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Jackson Police Arrest Jarques Ratliff in Tasia Fortune Murder

By Drooid · Sep 13, 2026, 2:12 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Jackson Police Arrest

Jackson police arrested Jarques Ratliff, 51, for the murder of Tasia Fortune, 29.
Fortune’s body was discovered hanging from a tree behind an abandoned Jackson home on Aug. 3, 2026.
The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide on Sep. 10, 2026, enabling the arrest.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said the arrest is important but not the case’s conclusion.
Detectives expect more arrests as they follow leads, Brackney added.

Summary

Congress Demands Probe

Fifty members of Congress wrote to the FBI demanding an independent investigation into Black hangings.
Their letter cited at least ten Black hangings reported in 2026 and more than 70 lynchings since 2000.
Mother Christy Spivey’s letter to city officials was read aloud at a public meeting before the homicide announcement.
Jackson’s majority-Black community expressed renewed fear, recalling the state’s history of racial violence and lynching.

History

Historical Context

On May 15 1916, 17-year-old Jesse Washington was burned by a mob of roughly 10,000 in Waco, Texas. The graphic photos captured by Fred Gildersleeve and the NAACP’s report by Elisabeth Freeman prompted W. E. B. Du Bois to publish a striking Crisis supplement, launching the organization’s first nationwide anti-lynching campaign that reshaped civil-rights advocacy across the nation.

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Jackson Police Arrest

Jackson police arrested Jarques Ratliff, 51, for the murder of Tasia Fortune, 29.
Fortune’s body was discovered hanging from a tree behind an abandoned Jackson home on Aug. 3, 2026.
The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide on Sep. 10, 2026, enabling the arrest.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said the arrest is important but not the case’s conclusion.
Detectives expect more arrests as they follow leads, Brackney added.

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