Mississippi Criminal and Family Law Blog

It Just is Not Me!! Exonerate Yourself from False Accusations

Published on: May 12, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Exonerate Yourself from False Accusations

False accusations of sexual assault or molestation are a serious problem that can have devastating consequences for the accused individual. Although the actual prevalence of false accusations is difficult to determine, estimates suggest that up to 40% of sexual assault or molestation accusations may be false or exaggerated. The reasons why someone may falsely accuse another person of these crimes are varied and complex, and may include motivations such as monetary gain, advantage in a divorce case, or a desire to damage someone’s reputation out of jealousy or pettiness.

For someone who has been falsely accused of sexual assault or molestation, the situation can be incredibly overwhelming and traumatic. Not only must they contend with the emotional fallout of being falsely accused of a terrible crime, but they must also navigate the legal system to prove their innocence. This can be an incredibly daunting process, but with the help of an experienced and qualified criminal defense attorney, it is possible to gather the necessary evidence to support an argument of innocence.

Possessing Stolen Property In Mississippi

Published on: May 11, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Two Teens Charged After Driving Stolen Truck and Causing Crash

According to WLOX, two teens are facing a slew of charges after crashing a stolen vehicle into a school bus in D’lberville and attempting to evade arrest. Reports indicate that the incident began when officers received an alert that a stolen 2021 Chevrolet Silverado was traveling eastbound on I-10. Around the same time the initial alert was put out, another officer in the area spotted a vehicle matching the description of the stolen truck and attempted to stop it. Rather than stopping, the vehicle accelerated which led to a pursuit. According to reports, the driver attempted to turn at a high rate of speed causing the said driver to lose control and crash into another driver, which subsequently struck a school bus. Both the driver and the passenger are under the age of 18, and were charged with receiving stolen property, minor in possession of a firearm, and simple possession of marijuana. The driver was also charged with eluding.

How Does Mississippi Define Receiving Stolen Property?

Capital Murder In Mississippi

Published on: May 5, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Grand Jury Indicts 22-Year-Old on Capital Murder Charges

According to Mississippi Today, a Lafayette County grand jury indicted a 22-year-old Ole Miss graduate for the alleged murder of an LGBTQ+ student, Jimmie “Jay” Lee. According to a filing from the Lafayette County Circuit Court, the jurors indicted the young man on a charge of capital murder because he allegedly killed Lee while kidnapping him. The young man was originally arrested for the alleged murder back in July of 2022. Lee’s disappearance caught national attention during this time, in part because of the fear it sparked in Oxford’s tight knit LGBTQ+ community. Because of the severity of the charge, if convicted, the young man could potentially receive the death penalty. However, the young man and his family remain optimistic, as he continues to maintain his innocence.

How Does Mississippi Define Capital Murder?

Where’s The Rum Cake?! How Foods With Hidden Alcohol Can Be Bad News

Published on: May 4, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Food Cooked in Alcohol Can Land You in Trouble

You enjoy eating meals with wine reductions and desserts soaked in rum. You like to try anything with alcohol, but you always believed that when cooked and eaten in food, alcohol was no longer a concern. The truth is much more complicated. Foods that are mixed with alcohol may end up with an alcohol content, but they may also retain enough alcohol that you could become legally under the influence after a few servings. Let’s say hypothetically that you went out to eat with friends and made sure you didn’t drink, because you had to be the one to drive home sober. Not long after you started your drive home, you noticed that you weren’t feeling quite right. Shortly thereafter, a police officer pulled you over to the side of the road. He asked you to complete a Breathalyzer test and you agreed, because you knew you hadn’t had anything to drink that evening. To your surprise, you were shocked when the results came back indicting that your blood alcohol content (BAC) was over .08 percent. Interestingly, you can get legally intoxicated from eating food made with alcohol.

Don’t fall for the myth of food-based alcohol sobriety

Your Child’s Sex Change

Published on: May 3, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

Your Child’s Gender Transition in Mississippi Could Lead To Your Arrest

Transgenderism is an extremely controversial topic in Mississippi and across the United States. Everyone seems to have a different opinion, and various states have created very different laws that govern transgender people and their ability to transition to their identified sex. Mississippi is no exception, and this Republican state has taken a firm stance against youths transitioning to a different gender. State legislators have already created laws that would penalize anyone assisting children who want to transition. But what happens if you are the parent of a transgender child? Could you really face legal penalties for helping them? Is it true that you might even face child abuse charges if you help your transgender child in Mississippi? Let’s find out.

The Current Penalties for Assisting Child Transitions in Mississippi

“The Burning Man” – Not Just a Social Event or a Problem Solver

Published on: April 28, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

A 63-year-old Mobile, Alabama woman was accused of setting her husband on fire earlier this week, according to WLBT-TV. Reports by the Mobile Police Department indicate that officers responded to the scene around 6:30 in the evening in reference to a medical emergency. Once on the scene, officers discovered that the woman seemingly doused her husband with flammable liquid and set him on fire. The woman was present on the scene when the authorities arrived, and her husband was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The woman is facing an aggravated domestic violence charge, and reports indicate that her bond has been set at $7,500. In addition, the judge has ordered that the woman have no contact with her husband.

Domestic violence is a pervasive problem in Mississippi, and aggravated domestic violence is a particularly serious subset of this crime. According to the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in 2020:

There were 19 domestic violence-related fatalities in Mississippi.

Livestock Theft in Mississippi

Published on: April 28, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

According to WLBT-TV Channel 3, a horse ran to safety after a group of people attempted to steal it from a pasture in Clay County, Mississippi. Sheriff Eddie Scott claims that one of the offenders saw the horse and hatched a plan with two juveniles and another man to help load the horse into a trailer. Reports indicate that the group allegedly walked the horse down the road, but it broke free from and ran back to its pasture. One of the offenders has since been charged with livestock theft.

Livestock theft is a serious crime that is unfortunately common in the state of Mississippi. With a significant portion of the state’s economy relying on agriculture and farming, livestock theft can have a devastating impact on the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers.

How Does Mississippi Define Livestock & Livestock Theft?

DNA Test Confirms Man Fathered Child of Teenage Victim

Published on: April 26, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

A DNA test shows that a man from Hancock County, Mississippi fathered the 18-month-old child of his teenage victim, according to WLBT-TV. Officials say that the investigation began in early January 2023 when deputies were called to speak with a 16-year-old girl who alleged that she had been molested and raped over the past several years. After obtaining DNA samples and running a paternity test, investigators obtained evidence that the man was in fact the father of the child.

Additionally, reports indicate that deputies learned of additional sex crimes allegedly committed by the man in other jurisdictions, such as Louisiana. The man has since been arrested and charged with sexual battery as well as molestation. He is currently being housed at the Hancock County Adult Detention Center on a $200,000 bond in addition to a hold for Vernon Parrish Sheriff’s Office.

How Does Mississippi Define Sexual Battery?

Former Mississippi County Coroner Charged with Embezzlement

Published on: April 20, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

According to U.S. News & World Report, a former coroner for a south Mississippi county was indicted in late March on several charges, including embezzlement. In addition, the former Hancock County Coroner also faces three counts of false representations to defraud the government and one count of alteration of records, according to the State Auditor, Shad White.

To put this in perspective, in Mississippi, coroners are paid fees based on the services that they perform. In this case, the former Hancock County Coroner is alleged to have submitted and altered invoices to the Hancock County Board of Supervisors between February and March of 2021. As a result of this alleged fraud, he was paid $13,000 in public funds. His certification as a coroner was suspended in March of 2021, and he resigned from his post in July of 2021, claiming it was because of his recent cancer diagnosis.

What is Embezzlement?

Man wrongfully convicted of rape to be paid $5.5 million

Published on: April 18, 2023 | by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A.

According to CBS News, after wrongfully convicting a man for raping her, writer Alice Sebold while she was a student at Syracuse University, New York state has agreed to pay $5.5 million to the man who spent 16 years in prison. Anthony Broadwater was convicted of raping Sebold in 1981. The settlement comes after his conviction was overturned in 2021. The settlement was signed the week of March 20, 2023 by lawyers for Broadwater and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Broadwater, 62, said in a statement relayed by one of his attorneys, “I appreciate what Attorney General James has done, and I hope and pray that others in my situation can achieve the same measure of justice. We all suffer from destroyed lives.” “Obviously no amount of money can erase the injustices Mr. Broadwater suffered, but the settlement now officially acknowledges them,” Sebold said in a statement released through a spokesperson.

In May 1981, Sebold was raped near campus while she was in her first year at Syracuse. She described the attack and the ensuing prosecution in a memoir titled “Lucky”, published in 1999. The book was pulled from bookshelves across the U.S. during the 2021-22 academic year due to its graphic descriptions of rape and stopped being distributed after a state court judge vacated Broadwater’s conviction. The judge found that the case that led to his initial conviction was flawed. In the memoir, Sebold wrote that she spotted a Black man in the street months after being raped and was sure that he was her attacker. “He was smiling as he approached. He recognized me. It was a stroll in the park to him; he had met an acquaintance on the street,” Sebold wrote. ” ‘Hey, girl,’ he said. ‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’ ”