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US appeals court to reconsider decision striking down Mississippi Jim Crow-era voter disenfranchisement law

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed on Thursday to reconsider a decision from August that a provision of the Mississippi Constitution that permanently prevents people convicted of certain felonies from voting is unconstitutional. Third, even if disenfranchisement were a punishment, it is not cruel and unusual.

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Third Mississippi ‘Goon Squad’ member sentenced for involvement in assault of Black men

JURIST

The third of six members of the Mississippi deputy group who referred to themselves as the “Goon Squad,” Daniel Opdyke, was sentenced Wednesday to 17 and a half years in federal prison for his involvement in the torture of two black men. The officers then beat both men and tased them 17 times.

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Thousands stuck in Mississippi jails without trial, MacArthur Justice Center reports

JURIST

The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law published a report Wednesday identifying thousands of people being held in Mississippi’s county jails while awaiting trial because they cannot afford bail or public defenders unavailable when required.

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“Conservative Appeals Judges Question Felon Voting Ban Claims; Mississippi prohibits certain felons from ever voting again; En banc Fifth Circuit hears claim that ban cruel and unusual”

HowAppealing

“Conservative Appeals Judges Question Felon Voting Ban Claims; Mississippi prohibits certain felons from ever voting again; En banc Fifth Circuit hears claim that ban cruel and unusual”: Jacqueline Thomsen of Bloomberg Law has this report.

Felony 100
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Court Upholds Jim Crow-era Voting Restrictions in Mississippi

The Crime Report

5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Mississippi can continue to bar more than 10 percent of its citizens from voting, maintaining a Jim Crow-era provision that bars Mississippians convicted of felonies from taking part in elections, reports the Daily Journal.

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Felony Convictions Prevent 4.6 Million People From Voting: Report

The Crime Report

million people, will be barred from voting in 2022 due to state laws banning people with felony convictions from doing so, reports NPR. percent in Massachusetts to more than 8 percent in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, while Vermont, Maine, and Washington, D.C. ” Disenfranchisement rates range from 0.15

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Federal judge temporarily blocks new Kentucky abortion law

JURIST

A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked a new Kentucky abortion law from being enforced by state officials. The bill is modeled after a Mississippi law that is currently under consideration by the US Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood challenged the law.

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