Senator Juan Barnett, a three-term Democratic lawmaker from Heidelberg and chair of the Senate Corrections Committee, resigned from the Mississippi Legislature on Monday, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announced.
It was not immediately clear why Barnett resigned. He did not respond to requests for comment. The senator has dealt with health problems that caused him to miss several weeks of this year’s legislative session, Hosemann said.
Barnett, who took office in 2016, has represented parts of Forrest, Jasper, and Jones counties. He has served as the committee chairman since 2020.
Throughout his career, Barnett has advocated for earlier release and shorter sentences for inmates, despite his personal history. His father was shot and killed in the early 1990s while Barnett was in the Army deployed to Iraq. The shooter received a relatively short sentence.
Governor Tate Reeves now has 30 days to set a date for a special election to fill the vacant seat. During Barnett’s absence, legislation aimed at improving medical care in Mississippi prisons failed to advance before key deadlines. The vice chairman of the committee said she let that legislation die at Barnett’s direction.
Before serving in the Legislature, Barnett was the mayor of Heidelberg. Mississippi Today reporter Michael Goldberg contributed to this report.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
