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Regularly scheduled clinic appointments and elective procedures at the University of Mississippi Medical Center are canceled through Friday, extending statewide disruptions in health care to more than a week since a cyberattack targeted Mississippi’s only academic medical center.

UMMC is making significant progress in its response to the Feb. 19 cyberattack and restoring systems, the medical center said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.  

“Through diligent, around-the-clock work, UMMC is hopeful that it will be able to resume normal clinic operations as soon as Monday,” the statement read. 

Patients across Mississippi have missed health care appointments and surgeries since the attack, which compromised the health care system’s IT network and forced the medical center to shut down all of its network systems, including its electronic patient health records. Experts have warned the hospital system could face weeks or months of recovery following the attack. 

Jimmie Elaine White of Brandon had a follow-up appointment scheduled for Feb. 19, the same day the cyberattack began, to go over the results of an ultrasound examining a blockage in her carotid artery.

Since then, she has been unable to contact UMMC to reschedule the appointment, leaving her increasingly anxious.

“I’m worried that I’m going to have a stroke,” White said. 

UMMC is one of Mississippi’s largest providers of specialty health care and operates the state’s only Level 1 trauma center, which is equipped to handle the most severe medical emergencies.

All UMMC hospitals and emergency departments in Jackson, Madison County, Holmes County and Grenada remain open, and UMMC will reschedule canceled appointments, it said in a statement. 

Nearby hospitals are stepping in to fill gaps in care caused by the attack.

“We have increased staffing and welcomed patients in our emergency department and clinics to help offset any immediate needs and meet increased demands for health care in our community,” said Baptist Memorial spokesperson Kimberly Alexander. 

The medical center has not yet publicly described how extensive the attack on its computer systems was or if any data was compromised. In a Tuesday interview with SuperTalk Mississippi, medical center Vice Chancellor Dr. LouAnn Woodward confirmed the attacker made financial demands. 

Getting hospital computer systems back up and running after a ransomware attack can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month, but full recovery often takes much longer, said Allan Liska is an intelligence analyst for cyber threat intelligence company Recorded Future.

“It can take six months to a year to fully recover,” said Liska, who is also an expert in ransomware, or malicious software that holds computer systems or data hostage with demands for a payment.

Usually, computer systems that have been infiltrated are rebuilt from scratch, then tested segment by segment while disconnected from the internet to ensure that the attackers are out, Liska said. Once they are confirmed to be secure, the systems are gradually brought back online. 

UMMC has endured security breaches before. After a 2013 report of an incident involving unsecured electronic patient health information, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights investigated UMMC’s cybersecurity policies. The agency determined that UMMC had identified risks and vulnerabilities to its systems as far back as April 2005 but did not undertake significant risk management efforts until after the breach.

UMMC agreed to settle the matter by paying a resolution amount of $2.75 million and adopting a corrective action plan. The Office of Civil Rights closed the matter in 2022 based on documentation of UMMC’s compliance with the terms of the resolution and settlement.

Liska said it’s difficult to evaluate from the outside whether a hospital system has effective defenses against cybersecurity attacks. Attackers are constantly changing their tactics, and even well-prepared organizations can have vulnerabilities, he said. 

“’Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face,’” he said, quoting former professional boxer Mike Tyson. 

Patients with time-sensitive needs including prescription refills can call the automated UMMC Triage Line at 601-815-0000, the medical center said. Patients requiring immediate assistance will be contacted directly to schedule an urgent care clinic visit.

Regency Hospital, a Meridian facility that primarily provided extended care to patients with respiratory disorders, will close on or about March 13, according to its website. 

The 40-bed, long-term acute care hospital is on the second floor of Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center-South. It focused on weaning medically complex patients off of mechanical ventilation and helping them breathe independently. 

Regency Hospital is owned by Pennsylvania-based Select Medical, one of the largest operators of critical illness recovery and rehabilitation hospitals in the country. 

The decision to close the hospital was based on business operations, and the facility is no longer accepting patients, Select Medical Chief Communications Officer Shelly Eckenroth said in an email to Mississippi Today. The company has no plans for the hospital to reopen.

As of Monday, four patients remained in the hospital, Eckenroth said.

“Their treatment will continue until they are discharged or transferred to an appropriate facility for ongoing care,” she said. “Our case managers are working closely with patients and their families to arrange these transitions.”

