse in Jackson 20 years ago, and over the years realized she was ready to be home in Louisville, treating her friends and neighbors.

“I took care of my grandparents and helped them, and that’s what started nursing for me,” she said. “I’m the mother hen.”

Cameron always knew she wanted to go to nurse practitioner school.

“Oh, that was always in the plan for me,” she said. “I always knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

In her early years, Cameron worked in fields varying from labor and delivery to adolescent psych to disease management to travel nursing to working at UMC.

“I worked side by side with residents,” she said, “and it was an eye-opening experience. Residents, sometimes, don’t have a real world view that nurses bring. Having been in nursing for so many years, you have the holistic picture. You have to keep in mind that while you may write a prescription that costs $200, if your patient is struggling to pay their bills each month, they may go without,” she said. “The doctor I worked for in Madison was very compassionate. He was a good teacher and was understanding. He used to bag groceries while he was attending medical school, and you could tell the difference.”

Cameron brought a medical worldview back to her hometown of Louisville when she decided to open her own clinic. Early on, things were running well with her collaborator until he decided he wanted to increase his fee.

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In the State of Mississippi, nurse practitioners are required to have a collaborating physician sign off on their cases, mostly in the rear after the patients have been seen and treated.

“We had a good relationship,” she said. “I had a previous relationship with him calling in cases to the ER. My whole career, I have bounced ideas off

Read original article by clicking here.

An independent arbitrator has sided with the first Black woman union president at a Yazoo City federal prison who faced gender discrimination, retaliation and violation of her union contract. 

Cyndee Price, president of Local 1013 of the American Federation of Government Employees, was awarded $300,000 in compensatory damages, over 1,000 hours worth of overtime back wages and additional legal fees, arbitrator Ed W. Bankston ordered July 14. 

“It’s been like hell for the past two years,” she said about her experience as union president. 

Price became president in June 2020 and is the first Black woman to serve as union president at any federal prison in the country, according to the national branch of AFGE. 

In her role at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Price said she called out prison management at Federal Correctional Complex Yazoo City for not providing staff and inmates with masks and following federal guidance to minimize the virus’ spread. She also reported management for misconduct to multiple agencies. 

The former Michigan resident grew up around unions and to her, unions have a purpose. She became a union steward in 2013 and wanted to be someone who can speak for others in the workplace. 

“What made me want to step up is I hate bullies,” Price told Mississippi Today.

Duties of a union officer can be like a full time job, which is why Price applied for 100% official time. Official time is paid time off for federal employees to perform union duties, such as negotiating contracts, meeting with administration and helping staff with complaints. 

“Everything that we’re responsible for doing as a president, you can’t do that while overseeing 700 people and dual responsibilities,” she said. 

Official time is part of federal law and the union’s contract. 

As president, Price said she faced retaliation and gender-based discrimination by prison management. 

In her grievance, Price said former prison Warden Shannon Withers and Assistant Walter Vereen did not grant her official time, saying it was no longer Bureau of Prisons policy. 

She said the decision was gender-based because her predecessor, a man, had been granted official time and male union presidents at other federal prisons had been granted official time. 

“It continues to be the practice of management under the direction of the Complex Warden, Shannon Withers, to allow management under his disciplinary authority and directions to engage in patterns of unethical behavior, and practices, unilaterally circumventing and repudiating the parties’ (collective bargaining agreement),” her Sept. 25, 2020 grievance states. 

Former BOP Southeast Regional Director J.A. Keller said he denied Price’s grievance because it was improperly filed, according to arbitration records. He also reiterated what the warden had told her: it was no longer policy to grant official time. 

Because she wasn’t granted official time, Price said she took the work home with her. She worked on union matters on top of caring for two young children and a sick husband. 

Price will receive back pay for 1,080 hours of overtime work. Bankston, the arbitrator, ordered the BOP to grant 100% official time for as long as Price is a union official.  

In his decision, Bankston said Withers unilaterally chose to end the use of official time and he didn’t have the authority to do so. The union argued denial of official time is an unfair labor practice and violation of its agreement. 

In her grievance, she also alleged the wardens and regional director directed other staff to retaliate against her by writing her up, following her and subjecting her to eight investigations and potential removal from her job as a case manager. Price has worked for the prison for 11 years and she said she had a clear work record until she became union president.

Price said these actions created a hostile work environment that filled her with anxiety. 

“These managers here believe they are beyond reproach. And that’s what I was trying to report,” she said. 

In the decision, the arbitrator agreed Price faced “adverse and unwarranted personnel actions with changed privileges, conditions, and terms of employment.”

A spokesperson from the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment, saying the agency does not comment on settlement offers, negotiations or terms. Keller, Vereen and Withers were not made available for interviews. 

Price said Withers and Vereen no longer work at FCC Yazoo City. Withers is a warden at the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Florida and Vereen and Keller retired from the agency, a BOP spokesperson confirmed. 

