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A grand jury found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, a Black teenager whose body was found near a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast two days after he went missing on the Fourth of July.

The condition of his body was consistent with drowning, according to a redacted copy of the Jackson County grand jury report that District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath released Monday night on Facebook.

“In addition to bringing prosecutions against the guilty, the grand jury must also exonerate those who have been falsely accused,” McIlrath said in a video that accompanied the report. 

The grand jury issued 132 subpoenas during its investigation and heard from 43 witnesses as it reviewed whether criminal wrongdoing had occurred when Wells did not return from an excursion to Horn Island with friends on the Fourth of July, according to the report. 

As part of that review, the grand jury considered physical and digital evidence and heard testimony from witnesses and investigators. The grand jury reviewed cell phone data and forensic reports, with photographs, videos and GPS data. 

The decision by the grand jury not to indict someone is not the same as an acquittal of a potential crime. There is no statute of limitations for murder charges in Mississippi. If new evidence ever surfaces in connection with Wells’ death, a grand jury can meet in the future to consider whether that evidence shows someone may have committed a crime. 

McIlrath said she took her oath as district attorney a little over a year after burying her own child.

“When I was sworn in, I promised to fight for and protect you and your children as I would my own. I meant it then, and I mean it now,” she said. “The death of Nolan Wells has devastated our community. Outsiders and influencers have attempted to exploit Nolan’s death and create chaos here. But we are better together.”

Emails released to social media by the district attorney’s office also show she shared the report with attorneys representing Wells’ family and his estate. 

Correction, 9/21/2026: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of McIlrath.

Columbus-area District Attorney Scott Colom urged a judge Monday to dismiss the murder indictment against Tameshia Shelton, months after the state Supreme Court let stand a Court of Appeals ruling that threw out her conviction for the death of her sister’s boyfriend. 

Shelton served 11 years behind bars in the 2009 shooting death of 21-year-old Danelle Young. She was freed from prison in June after the Mississippi Supreme Court ruling. The Mississippi Court of Appeals had stated that prosecutors failed to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Shelton murdered Young. The mother of four, now 48, is supposed to face a new murder trial in Clay County on Oct. 5.

If Circuit Judge James T. Kitchens Jr. grants the district attorney’s request, it could put an end to a case that has followed Shelton the last 17 years.

The office of District Attorney Forrest Allgood, Colom’s predecessor, oversaw the 2015 prosecution. Now Colom is arguing the state doesn’t have evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Young didn’t kill himself. 

Upon hearing the news about Colom’s request to the judge Monday, Shelton screamed and said, “Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh! I’m so overwhelmed.” She said she feels like doing cartwheels.

The Clay County Circuit Clerk’s Office told Mississippi Today on Monday that the judge had not determined whether to dismiss Shelton’s indictment, but would reach a decision by the time of the retrial. 

A crumbling case

On June 1, Mississippi Today published its four-year investigation that found much of the evidence in Young’s death suggested he killed himself. A key piece was Young’s apparent suicide note, but the jury in Shelton’s 2015 trial never saw it before convicting her of murder.

Days after the story ran, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in Shelton’s favor, and she was freed on bond, awaiting trial.

Not long after arriving at Young’s fatal shooting on Oct. 16, 2009, Clay County sheriff’s deputies concluded his death was a homicide. Shelton, who has maintained her innocence, became the prime suspect because she was the last known person to see Young alive. 

A pathologist with the Mississippi Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Young’s death a homicide, based on the trajectory of the bullet, but reversed that decision in a 2021 hearing, concluding that the death should have been “undetermined,” most likely suicide.

In his motion, Colom wrote that he asked the Mississippi Medical Examiner’s Office to review the pathologist’s autopsy and that the office told him it could not provide any additional services. 

“In light of this development,” Colom wrote, “the State does not have evidence upon which a reasonable jury could rely to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Young’s death was a homicide rather than a suicide.”

Shelton also called 911 to report Young’s death to officers and get him medical aid, which could make her innocent in the eyes of a “reasonable jury,” Colom wrote.

Colom: ‘The evidence sounded thin’

For years as district attorney, Colom had supported a second look at Shelton’s murder conviction. 

Her case first came to his attention in 2018, after Shelton’s family came to him in an effort to get her out of prison. He had inherited a prosecutor’s office that oversaw six tossed-out murder convictions, all under Allgood. If the judge grants Colom’s new request, Shelton would become the seventh.

Allgood previously told Mississippi Today that he and his staff never tried anyone they thought was innocent, but that he did not recall the Shelton case, which other prosecutors in his office tried.

After Colom looked into her case, he started to have questions. “The evidence sounded thin,” he told Mississippi Today. “There was not much motive.”