Ochsner Specialty Hospital, a 49-bed, long-term acute care hospital about a block away from Regency Hospital, will continue to provide the same level of care to the community, Eckenroth said.

“Ochsner Rush Health continues to operate Ochsner Specialty Hospital with no changes to our current operations,” said Ochsner Rush Medical Center CEO Allen Tyra. “Our focus remains on providing high‑quality, compassionate care to the patients and families we serve, and we will continue to evaluate the needs of our community as we always have.”

Long-term acute care hospitals serve patients with inpatient stays longer than 25 days, and many patients come from an intensive or critical care unit. The hospitals provide services such as respiratory therapy, head trauma treatment and pain management, and patients are often discharged to a skilled nursing or long-term care facility.

The seven long-term acute care hospitals in Mississippi are in Batesville, Greenville, Gulfport, Jackson and Meridian, according to the Mississippi Department of Health’s facility directory. Select Medical owns three of the facilities in addition to Regency Hospital. 

Select Medical operated nearly 140 hospitals nationwide, including 104 critical illness recovery hospitals as of December. The health care company also operates about 2,000 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 39 states. 

It reported $5.5 billion in revenue in 2025, a 5% increase over the previous year. Select Medical also closed a 24-bed critical illness recovery hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in late 2025.

Payments to long-term acute care hospitals for Medicare patients have changed over the last decade, resulting in lower reimbursements for some patients at the same time as health care costs, including staffing expenses, have risen. 

A growing proportion of Medicare patients are covered by Medicare Advantage plans, some of which refuse to approve care at long-term acute care hospitals, according to a U.S. Senate report published in 2024. In Mississippi, the number of patients covered by Medicare Advantage plans has more than doubled since 2019. 

In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized an annual rate increase for long-term acute care hospitals, but some advocates say the bump is not large enough. 

Concerns continued about overall payment increases, Ashley Thompson, the American Hospital Association’s senior vice president for public policy analysis and development, said in a July statement responding to the rate increase. She said long-term acute care hospitals “will have an increasingly difficult time caring for some of the sickest Medicare patients and may be unable to continue relieving pressure on their acute-care hospital partners.”

Mississippi’s three main food banks last year handed out 40 million meals across all 82 counties and had their largest-ever distribution of produce as a result of a new collaborative effort, food bank leaders said Wednesday at the Capitol. 

Through the collaboration, food banks lean on one another and allocate resources more efficiently as federal support rapidly diminishes, said Michael Ledger, chief executive officer of Feeding the Gulf Coast. In 2023, his organization banded together with the Mississippi Food Network and the Mid-South Food Bank to better serve the nation’s hungriest state. 

The organizations come together in times of crisis, such as the recent ice storm, during which they distributed over 160,000 meals. They also share information about partnerships and brainstorm ways to reach more people in the state. That solidarity is needed now more than ever, advocates say. 

Nationwide, hunger is increasing while funds to address it are shrinking. As a result of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump last summer, Mississippi will be responsible for $140 million in costs previously covered by the federal government to run its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the next two years. 

Experts say people will lose benefits for multiple reasons: 

• Increased paperwork will inadvertently kick off eligible people;
• Fewer people will be eligible under new federally-mandated work requirements;
• Some states may further cut eligibility to afford the new costs. 

“Needs are going up, and we need to address it,” Ledger said. “It’s a harsh reality that people are going to see. As much as we can be ahead of it, the better.”

Theresa Lau, senior policy counsel at the Southern Poverty Law Center, applauds the work of food banks, but she said they cannot make up for the loss created by federal cuts to SNAP. And food banks shouldn’t have to, Lau said. 

“The trouble is food banks are just one part of the equation,” Lau told Mississippi Today. “You can’t food bank your way out of some of this stuff. SNAP is the most effective anti-hunger program.”

That’s in part because SNAP dollars can help people get fresh, hot meals with more flexible hours and locations, and allow them to consider personal dietary needs. 

About 1 in 8 Mississippians — or 334,000 people  — use SNAP to put food on the table. More than 67% of participants live in households with children, and about 41% are in households with elderly or disabled adults. In four Mississippi counties, over a third of residents rely on the program to purchase food, according to a report from WLBT. 

