Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said an independent, preliminary autopsy described a Shelby County Jail inmate’s manner of death as a homicide.

“This court feels like that would be too onerous and would delay the trial,” Shelby County Criminal Court Division 10 Jennifer Mitchell said in her verbal ruling.

A judge has been reprimanded by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct for saying last year that he “detests” the bail-bond system in Shelby County.

The federal trial for four of the former police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols last year has been pushed back four months. 

The investigation comes after the Jan. 12 death of Ramon McGhee; his family stated through attorney Ben Crump that McGhee was covered in a “massive amount” of lice and bed bugs when he arrived at the hospital. 

McGhee’s passing followed the 10 others who died in either of SCSO’s jails in 2023. 

Some Democrats said it was unnecessary because public safety is already part of the bail determination; they also said it would chip away at defendants’ liberty by expanding pretrial detention.

“You miss graduation, you miss birthday parties. You miss the little scrapes and the falls,” Artis Whitehead said of the things he missed about being a dad during the 21 years he spent in prison. “You miss being able to actually guide them.”

Demarion Tackett, 16, is accused of shooting 76-year-old John Materna, who was known for selling watermelons in The Heights neighborhood, on May 15, 2023. Materna died in the hospital two weeks after being shot.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed a law in 2023 taking the power away from local DAs in collateral review of death penalty convictions and instead putting the authority in the hands of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. 

Gene Dewayne Saulsberry was arrested by Shelby County Sheriff’s Office’s Fugitive Apprehension Team around 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 5, in Hickory Hill.

Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly gave a 20% raise to most of state prosecutors and state public defenders. But the raise for Shelby County is capped at 5%. 

Despite a rise in violent crime, the overall crime rate fell 6.4% in the city and 7.2% in the county compared to the previous year, according to the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission.

During her Jan. 9 reappointment presentation to the Memphis City Council, Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis noted that crime in the city had been slashed in half over a six-month period.

The trial for Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith initially was scheduled for March 11 in Shelby County Criminal Court Division 10 Judge Jennifer Mitchell’s courtroom.

“You took my best friend, my soulmate, the one person that understood me,” the victim’s husband told the defendant. “I will never forgive you.”

Ramon McGhee was found unresponsive in his cell on Jan. 10, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating McGhee’s death.

Charges against Marious Ward, the alleged shooter in the case, were not dismissed Wednesday, although concerns were raised about how he was developed as a suspect.

Before being chosen for the top law enforcement position, Brent Vickers acted as Southaven’s deputy chief of police. 

In the new footage, other MPD officers are heard describing those in the SCORPION unit as “adrenaline junkies” who are too “hands-on.” One officer is also heard saying, “It’ll be justified.”

The top federal prosecutor in Memphis, U.S. attorney for Western Tennessee Kevin Ritz, says the Department of Justice inquiry affects the relationship his office has with the law enforcement body.

A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the parents of Deion Byrd, a Shelby County Jail inmate who was assaulted while awaiting a court appearance at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center.

Four people, two suspects and two civilians, were noncritically injured Friday, Jan. 26, after officers shot at alleged car thieves before the suspects fled and crashed into a civilian’s car.

The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct has recommended Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd be removed from office, according to a letter sent to Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally.