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By Michaela Gibson Morris

Daily Journal

Mississippi public health and law enforcement officials fear the state is on the cusp of an opioid overdose crisis.

To combat the risking risk of an opioid epidemic, Gov. Phil Bryant on Tuesday issued an executive order to create an Opioid and Heroin Study Task Force.

“We are committed to protecting our citizens from the scourge of drug abuse and addiction,” Bryant said in a statement.

Bryant said he will appoint members to the task force, who will meet “as often as necessary.”

So far, the state has avoided the dramatic increases in deaths related to misuse of prescription pain pills, including tramadol and oxycodone, and heroin that other states like Kentucky, West Virginia and Alabama have seen.

“People have got to wake up,” said John Dowdy, director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. “We are on the same pattern that these other states were.”

Using Centers for Disease Control data gleaned from death certificates, Alabama saw nearly a 20 percent increase in opioid-related deaths between 2013 and 2014, with 723 deaths. Mississippi had 336 deaths in 2014, according to the CDC data, representing a 7 percent increase, which was not considered statistically significant.

Most troubling, health, law enforcement and mental health leaders say, is the high rate of opioid prescriptions in Mississippi. A 2014 CDC analysis found that Mississippians received prescription pain pills at a rate of 120 prescriptions per 100 population.

“This is a public health crisis in the making,” said Mississippi State epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers.

Based on research from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, four out of five heroin users become addicted through the use of prescription opioids.

“We have to treat this as an illness that is potentially fatal,” said Mississippi State Medical Association past president Dr. Dan Edney, who is an internist in Vicksburg.

Misusing both prescription opioid medication and heroin puts people at risk of fatal overdose. Opioids can depress respiration, leading to unconsciousness and death. With regular use, tolerance grows, leading people to take higher and higher doses to achieve the effect.

Illicit heroin carries extra risks because of variations in purity and addition of substances like fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, making it difficult to judge doses. Intravenous drug users also are at risk for contracting HIV and Hepatitis C.

Addicts who have been recently released from prison or rehab programs are particularly vulnerable to overdose because their tolerance drops off quickly when they are forced to stop, addiction treatment advocates say. What was their normal dose is now a fatal dose.

In Northeast Mississippi

From 2013 to Sept. 30, 2016, there have been at least 82 overdose deaths in Northeast Mississippi, based on coroner reports to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

“I think this is the tip of the iceberg,” because not all coroners report as required, Dowdy said. “They don’t adequately show the problem.”

Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green is seeing opioid-related deaths regularly – 17 cases in the 33-month period covered by the MBN statistics.

Most are related to misuse of prescription opioids, but heroin is showing up, too, she said. Heroin laced with fentanyl is suspected in the November deaths of two people at a Tupelo hotel.

The heartbreaking human cost of opioid and heroin addiction defies stereotype. It affects young and old, poor and affluent.

“It can affect everybody,” Green said. “I’ve seen professionals who had everything going for them.”

michaela.morris@journalinc.com

Daily Journal

RICHMOND – A wreck claimed the life of a Nettleton man over the weekend.

Roy Barber, 68, was killed on Highway 371 south in the Richmond community around 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Barber’s truck reportedly left the road and collided with a tree.

According to Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green, Barber was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:07 p.m.

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Judge Jim Pounds and court administrator Jennifer Cummings at Booneville Drug Court.

By William Moore

Daily Journal

BOONEVILLE – People convicted on felony drug charges in circuit court could have a choice between going to prison or going to drug court.

While that may sound like an easy decision, a three-year sentence to the penitentiary could end in little more than a year served with good behavior.

Drug court, however, means three years of counseling, holding down a job and the possibility of being drug tested five days a week.

“Some would rather try to ‘survive’ a trip to the penitentiary rather than go through drug court,” said Jennifer Cummings, court administrator for the First Circuit Court District Drug Court, based in Booneville. “Drug Court takes quite a commitment on their part.”

