Judge Mark Duncan of Philadelphia, MS; bigoted loser

The State of Mississippi provided Mark Sheldon Duncan with a law license in 1983 after he graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Gov. Phil Bryant was duped into appointing Mark as an Eighth Judicial District Judge in 2017. Mark didn’t receive the appointment because he was the most qualified attorney in the greater Neshoba County, Mississippi area. He received it because he had proven to be a reliable lackey for the local political hacks.

In one matter, Judge Duncan sentenced Willie Nash to 12-years in prison for violating a Mississippi law for the illegal possession of contraband while incarcerated. (Walter Einenkel)

In sentencing Nash, Duncan the Humanitarian said he should “consider himself fortunate,” for not receiving a maximum 15 years in prison … for possessing a cell phone in jail.

At the time, Nash was in jail at the Newton County Jail on a misdemeanor charge. Nash asked a jail guard if there was a way available for him to charge his phone. This led the guard to take the phone and bring it to the attention of the sheriff. After searching the phone, the only message on it was from Nash’s wife asking him where he was and his reply that he was in jail.

Need I remind you that Mississippi civil rights workers James Chaney from Meridian, Mississippi, and Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner from New York City were murdered in Neshoba County in June 1964 after being arrested following a sham traffic stop outside Philadelphia. In fact, the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning staring Gene Hackman, William Dafoe and Frances McDormand was based on the murders of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner.

I’m sure that everyone has concluded rightfully that Mr. Nash was an African American and that Judge Duncan was a good Ol White Boy from Neshoba County, Mississippi.

Now, let’s take a minute and compare the 12-year sentence handed out by Judge Duncan for possession of a cell phone against other crimes and sentences in Mississippi.

Crimes involving Women

• Domestic Violence - up to six months in jail or a $500 fine, or both
• Intentionally Injure a Pregnant Woman (causing serious or aggravated injury to embryo or fetus): up to 1 year

Only 1 year for injuring a pregnant woman or 6 months for beating the hell out of her. Seems reasonable when compared to the infamous crime of possession of a cellphone, right? Isn’t Mississippi a great Country if you’re one of the Good Ol Boys? Cletus sez, “you damn betcha it is!”

Absurd comparisons

• Convicted Felon in Possession of Weapon: up to 10 years
• Escape from Jail for Felony: up to 5 years additional time

No more than 10 years for possession of a weapon by a felon and a maximum of 5 years when a felon escapes from jail. However, the punishment for possession of a cellphone is considered a more heinous crime that possession of a gun or escaping from prison.

Crimes involving children

• Child abandonment (under 6): up to 7 years
• Child Endangerment (if child is substantially harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally): up to 10 years
• Touching Child for Lustful Purposes (defendant 18 or above & victim under 14): 2 to 15 years
• Child (selling): up to 5 years

Sell a child and get 5 years! Abandon a child under 6 and get 7 years. Tough a child under 14 with lustful intent gets you the same sentence as possession of a cellphone.

Crimes involving elements of sex

• Indecent exposure: up to 6 months in jail
• Rape, Statutory (defendant 18-21/ victim 14-16): up to 5 years
• Sex or Sexual Battery with Vulnerable Adult:2 to 15 years
• Voyeurism (peeping Tom): up to 5 years

Mr. Nash would have been treated better by Judge Duncan if he was a Peeping Tom unless the woman was white. In fact, Mr. Nash should’ve gone out and raped some young girl between 14-16 and he would’ve received 5 years at most.

Miscellaneous Crimes

• 2^nd degree Arson – 1 to 10 years
• Assault on a Police Officer: up to 5 years
• Assault, Aggravated by Arson Related Injury: up to 10 years
• Auto hit and run causing death or disfigurement: 1 to 5 years
• Bribery by political candidates: up to 10 years
• Murder (poisoning with intent to kill or injure): up to 10 years

Bribing a judge in Mississippi only gets ya up to 10 years. Kick the shit out of a police officer or a jail guard and you get 5 years at most. Maybe Mr. Nash should have beat the hell out of the prison guard that turned him in.

Is it any wonder that most African Americans living in Mississippi do not trust the so-called justice system? To suggest that it’s a two-tiered system, one for the White Folk and one for the Blacks is an understatement.

As we speak (ca. January 2020), Judge Duncan continues to sit as a Neshoba County District Court judge in Philadelphia, Mississippi.