Career
From 2009 to 2011, Colom worked as a staff lawyer at the Mississippi Center for Justice. From 2011 to 2016, he operated the Colom Law Firm. In 2011, Colom, then aged 28, was appointed the youngest and first black justice court judge in Lowndes County history. From 2012 to 2013, Colom served as a municipal court judge in Aberdeen, Mississippi, and interim justice court judge in Lowndes County, Mississippi. [6] From 2013 to 2016, he served as the part-time city prosecutor of Columbus, Mississippi. He was the first Black city prosecutor for Columbus. [7] Colom was elected district attorney for the 16th Judicial District of Mississippi in 2015, [8] [9] defeating a nearly 30-year incumbent, Forrest Allgood. [10] Colom was sworn in on January 4, 2016. [11] He was the first Black elected district attorney for the 16th Circuit and the first Black elected district attorney to a majority-white voting district in the history of Mississippi. [12] [13] He ran unopposed in 2019 and was re-elected. [14] He ran for reelection in 2023 and was unopposed in the Democratic primary [15] and won re-election by over 56% of the vote. [16]
Notable cases
In 2012, Colom represented Taylor Bell, a student at Itawamba Agricultural School who was disciplined by the school for publishing a rap song on Facebook that contained vulgar lyrics and criticized two coaches at the school. [17] The district court dismissed Bell's challenge, however, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the dismissal, finding that the disciplining of a student for purely off-campus activities violates the First Amendment. [18]
In 2016, Colom supported the release of Steven Jessie Harris to a state mental health facility. Harris had been held for 11 years without a trial. [19] [20]
In 2021, Colom dropped murder charges against Eddie Lee Howard. Howard spent 23 years on death row, after his conviction was based on debunked bite mark evidence. [21] [22]
Colom's tenure has had several notable prosecutions of cold cases. In 2017, Colom's office led the prosecution of David Murray, 52, for the 1996 murder of 78-year-old Mack Fowler, who was stabbed to death in his home. [23] In 2020, Colom led the prosecution of Michael Devaughn for the 1990 rape of Kathryn Crigler, 81, and murder of Betty Jones, 65. [24] After evading justice for over 30 years, Devaughn received a life sentence for the murder and rape. [25] In January of 2025, he prosecuted Frederick Gandy for the rape Amber Quick and Nashedra Strong-Clay back in 2003, with Gandy receiving a mandatory 25-year sentence. [26]
Colom has achieved a conviction in over 95% of his jury trials, including more than 30 significant cases involving murder and sexual assault. [27] In 2017, he successfully prosecuted Terry Hill, 44, for the rape, robbery, and kidnapping of a college student at Mississippi State University. Hill was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 105 years in prison. [28] The following year, in September 2018, Colom led the prosecution of Johnny Lee Saddler, 64, who was convicted of molesting an autistic child. Saddler received a life sentence without the possibility of parole as a habitual and subsequent sex offender. [29]
Colom has also secured convictions in numerous high-profile murder cases. These include:
- Joshua Taylor, 29, for the murder of William Stallings in 2018; [30]
- Joshua Murray for the murder of Jarrell Ward in 2020; [31]
- Lydia Martinez, 61, for her role in the 2015 conspiracy to murder her son-in-law, Manuel Vasquez, and burn his body; [32]
- William Thomas Chisholm for capital murder of optometrist, Dr. Shauna Witt; [33]
- Donta Kirby, for the murder of veteran Lorenzo Halthon, Jr.; [34]
- Roderick Johnson for the 2015 murder of James "Fluffy" White; [35]
- Clark Allen Jr. for the capital murder of Demario Snell, 31, of Artesia, Mauricio Nance, 22, of Columbus and Tyshun Fields, 24, of Crawford, at Snell’s home at 23 Mobile Drive on Jan. 15, 2019; [36]
- Curtis Latham for the 2nd Degree Murder of Arykah White, 16, at Propst Park in July of 2019; [37]
- Jatavis Williams, 23, for the 2020 shooting death of Tarcari Walker; [38]
- Kenny Armistad for the November 2021 murder of Frank Edwards, Jr.; [39]
- Tommy Lee Flowers, 29, for the murder of 15-year-old Harvey Johnson, Jr., under the theory of accomplice liability; [40]
- Henry Benamon for the 1st degree murder in the July 2021 shooting death of Macon resident, Lisa Brooks; [41]
- Willis Miller, for the Aggravated DUI death of 9-year-old Paisley “Gabby” Frazier; [42]
- Undra Williams, Jr. for the Murder of 33-year-old Devon Thompson and three counts of aggravated assault; [43]
- Christopher Perkins, 33, for the murder of 9-year-old Lasang Kemp, Jr.; [44]
Nomination to district court
On October 14, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Colom to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. [5] On November 15, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Colom to the seat vacated by Judge Michael P. Mills, who assumed senior status on November 1, 2021. [45] On January 3, 2023, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. He was renominated on January 23, 2023. [46] Congressman Bennie Thompson initially recommended Colom for the role in a November 2021 letter to the White House. [8] [47]
Colom received support from Senator Roger Wicker, who returned his blue slip, but on April 4, 2023, it was announced that Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith would not be returning her blue slip, effectively blocking his nomination. [48] [49] [50] Hyde-Smith cited Colom's support for letting transgender students participate in girls' and women's sports and money he received from a PAC funded by George Soros as reasons for her opposition. [51] [52] On April 10, 2023, Colom wrote a letter to Senator Hyde-Smith asking her to reconsider her opposition to his nomination. [53] [54] In the letter, he stated that he did not request the money from the PAC, did not know the money would be contributed, and did not receive any money from the PAC when he was re-elected in 2019. [55] The letter also stated that he never discussed his policies or any decisions he made as District Attorney with anyone from the PAC or with Soros. [55] The letter also disputed that Colom had ever taken a position on letting transgender students participate in girls' and women's sports; instead, he said he had signed onto a letter with other District Attorneys condemning the criminalization of gender affirming surgery. [55] As of December 2023, his nomination was still stalled despite bipartisan support from Congressman Thompson, Senator Wicker and former governors Phil Bryant and Haley Barbour. [56] On January 3, 2024, his nomination was returned to the president. [57]
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