CURTIS

By Jeff Amy

Associated Press

JACKSON – An Elvis impersonator and singer in Mississippi is suing the federal government for wrongful arrest after he was charged and later cleared of sending poisoned letters to President Barack Obama.

Paul Kevin Curtis filed a lawsuit April 30 in federal court, claiming that prosecutors continued to hold him in jail even after they knew there was no evidence that he had mailed letters dusted with a crude form of ricin to Obama, Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, and a Lee County judge.

Federal agents eventually arrested another man, James Everett Dutschke of Tupelo. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and is doing time at the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado. Dutschke has filed multiple motions to set aside his conviction.

GRAY

Daily Journal

CORINTH – A 55-year old Alcorn County man has been jailed on a pair of felony drug charges.

Alcorn Narcotics Officers along with Alcorn County Deputies, searched the residence of Danny Gray at 119 County Road 257, in Glen on Thursday.

Officials say they had been investigating reports of drug activity and complaints of stolen items in the area. Agents arrested Gray on an outstanding warrant for the sale of methamphetamine. During a search of the house, law enforcement recovered what is believed to be more methamphetamine.

He was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and the sale of methamphetamine. He is being held at Alcorn County Jail on a $20,000 bond.

OXFORD – Three women are facing felony charges in two separate cases in Oxford.

On Tuesday, the Oxford Police Department arrested Morgan Boyd, 20, of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Jujie Xie, 20, of Oxford. Both were charged with burglary of a residence and bond was set at $5,000 each.

According to Oxford Police Maj. Jeff McCutchen, the women allegedly went into a residence on April 30 without permission and stole several items.

On Wednesday, Oxford investigators arrested Brandy Holden 36, of Etta, for uttering a forgery. A victim filed charges saying Holden signed her signature without her consent. During the arraignment, bond was set at $10,000.

By JEFF AMY

Associated Press

JACKSON – An Elvis impersonator and singer is suing the federal government for wrongful arrest after he was charged and later cleared of sending poisoned letters to President Barack Obama.

Paul Kevin Curtis of Corinth filed a lawsuit April 30 in federal court in Aberdeen, claiming that prosecutors continued to hold him in jail even after they knew there was no evidence that he had mailed letters dusted with a crude form of ricin to Obama, Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, and a Lee County judge.

“The defendants conspired and acted in concert with one another to deprive plaintiff of his constitutionally protected rights,” the suit states.

Federal agents eventually arrested another man, James Everett Dutschke of Tupelo. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and is being held at the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado. Dutschke has filed multiple motions to set aside his conviction.

Named specifically in Curtis’ lawsuit are the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Representatives of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI did not respond Thursday to requests for comment.

The lawsuit says Curtis made an administrative demand for payment more than six months ago, but that the government hasn’t responded. It describes the federal inquiry in April 2013 as a “substandard investigation” where agents lied to Curtis in an attempt to get him to confess, even though the only evidence they had was that the letters used similar phrases to those Curtis had written in Internet postings. Dutschke, who had past conflicts with Curtis, apparently copied those phrases to make authorities believe Curtis sent the letters.

“The agents used everything short of waterboarding to force a confession from Kevin Curtis, all based on something he posted on Facebook,” the suit states.

The suit asserts that federal agents knew as early as April 19 that they had no physical evidence against Curtis, even though charges weren’t dropped until April 23.

NEW ALBANY – A Union County jury has convicted a man in the fatal shooting of a Starkville teenager at a New Year’s Eve party in 2012 in West Point.

According to local media reports, 35-year-old Tavaris Collins of West Point was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in the death of Devin Mitchell.

Collins was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Authorities said Mitchell, who played football at Starkville High School, was visiting relatives at the Ridgewood East Apartments on Mississippi Highway 50 in West Point.

West Point Police Chief Tim Brinkley said fireworks were being set off in the area and Collins told police he thought someone was shooting at him and fired back. Mitchell was shot in the head and died later at a Tupelo hospital.

BOONEVILLE – Bond has been set at $1 million for a Booneville man charged in the fatal shooting of his fiancee.

The body of 23-year-old Andrea Nicole Fleming was found last Friday in the home she shared with James Erik Robinson. Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar said Fleming died of a gunshot wound in the chest.