In October, the nation’s longest federal government shutdown in history paused food assistance for thousands of Mississippians. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves announced his priority was finding ways to restrict the use of food assistance benefits for the purchase of sugary food and drinks. 

Talk of food assistance this year has been scant in the Legislature. However, the Department of Human Services did ask for $15 million to cover immediate SNAP costs. Bob Anderson, executive director of the department, cited it as the reason he wouldn’t request additional child care dollars, despite roughly 20,000 households sitting on waitlists for state-funded child care vouchers.  

House Public Health Committee Chairman Sam Creekmore, a Republican from New Albany, authored a bill this year to invest in farms and help food banks distribute local foods, boosting both farmers and people who need access to food. But the bill died in committee this month. Creekmore said he hopes to revive it in other legislation, but he is unsure if he can secure funding. 

The move is a no-brainer, said Creekmore, in a state whose economy is driven by agriculture and has among the highest rates of poverty and poor health outcomes.

“Let’s come up with the best practices to get the healthy foods that we grow to the tables of our most needy,” Creekmore said. 

It’s “the best way the state can stretch their dollars,” Ledger said. He said his collaborative already has resources in place – truckers, drivers and warehouses – to stand up this kind of enterprise. 

“It’s not like with other things where we have to build the infrastructure,” he said. “This is really just fuel to put in the car.” 

Poverty drives hunger, but the reverse is also true, advocates say. Without access to reliable meals, people are less able to stay healthy, find jobs and stay in school. 

“When somebody is fed, their opportunity to go out and get a job or do better in school or a grandparent trying to take care of a grandchild – it enables them to be functioning,” Ledger said. “It pays the community back.”

Mississippi Today general assignment reporter Simeon Gates has been selected by the National Press Foundation for its Widening the Pipeline fellowship.

The program’s goal is to help journalists of color remain in journalism and develop into future leaders of newsrooms. Throughout the yearlong fellowship, Gates is one of 15 fellows participating in online and in-person training events.

She is the second Mississippi Today reporter to take part in the fellowship. Criminal justice reporter Mina Corpuz participated in the program in 2022.

Gates began her career at Mississippi Today in May 2024 as an intern and became a fulltime general assignment reporter in August of that year. She has covered a wide range of topics, including the immigration and deportation issues, the impact of federal cuts on Mississippi libraries and the commemoration of 70 years since the murder of Emmett Till.

“Simeon approaches all of her assignments with an open mind and a commitment to provide our readers with the facts,” said Mississippi Today Ideas editor Bobby Harrison, who also serves as Gates’ editor. “She is eager to learn and brings a good attitude to all of her assignments. We are proud that the National Press Foundation recognized her talents and potential and awarded her the fellowship.”

Gates earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi.

 In Mississippi, a former teacher was accused last year of using artificial intelligence to create hyperrealistic videos depicting some of his students performing sexual acts.

As artificial intelligence proliferates, such cases are driving states to enact laws regulating and protecting people from its use.

Mississippi currently has two laws dealing with AI, and three more are being proposed. One current law criminalizes creating political deepfakes meant to damage a candidate. The other classifies AI-generated images of children performing sexual acts as child exploitation.

Those being proposed include Senate Bill 2050, authored by Sen. Bradford Blackmon, a Democrat from Canton. This measure would mandate political advertisements disclose if AI was used. Another is House Bill 1723, authored by Rep. Jill Ford, a Republican from Madison. It would create a state definition of AI.

But, SB2046 would likely impact everyday Mississippians the most.

Known as the Mississippians’ Right to Name, Likeness and Voice Act, the bill, also authored by Blackmon, would give Mississippians the right to their image, name and voice and would create civil liabilities for unauthorized use. The bill passed the Senate on Feb. 11 and has been referred to the House Judiciary A Committee.

While proposals have been made at the federal level to grant Americans rights and protections against AI, none have become law. In the absence of federal legislation, a growing number of states have enacted laws giving people protections against their identity being used to generate AI content. 

“Senate Bill 2046 reflects a broader national movement toward regulating AI-enabled impersonation, particularly realistic voice cloning and digital replicas,” said Oliver Roberts, who teaches a Mississippi College School of Law course on AI. He is also an adjunct professor at Washington University in St. Louis and co-director of its Law AI Collaborative.

While SB 2046 is modeled heavily after California Assembly Bill No. 2602, other states have also passed similar legislation, including Tennessee, New York, Kentucky and Louisiana.