Participants must attend a support group meeting twice a week, stay away from drugs and alcohol, abide by a 10 p.m. daily curfew and be ready to submit a urine sample nearly every day. They have to pay all their fines, restitution and counseling costs. And those who dropped out of high school have to get their diploma or a general equivalency degree before they can leave the program.

But for those who graduate drug court, they are clean and have good jobs. Plus, their criminal past is well behind them.

“When we started drug court in 2008, I was one of the biggest skeptics,” said Circuit Court Judge Jim Pounds. “But I have seen it work, for the people who want it to work.

“When we first started, we had one girl who didn’t have a license or a car who hitchhiked (to Booneville) from Tupelo every week for court. We have since added a second day of court in Tupelo to help out the folks on the south end of the district.”

The three-year drug court program is broken into five phases. In phases one and two, participants go to court once a week, either Thursday afternoons in Tupelo or Friday mornings in Booneville. As they progress through the phases three through five, attendance at drug court drops to twice a month, then once a month and eventually every other month.

The first thing they do at court is provide a urine sample. The court has a $120,000 lab in the Booneville office and can process the 200 or more samples in a matter of a few hours. While attendance at court does diminish, the drug testing does not. Participants must call the office after 3 p.m. every day to see if their group is being called in for a drug test.

“We have them get in texting circles, so when one finds out, they can text the others of a random test,” Cummings said. “If they are called, they have to be here between 4 and 6 that evening.”

“If you forget a test or miss a test, that’s the same as a positive test,” Pounds said. “If someone does test positive for drugs, they have to spend time in their county jail.”

Depending on the number of positive test results a participant has had in the past, they could get four days in jail. Serious or repeated violations could have them kicked out of drug court. Recently, Pounds had three revocations, sentencing all three to five years in the penitentiary.

Infractions, whether a positive test or missing court or not attending counseling can also force them to start their phase over.

“We’ve had some folks take five years to finish the program because they kept having to start over,” Pounds said. “You hate to make someone start over when their car broke down or their ride didn’t show up or their texting buddy fell down on the job. But I didn’t make the rules. Part of drug court is for them to be responsible for themselves.”

Drug court personnel also provide a list of companies hiring for those looking for jobs or better paying jobs. In addition to making them more productive citizens, it also provides them with the means to pay off fines.

The First District Drug Court usually has around 230 participants in all five phases. Since 2008, it has seen 214 people complete the program. The 42 members of the last graduating class paid, by themselves, nearly $100,000 in fines and restitution to their home counties.

“Three years is a good start for them, but addiction is a lifetime thing – a day-to-day battle,” Pounds said.

william.moore@journalinc.com

By Floyd Ingram

Chickasaw Journal

HOUSTON – Police are questioning one man and seeking others after the Sprint Mart on Highway 8 East was robbed Sunday night.

Houston Police Chief Billy Voyles said two black males, dressed in black, entered the Sprint Mart about 9:20 Sunday night and jumped a female employee working in the back and snatched cash from the register.

“They hit the woman and roughed her up but couldn’t get in the safe,” said Voyles. “The grabbed the cash from the register and fled east on foot.”

Voyles said a male suspect was picked up about 2 a.m. Monday in Shannon after police got a lead on the vehicle. Police were still checking his story shortly before noon Monday.

“The employee said they saw a weapon,” said Voyles. “They were pretty shook up, and we haven’t stopped looking for those involved since this happened.”

Voyles said the incident was captured on store video.

“We’re not releasing the name of the suspect at this time,” said Voyles. “We believe up to two or more people were involved, and the investigation continues.”

Voyles said anyone with any information about this crime is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-773-TIPS (8477). A cash reward will be paid for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this or any other felony crime in Chickasaw County.

SMITH

SCRUGGS

Daily Journal

GREENWOOD – Law enforcement are still searching for two of the three men who escaped from a Greenwood facility early Monday morning.

According to the Mississippi Department of Corrections, two probationers and a parolee escaped from the Greenwood Restitution Center in Leflore County around 2 a.m.

