FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JACKSON, Miss. – Tuesday night, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed House Bill 1020, a plan that increases policing, strips voting and political power away from the majority Black citizens of Jackson, and diverts tax dollars away from communities in need.
The bill now moves to the Senate.
The ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jarvis Dortch released the following statement about HB 1020:
“Here is the issue – lawmakers from majority white districts are proposing legislation that would significantly impact the majority Black population of Jackson, without consulting their representatives. This is a direct threat to the freedom of the Capital City and a parallel to Jim Crow era political schemes.
Citizens should be able to hold judges and prosecutors accountable for their actions, but HB 1020 does not allow that right. It creates a new judicial district, filled with judges and prosecutors who are appointed by the white Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court.
HB 1020 creates a city within a city, and that is not crime prevention. Instead of using more Jackson tax dollars to fund the expansion of the CCID and the creation of a new judicial district, lawmakers could fund mental health and re-entry programs, which are proven to decrease incarceration.
HB 1020 is an undemocratic plan, that further aids voter disenfranchisement and police state practices."