Colom reached out to the Mississippi Innocence Project, whose attorneys ultimately secured the reversal of Shelton’s murder conviction and her freedom from prison. He also wrote a sworn statement supporting a hearing to determine whether she deserved a new trial.

When the state Supreme Court unanimously ordered such a hearing in 2020, Judge Kitchens removed Colom from the case because of that statement and had the attorney general’s office replace him.

“Eight years ago, Scott Colom met with Tameshia’s family to hear their concerns that she had been convicted of a crime that never happened,” Shelton’s current attorney, Sandra Levick, said in a statement Monday. “He had nothing to gain in taking that meeting. He had nothing to gain in signing an affidavit urging the Court of Appeals to allow a hearing so that the facts could be known.”

An apparent suicide note goes unseen

When Young was found shot outside Shelton’s trailer, he had been in town to visit his girlfriend and her younger sister, Ketina Tutton. The couple had been planning on living together, and Young wanted to get married. But Tutton changed her mind after getting a new job, her family said.

At about 8 p.m. on the evening of Young’s death, the couple’s dreams of a new life together had deteriorated into a verbal spat that lasted 15 to 20 minutes. “I had just told him that we were not – that I was not going to move in January like we had planned,” Tutton later told deputies. “This was something we had planned … until I got the job.”

The argument ended with the couple parting ways. She said she walked inside her mother’s house, and Young headed to Shelton’s trailer. 

It was dark when Shelton said Young knocked on her bedroom window. She was already in bed with her two daughters.

When she came to the front door, she said Young told her there was a raccoon in the tree and that he needed Shelton’s revolver and only one bullet to kill it.

She said she replied that he might need more than one bullet, so she loaded the .22 pistol and handed it to Young.

She said she heard a shot, and when Young didn’t return, she went outside to check on him and found him under a tree.

Weeks after Young’s death, Shelton said she found an apparent suicide note in which he wrote, “I have no life without (Ketina). These are my last words.”

She shared the note with her defense lawyer, Rod Ray, who failed to introduce the note as evidence at trial.

Mississippi Today shared the note with five jurors in Shelton’s original murder trial. Three said they believed the note created reasonable doubt about her guilt. 

In Mississippi, a person can’t be convicted of murder unless every juror agrees on a guilty verdict. 

In his Monday request, Colom wrote the note is another piece of evidence that “undermines” any prosecution against Shelton for murder.

“Today, he moved to dismiss the indictment because the facts are known and they show that a grave injustice has taken place,” Levick said in a statement Monday. “We join in urging the Court to grant the motion to put an end to this nightmare for Tameshia Shelton and her family.”

GULFPORT — Juanita Wallace has lived at Gulfport Care Center for six years. With several family members out of state, her phone helps her stay connected — but using it has not always been easy. 

“I really appreciate (Gulf Coast Connection Services) because I really needed (help), because I sure did not know how to operate my phone,” Wallace said. 

Wallace is one of the residents receiving help from Gulf Coast Connection Services. Founder Vanessa Welch helps residents make video calls, adjust accessibility settings and troubleshoot phones, tablets and computers. 

Her company aims to help nursing home and assisted living residents overcome technology barriers that can leave devices unused and make it harder to communicate with relatives who cannot regularly visit. 

Mississippi’s Digital Skills and Accessibility Plan identifies people 60 and older as one of several populations facing barriers to digital access. Among the challenges for older Mississippians, the plan identifies limited digital skills and cybersecurity knowledge and calls for expanded digital literacy training and technical support.

One-on-one assistance 

Welch meets with residents at Gulfport Care Center on Tuesdays and Fridays, working with groups and going room to room to reach those who cannot leave their beds. 

Lisa Perdue, the center’s activity director, said the program provides one-on-one technology assistance that staff may not have time to offer. 

“One-on-one, for that amount of time, it is pretty impossible for a CNA to take two hours, an hour with a resident to help them with things like that,” Perdue said. “That’s where Vanessa comes in.” 

Welch developed the idea after volunteering at another local nursing home, where she saw residents struggling with isolation from their families. 

She started Gulf Coast Connection Services in June and began reaching out to assisted living facilities. Gulfport Care Center joined the pilot in July. 

Perdue, who has worked in nursing home activities for 26 years, said her experience during COVID-19 visitor restrictions drew her to Welch’s plan. 

“We gave iPads any way we could during COVID, to keep them connected with their families,” Perdue said. “That’s why I was so on board with (Welch), because I saw what the video calls did during COVID, what they did for families.” 

A 2023 systematic review published in JMIR Aging found video calls and other communication technologies were used in long-term care facilities during the pandemic to help residents maintain social connections and address isolation and loneliness. 

Although pandemic-era visitor restrictions have ended, Perdue said residents with limited mobility can still experience isolation. 

“Imagine that you cannot move. You can’t do anything for yourself,” Perdue said. “The only touch you get that day is from a CNA who is positioning you in a different way. You know, no hugs, no physical interaction with anyone besides care.” 

