Tag-Archive for » mississippi «
Here we go again. The Hurricane Katrina nightmare continues. A story at the Washington Post tells the tale of how New Orleans’ recovery diverges for affluent whites and low-income blacks.
“For people who were well-off before the storm, they are more likely to be back in their homes, back in their jobs and to have access to good health care,” said one leading advocate. “For those who were poor or struggling to get by before the storm, the opposite is true.”
Earlier this month, Lousiana’s program to hand out grants to property owners whose holdings were damaged by the hurricane was found to discriminate against black homeowners.
In Mississippi, low-income, uninsured homeowners were hurt by a decision to refuse rebuilding grants to property owners who suffered wind damage.
And a recent survey found that African-Americans in New Orleans are more than twice as likely to believe they have not yet recovered from Katrina.
SIDEBAR: Really are you friggin kidding me it’s 2012, and these are your outgoing legacy decisions to the good state of “Mississippi”? Who in the hell psst this man off??? Because he is going out with a kiss-my-azz attitude.
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Updated 8:40 p.m. ET: In response to criticism about the pardons, former Gov. Haley Barbour released a statement from his office Wednesday evening that said 189 of the 215 people pardoned were already out of prison.
“My decision about clemency was based upon the recommendation of the Parole Board in more than 90 percent of the cases,” the statement said.
The statement, reported by WTVA of Tupelo, went on to say 13 of the 26 inmates released from custody cost the state a lot of money due to their medical expenses and can be returned to custody if they commit another crime.
Updated 8 p.m. ET: Mississippi Circuit Judge Tomie Green has temporarily blocked the release of 21 inmates who’d been given pardons or medical release by Republican Haley Barbour in one of his final acts as governor.
Original story
JACKSON, Miss. – The state attorney general on Wednesday moved to block the release of some inmates pardoned by Gov. Haley Barbour in his last days in office, claiming the move may have violated the state Constitution.
Attorney General Jim Hood said the law requires a legal notice of plans to pardon to be published 30 days prior to the action. He said his office couldn’t find such a record.
“Unfortunately our research has revealed that Gov. Barbour violated the Constitution,” Hood told The Clarion-Ledger. “We’re seeking to stop the release of any prisoners.”
Hood told WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss. that he planned to file an injunction at Hinds County Circuit.