Michael Smith, who was serving a 7-year sentence from Prentiss County, was captured hours later by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials are still searching for Corey Scruggs, who was sentenced in Pontotoc County for burglary, and parolee Kenneth Arrington, serving an 8-year sentence out of Washington County for car theft, burglary and felony malicious mischief.

All three were ordered by the courts to a restitution center until they have paid off all their fees and fines.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Scruggs is asked to call MDOC at 662-745-6611.

Daily Journal

TUPELO – The man who robbed a Tupelo gas station at gunpoint Saturday night may be the same man who robbed a Verona bank nearly two weeks ago.

“The investigators are very aware of the similarities, especially the brown wig, and they are consulting with the other agencies involved in the bank robbery investigation,” said Tupelo Police Department spokesman Capt. Chuck McDougald.

According to police, a black male entered the Shell Station at 371 South Gloster Street at 11:09 p.m. Saturday. The suspect was wearing a brown wig and showed the clerk a gun. No one was injured and the suspect left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

On Dec. 1, a black male wearing a brown wig and carrying a large purse entered the Renasant Bank on Raymond Avenue just before noon. He laid a note and a gun on the counter. He left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken the lead in searching for that suspect, described as about 6-feet tall and weighing 185-200 pounds.

TATE

Daily Journal

STARKVILLE – Starkville police have charged another local man with a shooting incident that happened a month ago.

Dequayle L. Tate, 24, of Starkville, was arrested Monday by the Starkville Police Department and the U.S. Marshal Task Force. He was charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery. Tate was transported to the Oktibbeha County Jail with a total bond of $50,000.

During the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 12, officers responded to Starkville Plaza Apartments, 1426 Louisville Street, to a report of multiple gunshots. Officers later determined one individual was shot in the shoulder.

On Nov. 16, SPD arrested Lavon Edmonds, 29, of Starkville. He is being held in the Clay County Jail, charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery.

Tate’s initial municipal court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Anyone with any information into this, or any other, incident is asked to contact the Starkville Police Department at 662-323-4131 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 1-800-530-7151. Crime Stoppers may offer a cash reward.

FISHER

By Emily Wagster Pettus

Associated Press

JACKSON – Mississippi could improve public safety by investing in programs that help people get their lives on track as they leave prison, state Corrections Commissioner Marshall Fisher said Monday.

Fisher said that even with a tight state budget, it’s a smart financial decision to try to prevent people from committing more crimes and returning to custody.

“I think this state is in dire need of re-entry courts and mental health courts,” Fisher told members of the House Corrections Committee.

Re-entry courts could help former inmates find social services, drug treatment or job training, while mental health courts could monitor those who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or other disorders to ensure they are taking prescribed medication, he said.

A 2014 state law was designed to make the criminal justice system more efficient, and it created the Mississippi Re-entry Council. One of the council members, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett, told lawmakers Monday that re-entry courts and mental health courts could provide an extra degree of supervision.

He also suggested that legislators consider rewriting laws that take away a person’s right to have a driver’s license, including those that revoke a license for failure to pay child support or fines. Because Mississippi is a largely rural state, most people need to be able to drive to get to work.

“You want them to pay child support. You want them to pay their fines. And I do, too,” Starrett said. “But, they’ve got to have a job. It’s crucial to their long-term success that they have a job.”

He said license revocation is an impediment to former inmates trying to rebuild their lives as they leave prison.

“These are fragile people when they come back,” Starrett said. “They’ve lost their home, they’ve lost their car, they’ve lost their family, they’ve lost their job. They need at least – not a handout, but a hand up.”

The Department of Corrections budget has decreased in recent years, and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee is recommending another cut for the year that begins July 1. There was no discussion Monday of how much re-entry courts or mental health courts could cost.

In November, the average daily population of all of Mississippi’s state-run prisons, community work centers, regional correctional facilities, restitution centers and privately run prisons was 18,993. That is up slightly from 18,886 in November 2015, but down from 19,379 in November 2014.

