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Mississippi GOP Expands State Control Over Police and Courts in Majority-Black Jackson

HeadlineApr 24, 2023

Mississippi’s Republican Governor Tate Reeves signed legislation Friday expanding the state’s control over law enforcement in the Black-majority capital city of Jackson. The legislation, approved by Mississippi’s majority-white, Republican-led state Legislature, grants the Capitol Police greater authority over much of Jackson without being accountable to local leaders or residents. It creates a separate court system for Jackson composed of judges appointed directly by white state officials. A lawsuit filed by the NAACP seeking to block the law from taking effect warns it will create “separate and unequal policing.”

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