Steven Kilgore, District Attorney for the Eighth Circuit Court District, kicked off the political speeches at the 2021 Neshoba County Fair on Wednesday.
He serves Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott Counties, which is a little over 120,000 people. He and is staff are in charge of prosecuting all felony cases from drug possessions to first degree murders.
Kilgore talked about the devastating impact COVID had on the courts system.
“While COVID shut down businesses, schools, and travel, one thing it didn’t slow in the least is crime. For the majority of 2020 courts were shut down. It’s difficult to provide a constitutionally guaranteed jury trial when everyone is socially distanced,” stated Kilgore.
Kilgore remarked that he believes his area has the best law enforcement in the state.
Between March 8th and June 28th, their office conducted 25 jury trials. Eight of which were capital cases. The 25 jury trials are more cases than most districts try in a year, and they did it in four months.
“I’m proud of what our office has accomplished over the last year and a half,” remarked Kilgore.
Anne Summerhays