Staying in communication 

Welch arranges video calls through Google Meet. When a resident requests a call, she contacts the family member, explains the service and schedules a time. 

She also helps residents enlarge text, turn on closed captions and access games, digital books and audiobooks. She creates reference sheets for residents to use after lessons and teaches them to identify possible scams.

Linda LaHood, who lives at the center with her husband, Gerald, said she had learned previous phones on her own but struggled with her newest one. 

“She’s helped us learn this phone like we had never been able to learn before,” LaHood said. “It’s complicated for older people because we don’t know how it all works.” 

Welch said closed captions transformed one resident’s video calls with his sister. Because he has hearing loss, his sister normally used a whiteboard during FaceTime calls. 

“I was able to turn on the closed captioning so he could read it as she was saying it, and they were able to just have a conversation,” Welch said. 

For Lashona Lewis, the calls help close the distance between Texas and Gulfport, where her mother lives at the center. 

“You get a free visit. You didn’t have to travel to do it. You don’t have to take off from work,” Lewis said. “It’s not to replace your in-person connection, but in the event that the person has a family dynamic where there’s not a lot of in-person visitors, this video visit is really important.” 

Beyond the pilot 

Welch volunteers her time, and the facility, residents and families do not pay for the service. Donations help provide chargers, phone cases and educational materials. 

Outside of her work at Gulfport Care Center, Gulf Coast Connection Services offers paid assistance to people living at home or in privately-owned assisted living facilities. 

Welch initially planned to serve several nursing homes for two hours at a time. But her experience at Gulfport Care Center showed her that there was not enough time to answer questions and provide individual assistance. 

For now, she is focusing on Gulfport Care Center while determining how to make the program sustainable. She hopes to expand to other nursing homes along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and eventually make the service her full-time work. 

For Wallace, learning to use her phone is about maintaining relationships with people who cannot always be in the same room. 

“Communication is the most important thing with family,” Wallace said. 

A federal appeals court panel last week ruled that Lafayette County’s policy prohibiting an Oxford filmmaker and professor from using the exterior of its picturesque county courthouse at night was unconstitutional. 

The opinion, written by Judge Andrew Oldham and joined by Judges Jaques Wiener and Kurt Engelhardt, said the county’s stated reason of protecting public safety was not enough to justify instituting a blanket nighttime curfew and violates the First Amendment.  

“The County has not shown the curfew provision is narrowly tailored,” Oldham wrote. “Even though trial evidence showed that nighttime activity on the town square varies, the nighttime ban applies from sundown to sunup.” 

The litigation began in 2020 when John Rash, a University of Mississippi film professor, applied for a permit to project art onto the exterior of the county’s courthouse. The county denied the application because it had a nighttime curfew and only allowed access during the day. 

U.S. District Judge Debra Brown ruled in Rash’s favor and prevented the county from enforcing the curfew. But she said Rash did not have legal standing to challenge the other portions of the county’s permit policy.

Both Rash and the county appealed to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ultimately sided with the plaintiff in the ruling released Thursday. The three-judge appellate panel went further and ruled that Rash did have standing to challenge all portions of the permit policy and sent it back to the district court for further proceedings. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi and private law firm Simpson Thacher represented Rash in the litigation. 

Joshua Tom, the ACLU of Mississippi’s legal director, said in a statement that Americans have the right to assemble, protest and debate the issues of the day in a public forum like that county courthouse. 

“Lafayette County tried to stifle that right,” Tom said. “With this ruling, the Fifth Circuit has reaffirmed it.” 

Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The county could ask the full slate of judges on the 5th Circuit to reconsider the case. It’s unknown when the trial court will schedule future legal proceedings.

Correction 9/21/26: The federal appeals panel ruling in this case was Sept. 17. An earlier version of this article had the incorrect day of the ruling.

Sponsored by JPMorganChase

When it comes to personal finance, most of us think about goals—saving for a home, paying off debt, or launching a business. But financial wellness isn’t just about reaching milestones. It’s about the habits and choices we make every day. It’s a practice, and like any practice, it gets stronger with personalized guidance, practical support and trusted resources.

Chase Community Manager Theresa Horne helps neighbors in Jackson turn financial wellness into a routine that fits their lives, providing practical money skills education and support on important money skills like budgeting, saving, building credit, and scam prevention.

Making Financial Wellness Part of Everyday Life

You can start small when practicing financial wellness. It can look like a 10-minute weekly money check-in, setting up automatic savings, asking a question about credit, or joining a workshop to learn how to spot a scam before you get hit.

Through local collaborations and free workshops, Community Managers help neighbors build healthy money habits like budgeting, improving credit, planning for homeownership, and protecting against scams. Workshops are open to everyone in the community—customers and noncustomers alike.

