On the last day to veto bills passed during the 2020 Mississippi Legislative Session, Governor Tate Reeves decided to veto two criminal justice reform bills—Senate Bill 2123 and House Bill 658.
SB 2123 would have allowed inmates convicted of the least serious crimes after June 30, 1995 to be eligible for parole after serving 25 percent of their sentence or 10 years—whichever comes first—while HB 658 would revise the number of felony convictions eligible for expungement.
Both bills were highly favored by Empower Mississippi, an independent group dedicated to changing laws that limit opportunities for Mississippians, and this morning, Russ Latino of Empower joined The JT Show to talk about the two bills being vetoed and how the state still has a chance to reform the criminal justice system.
