Hinds County’s district attorney is calling on the state to audit the office he recently took over.
Brad McCullouch, who was appointed to the full-time post by Gov. Tate Reeves on July 10 after previously holding it in the interim, has asked State Auditor Shad White’s team to conduct a review of his office. McCullouch was the assistant district attorney before assuming his new role. He was named Jody Owens’ replacement after the former district attorney resigned amid a guilty plea for his role in a federal bribery scandal.
“Accountability begins with our own office,” McCullouch said. “An independent review provides the public with objective assurance. If our practices are sound, the public deserves that. If improvements are identified, we will make them. Either way, public trust is strengthened.”
The auditor’s team said it welcomed McCullouch’s request and is eager to assist the county’s new top prosecutor in his endeavors, especially when it comes to making it easier for him to prioritize protecting citizens from criminals.
“Our office is ready to help in cleaning up corruption and assisting the DA in getting off on the right foot so he can protect Hinds County from criminals,” White’s team told SuperTalk Mississippi News.
As for the future of the Hinds County DA’s office, Reeves called for a special election to take place on Nov. 3, the same date as midterms, to give voters the opportunity to select a top attorney for the state’s Seventh Circuit Court District. The qualifying deadline for candidates is Aug. 20, so that means prospective officeholders have just over a month left to get the ball rolling on a campaign.
Whoever is elected DA in November will likely have to continue hitting the campaign trail, as the district is expanding to accommodate Jefferson and Claiborne counties beginning New Year’s Day in 2027. A new election will be held in November 2027 to elect a DA for the tri-county district.
What about Jody Owens?
Owens was indicted in 2024 alongside former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Jackson Councilman Aaron Banks. The trio faced multiple charges, including conspiracy and bribery, with both Owens and Lumumba having a racketeering charge levied against them.
Owens is accused of taking more than $115,000 in bribes while enriching his elected colleagues to the tune of roughly $80,000 to steer a downtown convention center hotel development project in favor of FBI informants posing as real estate developers. Instead of Jackson getting a new hotel, federal authorities exposed a broader string of public corruption through bribes, private planes, strip clubs, and yachts, court records assert.
Owens, Lumumba, and Banks were set to stand trial July 13, but all three have reached plea agreements with the Department of Justice. Owens went from potentially facing decades behind bars to looking at a maximum of five years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines. The same applies to Lumumba and Banks. All three are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15.
In the meantime, the Mississippi Bar has requested that the state Supreme Court prohibit both Owens and Lumumba from practicing law. Owens, in turn, voluntarily resigned from legal practice in Mississippi.