This Mississippi legislature has faced a difficult period.

• Position: PEOPLE & POLITICS - Death of state legislators - Brief article

THIS MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE HAS FACED A DIFFICULT PERIOD of loss. Over five months, five sitting lawmakers have died. Senator Bennie Turner (D) died in November at age 64 of a brain tumor. He was appointed chair of the Judiciary Committee three years after his election in 1992 and was the first African American senator to chair a major Senate committee. Nine days later, Senator Alice Harden (D) died at 64 of an undisclosed illness. She had served in the legislature for 24 years and was a former teacher serving on the Education and Appropriations Committee. Representative David Gibbs (D), 76, died of cancer in...