1989: Mississippian Richard H. Truly becomes first astronaut to head NASA
June 1989: John Grisham publishes first novel, A Time to Kill
July 27, 1989: U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour Jr. rules that Sovereignty Commission files should be opened
Judge Barbour delayed opening while privacy plaintiffs appealed.
October 1, 1989: Clarion-Ledger reports Sovereignty Commission screened potential jurors for 1964 Medgar Evers murder trials
The revelation, brought to light by Clarion-Ledger reporter Jerry Mitchell, prompted prosecutors to investigate the commission’s action and set in motion a probe that led to a third trial of Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers.