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Delayed homicide autopsies pile up in Mississippi despite tough-on-crime-talk_我的网站

一 |     JACKSON, Miss. -- Incomplete homicide autopsy reports have continued to pile up in Mississippi - despite tough-on-crime talk by state leaders ahead of the Nov. 7 general election.Police officers and prosecutors rely on medical examiners' autopsy reports to investigate violent crimes and hold perpetrators accountable. Families look to the reports to make sense of a loved one’s death. Without death certificates, families often have to wait to collect insurance and settle the deceased’s affairs. Delays in completing autopsies of the dead remain an ongoing problem.The National Association of Medical Examiners, the office that accredits U.S. death investigations offices, dictates that 90% of autopsy reports should be returned within 60 to 90 days. Homicide autopsies in Mississippi continue to lag behind national standards as crime has remained a flashpoint in the state legislature and campaign trail.Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who is running for reelection, makes a point of his commitment to law enforcement in public speeches and on the campaign trail.“In Mississippi, we choose to fund the police. We choose to back the blue,” Reeves said in his annual State of the State speech in January. “That’s exactly what Mississippi has done, and that’s exactly what Mississippi will continue to do.” In 2022, an AP analysis based on state data and documents found that Mississippi’s system has long violated national standards for death investigations, accruing a severe backlog of autopsies and reports. Moreover, Mississippi has the highest homicide mortality rate in the country, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell has called the backlog “unacceptable” and said he’d instituted a policy requiring all autopsy reports to be completed within 90 days. Tindell, a former judge who was appointed commissioner in 2020 by Reeves, said in August that his office had completed a "decade-old autopsy backlog in record time.” But records obtained by The Associated Press show that as of Oct. 1 of this year, Mississippi had 51 homicide autopsy reports that were incomplete for longer than 60 days; and 45 autopsies pending after more than 90 days. Three other autopsy reports for 2023 took over 90 days to complete. Democrat Brandon Presley, Reeves' opponent for governor in next month's general election, has implied Tindell should never have been appointed.“It’s not rocket science to want someone who has worn a badge to run the state’s largest law enforcement agency,” Presley said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “Unlike Tate Reeves, I’ll have professionals running agencies, not cronies.” Tindell responded on the same social media platform by saying Presley “isn’t just attacking me ... He’s attacking law & order."Tindell's spokesperson did not respond to an emailed list of questions or phone messages. But Tindell has said the state forensics laboratory and medical examiner’s office suffered from a lack of funding.At a campaign event Monday, Reeves said the backlog reached back as far as 2009 and that it shouldn't be blamed on Tindell.Jody Owens, district attorney for Hinds County, the largest county in Mississippi, said autopsy reports for homicides in his jurisdiction were still rarely done within a 90-day window. "That's just not where we are," the Democrat prosecutor said. “We are nowhere near 90 days. We have autopsies that have still been pending, sometimes for years.”Delayed autopsy reports create bureaucratic hurdles for prosecutors and defense attorneys. Reports can help determine whether a death was an accident, a suicide or a homicide. They can shed light on whether a person accused of murder acted in self-defense, with stark implications for both the accuser and the accused. “You can't make a (plea) offer without an autopsy report because it establishes the manner and cause of death. Without having that, you really can't move a case," Owens said. “States like Mississippi are safest when autopsy reports are completed within 90 days. It not only protects the defendant's rights, but also the state's obligation to give victims their day in court.”。    　　首店云集、首秀频频，规模效应、品牌效应聚集了人气，带火了消费。近日，新华社记者随着“活力中国调研行”采访团，走进福建省厦门市，看“首”字出圈，如何持续激发这一滨海花园城市消费活力。图为福建厦门万象城二期商场。新华社记者 林善传 摄　　今年上半年，厦门万象城二期正式投入运营。厦门万象城门店副总经理邓学介绍，商城落地城市首店、特色旗舰店超50家，首店率达43%。

二 | 　　近年来，厦门将发展首发经济作为建设区域性国际消费中心城市、激发消费活力的重要抓手，着力构建“政策引导、载体支撑、场景赋能、服务保障”四位一体的首发经济服务体系，打造国内外知名品牌首发、首秀、首展、首店的集聚地和原创品牌孵化地。　　厦门市商务局流通业发展处处长薛航介绍，2025年，厦门市印发促进首发经济高质量发展若干措施，通过优化审批和通关流程降低隐性成本，打造从首店落地到首发首展、再到品牌孵化的完整闭环，全年新增市级及以上品质首店188家，首店能级、业态及区域布局均实现结构性优化。2026年，厦门又印发《厦门市消费新业态新模式新场景试点项目专项资金管理办法(试行)》，对全国性首发活动等实施奖励。今年上半年，全市新增各类首店超100家。　　“围绕零售、餐饮、文化创意等领域，厦门积极引进国内外知名品牌。2026年，SM厦门CHAO街、K11 Select等高品质商业综合体将陆续开业，形成首店集聚‘强磁场’。”薛航说，结合“季季有首发、月月有首秀”的促消费机制，首店带动各商圈能级向上突破，实现客流与销售额增长。　　“厦门区位优势独特，门店可以直面海内外顾客。”原创金属拼装玩具品牌“酷拼工坊”营运经理谢颖尚表示，自5月开业以来，“酷拼工坊”厦门首店的月销量达数千件。顾客在福建厦门万象城二期一家品牌的福建首店进行体验。

三 | 新华社记者 林善传 摄　　“首发落地既是品牌对厦门城市消费力、影响力的认可，也加速了厦门的消费创新和商业品质提升。”薛航说，首店覆盖餐饮、零售、便民服务等多领域，优化商业业态结构，“在做大首店数量、提升首店能级的同时，厦门推动消费从商品消费向服务消费、体验消费、品质消费延伸，不断拓展消费新场景，满足不同消费群体需求”。(记者邰晓安、秦宏)　　来源：新华社。

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