NOTE FROM MHD: This is a recap of our activities on Monday. See Pete’s post on Friday, Adam’s post on Saturday and Jason’s on Sunday. Stay tuned each day for more content from Jones County until we go to court on Thursday, September 10th at 1pm .

JONES COUNTY, MS -  The day started off just like many others, with Pete and I waking up and heading to a WiFi location. We left the Wal Mart parking lot and headed for the Wards fast food restaurant located just down the road. We had been there the other day and the environment was perfect for us, considering they give free refills on their beverages. Another benefit of Ward’s is its location right off the main drag of several frequented businesses. So Pete and I parked MARV in perfect view of the road and headed inside to start hammering out the work.

It was not long before people started stopping by to express their support of our presence in Jones County. The staff there is very supportive and we shared many ideas and stories with them throughout the day. Pete and I were working for about two hours when a young lady stopped by to hear our story. After listening to Pete and I explain our tale she stated that she also had a story. But had to run off to tend to her children but stated she would meet up with us later.

So Pete and I went back to work and at about the time Jason joined us, in walked an elderly couple who had read about our story in the local paper. Larry & Brenda Blakeney had a story of a different color, their son had been sentenced to life for a double murder. Though MHD is not about to make a judgement about this extremely complicated case. I felt that the matter in which the Jones County Sheriffs, public attorneys (both for the city and defendant) and matter in which this case was handled did appeal to me. I decided to accompany them to their home where they shared the story of their son. They showed me hours of video on the  interrogation process their son went through, an endless amount of reports and detailed several accounts that were over looked by the authorities. I look forward to sharing this story and helping both families involved find closure.

When I returned from my time with the Blakeney family Jason and Pete told me we were going to be heading to Hattiesburg, about 30 mins south of Laurel for the evening. Before we packed up to leave we were again greeted by another supporter by the name of George. Like several others we have met while in town, he shared his concern for the out of control gangs in the area; when I say gangs I mean Jones County Sheriffs Department. He told us stories of thugs with badges profiling out of state vehicles, corrupt cops planting evidence and other things. I am amazed how many of these stories we have heard in such a short time here, like Jason has stated before, the people of Jones County deserve a better protection agency.  One they don’t fear will violate their rights and do so with excessive force and threats.

After chatting with George for a bit we then loaded our gear into MARV, grabbed a tank of gas and headed south to the nearest Starbucks, in Hattiesburg. We worked well into the night, a usual thing for MHD. Stay tuned for more news from the front lines in Jones County.