The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Hinds County" ...
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Unpunished Killings
This investigation began with the 1989 release of the film "Mississippi Burning" because the author was outraged that so many crimes against civil rights workers went unpunished. Cultivating sources in the now defunct Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, a state segregationist spy agency, the author was able to gain access to sealed documents. These documents led to the reprosecution of Klansman Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 killing of NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers.
Tags: civil rights; Mississippi; Ku Klux Klan; NAACP; crime; Mississippi Sovereignty Commission; Byron De La Beckwith; Medgar Evers; Hinds County; Sam Bowers; Edgar Ray Killen; Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Billy Roy Pitts; Vernon Dahmer; Deavours Nix; Bobby Cherry; Fred Shuttlesworth; Birmingham Church Bombings; Richard Barrett
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Committed a crime? Expect a plea deal
The Clarion Ledger's three-part series finds that "95 percent of all criminal cases are plea bargained, which is in line with the national average." However, it also found "a variety of instances of violent offenders serving little to no jail time. For example, in the review period of 132 days, we found nine instances of people charged with murder or manslaughter who served five years or less. We also found two instances where mistakes on the part of officials let one convicted felon go free an another serve far less jail time than he would have otherwise."
Tags: crime; plea deals; courts; Hinds County; criminal court system; plea bargains