What to know about the Hinds County DA election on Nov. 3

• A special election for Hinds County district attorney will be held on Nov. 3.
• The election follows the resignation of former District Attorney Jody Owens, who pleaded guilty in a federal bribery case.
• Five candidates, all with legal and prosecutorial backgrounds, have qualified for the race.
• The winner will serve the rest of Owens' term and must address a significant backlog of criminal cases.

Hinds County voters will choose a new district attorney Nov. 3 in a special election prompted by former District Attorney Jody Owens' resignation following his guilty plea in a federal bribery case.

The winner will serve the remainder of Owens' term through January 2028 and inherit an office facing pressure to reduce a longstanding backlog of criminal cases.

Here are the five candidates who have qualified for the race, in alphabetical order:

Who's running for Hinds County district attorney?

Gwen Agho

Deputy chief assistant district attorney in Hinds County, Agho has prosecuted major felony cases, including the high-profile murder case against Sheldon "Timothy" Herrington Jr. in Oxford.

She graduated from Millsaps College and the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she served on the Trial Advocacy Board and competed on the National Trial Team in criminal law.

She claims a 90% conviction rate on her campaign website.

Greta Mack Harris

Harris has served as an assistant district attorney in Rankin County and Hinds County. Harris previously worked as a Hinds County prosecutor, public defender and special assistant attorney general. She has also previously sought judicial office in Hinds County.

Harris, who formerly served in the military, graduated from Tougaloo and Mississippi College School of Law.

Her campaign pillars are "reform, restore and renew."

Editor's note: Greta Mack Harris did not submit a photo for publication.

Darla Palmer

Jackson defense attorney making her third run for district attorney. Palmer previously challenged Owens in 2019 and 2023 and represented Quinton Tellis during his capital murder trials tied to the high-profile 2016 Jessica Chambers case.

Palmer studied at Jackson State and then the University of Iowa College of Law.

She has been in the courtroom for more than 26 years and works in private practice as a criminal lawyer.

Marvin L. Sanders

A private practice attorney and former prosecutor who has worked in Hinds County, Leflore County and the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Sanders lists himself with more than 20 years of experience on his campaign Facebook page.

Sanders, who served in the military, earned his undergraduate and master's degrees from Alcorn State before going on to the University of Mississippi School of Law.

A former assistant district attorney in Hinds County, Sanders also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, where he was Deputy Director of the Public Integrity Division and Director of the Vulnerable Persons Division.

Wendy Wilson White

Assistant district attorney and former chief prosecutor for the City of Jackson, White unsuccessfully ran for Hinds County circuit judge in 2022.

A longtime Jackson resident, White attended Tougaloo before getting her MBA from Clark Atlanta University. She went on to law school at Mississippi College.

She is a former Deputy Inspector General at the Mississippi Department of Human Service an has served as both a defense and plaintiff attorney.

What's at stake?

The next district attorney will take over an office still dealing with a significant backlog of criminal cases. County leaders, judges and prosecutors have spent the past year trying to move more cases through the court system and reduce pressure on the Hinds County jail.

The winner also will lead the office in the aftermath of the federal corruption case that led to Owens' resignation earlier this year. Gov. Tate Reeves appointed Brad McCullouch to serve as interim district attorney following Owens' departure. McCullouch is not a candidate in the Nov. 3 election.

Why is there a special election?

Owens resigned June 29 after pleading guilty to conspiracy in a federal bribery investigation involving several Jackson public officials.

Former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks also pleaded guilty in connection with the case at the same time. Previously, former Jackson Councilwoman Angelique Lee had pled guilty in the same case.

Charlie Drape is the Jackson beat reporter. Contact him at [email protected].