Transcript of the Hickman Statement

In an earlier post regarding Sharrod Moore, I referenced a transcript that is attached to the "State's Response to Defendant's Motion to Compel" in the Sharrod Moore case. It has been discussed by at least one local media outlet as well. Seeing as it's public record, I'll pass it along.

***By posting the following PDF, I am not endorsing any of the allegations found therein, nor am I passing judgment on the credibility of what Mr. Hickman says. ***

Another seeming screw-up involving the Mississippi State Crime Lab

Today, via interoffice mail from the Hinds County DA's Office, no less, I received a copy of an Innocence Project report entitled "Investigating Forensic Problems in the United States: How the Federal Government Can Strengthen Oversight Through the Coverdell Grant Program."

The Coverdell Grant Program is the vehicle by which the U.S. Dept. of Justice gives grant money to the states to help offset the high cost of analyzing forensic evidence in criminal matters. In 2004, Congress put new regulations in place for the Coverdell program in an effort to improve the quality of the work our state crime labs were doing. Reasoning that oversight and investigation by an outside agency would best ensure that result, Congress required that state entities getting Coverdell money would have to designate an external, independent government agency to review complaints of negligence or malfeasance.

Guess who didn't get the message?

In Mississippi, our State Crime Lab is under the direction of the Department of Public Safety, as is explained here. The main lab is in Jackson, and there are three branch labs across the state. According to the Innocence Project's report, the 4 Mississippi State Crime Labs received a total of $205,298 in FY07. And who would the State Crime Lab name as its external, independent oversight agency?

You guessed it: the Department of Public Safety.

Decide for Yourself: the Record of President Obama's Nominee

As you have no doubt heard from other sources, President Obama plans to nominate Judge Sonya Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to the United States Supreme Court. SCOTUSblog has been posting an excellent series regarding the published opinions of Judge Sotomayor. They are the first and best source for assessing her candidacy:

Civil Opinions Part I

Civil Opinions Part II

Civil Opinions Part III

Civil Opinions Part IV

Judge Sotomayor's Opinions With Dissents

Memorial Day: A General Discusses the Media

"If I had my choice, I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast."

General William T. Sherman

Who Are These Guys?

I was looking at the Jackson Free Press post-election article on the election, which lists the top donors to the two Democratic campaigns:

The Candidates' Top 10 Individual Campaign Donors

Marshand Crisler

• Willie Bozeman, WB Consolidated, Terry, Miss.: $10,000

• Dudley Hughes, Hughes Oil Company: $10,000

• Larry Johnson, Landmark Homes: $10,000

• Charles Pickett, CP Development, Terry, Miss.: $7,500

• William Mounger: $5,500

• Dick Molpus: $5,200

• Leland Speed: $5,000

• Samuel L. Agnew, Environmental Technical Sales Inc., Baton Rouge: $5,000

• Wade Creekmore Jr., Ridgeland: $5,000

• James Creekmore: $5,000

Harvey Johnson Jr.

• Velma Johnson: $10,000

• Willie Wilson, Illinois business owner: $9,000

• Michael Matthews, consultant with LSG Strategies Services, of Washington: $5,000

• LSG Strategies Services: $4,305

• Richard Boykin, of Boykin & Associates, LLC: $3,000

• Ranjit Dhaliwal, Jackson business owner: $3,000

• Doug Dale, Jackson architect: $2,500

• Areeb Sadaat, Garrett Enterprises: $2,000

• John McKee, ABMB Engineers: $2,000

• George Schimmel, Jackson retired physician: $1,250

I was intrigued that Michael Matthews, consultant with LSG Strategies Services, gave $5,000, and LSG Strategies Services itself gave $4,305, to Harvey Johnson's campaign.

LSG Strategies claims to be a "full services targeting, grassroots organizing, and phone contact firm," according to their Web page. Their client list includes many Democratic Party oriented organizations such as Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), etc., and several State Democratic parties (but not the Mississippi Democratic Party).

According to Matthews' bio page on the LSG Website, "Michael Matthews most recently was the Political Director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for the 2002 election cycle. Prior to his tenure with the DCCC, Mr. Matthews served as Political Director to the 2000 Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign. . . .

* * * *
"Mr. Matthews has spent 20 years in campaign politics. In 1986 he managed former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy's first congressional campaign. In that historic election Mr. Espy became the first African American elected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction. As the general consultant for Harvey Johnson Jr. in 1997, Matthews played a key part in another historical election when Mr. Johnson became Jackson, Mississippi's first African American mayor."

Here's what I don't get: Wouldn't you expect a campaign consultant to be receiving money from a political campaign, not giving money to one? What's up with this? Or did LSG donate free services? If so, why?

Zata 3 "Turnout-Weighted" Map Shows Force of Hurricane Harvey

This map from Zata3 illustrates the turnout in each voting precinct in the Democratic Mayoral Primary run-off election on Tuesday. It is a stunning picture.

Brad Chism's Post-Runoff Analysis

From Brad Chism of Zata 3, a political consulting firm serving Democrats and progressive organizations, here is an interesting analysis of the Democratic runoff for Jackson Mayor:

Friends,

We’ve had lots of calls and emails asking for a post election analysis. Attached are maps that tell the story well. Here’s our Monday-morning quarterback analysis about the margin of victory. And yes, here too is my admission that I had no clue that the margin of victory would be so large.

We started with two credible candidates in the runoff—Black AND White voters would agree that both were capable of running the city (as contrasted with several other candidates on the ballot on May 2nd) No matter who won, we would be better off.

Frank Melton had been vanquished in the Primary. One cynic observed to me that NE Jackson “had won” already. The anti-Melton angst was satiated. White voter turnout lagged in the runoff.

Harvey Johnson had been Jackson’s first Black Mayor. He wasn’t beaten four years ago because he was too close to White business leaders or had embarrassed the city. Johnson lost to a rock star financed with a wad of cash from NE Jackson.

Johnson was, and continues to be, a likeable fellow. Black voters didn’t despise Johnson in 2005. They just thought they had traded up.

Harvey Johnson had a very compelling stump speech and a theme that resonated. “I believe in second chances. I believe in a second-chance God…” How does one counter that without coming off as cold and unforgiving?

Johnson could point to several tangible projects that began under his watch that had come to fruition, mitigating the criticism that he had been ineffective.

There wasn’t enough of a visual contrast between the “Old vs. New” between Johnson and Crisler. The former mayor was 62 years old, not 82. He had a great line to deflect the criticism. “I know I am sixty two because I do 62 push ups every morning…”

In the end, the vote was more racially polarized than any of us would have hoped. But I suspect that over the past four years Mr. Johnson has thought a lot about the necessity of an inclusive approach to governing.

All the best

Brad