Archive for June 2021
Introducing Empower Fellow Matt Ladner
One of the staples of Empower’s business model is focused expertise. It’s in pursuit of that goal that I am pleased to share that Matt Ladner has joined our team as a Fellow in Education. Matt will bring unrivaled expertise and experience as we continue our work of ensuring that every child in Mississippi has access to…
Read MoreReducing Criminalization and Incarceration for Drug Offenses
A new report from Empower Mississippi gives Mississippi a failing grade for its policies related to the reduction of criminalization for drug offense laws. Grading Justice gives Mississippi a grade of “F” for its policies relating to reducing criminalization and incarceration that would decrease the harms caused to families and taxpayers by deprioritizing incarceration for…
Read MoreMississippi Rolled Like the Tide in K-12 Gains Last Decade – What Comes Next?
Mississippi students had a remarkable decade of academic progress between 2009 and 2019, but the keyword in this sentence is “had.” The COVID-19 pandemic has essentially reset American schools with students who will return to class with varying levels of learning deficiencies. The charts below show just how much Mississippi gained during the decade between…
Read MoreMississippi solutions for Mississippi problems
“This is about a high-quality education for every child, meaningful work for every adult, and justice for all.” Last week, Mississippi leaders and policy experts from around the country were in Jackson for a solutions-centered discussion on the most significant issues of the day. More than 150 people joined us at the Civil Rights Museum as…
Read MoreStaring at the death penalty
“I know he’s bad, but he’s a good boy.” Those words spoken by the mother of a 16-year-old boy echoed through a courtroom in the Mississippi Delta as Eddie Spencer stood before the judge waiting to learn his fate. In 1979, Eddie was facing the possibility of the death penalty as one of his victims…
Read MoreHow do we make it easier to work in Mississippi?
Mississippi is doing better than many states, has made progress in recent years, but still has work to do when it comes to limiting job-killing regulations. That was the message at an Unleash Mississippi panel with James Broughel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Whitney Lipscomb, Deputy Attorney General, and…
Read MoreHow Sen. Juan Barnett became an unlikely champion for criminal justice reform
He was sitting in a Mississippi courtroom where he had been called for jury duty. As court officials made the rounds for jury selection, the judge asked if there was anyone in the room who was not able to serve. Juan Barnett raised his hand and was asked to take a seat across the room.…
Read MoreRethinking education in Mississippi
Rethinking education could benefit thousands of Mississippi children. “The entity of change in our education system is not the school district, it’s not the school, it’s not even the federal government. It’s the state,” said Donald Nielsen. Nielsen is a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, a long-time education advocate, and a former member of…
Read MoreReforming Mississippi’s criminal justice system
Sen. Juan Barnett never imagined that he would be a leading voice for criminal justice reform in Mississippi. When he was younger, Barnett’s father was killed. He was mad as any child would be. He believed the killer received a light sentence and he once told a judge he couldn’t sit on a jury because…
Read MoreRecent reforms improve Mississippi’s grade on parole laws
Mississippi’s grade on parole laws improved after legislative action this past session. Grading Justice gives Mississippi a grade of “C” for its policies related to parole and earned time provisions for those in state. Although this is not an ideal score for the state, a bill passed by lawmakers in 2021 moved the state from…
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