PICK YOUR POISON
Two Mississippi death row inmates put this idiom into action this week. A federal judge temporarily halted executions in the state of Mississippi Tuesday. According to NBC News, this decision was made per the request of two death row inmates who said the state’s lethal injection procedure should be considered “chemical torture.” Following this complaint, the state Executioner’s Office filed the appeal of U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, which temporarily banned the state from using pentobarbital or midazolam in its executions. According to the two inmates, Richard Jordan and Ricky Chase, the combination of chemicals that the state was using could cause “conscious suffocation and intense internal burning.” In fact, manufacturers across the country have stopped selling pentobarbital for execution purposes for ethical reasons.
WHEN CYBERBULLYING IS TAKEN TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Cybercrime…it’s no laughing matter. This June, a total of 12 individuals accused of a global cybercrime will face trial in Gulfport. According to the Sun Herald, the accused persons were caught after Homeland Security received reports that a woman from Biloxi became victim of a large scale scam in 2011. She received a fake check and package and was then asked to reship the package to South Africa and send the money to someone else. The defendants were charged on account of being involved in multiple internet-based scams that targeted thousands of U.S. citizens and lost thousands of dollars. Among the defendants are 11 Nigerians and one South African woman.
THE RING OF FIRE
There was a ring of a different type found in Jackson last weekend. On Friday of last week, two Jackson Police Department detectives disguised themselves in the Baymont Inn on Interstate 55 in an effort to expose a prostitution ring. One officer was given the position of the bathroom and a room to himself, but he was not alone. The department set up cameras in a room next door for surveillance in order to ensure the officer’s safety. According to the Hattiesburg American, Vice Commander Tyree Jones said the investigation was not only to make arrests for the “sake of prostitution,” but also to stop other crimes involving drug use and robberies. Jones also said with the increase in human trafficking in America, investigating prostitution could help find people who are trapped in human trafficking rings. Prostitution is a misdemeanor up to the third offense. The officers arrested six individuals, all on varying accounts of either prostitution or drug possession.
EXECUTIVE IN CHIEFTESS
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians returned to the polls this week to elect a chief. The ballot held the names of incumbent Phyliss J. Anderson and her opponent Beasley Denson. The tribe previously voted in June, but the Tribal Council overturned the election. In that election, Anderson defeated her challenger with 52 percent of the vote. According to WTVA News, the runoff occurred this week, resulting in the re-election of Chief Phyliss Anderson with 54 percent of the vote. She is the first female to lead the tribe of 10,000 members. Talk about girl power.
