Sheriff: Second Chances and Work Keys to Success

Broken is a series that highlights broken pieces of our criminal justice system, how they impact people, and how we can fix it. Like most officers, Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten felt a personal calling to the field of law enforcement. “My mother moved us away from our home as she escaped my abusive father,”…

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The Farnhams: Our Daughter Deserves an Education Too

Jamie and Matthew Farnham of Ocean Springs are determined to do what is right for their youngest daughter, Cambry. An educator working in an exceptional school for children who have severe and profound disabilities in Jackson County, Jamie left her job after recognizing the needs in her own daughter for a quality education to ensure…

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My Day Behind Bars

Broken is a series that highlights broken pieces of our criminal justice system, how they impact people, and how we can fix it. I returned from prison last week. No, it wasn’t an extended stay, but it was a tour that lasted long enough to leave me with questions, concerns, and an aching heart. I…

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The Ferrettis: ‘Time is Running Out’

The clock is ticking, and with each passing day the Ferretti family of Cleveland gets closer to the Special Needs Education Scholarship Account (ESA) for their son slipping through their fingers. Blake and Leah Ferretti have three children with dyslexia, with their oldest son Thomas holding an ESA. The couple began to realize something was…

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M.O.R.E. home offers reentry services

An average of 500 inmates, both male and female, are paroled each month in the state of Mississippi according to the Mississippi Parole Board. Most of them face many barriers that make it more difficult to readjust to life after prison. Finding a safe place to live, reliable transportation, and a job can be huge…

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Day by Day Waiting for Jerrad

Broken is a series that highlights broken pieces of our criminal justice system, how they impact people, and how we can fix it. Ava and Noel Ellsberry of Perkinston are anxiously awaiting the homecoming of their son Jerrad.  But that day is still years away. Jerrad is serving an eight-year sentence for a nonviolent drug…

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Empower Mississippi supports passage of federal FIRST STEP Act

RIDGELAND, MISSISSIPPI – Empower Mississippi President Grant Callen recently joined organizations from across the country in voicing support for the federal FIRST STEP Act. The FIRST STEP Act, supported by the White House, provides reentry programming to help those who have paid their debt to society see better outcomes when they leave federal prison and return…

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