Horne shared her perspective on how Jackson families can build financial confidence that lasts:

1. What led you to the Community Manager role in Jackson and what has been the impact?

I’ve always believed that financial knowledge is one of the most powerful tools a person can have. I’ve witnessed firsthand how small, consistent steps can lead to big changes because it impacts the choices you make, the opportunities you pursue, and how much stress you carry day to day. Many people were never taught the basics in a clear, practical way—so when a surprise expense hits or prices rise, it can feel like you’re behind before you even start.

As Community Manager, I support Mississippi by connecting neighbors, businesses, and local leaders to the right financial resources for their unique priorities. I host workshops at branches and out in the community to help people build money skills that improve their lives, and the lives of their family—whether it’s buying a home, growing a business, or simply feeling more confident about their finances.

It is so rewarding to help Mississippi build towards a stronger financial future. Every day, I get to engage with people who are working towards their dreams, even when things feel overwhelming. Seeing someone leave a workshop with a new sense of confidence—or hearing that it helped them avoid a scam or start saving for the first time—reminds me that we’re building a stronger Jackson together.

• What do you recommend the Jackson community does to strengthen their financial wellness?

As inflation and rising costs stretch households budgets, the most effective response is a plan you can stick with. By focusing on repeatable habits—setting aside money weekly, building an emergency fund, and putting essentials first—you can cover today’s costs while still saving. 

• Make a simple budget: A budget is a spending plan that can help protect both your essentials and your future. A practical budget starts with clarity on what’s coming in, what must go out, and what can be adjusted—then it turns saving into a weekly habit.
• Treat savings like a bill: Set aside a small amount every week, even if it’s just a few dollars. Automate it if you can. Consistency is more important than the amount.
• Build an emergency fund in phases: Aim for a starter buffer first—enough to cover a surprise expense—then work toward a bigger goal, like a few months of essentials. Even a small amount of money put aside every week can reduce stress and create flexibility when prices move.
• Check in weekly: Spend 10 minutes each week comparing your plan to what you actually spent. Adjust as needed, and don’t be hard on yourself if things change—like groceries and transportation, where inflation often shows up quickly. The key is to keep going.

Financial wellness isn’t about being perfect—it’s about building a system that helps you handle what life throws at you. 

I’d love for you to join me at one of my upcoming workshops, where everyone is welcome. Stop by your local Chase branch or share your interest to learn more here.

• What is Chase doing to make it easier for people to strengthen their financial wellness?

We’re bringing more financial wellness support and personalized guidance into more neighborhoods. Through the American Dream Initiative, JPMorganChase is doubling the number of Community Centers, hiring 150+ more Community Managers, and expanding our financial education programs with the goal of reaching 5 million people.

JPMorganChase’s American Dream Initiative is a multi-year effort to expand economic opportunity by scaling evidence-based solutions that help the economy work for more people. JPMorganChase will provide financing, facilitate capital, offer advice, training and tools to help people start and grow small businesses. The firm will also significantly expand investments in proven initiatives that help people find affordable places to live, save and plan for their financial futures, get good jobs, access quality health care, and strengthen local institutions.

Explore tools for every financial journey at chase.com/financialgoals and for more information on the American Dream Initiative, visit www.jpmorganchase.com/America.

Rafael Alambarrio had escaped political persecution in Venezuela in 2024 and began building a life in Texas. He met his wife, Heather, and they married a year later. With her help, he was close to gaining permanent citizenship, only to be detained at a routine immigration appointment and sent to Mississippi. 

He is one of 2,000 people at the Adams County Detention Center in Natchez – one of the nation’s largest immigration facilities. Detainees have complained about crowding, measly food, a lack of medical care and lingering fumes. 

Last month about a hundred detainees protested the conditions and facility staff reportedly used pepper and gas sprays on the crowd. Alambarrio said he joined the demonstration. Detention officers placed most of the people in solitary confinement, and those accused of organizing the protest, including Rafael, spent a month in isolation. 

“We are human beings and we deserve respect and, above all, the right to be treated humanely,” he said in Spanish from the facility. 

His wife Heather Alambarrio, who is a U.S. citizen, had their conversation on speaker phone during a virtual news conference Friday. 

She has found ways to support her husband – paying for immigration attorneys and staying in touch through phone calls and in-person visits. The experience pushed her into advocacy against immigration detention and the use of centers such as the one in Adams County. 

Heather Alambarrio, a public school teacher in Texas, said it is heartbreaking to see what the country is doing to people and how tax dollars are being used for immigration detention. 

“I feel so proud of you for sharing and being brave to tell this to the world,” she told her husband before their call ended during the news conference. 

In a Monday statement, CoreCivic, the private company that operates the facility, said it provides three nutritious meals daily, each detainee has a bed and all can request medical care from a clinic. 

