JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A local attorney is calling for harsher punishment for people that open fire at schools nationwide.
This comes after the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, May 24.
Back in 1997, attorney Richard Schwartz represented the family of Christina Menefee, one of the victims of the Pearl High School shooting.
Schwartz fought for justice for Menefee in court, then made it his mission to upgrade the charges for similar cases.
“We had an effort to try to change the law where if you shoot someone on an educational property, it’s a capital offense and subject to the death penalty,” said Schwartz.
“You don’t have to be from Mississippi to really feel bad for any other state when this happens. I encourage all these other states to do something about it. At least do what Mississippi has done. We’ve been very fortunate it has not happened again, and hopefully it never will,” he continued.
Schwartz hopes lawmakers in other states will consider changing the laws like Mississippi did in the late 1990s to deter others from committing similar crimes.