Mayor Johnny Magee Stands Up for Victim's Rights by Endorsing Marsy's Law

JUNE 19, 2019, JACKSON, MISS.: Four Mississippi Mayors have officially endorsed the passage of Marsy’s Law in Mississippi, including Laurel Mayor Johnny Magee. Marsy’s Law seeks to amend the state constitution to give crime victims an equal level of constitutional protections, no less vigorous, than those afforded to the accused and convicted.

Mayor George Flaggs, Jr. of Vicksburg, Mayor Hope Magee Jones of Collins, Mayor Quordiniah Lockley of McComb, and Mayor Johnny Magee of Laurel have signed their official endorsement of Marsy’s Law for Mississippi. “I felt it was a worthwhile cause and something we need in Mississippi and all around the country,” said Magee. “Victim advocates in the city felt it would be good for the city to endorse Marsy’s Law. We want to take care of citizens in any way possible, and Marsy’s Law is a way for us to do that.” Marsy’s Law for Mississippi is dedicated to the cause of ensuring that crime victims’ rights are codified in Mississippi constitutional law.

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Marsy’s Law is named after Marsalee (Marsy) Ann Nicholas, who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. A week after her murder, Marsy’s mother was confronted by her daughter’s murderer in a grocery store. Having received no notification from the judicial system, the family was unaware that he had been released on bail mere days after the murder. Marsy’s family and others have faced pain and suffering since the courts and law enforcement are not obligated to keep them informed. While criminals have more than 20 individual rights spelled out in the U.S. Constitution, the surviving family members of murder victims have none. Marsy’s Law for All seeks to amend the Mississippi constitution to ensure those crime victims have the same co-equal rights as the accused and convicted.