Roberts said what makes the Mississippi bill distinct is that “it treats a person’s name, likeness, and voice as a form of transferable intellectual property and builds a damages framework around unauthorized digital use.”

Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to promote the AI industry’s growth and prevent state laws from impeding innovation with regulations. However, Roberts thinks that despite tension between states and the federal government around regulating AI, SB 2046 in Mississippi would be an unlikely target for federal intervention.

“Bills like SB 2046 could be challenged based on federal preemption, but it is less likely because these types of bills are not regulating the foundational AI models themselves,” Roberts said.

Editor’s note: This essay is part of Mississippi Today Ideas, a platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share their ideas about our state’s past, present and future. You can read more about the section here.

The recent passing of Jesse Jackson marks the end of an era in American public life. For more than five decades, the Rev. Jesse Jackson stood on the front lines of the struggle for civil rights, economic justice and human dignity. His voice thundered in pulpits, echoed through protest lines and rang out on debate stages across this nation. Whether one agreed with him politically or not, his impact on American history is undeniable.

He walked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. He founded Operation PUSH and later the Rainbow Coalition, advancing an agenda rooted in fairness, inclusion and opportunity. He ran for president of the United States, not once, but twice, expanding the political imagination of what leadership in America could look like. His campaigns inspired millions, particularly young people and communities long excluded from the political process.

Mississippi knows something about struggle. We know something about courage. And we know something about redemption.

Our state stands on sacred Civil Rights ground. From the Mississippi Delta to Jackson, from Meridian to Philadelphia, history has tested this state in ways few others have experienced. That history includes pain, injustice and resistance, but it also includes resilience, faith and transformation.

The Rev. Jackson’s life intersected with that larger American story. He helped push this nation and states like ours toward a more inclusive democracy. His work opened doors in boardrooms, classrooms, city halls and state capitols. Leaders across generations stand on ground he helped clear.

Honoring him is not about partisanship. It is about acknowledging the arc of history and those who bent it.

As chair of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus, I believe it is both appropriate and necessary that the state of Mississippi formally recognize his contributions. I have respectfully called upon Gov. Tate Reeves to order flags across our state to be flown at half-staff in honor of the Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr.

Flying the flag at half-staff is more than symbolism. It is a public statement of recognition. It tells future generations that when history called, Mississippi did not remain silent. It affirms that we understand the weight of sacrifice and the power of perseverance.

Scripture reminds us in Matthew 25:23: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Jesse Jackson’s life embodied service to faith, to justice and to the enduring promise of America.

At this moment, Mississippi has an opportunity to demonstrate maturity, unity and moral clarity. Lowering the flags would not erase our past. But it would acknowledge that leaders who fought for equality helped shape the freedoms we all share today.

History is always watching how we respond in moments like these.

Let Mississippi respond with dignity. Let us respond with respect. Let our flags fly at half-staff in honor of a man whose life helped move this country forward.

Democrat Kabir Karriem has represented Mississippi  House District 41, covering parts of Lowndes County, since 2016. He is chair of the Legislative Black Caucus.

State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss are off to amazing starts in the young college baseball season. So much to discuss, including the Golden Eagles’ impressive seep through the prestigious Round Rock Classic.

Stream all episodes here.

Business optimism is returning for small and midsize business leaders at the start of 2026, fueling confidence and growth plans.

The 2026 Business Leaders Outlook survey, released in January by JPMorganChase reveals a turnaround from last June, when economic headwinds and uncertainty about shifting policies and tariffs caused some leaders to put their business plans on hold.

Midsize companies, who often find themselves more exposed to geopolitical shifts and policy changes, experienced a significant dip in business and economic confidence in June of 2025. As they have become more comfortable with the complexities of today’s environment, we are seeing optimism rebounding in the middle market nationwide – an encouraging sign for growth, hiring, and innovation. Small businesses, meanwhile, maintained steady optimism throughout 2025, but they aren’t shielded from domestic concerns. Many cited inflation and wage pressures as the top challenges for 2026 and are taking steps to ensure their businesses are prepared for what’s ahead.

“Middle market executives across the Southwest are realistic about the challenges facing their businesses in the year ahead, with labor remaining one of the most significant concerns in the region,” said Diego Gordillo, Southwest Segment Head of Commercial Banking for J.P. Morgan. “Leaders are clear-eyed about the challenges, but positive about company performance and the local economy in the year ahead.”