CoreCivic said last month an equipment failure temporarily disrupted natural gas that powers the center’s hot water and cooking equipment. When detainees expressed frustration, they were ordered to return to their cells before staff used the gas sprays. 

The company said solitary confinement does not exist at the Adams center or CoreCivic’s other facilities, and instead it is called “restrictive housing,” according to the statement. A representative did not mention the isolation of Alambarrio and others following the demonstration. 

The Workers Circle, a New York-based national social justice organization, coordinated last week’s news conference. The nonprofit has focused for the past year on immigration advocacy. The efforts began with vigils that led to the shutdown of the Florida Everglades Detention Facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” 

That work grew into “Freedom Vigils” held outside detention centers, courthouses and in the community. Earlier this month, organizers gathered a vigil outside the Natchez immigration facility. 

“It is up to all of us to talk about what’s happening at Adams, share the stories of people being held inside, demand our government free these people who are unjustly held and close this inhumane facility,” said Arianne Betancourt, an organizer for the Workers Circle whose father was held at Alligator Alcatraz, during the news conference. 

Heather Alambarrio said the U.S. federal government had already determined Rafael had a credible fear of returning to Venezuela, so it granted him parole as he applied for asylum and eventually a green card.

After they married, Heather petitioned for Rafael’s citizenship. In November, he had an interview to apply for his green card. Afterward, they were told he would have it within 60 days, Newsweek reported. 

But then the U.S. State Department paused immigration applications for 19 countries, including Venezuela. Heather said Rafael was detained in January during a routine check-in in Dallas. After he spent a few weeks at a local detention center – Heather spoke out about his detention through local media – Rafael was transferred to Missisisppi in March. 

READ MORE: ICE stain Coast immigrant working to gain green card

Rafael said his safety is at risk if he is deported to Venezuela. He especially feels that way because in June, men he knew from the Adams center arrived back in Venezuela as major earthquakes struck the country. Most of them died in a building collapse. 

Many like him remain in the Natchez facility and other immigration detention centers until ICE decides whether to grant them relief or deport them. 

Family members, advocates and attorneys say legal avenues, such as habeas corpus petitions, are meant to spur action, but they have gone unanswered or are backlogged. Through habeas petitions, the government has to justify why someone is being detained. 

READ MORE: 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses its decision, allowing ICE to hold detainees indefinitely

Korbin Felder, an attorney from the Center for Constitutional Rights based in Jackson, is representing others detained at the Natchez facility. His work has focused on habeas petitions challenging the Trump administration’s no bond policy.

“It’s a question of what happens if (habeas petitions are) de facto unavailable to people. The government can just take you and detain you and put you in custody without any recourse, without any justification,” he said. “That should scare all of us, whether we are immigrants, whether we are U.S. citizens, whether we are people with convictions or not.” 

READ MORE: ICE detainee fights deportation to be with medically fragile infant son

Heather Alambarrio teared up several times during the news conference as she recalled her husband’s experience in the Adams center. 

Her anxiety reached an all-time high since their separation. Rafael has been able to talk with a counselor to manage his anxiety, but he hasn’t seen a psychiatrist to receive medication. 

They have had to hire another attorney who focuses on detention and ask for donations to help pay. Heather said she had to sell her house, and it saddens her that Rafael, if he is released, won’t have a home to return to. 

Claudia Amendoeira contributed reporting 

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi’s only Democrat in Washington, is pushing national Democratic groups to spend more money to support Scott Colom’s closely watched Senate campaign against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to Punchbowl News. 

Thompson told the news outlet he blames Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the fundraising arm of Senate Democrats, for failing to seize an opportunity in Mississippi. 

“I think the DSCC is missing a golden opportunity,” Thompson told the news outlet. “A lot of folks keep asking why Sen. Schumer and the DSCC won’t get engaged on behalf of Scott Colom’s campaign.”

Colom told Mississippi Today in a statement that Democrat Party leaders in Washington, D.C., are starting to understand that Mississippi isn’t a lost cause, something that Mississippians “have known all along.” 

“We can win this November if Democrats double down on rebuilding our power in the South by investing in states like Mississippi,” Colom said. 

Maeve Coyle, a spokesperson for the DSCC, said in a statement that Colom is a strong candidate “who knows how to win tough races, and he’s put Cindy Hyde-Smith on notice in Mississippi.”

The comments from Thompson, Mississippi’s only Black official in Washington, come after the DSCC excluded Mississippi and Colom’s campaign from a $40-million investment in 10 battleground states ahead of the November midterm election. 

However, two sitting U.S. senators have visited Mississippi to campaign with Colom, and Schumer attended a fundraiser for Colom this summer. US. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York who leads the DSCC, also hosted a fundraiser for Colom in New York City earlier this month.

