Ex-Hinds DA Peters dodges charges, again
“It doesn’t surprise me in the least,” said veteran journalist Bill Minor. “This is in keeping with his whole history.”
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Minor wrote exposes on Peters that helped lead to an indictment of the then-district attorney. In 1975, a jury heard the case and acquitted Peters.
“It always amazed me how he was able to get re-elected,” Minor said. In fact, Peters faced little opposition for the office he held for three decades.
In the indictment made public Thursday involving Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter, Peters, who has been cooperating with authorities since late 2007, is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in a scheme to influence DeLaughter, who was hearing a legal-fees dispute involving Dickie Scruggs.
Scruggs pleaded guilty in the case Tuesday and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Peters could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Over the decades, the Justice Department investigated Peters on corruption charges, but he was never charged.
Jerry Mitchell
Clarion Ledger
2/13/9
Magnolia Tribune
