Inside small-town Louisiana feud that led to a 6-year-old boy’s police killing

Pallbearers carry the casket of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis in Beaumont, Miss., on Nov. 9. (Eli Baylis/Associated Press)

Marksville City Marshal Derrick Stafford. (AP/Louisiana State Police/AP)-Marksville City Marshal Norris Greenhouse Jr. (AP/Louisiana State Police/AP)

By William Wan-November 15

For years, people in the tiny Louisiana town of Marksville watched the feud between their mayor and local judge like some kind of daytime soap opera, with varying degrees of frustration and bemusement.

Then came the Nov. 3 shooting that killed a 6-year-old boy. Suddenly, the petty small-town bickering began looking more tragically sinister.

Inside Small-Town Louisiana Feud That Led to a 6-Year-old Boy’s Police Killing by Thavam Ratna