Victim’s mother angry over possible bail for officer

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – The mother of a Mississippi murder victim is protesting a prosecutor’s discussion of possible bail for the police officer charged with killing her daughter.

Bessie Clayton shouted complaints to reporters after a hearing for Oxford police officer Matthew Kinne on Wednesday. She says no black person would be considered for bail, but prosecutors and a judge are willing to consider bail for the white man accused of killing her daughter. The victim, 32-year-old Dominique Clayton, was black.

Bessie Clayton also complains that Lafayette County Circuit Judge Andrew Howorth laughed during the hearing. Clayton’s relatives began voicing displeasure as they left the courtroom.

A prosecutor tells Howorth he thinks both sides can agree on “reasonable” bail for Kinne. The officer remains jailed in a neighboring county for now.

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