Legislative Update 26

July 28, 2008

Dear Friends,

Last Friday, I had a chance to stop by the Dixie Youth Baseball O-Zone World Series Homerun Derby and Opening Ceremonies. The derby showcased some impressive young talent from across the Southeastern United States and the opening ceremonies featured good music and a spectacular fireworks display. The individuals and sponsors responsible for landing this event deserve our appreciation. Because of their work, hundreds of families from across the country will be spending money in Pascagoula throughout the week. The following folks played a particularly important role in bringing the World Series to Pascagoula: Ellen Cole, Frank Corder, Bill Glenn, Eric Hartman, and Steve Jordan. Please stop by and support this event if your schedule allows. If you need extra motivation, keep in mind that the Pascagoula team won its opening round game over Tennessee by a score of 18 to 7.

This weekend, I also visited Northrop Grumman for the christening of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the Waesche. The $500 million craft was named for Coast Guard Commandant Russell Randolph Waesche, Sr., the longest serving commandant in the history of the Coast Guard. The confidence our armed forces place in Northrop Grumman is a testament to the hard work invested by local men and women everyday at the shipyard. It is no small thing to have an industry giant in our own backyard.

The Governor’s Decision to Suspend the Sentence of Michael Graham

I want to thank those of you who have taken the time to call or write regarding the Graham decision. In my short time in office, I have not witnessed this level of community interest in any other issue. While this is unquestionably a difficult time for this area, your response has proven once again that this community looks out for its own.

As I mentioned last week, I intend to explore our options for limiting a governor’s authority in these matters. When I return to Jackson, I hope to learn what we can do to keep a person convicted of a premeditated murder from becoming eligible for a pardon, commutation or suspension of sentence.

In the meantime, I would encourage those of you who have not done so already to contact the Governor’s office and respectfully express your feelings. Under current law, the Governor has wide authority in these matters. This means that he can both suspend the sentence of an individual and revoke the suspension of a sentence. While the Governor’s statements on this issue make a reversal on his part seem unlikely, I believe that if anything will make a difference in this situation it will be public outcry.

For those of you who have been trying to keep up with the news surrounding this issue, I wanted to make you aware of two news items that popped up over the weekend. The first is a Sun Herald article that provided some helpful background and the second is a WLOX piece that covered the response of Adrienne’s graduating class who had their 35th class reunion over the weekend. The Sun Herald article can be found at http://www.sunherald.com/pageone/story/707506.html and the WLOX segment can be found at http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=8743519&nav=menu40_3.

While I have tried to respond to everyone’s e-mail, a server problem at my office has prevented me from getting back to all of you. If I have not responded to your message, please re-send it. Our server is supposed to be operational again so I should be able to get through to you this time. Again, thanks for your insight.

How to Contact Me

If you have any questions or concerns, I invite you to call me on my cell phone at 228-326-7649 or e-mail me at bjones@house.ms.gov. Please feel free to forward this report to folks in our district and let me know if I need to add someone to my list.

I will also be posting my updates and House related news on my campaign website at www.electbrandonjones.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Brandon