Robinson, 26, also is charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His bond was set Monday at $1 million on the murder charge and an additional $5,000 on the firearm charge.

Tolar said Robinson was released on parole in March.

The following people were booked into the Lee County-Tupelo Jail in connection with felony charges ending Thursday at 11 a.m.

Michael Benton, 35, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, sale of crack cocaine.

James Clifton, 34, of Mooreville, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, violation of probation.

Timothy Hall, 46, of Eatonton, Georgia, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, sentencing for breaking and entering,

Vincent Patrick, 43, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, violation of probation.

Jimmy Patterson, 37, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, violation of probation.

HUGHES

By William Moore

Daily Journal

PONTOTOC – A 26-year-old man is being held without bond in the Pontotoc County Jail, charged with two counts of capital murder.

Carl Hughes was arrested Wednesday evening in connection with the deaths of Evelyn Baker, 57, and Don Baker, 70, over the weekend. The couple was found beaten to death in their home just west of Ecru.

“We are charging him with two counts of capital murder with the underlying charge of burglary,” said District Attorney Trent Kelly. “We will be looking at the evidence further and there might be a different charge, but right now it is burglary of a residence.”

Capital murder is the killing of an individual during the commission of another felony. If convicted, Hughes could face the death penalty.

A family member discovered the Bakers Sunday morning around 9 at their Highway 346 home in the Shady Grove community. Both were dressed for bed. She was in the kitchen and he was in the bedroom.

Pontotoc County Sheriff Leo Mask said the investigation is ongoing and he is unable to release a lot of information at this time.

“We believe Hughes acted alone and don’t anticipate any more arrests,” said Mask. “He lived down the road and sometimes stayed at a mobile home behind the (Bakers’) house. He did know the Bakers.”

Kelly said this is the first capital murder in Pontotoc in recent memory.

“The whole community and the whole county is shaken up over this,” said Mask. “Everyone was scared. A lot of people have peace of mind now.”

Hughes was transported to Pontotoc Justice Court on Thursday afternoon for his initial appearance.

“Since this is capital murder, we will be asking that he be held without bond,” said Kelly.

william.moore@journalinc.com

Daily Journal

Jackson, MS- A Fulton resident is going to prison for child exploitation, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.

James Mark House, 47, of Fulton entered an open plea of guilty Thursday, before Circuit Court Judge Paul Funderburk, to two counts of child exploitation after being found in possession of child pornography.

The Judge sentenced House to 40 years with 35 years suspended leaving five years to serve with five years of post-release supervision. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and a $1,000 assessment to the children’s trust fund. He must also register as a sex offender.

“This case originated from a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children where it was reported that someone had uploaded child pornography to a Tumblr account,” said Attorney General Hood.

The case was handled by the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit with prosecution handled by Special Assistant Attorney General Brandon Ogburn.

By William Moore
Daily Journal

OXFORD – Bill Williams is no longer a defendant in a wrongful termination suit filed in September by former Saltillo Assistant Police Chief Prentice Brown.

Senior U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson dismissed Williams this week from both the First Amendment free speech retaliation and the malicious interference claims.

In his opinion, Davidson said that since Williams was not mayor when Brown was terminated, he played no role in the decision to fire and could not have violated Brown’s right to free speech. On the malicious interference claim, the judge said there is a one-year statute of limitations on the claim. Brown’s lawsuit was filed one year and two months after the termination.

Brown was suspended by then Saltillo Mayor Williams on June 13, 2013. He was terminated on July 10, 2013 by current Mayor Rex Smith following a due process hearing.

Saying the firing was politically motivated and violated his First and 14th Amendment rights, Brown filed a civil suit last fall in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi in Oxford naming the city of Saltillo and Williams as defendants.

Brown worked for the Saltillo Police Department for 10 years and was a vocal supporter of former Police Chief Steve Brooks’ Democratic bid for mayor. Williams chose not to run but supported fellow Republican Smith.

Before ceding the mayor’s office to Smith, Williams suspended Brown. According to the lawsuit, Williams refused to give Brown a reason for the suspension. In interviews with the media, including the Daily Journal, Williams said at the time that the suspension was because Brooks supporters were intimidating political opponents which led to perceived infighting in the police department.

william.moore@journalinc.com

PONTOTOC – A Houston man has been arrested and charged with sexual battery of a vulnerable person.

According to Attorney General Jim Hood, Alshunte Bowen turned himself in to authorities Thursday at the Pontotoc County jail after a Pontotoc County grand jury returned an indictment. The indictment alleges that during May 2014, Bowen had sexual contact with a 14-year-old female patient at a psychiatric treatment facility for adolescents in Pontotoc, where Bowen was employed as a unit coordinator.

Following his arrest, Bowen was allowed to post a $50,000 property bond.

Following an 11-and-a-half month investigation, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office began serving warrants on the first of more than 400 people for various charges.

According to Sheriff Cecil Cantrell, 24 people were arrested Thursday, and more arrests are expected.

Several face drug charges ranging from marijuana to heroin, but other offenses include burglary of commercial buildings and false pretense charges.

Several of the offenders will be served through indictments, while others will have to make an initial appearance before a Monroe County Justice Court judge.

By William Moore

Daily Journal

TUPELO – The spouses of law enforcement officers will be the focus of a special memorial ceremony Monday evening in downtown Tupelo.

Beth Stauffer, the widow of slain Tupelo policeman Sgt. Gale Stauffer, will be the guest speaker at the 2015 Law Enforcement Memorial Service at 6 p.m.

“It’s a time to come together and remember the fallen officers of Northeast Mississippi and commemorate their service,” said organizer Rob Edwards of the Tupelo Police Department. “We wanted to focus on the spouses this year.

“Sometimes they get lost in the shuffle when an officer is killed. The spouses continue to suffer.”

A Tishomingo County deputy and a Columbus Police officer will sing the national anthem. The 11 officers who have been killed in the line of duty in the region since 1986 will be remembered. After Stauffer’s comments, there will be a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps.

The event will last about 30 minutes.

“It will be an emotional time for many and we don’t want to beleaguer the point,” said Edwards. “It will be very low key.”

The memorial service was started 16 years ago by John Harmon after his son, a detention officer at the Lee County Juvenile Detention Center, was shot and killed.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy established May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The week around that day is National Police Week.

On Tuesday, the Mississippi Chiefs of Police will host the fifth annual fallen officer candlelight vigil on High Street in downtown Jackson. The national memorial will be held Friday in Washington, D.C., in front of the Capitol building.

william.moore@journalinc.com

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FALLEN OFFICERS

Wilbert Bogan, Shannon PD, 6-13-86 Billy Wilson Yant, Verona PD, 1-6-89

Bobby Gene Spencer, Shannon PD, 1-18-97

Casey Ryan Harmon, Lee SO, 3-2-98

Michael Dale Hisaw, Prentiss SO, 3-11-99

Harold Ray Presley, Lee SO, 7-6-01

Steve Loy Hood, Mississippi Highway Patrol, 5-29-09

Dewayne Arlyn Crenshaw, Tippah SO, 12-3-10

Clinton Hugh Frazier, Union SO, 12-18-13

Kevin Gale Stauffer, Tupelo PD, 12-23-13

John Thomas Collum, MDWFP, 5-9-14

Daily Journal

CORINTH – A 55-year old Alcorn County man has been jailed on a pair of felony drug charges.

Alcorn narcotics officers along with Alcorn County deputies, searched the residence of Danny Gray at 119 County Road 257 in Glen on Thursday.

Officials say they were investigating reports of drug activity and complaints of stolen items in the area. Agents arrested Gray on an outstanding warrant for the sale of methamphetamine. During a search of the house, law enforcement recovered what is believed to be more methamphetamine.

Gray was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and the sale of methamphetamine and is being held on a $20,000 bond.

FULTON – A Fulton resident is going to prison for child exploitation.

James Mark House, 47, entered an open plea of guilty Thursday before Circuit Court Judge Paul Funderburk, to two counts of child exploitation after being found in possession of child pornography.

The judge sentenced House to 40 years with 35 years suspended leaving five years to serve with five years of post-release supervision. He also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and a $1,000 assessment to the children’s trust fund. He must also register as a sex offender.

Attorney General Jim Hood’s office investigated.

By William Moore

Daily Journal

OXFORD – Former Saltillo Mayor Bill Williams is no longer a defendant in a wrongful termination suit filed in September by former Saltillo Assistant Police Chief Prentice Brown.

