Mississippi prison officials told Mary Anderson her uncle died of a heart attack while incarcerated. A year later, the FBI is investigating his death as a homicide. He was reportedly beaten to death by prison guards. My latest for @themarshallproject.org www.themarshallproject.org/2026/02/24/m...

When Mississippi officials informed Mary Anderson that her uncle had died in prison, they told her he had suffered a heart attack. But now the FBI is investigating the 2025 death of Melvin Cancer at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility as a homicide, and the guards as alleged perpetrators.

This could be a big step in Mississippi following great work by @calebbedillion.bsky.social @dajaehenry.com www.themarshallproject.org/2026/02/04/m...

www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/27/i... @dajaehenry.com @themarshallproject.org @aclu.org @olemiss.bsky.social

In 1962, JFK used the Insurrection Act — an emergency power typically used to uphold civil rights & stop violent uprisings — to end a White supremacist uprising at Ole Miss. Years later, Trump wanted to use it differently, unleashing troops on Minnesotans. www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/27/i...

www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/13/m... @prisonpolicy.org @aclu.org @prisonjournalism.bsky.social @dajaehenry.com

Food service company Aramark is leaving incarcerated people in West Virginia with empty stomachs and their loved ones with empty pockets, a federal class-action lawsuit alleges. Our story from @dajaehenry.com:

At least 60 people arrested in Hinds County have been jailed in its detention facilities for over three months—including at least five for more than a year—with no indictment filed against them and no pathway to a trial in sight. buff.ly/Z0Exzpl

Dozens have been locked up in Hinds County for >3 months with no indictment, a critical step in getting to trial. Many of them are crammed into Raymond Detention Center, where a man was killed this year. One man has been locked up for 18 months. My latest: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/h...

After our reporting on 43 prison homicides, MDOC commissioner Burl Cain said the dept will review the more than two dozen unprosecuted killings, as well as deaths of undetermined causes that have happened withinin prison walls since 2015. To read more: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/14/m...

"[C]ruel and unusual punishment." "Plumbing issues, vermin infestations, feces-covered walls, and limited access to basic hygiene products, such as soap or tampons, are common complaints." "I haven't had a shower in three to four weeks." #Missouri #Ohio #Mississippi #USA #Incarceration

Filth, dysfunction and extortion. "It's the wild, wild west in there," Tedrick Francois told me after spending time in Raymond Detention Center. People awaiting trial there sleep alongside mice, have limited access to laundry, and must pay to use a toilet. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/09/j...

The second autopsy on the body of Delta State University student Trey Reed has not been released, despite uncorroborated social media rumors currently circulating claiming it uncovered evidence of foul play. Reed, who was Black, was found hanging from a tree on the campus in Cleveland last month.

Today, a receiver took over Hinds County's Raymond Detention Center. People detained there shared stories of being held in cells covered with mold and feces and sleeping on floors. At least 6 died there this year, including a murder & drug overdose. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/01/m...

Cuyahoga County officials never disclosed that Ms. Grant died as a result of being physically restrained by a deputy. The Marshall Project-Cleveland team broke the news last night. w/ @brittanyhailer.bsky.social & Doug Livingston. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/09/25/c...

🔍 Join us now in a Reddit AMA with The Marshall Project - Jackson's @dajaehenry.com and @mississippitoday.org's Mina Corpuz, who are discussing their investigation into Mississippi's deadly prisons where at least 43 people have been killed since 2015:

At 10 a.m., Mina and I will be answering questions about our investigation into homicides in Mississippi prisons. Join us here: www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comme...

On her 200th birthday, Harper’s voice is as urgent now as it was centuries ago — and her vision lives on through The 19th’s HBCU fellowship and other efforts in her name.

Inside Mississippi’s Deadly Prisons: 42 killings, few answers — read the new investigative series @themarshallproject.org @prisonculture.bsky.social @prisonpolicy.org @prisonjournalism.bsky.social @aclu.org @dajaehenry.com www.themarshallproject.org/tag/mississi...

“No one deserves to die like this." At least *43* people have been killed in Mississippi prisons since 2015. Poor staffing, lax oversight and gangs who rule by violence make it easier for killings to go unchecked. Read more: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/09/11/m...