Overall, both small and midsize business leaders are feeling more confident to pursue growth opportunities, embrace emerging technologies and, in some cases, forge new strategic partnerships. That bodes well for entrepreneurs in Mississippi. Here are a few other key findings from the Business Leaders Outlook about trends expected to drive activity in Jackson this year:

1) Inflation remains the top concern for small business owners. Following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, many anticipated a favorable business environment. By June 2025, however, that feeling shifted amid concerns about political dynamics, tariffs, evolving regulations and global economic headwinds.

Going into 2026, 37% of respondents cited inflation as their top concern. Rising taxes came in second at 27% and the impact of tariffs was third at 22%. Other concerns included managing cash flow, hiring and labor costs.

2) For middle market leaders, uncertainty remains an issue. Almost half (49%) of all midsize business leaders surveyed cited “economic uncertainty” as their top concern – even with an improved outlook from a few months ago. Revenue and sales growth was second at 33%, while tariffs and labor both were third at 31%.

3) And tariffs are impacting businesses costs. Sixty-one percent of midsize business leaders said tariffs have had a negative impact on the cost of doing business.

The Jackson City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to confirm RaShall Brackney as the new police chief. But shortly before the vote, after the meeting had been going for nearly an hour, council president Brian Grizzell said he had 35 questions.

“I’m not going to ask them all,” the Ward 4 council member said, teasing the crowd in the packed chamber at City Hall. 

Grizzell then asked Brackney, Mayor John Horhn’s nominee to lead the Jackson Police Department, to explain how she had “rebuilt trust” as chief of the Charlottesville Police Department in Virginia. 

“What specific reforms did you implement there and what measurable results did those reforms produce?” he asked. 

Brackney was hired to lead the force in Virginia in the wake of a 2017 white supremacist rally. But three years after she took the helm in Charlottesville, Brackney was abruptly fired in 2022 by the city manager – a position that doesn’t exist in Jackson city government. Council members did not publicly ask Brackney about this.  

During her Jackson confirmation hearing, Brackney said that as the only Black woman in the Charlottesville department – and its leader – she faced an entrenched culture of racism, sexism and homophobia. But she said she forced the department to be more transparent by posting every use-of-force incident and civilian complaint on the city’s website and hiring an analyst to determine if officers were conducting legal stops. 

“You make the standard clear: Corruption at any level will not exist at this organization, and I am willing to put my life on the line if that’s the case,” she said, describing her stance in Virginia. 

Brackney sued the Charlottesville Police Department over her firing. But the police department said her firing was the result of “chaos and upheaval” in the department and the “ongoing strained relationship between Brackney, City leadership, and community stakeholders,” VPM reported. The lawsuit was dismissed.

Brackney said she fired 10 police officers for inappropriate behavior while she led the department. 

“And I walked back through those doors every day during those investigations,” she added, garnering laughs and claps when she quipped “albeit gun in hand, but nonetheless, I walked back through those doors.” 

Only Ward 1 council member Ashby Foote voted against Brackney’s confirmation. Ward 3 council member Kenneth Stokes phoned into the meeting. 

“She’s much too educated and too charming to be police chief,” Foote told Mississippi Today after the vote. 

Brackney, a Pittsburgh native, spent most of her career as a police officer in the northeastern city. Like in Charlottesville, where she was also an outsider to the department, Brackney is moving to the city to take the reins at the Jackson Police Department – a force some on the council characterized as struggling with hallmarks of internal problems: Cliques, favoritism and low morale. 

In recent weeks, Grizzell’s brother, Vincent Grizzell, alleged that he was forced to resign from his position as an assistant chief in the department for political reasons, WLBT first reported, but he has not elaborated on what those reasons are. 

The disclosure of numerous exhibits by District Attorney Jody Owens as he fights federal bribery charges included FBI documents that contained allegations of corruption at JPD. A former JPD officer, Torrence Mayfield, told FBI agents in a field interview that they should investigate the department. Early last year, he pled guilty to federal charges of making false statements to a firearm dealer. 

Ward 6 council member Lashia Brown-Thomas, a former JPD officer, said during her 25 years in the department, she witnessed unfair promotions. She asked: “What is your plan to make the officer feel like if a promotion opportunity came back again that you would treat them right and be fair?” 

