For the third consecutive year, Mississippi’s capital city has surpassed the triple-digit mark in terms of homicides.
The trend began in 2020 when Jackson reached a record-breaking 128 homicides before earning the title of “America’s Deadliest Major City” in 2021 with 153 homicides. As of Friday, the city had already seen 130 homicides in 2022.
Former U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, when asked about Jackson’s increase in violent crime, blamed the city’s leadership – specifically Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba.
“One of the things I’ve been preaching since I’ve been U.S. Attorney is one of the reasons we have this lawlessness in the city of Jackson. We have no leadership,” Hurst said. “I can tell you that there’s not a person in this city besides the mayor who thinks Jackson is safe.”
Jackson’s homicide rate has nearly tripled over the course of Lumumba’s first four years in office, going from 35.63 per 100,000 residents in 2017 to passing the likes of Baltimore, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Memphis in 2021 with a rate of 99.5 per 100,000 residents.
In an effort to curb this statistic, City Councilman Kenneth Stokes met with federal officials Thursday to see what help is available. Stokes has also mentioned the idea of federal authorities prosecuting some of the criminal cases in Mississippi’s capital city.