"At least 42 people have been killed inside Mississippi prisons in the past decade." "In the first half of this year, there were five homicides." "'[A]n unimaginable pain you all gave me. This grief will last forever,' one victim's mother wrote." #Mississippi #USA #Healthcare #Incarceration

"When Semiko Crump arrived at Raymond Detention Center in December 2023, she said officers threw her 'in the hole.' Crump estimates she was in the dark, single-person cell for a few hours, writhing in pain from a broken foot." Reporting by @dajaehenry.com @themarshallproject.org.

Police killed Phillip Gibbs, 21, and James Earl Green, 17, & wounded several others #OTD in 1970 at Jackson State & got away with it. 55 years later, the DOJ is investigating, but turmoil at the dept. could threaten what may be a last attempt at justice. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/05/14/j...

Police killed Phillip Gibbs, 21, and James Earl Green, 17, & wounded several others #OTD in 1970 at Jackson State & got away with it. 55 years later, the DOJ is investigating, but turmoil at the dept. could threaten what may be a last attempt at justice. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/05/14/j...

Fantastic explainer/Q&A from @dajaehenry.com feat. @stroud.bsky.social on the prospect of a federal receivership (what's that?—read the story!) at the Hinds County jail in Jackson, Mississippi. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/03/26/h...

For a 1-on-1 explainer, I spoke w/ @themarshallproject.org's @dajaehenry.com about a historic court takeover of the Hinds County MS Jail. The jail is so unconstitutional that Judge Carlton Reeves called it "a place where terror reigns." www.themarshallproject.org/2025/03/26/h...

A court-appointed receiver will take over Hinds County's long-embattled Raymond Detention Center, where 7 people died in 2021. What is a receiver? What will he do? How did we get here? These Qs and more answered in my latest for @themarshallproject.org: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/03/26/h...

During a 2015 no-knock drug raid in rural northeast Mississippi, sheriff’s deputies shot and killed 57-year-old Ricky Keeton after he came to the door with an air pistol as SWAT team members forced their way into his trailer home at 1 a.m.

When Trump entered office, 12 police agencies were either under investigation for or found to have committed to civil rights violations under the Biden administration. @themarshallproject.org breaks down the state of reform under an administration backing away from federal oversight.

Monday is opening day for the controversial CCID court here in Jackson. Today, I’m here at the opening ceremony, where Chief Justice Mike Randolph will announced the appointed judges.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray says he intends to resign at the end of Biden's term next month.

From an interview I did with Nikki Giovanni back in 2017:

I'm currently a staff writer at The Marshall Project - Jackson, where I cover Mississippi's criminal justice system. Before, I was a fellow at The 19th, where I covered a wide range of stories from politics to environmental justice to reparations to police killings. The common thread: injustice.

Having to rebuild a platform on yet another social media app is exhausting 🙃 but alas, i'm here. will be sharing some of my previous work that i'm proud of

MISSISSIPPI! I made a starter pack of all the Mississippi journalists who are on BlueSky (that I know of). Please share so your fellow Mississippians can use it. We need more state news here! Will update it as more join. Let me know if I've missed anyone! go.bsky.app/KWfYHCE

Amy Lassiter St. Pé won an open seat on the MS Court of Appeals in yesterday's runoffs. Her campaign was backed by doctors & Republican politicians. Here's what she told me for @themarshallproject.org about her approach to the bench: www.themarshallproject.org/2024/09/18/m...

If Kitchens and Sullivan sit on the court together, it could be an interesting dynamic to watch around criminal law, especially right to counsel issues. I explored that a little bit for The Marshall Project and @bolts.bsky.social here: www.themarshallproject.org/2024/11/20/m...

Today is Election Day (again) in #Mississippi! Supreme Court justices make important decisions that could mean life or death. Learn more about the candidates here:

overdue for an intro, so here goes, in a couple quick facts & flicks: -I’m Daja E. Henry, a journalist covering criminal justice in Mississippi -woman of many hobbies -lover of Black literature -amateur photographer and genealogist -world traveler (20 countries and counting) #addtoBlacksky