Midterm elections in November will determine control of both chambers of Congress and how much power President Donald Trump will have to enact his agenda for the final two years of his term.

Republicans control the House and the Senate, but they face an electorate that, according to many polls, has soured on Trump and his party by extension.

In Mississippi, a U.S. Senate race tops the ticket, which includes contested general elections for all four of the state’s U.S. House districts. Recent elections indicate that Mississippi continues to be a deep red state, and most pundits and prognosticators have the state’s midterm federal elections firmly in the “noncompetitive” category. 

Most incumbents are poised to sail to reelection in November, but challengers are putting in the shoe leather, traversing the state and bombarding social media. Scott Colom, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has raised significant amounts of campaign cash and appears to be mounting a strong challenge to incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde Smith. Ty Pinkins, an independent, is also running.

Ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms, Mississippi Today asked voters what issues were top of mind as they prepared Election Day nears. Here is what they said. 

The cost of living

Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, saw his approval rating slump as he struggled to tamp down inflation. A promise to lower prices was a central plank of President Trump’s 2024 campaign, and he rode a wave of voter discontent with the economy among other issues back into the White House.  

But as the midterms approach, the cost of living might lead to a blue wave, with voters lamenting the rising price of groceries, gas and other consumer goods. Many voters blame Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran for exacerbating an “affordability crisis.”

Shirley Miller, 68, a retired Mississippi Department of Mental Health employee from Jackson, said she has to buy less at the grocery store and limit her driving to cope with rising prices at the gas pump.  

“I can’t believe a head of lettuce is $5,” Miller said. “It’s impacted me because things I used to buy, I don’t buy anymore, or I use a cheaper version.”

Miller’s car requires premium gas. Before the Trump-led war in Iran, Miller said she remembers paying $3.29 a gallon. The last time she filled up, about a week before she spoke with Mississippi Today, it cost $4.49.

“I have places I go. I go and come back, and I don’t do a lot of travel between that time frame,” Miller said. “I just get in and do what I got to do and come back.”

Miller said she plans to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot in November. 

But other voters believe rising prices are temporary and pale in importance to winning the war with Iran. 

Mary Sellers, 87, a retired hospital switchboard operator who lives between Hattiesburg and Petal, said she believes Trump is on a divine mission to defeat the Iranian regime.  

“I’m not worried about the price of gas or the price of eggs at the store, because God has other things in mind for us to pray to him about,” Sellers said, “and that’s our faithfulness to Israel and our faithfulness to his word, the Bible.”

Sellers said she is voting for Republicans this November because they better represent her values. 

For Camille Wright, 66, a retired appraiser who lives just outside the Jackson Metro area,  electing a Democratic Congress that would repeal Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” or what she calls the “One Big Ugly Bill,” is a top priority. 

Wright believes the legislation will trigger the closure of multiple rural hospitals and nursing homes. She also fears changes to Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP funding could harm the state’s most vulnerable residents while also leading to higher health care costs for everyone. 

Wright believes these issues are particularly salient in Mississippi, long one of the poorest states with some of the worst health outcomes in the country. But she blames Democrats for failing to translate these realities into political victories, a concern that persists heading into this year’s election.  

“I blame part of this on the state Democratic Party because again and again they fail to stand up to the challenge,” Wright said. “I don’t know why that is, but they’re partly to blame because they have so much ammunition to go after the Republicans with.” 

Political corruption and self-dealing 

Several voters believe Trump’s conduct during his second term should bring about more scrutiny of the way elected officials use their positions to enrich themselves. 

Bo Alawine, 62, a Democrat who works for a defense contractor in Gulfport, said Republicans in Mississippi haven’t pointed out Trump’s multi-billion-dollar self-enrichment, even as they point out fraud in Democratic-led states. 

“The personal enrichment of Donald Trump has increased his bottom line, his personal wealth, at the expense of others during his time in office, which is unheard of in modern times, at least,” Alawine said. “The fact that I don’t see any Republican member of our congressional delegation uttering a single peep of concern about it, I have a problem with that.”

Alawine said he hopes Democrats reclaim a majority in the U.S. House “to exercise oversight and investigations of the administration and hold members of the administration accountable.” 

Bryan Champlin, 48, an audiovisual systems specialist from Brandon, said corruption exists in both parties, though he believes it currently leans more endemic on the right.

“Politicians appear focused on themselves, donors and wealthier interests,” he said. 

Religion and its influence on politics 

For Sellers, Democrats have done little to stop what she said was a growing threat posed by the influence of Islam in the United States and in Mississippi.

“Islam is an enemy, and they are trying to come in and take over,” Sellers said. “I have great-grandchildren that I’ve invested my life in, and I don’t want them to have any influence of this ungodly … it’s not a religion. A religion doesn’t require people to live like they live. Islam is a cult, not a religion, and so we don’t have to give them freedom of religion.”

