Mayor to lobby for tougher bond, sentencing laws, full funding of state crime labs – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper

NATCHEZ — Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson is urging the Mississippi Municipal League to lobby the state Legislature to enact new laws that will put some bite in bond and sentencing guidelines for violent offenders.

Gibson said Mississippi’s existing laws are many times vague and arbitrary and bind the hands of judges when setting bonds and sentencing those who have committed violent crimes.

This weekend, Gibson was set to present his recommendations to the Mississippi Municipal League’s executive committee and board of directors. The Mississippi Municipal League plans to endorse crime reform during the 2026 session of the Mississippi legislature.

“What we have seen from our experience here in Natchez is that our law enforcement can work very hard to solve crime and make arrests, but unfortunately, Mississippi’s laws are very weak when it comes to violent crime and crime against police officers,” Gibson said.

Bonding guidelines for violent crimes are “ridiculously low,” he said.

“For example, a person can attempt murder, be a bad shot, and bond out for as low as $25,000. That means they have to put up 10 percent of that, or $2,500. And, they are allowed to finance that $2,500 bond with a bail bondsman. We need to end the financing of bonds like that,” Gibson said. “What kind of laws allow a violent offender or suspect to be back on the streets within days? We saw this happen this last Christmas season with an individual who was arrested the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, only to be released on bond a few days later,” and free to commit other crimes.

“To be fair, his bond was $250,000, but that still, to me, is too low for violent crime, especially when the bond can be financed,” he said.

The mayor said Mississippi needs mandatory sentencing for violent crimes.

“We also need to give special attention to bonds and sentences for attempted murder and assaults on police officers. We had an individual assault a police officer when he was out on bond. The case has been tried and he is already out and back on the streets,” Gibson said.

Not always are low bonds and light sentences the fault of judges, he said.

“I don’t necessarily fault the judges. I fault the law of the state of Mississippi that makes liberal interpretation of the law possible. When you say a bond guideline is $25,000 at the low end, or when someone who assaults a police officer can get off with three to five years or no time, to me, that’s a law that needs to be changed.

“Our police officers are under duress every day. We need a state that backs them up with strong laws in the event that an officer is ever assaulted,” he said.

One of the most important changes the legislature needs to make to help reduce crime in Mississippi is to properly fund the state crime lab.

“The crime lab in Jackson has never been fully funded,” Gibson said. “We also have crime labs now in north Mississippi and on the coast that are in need of funding. They try to staff them one year, and the next year these staff members leave because surrounding states are in some cases paying them double. Therefore, the backlog of evidence continues to be unreasonable. We cannot get evidence back from the crime lab that is needed to fully prosecute criminals the way they need to be prosecuted.”

The mayor said reducing the likelihood of crime in small towns in Mississippi is a must.

“If we don’t get a handle on crime in small cities throughout Mississippi, not just cities like Natchez, but cities throughout our state, we can hang everything else up. Nobody wants to live in a community where violent offenders are free to walk,” Gibson said. “I am going to work hard to have these things made part of the legislative crime package.”