In Brackney’s answers to the council, she pledged to restore trust in the department and eliminate “those things that are cancerous to your culture.” 

One way to do it, she said, was by encouraging professional development and ensuring officers are fairly promoted. 

“What happens if you allow officers to dream big?” she said. 

The council will set Brackney’s salary at its next meeting but the mayor proposed paying her $150,000. Her confirmation comes after Jackson saw a significant decrease in homicides last year. 

But public safety remains a paramount concern for Jacksonians, multiple council members told Mississippi Today. Brackney said collaboration among local law enforcement could improve the perception of Jackson. 

“We all have the same goals,” she said, “to make this community safer … not only just from crime and disorder, but the fear of crime and disorder which is just as true and tangible as the actual data and number.” 

Horhn announced her nomination earlier this month. He selected Brackney from a list of four finalists after a months-long recruiting process that included community listening sessions. She will be the third woman to lead the department. 

“At the end of the day, she is as tough as nails, and I believe her leadership is exactly what Jackson and the citizens need right now,” said Horhn, who has been mayor since July. 

The search process came after Joseph Wade retired as police chief in September. Tyree Jones, the Hinds County sheriff, has been serving as Jackson Police Department’s interim chief since Wade left.

Some council members, including Ward 2’s Tina Clay, had said they preferred an internal candidate, citing Jackson and Missisisppi’s unique culture. Of the mayor’s four finalists, only one – Wendall Watts, an assistant chief who oversees criminal investigations – was an internal candidate. 

Clay asked Brackney if she had reviewed the department’s budget, prompting Brackney to say she was concerned about the department’s $800,000 to $1 million in overtime pay. 

“There is something going on where officers are being tasked in order to meet the needs of this community,” she said. “What is that strain doing to our officers?” 

The police chief sets the vision and direction for the department. When Wade led it, he often credited his leadership with rebuilding the department’s trust in Jackson and in metro-area law enforcement. As evidence, he pointed to JPD’s inclusion on federal task forces fighting violent crime in the city. 

Brackney said she had a similar task at her previous assignment in Charlottesville. 

Months before Brackney was fired in Charlottesville, she disbanded the department’s SWAT team following an internal report that showed officers were engaging in inappropriate behavior. In response, the local police union solicited a survey that showed rank-and-file officers were frustrated with her leadership. 

The survey’s findings were cited by the city manager in an op-ed about his firing of Brackney. She then sued the city for $10 million, citing race and gender discrimination. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2023. 

In recent years, she was also a finalist for Minneapolis police chief, with a local paper there noting that Brackney had a “reform-minded reputation.” 

Brackney holds a Ph.D. in instructional management and leadership and taught at George Mason University with a focus on “on police legitimacy, transparency, and reimagining public safety,” according to a city press release.

Foote said he had wanted to see a police chief who would confront gangs and perpetrators of violence crime in Jackson. 

“I think gangs are the ones that should be fearful of us,” he said.

As Hinds County continues to pay for the long-running problem of overcrowding at the Raymond Detention Center, a new coalition is hoping to convince county supervisors that higher salaries for public defenders could be one solution.

On Tuesday, members of Defend Mississippi – a statewide group receiving support from national criminal justice advocates – gathered in the county board room to make the case for why the Hinds County Board of Supervisors should appropriate $350,000 to the Hinds County Public Defender’s Office. 

The funding infusion would bring starting salaries for public defenders up to $80,000. The coalition argues the raise would lead to less turnover in the public defenders office, leading to faster-moving cases in a criminal justice system where most defendants cannot afford a private attorney. 

“I can tell you plainly, when public defense is properly resourced, the entire system functions,” said CJ Lawrence, an attorney and founder of the media company Black With No Chaser. “Cases move, taxpayers’ money is saved, constitutional rights are protected, communities are stronger.” 

Hinds County has one of the busiest criminal dockets in the state, with attorneys in the Hinds County Public Defender’s Office handling hundreds of cases at once. When they leave the office, another attorney has to take on the case, often requiring additional time to learn the file and resulting in the defendant spending more time in jail. 

Despite their crucial role, public defenders in Hinds County earn virtually half the salaries of their counterparts in the district attorney’s office, about $50,000 less. 

They also earn an average of $20,000 less than their counterparts statewide, according to the preliminary results of a study the Office of the State Public Defender is conducting. 

Why the gap? A huge factor, said State Public Defender Andre de Gruy, is that prosecutors’ salaries are state-funded, while counties must pay for assistant public defenders. 

But the push for more funding from Hinds County comes at a time when the board of supervisors is under pressure from outside entities to fix other persistent issues and finding few solutions that don’t require coughing up county funds. 

These external requests have led some supervisors to feel as if county outsiders – a federal receiver, state lawmakers – have snatched away control of their purse strings. 

Deborah Dixon, the district 3 supervisor who represents western Jackson, said she would love to pay public defenders more. But she insisted the county doesn’t have the money after it pays for the new jail and other obligations created by the Legislature. 

“They’re making new laws, but they ain’t sending new money with the laws,” she said. 

Dixon pointed to last year, whenlawmakers added a fifth judge to the Hinds County Circuit Court, a move mandated by judicial legislative redistricting. 

Dixon said the new judge came with more court employees that Hinds County must pay for, but she did not say how many or which positions. The state-funded Administrative Office of the Courts pays for judicial employees in circuit courts like court administrators, but counties pay for court reporters. 

Another demand on the county’s budget cited by Dixon comes from the board’s decision to build a new jail in an effort to comply with a 2016 federal consent decree to improve unconstitutional conditions at the Raymond Detention Center, including widespread violence, overcrowding and understaffing. 

Supervisors made the call in 2022, originally estimating the new detention center in south Jackson would cost $60 million. The county is still building the jail, with WLBT recently reporting the facility will actually cost $100 million. 

And last fall, a federal receiver finally took over operations of the Raymond Detention Center – including managing the jail’s budget. 

Defend Mississippi argues those factors – particularly the addition of another circuit court judge – mean greater investment in public defenders is necessary. 

But some supervisors say they want solutions that don’t require paying more money.

“You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip,” said District 2 Supervisor Tony Smith, who was out of town the day of the press conference for a membership meeting of national county officials in Washington, D.C. He represents the county’s rural, westernmost district from Bolton to Utica. 

Smith said he is constantly hearing stories of people accused of non-violent offenses sitting in the Raymond jail because they can’t make bond: business burglars, car thieves, check fraudsters and those facing misdemeanor drug charges.

“You’ve got to get some of these people out that don’t need to be in jail,” he said. “Bottom line.” 

Then Smith acknowledged a problem with his own idea, noting that emptying the jail – and saving upwards of $50 per day for each person released – requires the blessing of county and circuit court judges. 

Meanwhile, the county faces a shrinking tax base as Jackson depopulates. 

“How many major grocery stores are in Jackson? You got Kroger, you got Walmart, you got Piggly Wiggly, and Cash and Carry,” Smith said. “I think that’s it. … How many department stores do we have? None. So where is our revenue coming from?” 

Gail Wright Lowery, the head public defender for Hinds County who is appointed by the senior circuit court judge, has requested raises for her staff in the past. 

“I can appreciate and recognize that funds are strained, but I also know that public defense is a smart investment,” she said in a statement shared by Defend Mississippi. “Studies show that across the country, counties that invest in public defense save millions each year because early, effective representation avoids the costs of unnecessary jail time and keeps our citizens working instead of being detained.”

Lawmakers added more support to the office when they passed House Bill 1020, which created the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court and added three state-supported positions to the Hinds County public defender’s office. 

The county previously used federal pandemic relief funds to supplement the salaries of the office’s 11 assistant public defenders. 

But it was a temporary solution. Those funds expired in 2023. Lowery’s subsequent efforts to seek a more permanent solution failed, with supervisors narrowly voting down a $20,000 raise for her staff.

The turnover has a human toll. A few years ago, the State Public Defender’s Office stepped in to fill the court’s backlog. De Gruy, who heads the office, recalled meeting with a man who had been jailed in Raymond for three years. 

“I told three people this story,” de Gruy recalls the man saying, voice laden with frustration. “I’m tired of telling y’all this story.” 

That man’s case was ultimately resolved – de Gruy couldn’t say how, due to attorney-client privilege – but many others weren’t, illustrating the limits of the temporary solution. 

Lowery will submit her request for additional funding at the board’s March 2 meeting.