Surveillance photo of suspect in Dec. 6 Tupelo armed robbery.

By William Moore

Daily Journal

TUPELO – Area law enforcement officials are searching for the man responsible for at least four armed robberies in two states in less than a week.

In each of the robberies, a bearded black male walked into a payday loan or title loan business wearing a blue hoodie and a red baseball cap. Each time, the suspect displayed a weapon, demanded money and left with cash.

“The description of suspect and surveillance footage (from Monday night) indicates that this could possibly be the same suspect who committed an armed robbery of another Tupelo business (and) a similar robbery in New Albany,” said Tupelo Police Department spokesman Capt. Chuck McDougald.

In addition to the Tupelo and New Albany robberies, the same suspect allegedly robbed a store in Jackson, Tennesse, Monday morning.

Around 10 a.m. Monday, the suspect entered Title Loans on South Highland Street in Jackson, Tennessee. He fled the scene in a white Ford pickup that was parked behind a nearby church. Officials described it as a work truck with a long wheelbase and a single cab.

On Dec. 12, the suspect entered Approved Cash at 608 N. Gloster St. in Tupelo around 6 p.m. as the business was closing for the day. In a surveillance image from that incident, the suspect can be seen holding what appears to be a black semiautomatic pistol. It is not known if the same gun was used in all three robberies.

On Dec. 6, businesses in Tupelo and New Albany were robbed by the same suspect within hours. At 1:20 p.m., the suspect robbed the Quick Cash at 1706 N. Gloster St. in Tupelo. Around 2:30 p.m., he robbed Money N Minutes, located in a strip mall near the Walmart in New Albany. New Albany Police Chief Chris Robertson said the suspect fled the scene, heading west on Interstate 22 toward Memphis.

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call 662-841-6491 or Crime Stoppers of NE Mississippi at 1-800-773-TIPS.

william.moore@journalinc.com

These surveillance footage photos are from Monday’s robbery at Approved Cash in Tupelo. (Courtesy)

MERRITT

Monroe Journal

A Tupelo man has been arrested in connection to a string of car burglaries.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Risheco Keymon Merritt, 20, of Tupelo, has been arrested and charged with nine counts of auto burglary stemming from a case several months old.

Several vehicles were broken into in the Hatley and Amory areas the evening of Feb. 29 and early morning of March 1.

This arrest follows the October arrest of 21-year-old Deuntae Demarcus Randle of Okolona, who faces 28 cases of auto burglary.

Merritt is being held in the Lee County Adult Jail on a $7,500 bond.

Daily Journal

TUPELO – The search for robbery suspects through a west Tupelo subdivision kept law enforcement busy and prompted area schools to lockdown.

Following a robbery attempt in the West Main Walmart parking lot after 2 p.m. Wednesday, police chased the suspects to the Traceland Plaza shopping center. The suspects ran behind Big Lots, through the woods and through yards on the north end of the Yates Acres subdivision.

Lee County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted in the chase that ended around 2:45 p.m. with three suspects in custody.

During the chase, the Tupelo Public School District put Tupelo High, Parkway Elementary and Thomas Street Elementary schools on temporary lockdown. The schools have since returned to normal operations.

COLUMBUS (AP) – Authorities say the 39-year-old son of a north Mississippi mayor has been shot to death in his own home.

Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant tells the Commercial Dispatch that Robert Smith Jr. was killed Wednesday.

He was the eldest son of Columbus Mayor Robert Smith.

WCBI-TV reports the younger Smith was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died.

Merchant says the Columbus Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are treating the case as a homicide. Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton says no arrests were immediately made.

Merchant would not disclose details, such as how many times Smith was shot. He says an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Pearl.

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Lt. Robert Carnathan, right, an instructor with the Tupelo Police Department, works with Citizens Police Academy member Bob Baughman, left, on the proper way to work the slide action on the gun used with the “Shoot-Don’t Shoot” simulator.

