DeLaughter talks about his conviction, says he never took a bribe

DeLaughter breaks sinlence about what landed him prison

In 2009, former Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter became a convicted felon.

Before that, he was best known for putting Byron De La Beckwith in prison for the 1963 slaying of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Alec Baldwin portrayed DeLaughter in the 1996 film, “Ghosts of Mississippi,” which was based on the prosecution and 1994 trial.

DeLaughter was appointed in 1999 by Gov. Kirk Fordice to a position as Hinds County Court judge and in 2002 became a Circuit Court judge. But in 2008, DeLaughter was suspended from the bench by the Mississippi Supreme Court in response to allegations of bribery and judicial misconduct.

Federal prosecutors accused DeLaughter of changing his ruling in a case involving former Mississippi attorney Dickie Scruggs and several other lawyers with the promise of consideration for the federal bench. Prosecutors said Scruggs got to DeLaughter through the judge’s longtime mentor, former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters.

WAPT
4/10/14