By contrast, Wright took aim at Mississippi politicians who she said invoke Christianity while pursuing an agenda that she said is at odds with Christian values.

“Mississippians want to say that they’re so Christian. No, they’re really not when it comes to their politics. They are hypocrites,” Wright said. “Mississippians are religious, but they are not Christian in their actions, because if they were, they would never support such a corrupt administration.”

The U.S. Senate Race 

Miller was sharply critical of Hyde-Smith, saying she hasn’t seen visible contributions to the state from the senator and plans to vote for Colom, who is “looking at the hoots and the hollers of Mississippi, the back roads, the interstates, the state highways, and not looking at what our current president thinks is important.”

Sellers said she didn’t know who Hyde-Smith was running against, but felt ads she’s seen attacking Hyde-Smith’s past remarks about rising meat prices have been misleading. Even still, she said Trump’s endorsement alone won’t sway her vote.

“I haven’t seen anything other than that she’s endorsed by President Trump. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to vote for somebody because President Trump endorses them.”

Hyde-Smith is still a likely favorite in ruby red Mississippi. Colom has outraised Hyde-Smith for two fundraising quarters this election season, but a recent report showed Hyde-Smith with $2.54 million cash on hand, and Colom with $847,000.

Mississippi’s federal midterm Election Day is Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

In August, the Mississippi Supreme Court dismissed a case of alleged obstetric violence. Experts say that decision set a precedent that could make litigating similar cases harder and more costly.

The case, Brown v. Dr. Barbara Davey-Sullivan and The Woman’s Clinic of Mississippi PLLC, began after the 2018 birth of Shani Brown’s third child. When she first arrived at the hospital, Brown signed paperwork agreeing to potential surgical interventions, according to her hospital consent form. During labor, her doctor announced she intended to perform an episiotomy, a surgical cut sometimes made during childbirth to widen the vaginal opening. Brown, who had a previous episiotomy, revoked consent, according to records. 

“Please don’t cut me,” Brown told her doctor, according to the legal filing.

The doctor performed the procedure anyway. She did not tell Brown why, according to records. 

In 2019, Brown sued her obstetrician-gynecologist for performing the episiotomy. In legal documents, Brown, now 41, said her healthcare provider performed the procedure “with neither consent nor explanation of any medical necessity.”

Seven years after the case began, the state’s highest court dismissed Brown’s case this summer because it said she failed to produce expert testimony. Legal experts say that decision could affect not only pregnant patients – but anyone who elects to withdraw medical consent in a hospital. 

“Brown gave consent prior to delivery and then withdrew consent during labor,” the decision of the Mississippi Supreme Court stated. “In such cases, it is not enough to establish that consent was revoked. The patient also has to show that stopping the unwanted procedure was medically feasible without causing harm … ” 

A spokesperson with Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jackson, where Brown gave birth in 2018, declined to comment on the case. Stephen Kruger, the defense attorney who represented both Dr. Barbara Davey-Sullivan and The Woman’s Clinic, where Davey-Sullivan works, told Mississippi Today that “as the Supreme Court pointed out, the plaintiffs could not produce a medical expert to say that it would have been reasonable to stop” the episiotomy when Brown revoked consent as the baby’s head was crowning.

Kruger told Mississippi Today he credited Dr. Sullivan’s judgment with the delivery of “a completely normal baby.”

“If she had not done the episiotomy and there had been complications, where do you think we would be?” he said.

In the U.S., 1 in 5 women report mistreatment during maternity care, according to a 2023 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the most common types of mistreatment women in the survey reported was “being made to accept unwanted treatment.”

Now, if Mississippians want to sue their physician for not respecting withdrawn medical consent during a procedure, they will need to do so under claims of medical malpractice, not battery, said Mary Ziegler, a professor and reproductive health expert at the University of California, Davis, School of Law.

“And therefore you need expert testimony, which is going to only really be available to people who either have the money … or someone whose injuries are grievous enough that it’s worth it for the attorney to shell out a bunch of money on the front end hiring expert witnesses,” Ziegler said. 

Medical consent cases that won’t be affected by this ruling are the rare ones where no consent was given, explained Ziegler. An example, she said, would be if a patient went to the hospital for a knee surgery and doctors took out an appendix. But the vast majority of cases are murkier than that, Ziegler said.

In Brown’s case, the Mississippi Supreme Court found that Brown withdrew consent during the procedure because the court defined the birth – not the episiotomy – as the procedure. Ziegler said this distinction will be confusing for patients in situations that require several interventions.

“What if you don’t consent to one of those things?” she said. “Which of them is the procedure? Is all of them the procedure? I think there’s ambiguity about how you define that.”

The cases that make it to court

The new requirement of expert testimony could stretch far beyond obstetric patients. But those suffering obstetric violence may fare the worst, Ziegler said, with fewer attorneys willing to take on those cases because they tend to result in lower compensation. 