By William Moore

Daily Journal

TUPELO – Citizens Police Academy cadets got a taste of the split-second decisions officers have to make whether to shoot or not to shoot.

About half of the most recent CPA class went through lifelike scenarios on the F.A.T.S. (Firearms Training Simulator) machine Tuesday night at the North Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Center in Tupelo. The other half will get their shot next Monday.

“It is an outstanding tool,” said citizen Bill Allen. “You can’t get any more real. It gave me a new appreciation of the officers out there patrolling our city.”

“You’ve got to make a split-second decision,” said citizen Bob Baughman. “It’s great to have the machine, because it’s as real as you can get.”

The $75,000 training system is essentially a video game on steroids. A computer controls more than 250 pre-recorded scenarios, which are projected life-sized on the wall of a large, darkened room. The scenarios have officers responding to a variety of calls, from traffic stops to domestic violence to shots fired.

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Citizens Police Academy member Bill Allen, of Tupelo, left, holds his weapon up against a simulated pedestrian in a traffic stop gone wrong as he goes through the “Shoot-Don’t Shoot” simulator Tuesday night in Tupelo.

“We are looking for officer presence and verbal commands. The scenarios will change depending on the commands you give,” said instructor Lt. Bobby Carnathan. “The person in the scenario could comply and put down their weapon, or they could turn and shoot.

“If you hesitate, you leave yourself open to get shot. If you hear the (suspect’s) gunshot, it’s too late to react. You have to make a judgment call.”

Following each of the short scenarios, the computer will display the number of shots fired and display whether the shots hit or missed their target.

While the scenarios were filmed during the day, they can be converted into night time scenarios using a standard flashlight with an infrared filter. Wherever the officer “shines” the flashlight is the only portion of the screen that will be lit.

To make the system as realistic as possible, the weapon the officers use is a real Glock pistol that has been altered. It “fires” a laser beam. Compressed carbon dioxide operates the semiautomatic’s slide, giving the gun a realistic recoil. And Bluetooth synchs the gun with the computer, to limit the number of rounds the officer can fire before replacing a magazine.

For an added touch, a modified paintball gun in front of the screen can fire hard foam balls at the officer at the same time as the person on the screen.

While the machine is used most often for judgment scenarios, it can also be used for target practice and basic handgun training.

“It is great for teaching the fundamentals, like how to unholster a weapon or the proper firing stance,” Carnathan said. “During firearms week during a basic (police academy), each cadet will fire around 2,000 rounds, which is quite expensive.”

The system also includes a realistic firing range that offers targets at multiple distances and can be used any time, regardless of the weather outside.

william.moore@journalinc.com

GRIFFIN

SMITH

McGAHA

Daily Journal

TUPELO – A lengthy undercover investigation into drug activity led to the arrest of three people Tuesday.

According to Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson, deputies and agents with the North Mississippi Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant at 2717 Green Tee Road Dec. 13 and seized around 21 grams of crack cocaine, a pistol and more than $2,200 in cash.

Jesse Griffin, 63, of Tupelo, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell, two counts of the sale of cocaine, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His bond was set at $25,000.

Donte Lowe-Smith, 21, of Tupelo, was charged with sale of cocaine. Bind was set at $15,000. Kala McGaha, 34, of Tupelo was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell and the sale of cocaine. Her bond was set at $5,000.

All three has been released on bond.

Corinth Today

A 73-year-old Corinth man was killed in a crash that occurred Wednesday in Hardin County, Tennessee.

Thomas Garner was driving southbound on State Highway 142 when an unknown commercial vehicle attempted to pass him in a no-passing lane, according to the accident report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The commercial vehicle struck the rear of Garner’s vehicle. This caused Garner’s vehicle to spin out of control, leave the roadway and strike several trees, the report said.

