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US appeals court upholds Mississippi lifetime voting ban for certain felons

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed Thursday that a section of the Mississippi Constitution that banned felons from voting for life did not violate the Eighth or Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution and was thereby constitutional. Therefore, it is not a penal measure, much less a cruel and unusual one.

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US appeals court to reconsider decision striking down Mississippi Jim Crow-era voter disenfranchisement law

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed on Thursday to reconsider a decision from August that a provision of the Mississippi Constitution that permanently prevents people convicted of certain felonies from voting is unconstitutional. Third, even if disenfranchisement were a punishment, it is not cruel and unusual.

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Only 1 out of 5 defendants in this Mississippi county get court-appointed lawyers before indictment

ABA Journal

The right to counsel is “tenuous” in a small Mississippi justice court in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, where two judges appointed lawyers for felony defendants in…

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Third Mississippi ‘Goon Squad’ member sentenced for involvement in assault of Black men

JURIST

The third of six members of the Mississippi deputy group who referred to themselves as the “Goon Squad,” Daniel Opdyke, was sentenced Wednesday to 17 and a half years in federal prison for his involvement in the torture of two black men. The officers then beat both men and tased them 17 times.

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Thousands stuck in Mississippi jails without trial, MacArthur Justice Center reports

JURIST

The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law published a report Wednesday identifying thousands of people being held in Mississippi’s county jails while awaiting trial because they cannot afford bail or public defenders unavailable when required.

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“Supreme Court’s decision on felony suffrage hinges on understanding of state amendment process”

HowAppealing

“Supreme Court’s decision on felony suffrage hinges on understanding of state amendment process”: Bobby Harrison has this essay online at Mississippi Today. The post “Supreme Court’s decision on felony suffrage hinges on understanding of state amendment process” appeared first on How Appealing.

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Court Upholds Jim Crow-era Voting Restrictions in Mississippi

The Crime Report

5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Mississippi can continue to bar more than 10 percent of its citizens from voting, maintaining a Jim Crow-era provision that bars Mississippians convicted of felonies from taking part in elections, reports the Daily Journal.

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