Attorneys decide which cases are worth their time based on expected payouts, Ziegler said. Those payouts are calculated from medical bills, lost wages and diminished quality of life. In obstetric violence cases, patients aren’t necessarily harmed in a “classic, easy-to-value way,” she said. Those cases are usually about autonomy, Ziegler said, where the injury is “that you didn’t get to decide what happened to you.”

Fewer lawsuits could mean less incentive for doctors to respect patient autonomy, Ziegler said. 

Already, these cases are quite rare because of the costs, time commitment and difficulty of litigation. It’s not surprising Mississippi is only dealing with the issue now, explained Daniel Waide, a Hattiesburg-based attorney who represented Brown from 2022 until the case was dismissed. 

While it’s not clear how many states have litigated cases like Brown’s, Waide said he’s aware of a growing body of legal precedent. He highlighted a few examples, including a 2020 case that established a precedent for withdrawn medical consent in Massachusetts, a 2012 case that did so in Connecticut, a 2008 case in Nebraska and a 2000 case in Kentucky. Those cases weren’t specifically about obstetrics. 

“Every state just addresses it as it comes up,” Waide said.

The standard of care

Brown now lives with her husband and their three children on Alabama’s coast. Since she gave birth in 2018, she said she faces lasting trauma, nerve damage that requires medication and pain during intercourse and while using the bathroom. In 2022, she underwent reconstructive surgery to repair a weakened vaginal wall. 

“You have to have a medical expert identify that damage and then to say that that damage was caused by a wrongful act by Dr. Sullivan,” said Kruger, the defense attorney representing the physician and clinic. He added that Brown did not produce an expert witness. 

Brown’s court case is over, but she hopes by speaking out she can prevent other women from enduring similar anguish.

“My goal at this point is I desperately want people to know that that can happen,” Brown said. “I desperately want people to read their consent forms.”

If she had known her verbal withdrawal of consent would have been ignored, Brown said she never would have signed the hospital paperwork. She would have gone elsewhere, she said. It’s not clear whether her situation would have turned out differently at another Mississippi hospital. 

Brown said she remembers being in a state of shock and emotional distress after the birth of her third baby in 2018. It distracted her from feeling the physical pain of the episiotomy until hours after the birth. Her delivery room was filled with medical students, which she said she also didn’t consent to, worsening her trauma.

“I remember when (my daughter) was placed in my arms feeling just deep sadness, knowing what my body had just went through and what just happened to me,” Brown said. 

A year after the birth, Brown started a regimen of anxiety and depression medications to cope with her postpartum trauma. In Mississippi, maternal mental health disorders are a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. Pregnancy-related deaths are those occurring during or within one year after the end of pregnancy. 

The Mississippi Supreme Court sided with Brown’s doctor. Still, birth justice advocates say violations of consent and obstetric violence happen too often in the U.S. and go unchallenged.

The gravity of violations to consent during childbirth is sometimes lost when filtered through the norms of medical care, said Jacqueline Hammack, a birth justice advocate who represented Brown between 2019 and 2021 before leaving the case for family obligations. While U.S. births primarily take place in hospitals and sometimes involve medical intervention, Hammack said, they are normal physiological events – not inherently medical. 

Most people in the U.S. perceive childbirth as purely medical, but that’s “historical happenstance,” said Hammack, adding that other countries have midwifery-centered models of care where providers treat patients more like partners. In the Netherlands, she said, midwives serve as the backbone of the perinatal care system, with obstetricians attending more complex births as necessary. That system has worked well for the Dutch: Maternal mortality in the Netherlands is more than four times lower than in the U.S. Mississippi has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the U.S.

The Mississippi Supreme Court classified Brown’s case as medical negligence. In doing so, Hammack said, it could set up other cases for failure. That’s because expert witnesses would be required to show that the physician in question deviated from the standard of care. The defendant in a case of alleged obstetric violence often hasn’t broken with the standard of care, according to Hammack.

“The sad fact is, obstetric violence occurs with such frequency … And what constitutes the standard of care is what the majority is doing,” Hammack said. 

Good solutions, according to Hammack, would involve hospitals adopting policies requiring ongoing consent for significant interventions, as well as making clear to patients that consent can be withdrawn. 

But meaningful change would go beyond consent policies, Hammack said, ensuring women can access midwives, doulas and other birth advocates. She also said educating lawyers and advocates to recognize violations is important. 

“The larger goal is a system in which clinical expertise and patient autonomy aren’t treated as competing values,” Hammack said. “Providers bring clinical expertise, (but) the person giving birth retains decisional authority over their body.”

Brown hopes that by the time her children are grown, things will be different. 

“I have two daughters and I just feel like something needs to change,” Brown said.