Garner then came back on the highway and struck a northbound vehicle driven by Gary Dokey of Savannah, Tennessee, who was not injured. However, a passenger in Dokey’s vehicle, Mary Dokey, of Morris Chapel, Tennessee, was injured.

The unknown commercial vehicle did not stop and left the scene of the crash.

Mary and Gary Dokey were both wearing seat belts while Garner was not.

By Josh Mitchell

Corinth Today

CORINTH – A 49-year-old Corinth man is dead after being shot multiple times Wednesday, and his death will be ruled a homicide, according to Alcorn County Coroner Jay Jones.

Paul Lavender’s body was found inside his residence at 1427 Tate St., Jones said.

At around 8:30 p.m. there was a report of shots fired in the area, but Lavender’s body was not discovered until a little after 10 p.m. when his girlfriend got home from work.

Lavender’s body will undergo an autopsy at the state crime lab in Jackson. Corinth Police asked that requests for information about the shooting be put into writing.

MOORE

Daily Journal

TUPELO – A Sunday domestic violence call ended with a woman being charged with felonious assault.

The Tupelo Police Department was called to Goodlett Street on Dec. 11. Officers found a man had been stabbed in the neck and his female assailant had fled the scene.

The man was carried to the North Mississippi Medical Center, where his injuries were treated.

Latoria K. Moore, 25, of Tupelo, was arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated domestic violence. Justice Count Judge Chuck Hopkins set bond at $30,000.

By William Moore

Daily Journal

TUPELO – Three juvenile boys, one just 14, are facing charges as adults after an attempted armed robbery/carjacking Wednesday afternoon.

According to Tupelo Police Department spokesman Capt. Chuck McDougald, a woman said she was in the West Main Walmart parking lot around 2 p.m. when a male with a handgun attempted to force her out of her vehicle. The woman struggled with the suspect, and he fled along with two accomplices.

“She was able to give the responding officers a good description of a suspect vehicle, a white extended cab Ford F-150 pickup,” McDougald said. “The victim did not receive any physical injuries.”

Minutes later, patrol officers in the area spotted the white pickup in the Saddle Creek area. The suspects then drove into Yates Acres and stopped at the intersection of Pemberton Avenue and Smokey Mountain Drive. One suspect was captured immediately. The other two ran into the wooded area that separates the subdivision from the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Following a lengthy foot chase that involved the police, Lee County Sheriff’s deputies and Parkway rangers, the other two were captured near Ewell Avenue around 2:45 p.m.

Based on the preliminary investigation, all three suspects are charged with attempted armed robbery. While juveniles, all three have been transferred from Youth Court to Circuit Court jurisdiction and will be tried as adults.

Arrested were Nicholas Crawford, 17, of 978 County Road 54, Shannon; Isaiah Shaw, 16, of 1246 Ling Way, Austell, Georgia; and Montrell Moore, 14, of 1322 Ida Street, Tupelo.

During their initial appearance Thursday, Lee County Justice Court Judge Chuck Hopkins set bond for Shaw at $35,000. The bond for Crawford and Moore is $10,000 apiece.

CURTIS

By William Moore

Daily Journal

OXFORD – A Corinth Elvis impersonator is again suing the federal government for wrongful arrest in connection with a spring 2013 case of poison letters sent to the President, a U.S. Senator and a county judge

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oxford, Paul Kevin Curtis says federal prosecutors held him in jail for five days even though there was no evidence that he was responsible for mailing letters dusted with ricin to President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker and Lee County Justice Court Judge Sadie Holland.

James Everett Dutschke was arrested by federal agents a few days after Curtis was finally released. Dutschke, a former martial arts instructor from Tupelo, eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Curtis was arrested at his Corinth home on Thursday, April 18, 2013 and whisked to a federal holding facility in Oxford. Even after a search of Curtis’ home and computer the following day failed to uncover any evidence of terrorism or ricin, officials continued to say that he was guilty. Curtis was detained until the following Tuesday evening.