Senior U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson dismissed Williams this week from both the First Amendment free speech retaliation and the malicious interference claims.

In his opinion, Davidson said that since Williams was not mayor when Brown was terminated, he played no role in the decision to fire and could not have violated Brown’s right to free speech. On the malicious interference claim, the judge said there is a one-year statute of limitations on the claim. Brown’s lawsuit was filed one year and two months after the termination.

Brown was suspended by Williams on June 13, 2013. He was terminated on July 10, 2013, by current Mayor Rex Smith following a due process hearing.

Saying his firing was politically motivated and violated his First and 14th Amendment rights, Brown filed a civil suit last fall in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi in Oxford naming the city of Saltillo and Williams as defendants.

Brown worked for the Saltillo Police Department for 10 years and was a vocal supporter of former Police Chief Steve Brooks’ Democratic bid for mayor. Williams chose not to run but supported fellow Republican Smith.

Before ceding the mayor’s office to Smith, Williams suspended Brown. According to the lawsuit, Williams refused to give Brown a reason for the suspension. In interviews with the media, including the Daily Journal, Williams said at the time that the suspension was because Brooks supporters were intimidating political opponents which led to perceived infighting in the police department.

The city remains a defendant in the lawsuit.

william.moore@journalinc.com

Law enforcement officers lead Curtis Banks, center, into Troop J of the Mississippi Highway Patrol in Hattiesburg early Sunday. Banks and his brother, Marvin Banks, were arrested in connection with the fatal shootings of two Hattiesburg police officers. Marvin Banks and Joanie Calloway were each charged with two counts of capital murder. Curtis Banks,was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder. (Tim Doherty/Hattiesburg American via AP)

By Rebecca Santana

Associated Press

HATTIESBURG – Two Mississippi police officers were shot to death during an evening traffic stop turned violent, a state law enforcement spokesman said Sunday. Three suspects were in custody, including two who are charged with capital murder.

The deaths of the officers – the first to hit Hattiesburg in three decades – were felt far and wide in this small southern Mississippi city. Gov. Phil Bryant released a statement saying he was “mourning” the loss of the officers.

“This should remind us to thank all law enforcement for their unwavering service to protect and serve. May God keep them all in the hollow of his hand,” Bryant said.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, were each charged with two counts of capital murder. Banks was also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and with grand theft for fleeing in the police cruiser after the shooting, Strain said.

“He absconded with a Hattiesburg police cruiser. He didn’t get very far, three or four blocks and then he ditched that vehicle,” Strain said.

Banks’ 26-year-old brother, Curtis Banks, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder.

The three Hattiesburg residents were arrested without incident at different locations overnight following the shooting, Strain said. They were expected to face initial court appearances Monday. The three were being held at undisclosed jails in the state and could not be reached for comment. It was not immediately known if they had lawyers.

Strain said both officers died of their wounds at a hospital.

Lt. Jon Traxler, a Hattiesburg Police Department spokesman, identified the officers who died as Benjamin Deen, 34, and Liquori Tate, 25. Local reports identified Deen as a past department “Officer of the Year,” and Tate was a newcomer to the force who Strain said was a 2014 graduate of the law enforcement academy.

The preliminary investigation indicated that Deen had pulled over the vehicle on suspicion of speeding and then called for backup, which is when Liquori arrived. Strain said it was too early to say who shot the officers or how many shots were fired.

In this undated photo released by the Hattiesburg Police Department, Officer Benjamin Deen participates in K-9 training at the police academy in Hattiesburg. (Hattiesburg Police Department via AP)

For many in this small community of Hattiesburg, the first death of an officer in the line of duty in three decades was a shock. The pain hit particularly close to home for Erica Sherrill Owens. Her mother – Sgt. Jackie Dole Sherrill – was killed in the line of duty in 1984 while trying to serve a warrant on a suspect.

When she heard the news of the two officers, Sherrill Owens said, her first thought was that she hoped it was someone she didn’t know.

“I know that sounds so selfish because you don’t want to hear of any police officer losing their lives. Then when I heard one of the names, my heart just sank because I went to high school with him.”

She was referring to Deen, who had graduated from Sumrall High School in 1998, one year ahead of Sherrill Owens.

