Judge Daniel P. Jordan III sentenced former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens to 41 months.

Forty-one months and the $100,000 fine are what Mississippi Today, WAPT, and WLBT say the court imposed after Owens pleaded guilty. Three years of probation is on Mississippi Today. It is not on the WAPT or WLBT stories read here. Jan. 4 is on WAPT. It is not on the other two. Banks and Chokwe Antar Lumumba have pleaded guilty, and none of the three stories prints a sentence for either of them. A range the judge foreshadowed for Lumumba is not a term imposed.

Mississippi Today, by Molly Minta, dated November 5, 2026, with no clock on the byline, reported a federal judge sentenced former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens to 41 months in prison, and that U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III ruled Thursday afternoon that Owens must also pay a $100,000 fine and serve three years probation. Thursday afternoon is the timing on that page. It does not print an hour. It reported the judge called the decision "somber" and said, "I actually think the future you have in front of you is better than the one that you were going down." It reported Banks was expected to be sentenced later Thursday afternoon, and that Lumumba's sentencing will conclude later this month. Expected, for Banks, is not a term. It reported the judge had set Nov. 20 for the conclusion of the former mayor's hearing and on Thursday foreshadowed that Lumumba could spend between 37 and 46 months in prison. Between 37 and 46 months is a range the judge foreshadowed. It is not a sentence printed as imposed. It reported federal prosecutors indicted Owens, former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, and former Jackson City Councilmember Aaron Banks on Nov. 7, 2024. It reported the Justice Department launched a sting in 2023 and sent two undercover FBI agents to pose as out-of-state real estate developers seeking to build a convention center hotel in downtown Jackson. It reported Owens went into business with them and served as an intermediary, according to the federal indictment, that he was a registered agent for the developers' company, that he organized a Fort Lauderdale fundraiser for Lumumba, and that he used his campaign account to pay off former councilmember Angelique Lee's campaign debt to a local printing company, allegedly in exchange for her future vote. It reported he was elected district attorney in 2019. It reported Banks was deemed indigent, represented Ward 6 from 2017 to 2025, and that former councilmember Angelique Lee and Owens' cousin Sherik "Marve" Smith have yet to be sentenced. It reported that as the judge went through Lumumba's objections he noted the mayor had taken a $50,000 bribe from Owens in exchange for moving up the city's bid deadline, and that prosecutor Dave Fulcher called that "a strawman" and said, "The bribery scheme was not, 'We need him to move the RFQ.' The bribery scheme was, 'We need him involved.'" A $50,000 bribe, in the judge's note, and a strawman, in the prosecutor's answer, are both on that page. They are not the same account of the scheme.

WAPT, updated 1:02 p.m. CST on Nov. 5, 2026, reported Owens was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine, and that before he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan he apologized to his family, colleagues and friends for his "repugnant and foolish actions." Dan Jordan, on WAPT, and Daniel P. Jordan III, on Mississippi Today, are not the same form of the name. Repugnant and foolish, on WAPT, is not a quote Mississippi Today prints. WAPT does not print three years of probation, the somber line, or the future-you-have quote. It reported Owens and Aaron Banks each pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, that Banks will be sentenced Thursday afternoon, that Lumumba has also pleaded guilty, that Lumumba attended a pre-sentencing hearing Thursday, and that the former mayor will be sentenced on Nov. 20. Will be sentenced, on WAPT at 1:02 p.m. CST, and expected to be sentenced later Thursday afternoon, on Mississippi Today, are both future tense. Neither page prints a term for Banks. Pre-sentencing hearing, on WAPT, and objections to a presentencing report, on Mississippi Today, are not the same label. It reported Owens was indicted in October 2024 on charges including conspiracy, federal program bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements. October 2024, on WAPT, and Nov. 7, 2024, on Mississippi Today, are not the same date. It reported the FBI launched an undercover operation in 2022. In 2022, on WAPT, and in 2023, on Mississippi Today, are not the same year. It reported prosecutors allege he accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits. At least $115,000, on WAPT, and $50,000, in the Mississippi Today account of the judge's note, are not the same sum. It reported he is to report to prison on Jan. 4. Jan. 4 is on WAPT. It is not on Mississippi Today.

WLBT, by Anthony Warren, published Nov. 5, 2026, at 12:22 p.m. CST, with an update line that did not print a second clock, reported U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan sentenced Owens to 41 months and said the court records show he was the ringleader. Daniel Jordan, on WLBT, Dan Jordan, on WAPT, and Daniel P. Jordan III, on Mississippi Today, are not the same form of the name. Ringleader is on WLBT. It is not on Mississippi Today or WAPT. It reported the court ordered a $100,000 fine, and that any amount left unpaid after release must be paid at $200 a month until it is paid in full. Two hundred dollars a month is on WLBT. It is not on the other two. It quoted the judge, "This is a serious offense. Mr. Owens was the top law enforcement officer in Hinds County. He took an oath to uphold the law, and yet he solicited $250,000 in bribes to rig what should have been a fair and open bidding system for city contracts." Solicited $250,000, on WLBT, at least $115,000 accepted, on WAPT, and a $50,000 bribe the prosecutor called a strawman, on Mississippi Today, are not the same sum. It reported Owens apologized to his family, the court, and his former colleagues, and quoted, "I can't begin to tell you the shame I feel. I betrayed myself, my family, my friends, and my colleagues, by my foolish and repugnant actions," and, "People trusted me, and I treated that trust with contempt." Foolish and repugnant, in that WLBT quote, and repugnant and foolish, on WAPT, are not the same order. Family, the court, and former colleagues, in the WLBT paraphrase, and family, colleagues and friends, on WAPT, are not the same list. It reported he was one of five people implicated, that he initially faced eight counts, and that he changed his plea this summer after appearing to plan an entrapment defense. One of five, on WLBT, and the three people Mississippi Today says were indicted together, are not the same count. Eight counts, on WLBT, and a conspiracy charge, on WAPT's plea sentence, are not the same count. It spelled the former mayor Chokwe Lumumba, without Antar, and called Banks a councilman. Chokwe Lumumba, and Chokwe Antar Lumumba, are not the same fullness of the name. Councilman, on WLBT and WAPT, and councilmember, on Mississippi Today, are not the same title. It reported Banks is slated to be sentenced at 1 p.m. on Thursday, and that Lumumba will be sentenced on November 20 after a continuance. Slated for 1 p.m., on a story published at 12:22 p.m. CST, is still a schedule. It is not a term. WLBT does not print probation, Jan. 4, or 37 to 46 months. Nov. 7, 2024, to Nov. 5, 2026, is two days short of two years. Mississippi Today called the sentence nearly two years to the day after the charges. Nearly two years to the day, and two days short of two years, are not the same span. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.