“He was held based on some flimsy evidence and they continued to detain him and accuse him, even after it became apparent he was innocent,” said Lee County attorney James Moore, who is representing Curtis. “Not only was he wrongfully detained, he was put into a bad light. He was portrayed as a terrorist in the national and worldwide media.”

This is actually the third time Curtis has brought the same suit against the federal government. He filed similar suits in April 2015 and January 2016 with a different set of defense attorneys. Both suits were dismissed because of inaction.

“Even though those suits were filed, they were never pursued,” Moore said. “They never served the government. If you don’t serve the defendants within 120 days, the case can be dismissed procedurally.”

The new lawsuit mirrors the previous suits, though some colorful and/or aggressive language has been removed. The January 2016 complaint described federal agents as “GI Joe looking” with “jackboot clad feet” and said Curtis was held in “the cage that the government had shoved him in as if he were a dangerous animal.”

“Some of the language I thought was inflammatory, so we decided to remove it,” Moore said. “Other sections were flowery and off subject. Those took away from the seriousness of the complaint, so they were removed.”

The lawsuit demands a jury trial and asks for both compensatory and punitive damages. The case was initially assigned the Judge Mike Mills. He recused himself Wednesday and it was re-assigned to Judge Neal Biggers. Moore hopes to have a trail date set for late 2017 or early 2018.

william.moore@journalinc.om

CRAWFORD

By Bobby Harrison

Daily Journal Jackson Bureau

JACKSON – Charles Ray Crawford, on death row for the capital murder of junior college student Kristy Ray at her Chalybeate home in Tippah County, has been granted a hearing in Hinds County Circuit Court.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has reversed an earlier opinion of Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green and sent back to her for arguments on whether the drugs that the state plans to use in executing Crawford are a violation of his constitutional rights.

The state’s highest court issued the ruling Thursday afternoon. The decision was written by Justice James Kitchens of the Central District and joined by justices Jess Dickinson of the Southern District, Leslie King of the Central and Ann Hannaford Lamar and Josiah Coleman, both of the Northern District.

Kitchens wrote that Crawford, now 50 and on death row since 1994, originally tried to have his motion concerning the execution drugs heard in Hinds County Chancery Court, but it was transferred to Circuit Court. There the state argued the motion should be dismissed because the same issue already was pending before the Mississippi Supreme Court.

In October 2014, Green granted the state’s wish and dismissed Crawford’s motions.

But in Thursday’s decision, a majority of the state Supreme Court said the argument Crawford is making is not pending before the Supreme Court and Crawford has a right to make that argument in circuit court.

The distinction, Kitchens wrote, is that “Crawford is not seeking to preclude Mississippi from carrying out his execution by lethal injection altogether. He asserts that Mississippi’s planned use of compounded lethal injection drugs presents an unnecessary risk of inflicting gratuitous pain during the execution in violation” of the U.S. and state constitutions. He argues that the drugs had not been tested and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, meaning he “may be conscious throughout their executions and will experience a torturous death by suffocation and cardiac arrest.”

Chief Justice William Waller Jr. wrote in a dissent that as a death row appeal the issue should have gone directly to the state Supreme Court and not a lower court.

“At the heart of his complaint, Crawford seeks to enjoin the state from executing him in a certain manner, without offering a readily available and constitutionally adequate alternative,” Waller wrote in his dissent. “Thus, while his complaint does not attack directly the general validity of his death sentence, it has the same practical effect under the facts presented.”

In 1993, Crawford was out on bond awaiting trial on charges of aggravated assault and rape. Four days before his trial, the 20-year-old Ray, a student at Northeast Mississippi Community College, was abducted from her parents’ home in rural, northern Tippah County.

After his family and attorney notified police that they feared Crawford was committing another crime, he was arrested. Crawford told authorities he did not remember the incident but later led them to Ray’s body, buried in leaves in a wooded area.

He also was convicted at the time by a Lafayette County jury of rape, sexual battery and burglary.

bobby.harrison@journalinc.com

Twitter: @BobbyHarrison