Since new leaders have come to the prison, Price said hasn’t experienced harassment and retaliation. 

Despite the arbitration, Price expects the BOP to appeal the decision to potentially get out of granting her official time and paying her for the overtime hours. 

She hopes newer prison and agency leaders will hold the people named in her grievance accountable. Price would also like the investigations the previous management launched against her to be removed. 

Price said the new management is trying to turn things at the prison around, but she wants them to form a better working relationship with the union. 

“I just want to do my elected duties in peace,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s about what is best for the employees.”

The post Union president wins discrimination complaint against federal corrections facility in Yazoo City appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Mississippi State Department of Health has now identified six cases of monkeypox across the state.

The monkeypox virus has spread to dozens of countries and infected thousands worldwide since the outbreak began in May. Since Mississippi reported its first case on July 25, the number of nationwide cases has more than doubled. As of Aug. 5, there were 7,510 monkeypox cases in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. 

The monkeypox virus, which is part of the same family of viruses as smallpox, has not caused any deaths but does produce painful symptoms. Nearly all infections outside Africa have occurred among men who have sex with men. 

Transmission often occurs through close skin-to-skin contact with an infected person. Airborne transmission also occurs during prolonged close contact with an infected person.

“Regardless of your gender, regardless of your sexual orientation, anybody can get monkeypox,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said. 

Mississippi’s initial allotment of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine included enough doses to inoculate 300 people. Due to the limited supply, the vaccine is only available to direct contacts of infected people. Byers said that the department is looking at making vaccines available to people who have had multiple sexual partners. 

However, health department officials are unsure how many more doses the state will receive through the rest of 2022.

“We have so few doses right now that it’s very hard for us to expand our vaccination efforts beyond trying to make sure that we vaccinate those known contacts,” Byers said. 

The Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a national health emergency on Aug. 4. In addition to increasing public awareness of the virus, the declaration frees up federal funding for the further creation and vetting of medical treatments. 

The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global public health emergency on July 23, the first time it has taken this step since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. monkeypox, COVID-19 and polio are the only diseases that have this designation.

Symptoms of monkeypox can include: fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. Infected persons often experience a rash that looks like pimples or blisters that appear on many parts of the body. The illness typically lasts for two to four weeks.

The post Health officials identify sixth case of monkeypox in Mississippi  appeared first on Mississippi Today.

A year after West Virginia adopted the most expansive school choice program in the nation, Arizona – which has been a longtime leader in school choice – followed suit.

The landmark legislation recently signed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ensures that all K-12 students in the state have access to scholarship funds to access the education that best fits their unique needs. After nearly 30 years of slow, incremental growth of school choice policies across the nation, the pace of change is growing fast.

My colleague Russ Latino recently visited with Dave Elliott at WLOX to talk about school choice, how it empowers parents and teachers, and how Mississippi has never made a serious effort at having education dollars follow students.

People often assume that because Mississippi is a deep red state, school choice options would be plentiful. But that’s not the case. Mississippi does have some charter schools and three tiny private choice programs, but for most Mississippi families, the ability to choose their school is still out of reach – including the ability to choose a public school other than the one they are assigned to.

For lawmakers looking to move the needle on school choice, here are five ways to expand school choice in Mississippi:

1) Open district transfers: Right now if you want to transfer from one school district to another, you need permission from the district you would like to attend and your home district. This means permission is often blocked by the sending district and your choice is stymied if you don’t have the money to move. If space is available, students should be able to transfer to the district of their choosing.

2) Expand ESAs: Mississippi was an early adopter of the education scholarship program for students with special needs, but it is limited. This program should be expanded so all families can choose the right educational setting for their child, as they can in West Virginia and Arizona.

3) Expand Charter Schools: Charter schools are providing a great option for many children, but they are limited in where they can be created, based on the performance of a district. Even in highly rated districts, there are often underperforming schools. And more importantly, some students learn better in settings that are smaller or that have a particular academic approach that a charter school offers. Charter schools should be made accessible to every part of the state so parents, and not the state, can decide the right setting for their child.

4) Expand Dyslexia Vouchers: Mississippi has a voucher program for students with dyslexia, and it works very well, but because a participating private school must be accredited by the state, only a couple schools are eligible, greatly limiting parental options. In extreme circumstances, we’ve heard stories of families who moved across the state just to attend a school. This program should be available to all private schools that provide dyslexia services.

5) Expand Digital Learning: Mississippi’s current digital options in public schools are limited in what is available and who can participate. This particularly impacts those in high poverty or rural areas where finding teachers in specific fields is extremely difficult. No child should be prevented from obtaining a quality education because of where they live. Digital learning opens a world of options, but it’s not available in large numbers in Mississippi.

Do you support education freedom for families in Mississippi?

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