A familiar name has joined a slate of contenders for the next Fifth District Circuit Court Place 2 Justice seat. Qualifying has ended for candidates to run for the Fifth District Circuit Court Place 2 Justice that was left vacant due to the untimely death of Judge George M. Mitchell. Six candidates have qualified to run.
The latest person to join the slate is Winona Municipal Judge and Montgomery County Board Attorney Alan “Devo” Lancaster. Lancaster joins District Attorney Doug Evans, Kasey Burney Young, Bradley Clanton, and Zachary A. Madison.
According to a press release from Governor Tate Reeves’s office, he reopened candidate qualifying until Memorial Day in Circuit Court District 5, Place 2 (Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Grenada, Montgomery, Webster and Winston Counties).
The release states that candidate qualifying was reopened as a result of the untimely death of the Honorable George M. Mitchell, Jr., who was the only candidate that qualified for the November 8, 2022, general election for this position. In the coming days, Governor Reeves will make an interim appointment to fill this position pending the results of the November 8, general election.
The most notable of the candidates is Evans. He is most known for the case against Curtis Flowers and the Tardy Furniture murders.
Flowers, who stood trial for the murders was tried six times and had been in prison for 23 years before he was released after the United States Supreme Court overturned his decision. According to a 2019 story, SCOTUS also ruled that Evans prevented African Americans from serving as jurors.
Flowers was released from the Choctaw-Winston Regional Correctional Facility on December 16, 2019. In 2020, Evans recused himself from the case and Attorney General Lynn Fitch was appointed as lead prosecutor to the case.
In August 2020, Fitch’s office filed a motion to dismiss charges against Flowers without prejudice. In 2021, Flowers sued the State of Mississippi and was awarded $500,000 for wrongful conviction.
Burney Young of Ackerman. Young is an attorney and is the board attorney for the Choctaw County School Board.
Madison of Louisville. Madison, an attorney in Louisville, works for Fair & Mayo, PLLC.
No information could be found on Clanton.