“We were great friends in high school. He married his high school sweetheart and he’s got two kids and a great family,” she said. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

Tate grew up in a tough part of Starkville, 150 miles north of Hattiesburg, and decided to become a police officer so he could make a difference in the black community, said Jarvis Thompson, who knew him from childhood in church.

This undated photo released by the Hattiesburg Police Department shows Officer Liquori Tate. (Hattiesburg Police Department via AP)

“He wanted to become an officer because we’ve seen so much of our peers get killed or end up in jail,” said Thompson, 24, of Starkville. “He was talking all the time about how he wanted to do better and make the place better.”

At a news conference, Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree asked the community to pull together and support the families of the fallen officers.

“We want to ask everybody to pray for these families. We want everybody to pray for police officers not only here but around the United States,” DuPree said.

Tony Mozingo, a local judge, left red roses near the scene of the shooting.

“We all just are heartbroken because we know and work with these officers every day,” said Mozingo, who was accompanied by his wife and two daughters. Deen was a “consummate law enforcement professional.”

The state’s chief law enforcement agency, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, has taken up the investigation.

Hattiesburg resident Tamika Mills was quoted by The Clarion-Ledger as saying some bystanders came upon the officers on the ground, and that one of the officers asked “… ‘Am I dying? I know I’m dying. Just hand me my walkie-talkie,”’ Mills told the paper.

She added, according to the account, that seeing the officers down was “shocking and heartbreaking.”

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AP reporters Bill Cormier and Jeff Martin contributed from Atlanta. Janet McConnaughey contributed from New Orleans.

Damon Hennis sits by a makeshift memorial near the site where two Hattiesburg police officers were killed. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

By Jay Reeves

Associated Press

HATTIESBURG – With lowered flags and prayers, a southern Mississippi city is mourning two police officers, while the four people arrested after their shooting deaths await an initial court appearance Monday.

Red roses decorated a chain-link fence Sunday near the spot where officers Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate were killed, and worshippers remembered the men in a small brick church just a few dozen yards from the scene.

“It’s sad. It’s just a tragedy,” Dorothy Thompson said outside New Hope Baptist Church after a Mother’s Day service that included prayers for the officers and their families.

Nearby, bloodstains still marked the asphalt where gunfire erupted Saturday night during what authorities described as a routine traffic stop gone awry.

A memorial event was scheduled for the men at the city convention center Monday afternoon.

Also Monday, an initial court appearance was set in Forrest County for Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, who were each charged with two counts of capital murder.

Banks’ 26-year-old brother, Curtis Banks, was charged with two counts of being an accessory to murder after the fact, and 28-year-old Cornelius Clark was arrested on a charge of obstruction of justice.

A preliminary investigation indicated Deen had pulled over a vehicle for speeding and then called for backup, which is when Tate arrived. Gunshots erupted in the road near the Hattiesburg Housing Authority office.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said it was too early to say who shot the officers or how many shots were fired, and it wasn’t clear what prompted the gunfire.

Strain said Marvin Banks also was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and with grand theft for fleeing in squad car after the shooting.

“He didn’t get very far, three or four blocks, and then he ditched that vehicle,” Strain said.

Married and the father of two, Deen, 34, is a former “Officer of the Year” in Hattiesburg. Tate, 25, graduated from the police academy last year.

In a statement, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said the officers’ deaths “should remind us to thank all law enforcement for their unwavering service.”

“May God keep them all in the hollow of his hand,” he said.

The U.S. flag flew at half-staff outside the Hattiesburg Police Department after the shootings, and red roses placed on a concrete sign wilted in the afternoon sun.

For many in the community, the first death of an officer in three decades while on duty was a shock. The pain hit particularly close to home for Erica Sherrill Owens, whose mother, Sgt. Jackie Dole Sherrill, was killed in 1984 while trying to serve a warrant on a suspect.

When Owens heard that two officers had been killed, she said she hoped it wasn’t someone she knew.

“Then when I heard one of the names, my heart just sank because I went to high school with him,” Owens said, who had gone to Sumrall High School with Deen and graduated a year after him in 1999.

“We were great friends in high school. He married his high school sweetheart and he’s got two kids and a great family,” she said. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

Tate grew up in Starkville, 150 miles north of Hattiesburg. Strain said he was a 2014 graduate of the law enforcement academy.

He was known to his friends as “CoCo,” said his stepfather, B. Lonnie Ross of Jackson, adding that Tate was 12 when they met and already wanted to be a policeman.

“He was the most respectful young man you would meet. It was a pleasure to meet someone so gentle and nice,” Ross said. “Everybody who met him liked him.”

Jarvis Thompson, who knew Tate from childhood, said he wanted to be a policeman to make a difference in the black community.

“He wanted to become an officer because we’ve seen so much of our peers get killed or end up in jail,” said Thompson, 24, of Starkville. “He was talking all the time about how he wanted to do better and make the place better.”

Alberta Harris, who heads the Briarfield Neighborhood Association near the shooting site, said she both of the officers were humble.

“They cared about the people that they were serving and protecting,” she said.

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Associated Press photographer Rogelio Solis in Hattiesburg and writers Rebecca Santana in Hattiesburg, Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans, Bill Cormier and Jeff Martin in Atlanta, and News Research Manager Adriana Mark in New York contributed to this report.

By Jack Elliott Jr.

Associated Press

JACKSON – On June 20, it will be three years since Mississippi’s last execution.

On that date in 2012, Gary Carl Simmons Jr., a former grocery store butcher, was executed for dismembering a man during a 1996 attack in which he also raped the man’s female friend.

Mississippi has gone through similar hiatuses.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that a Mississippi law that described a capital crime to juries as “especially heinous, atrocious or cruel” without further definition was unconstitutionally vague. The ruling resulted in nearly two dozen Mississippi death sentences being overturned.

For the rest of the 1990s, no executions took place in the state. The July 2002 execution of Tracy Allen Hansen was Mississippi’s first since 1989. From 1955 to 1964, Mississippi executed 31 men. Another four were put to death in the 1980s. Since 2002, including Hansen, 17 executions have taken place.

The state is battling execution issues in two federal courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court has pushed back a decision on the appeal of death row inmate Richard Gerald Jordan to at least May 14. Jordan’s arguments of prosecutorial vindictiveness and ineffective assistance of counsel have been pending before the nation’s high court since January.

In those months, the court has asked for case documents from the Mississippi Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court in Jackson and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. That indicates at least one justice had questions about Jordan’s earlier appeals.

Jordan was convicted of capital murder committed in the course of kidnapping Edwina Marta in Harrison County in 1976. Now 68, Jordan is the oldest inmate on Mississippi’s death row, having won three successful appeals only to be resentenced to death. He’s also the longest serving, having spent 38 years on death row.

The attorney general’s office was poised to seek an execution date for Jordan if the Supreme Court had denied the appeal.

In April, Jordan and fellow death row inmate Ricky Chase filed a federal lawsuit in Jackson challenging the legality of the state’s lethal injection procedures. They are opposing the state’s plans to execute prisoners by mixing pentobarbital from ingredients it purchased from a compounding pharmacy in Grenada. Lawyer Jim Craig said Mississippi doesn’t seem to have ever used the drug in an execution, and he questioned whether the state can mix a safe and effective anesthetic for prisoners.

Mississippi’s current supply of pentobarbital is supposed to expire May 20. If the state cannot obtain pentobarbital, there is no backup method of execution. Hangings ended in 1940 as a means of execution. Mississippi stopped using the electric chair in 1954 and use of the gas chamber ended in 1998.

Faced with similar challenges, Oklahoma recently enacted a law allowing execution by nitrogen gas as a backup to lethal injection. Utah reinstated the firing squad.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Grace Fisher said neither MDOC nor Corrections Commissioner Marshall Fisher “are making statements about execution drugs because of the ongoing litigation.”

The state has not filed a response to the lawsuit.

Whatever decision is rendered locally in the execution drug case will likely be appealed to the 5th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorneys for death row inmates not involved in this case would argue no execution dates should be scheduled while the lawsuit is pending.

The U.S. Supreme Court often is the last stop for inmates seeking a last-minute reprieve from execution. They rarely succeed. That’s a function of the need for five votes on the nine-justice court and the reluctance of appellate judges to disturb lower court rulings unless they are demonstrably wrong.

On Friday, there were 47 inmates on death row, according to the MDOC website.