A black man will spend 12 years in prison because, while he was in a county jail for a misdemeanor, guards caught him sending texts on his phone—a felony that can apparently carry between 3 to 15 years in prison. The MS Supreme Court upheld the sentence.
deepsouthvoice.com/index.php/2020…
deepsouthvoice.com/index.php/2020…
In a concurrence with the ruling, Presiding Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Leslie King admits that Nash's "crime was victimless, and the facts of the case lend themselves to an interpretation that his crime was accidental and likely caused by a failure of booking procedures."
Notably, both the prosecutor and the initial trial court judge who handed down the sentence were first appointed to their positions by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, who just this past week claimed Mississippi "just got out of racism."
deepsouthvoice.com/index.php/2020…
deepsouthvoice.com/index.php/2020…
Even as Gov. Bryant has touted some small criminal justice reforms in recent years (incarceration has still risen), advocates say MS has not done the main thing that would help most—reforming our "extreme" sentencing laws, incl. habitual offender laws.
jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/nov/…
jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/nov/…
To be clear: By "guards caught him sending texts" up above, I mean the man, Willie Nash, asked the jailer if he would mind charging his phone for him (apparently not realizing he wasn't supposed to have it).
The jailer took it to a deputy, who saw he'd sent texts while in jail.
The jailer took it to a deputy, who saw he'd sent texts while in jail.
