Doug Evans, 5th Judicial District Attorney, stepped down from office Friday.
Evans resigned six months before his term ended.
The Associated Press reported last week that Circuit Judge Joseph H. Loper Jr. appointed Mike Howie, who has been an assistant district attorney for 17 years, to temporarily succeed Evans in Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Grenada, Montgomery, Webster and Winston counties.
“Two other people are running for the district attorney position, both as Republicans. Loper said in his order that Republican Gov. Tate Reeves intends to appoint the winner of the Aug. 8 primary to serve the final months of this term, through December, before beginning a new term in January,” the AP reported.
Evans had been in office since 1992.
He unsuccessfully ran for the position of Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit Court District last year.
Evans had been scrutinized in recent years after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Curtis Flowers’ capital murder conviction after his sixth trial.
Evans was accused of excluding Black jurors, and in the Flowers case, the court ruled that the jury did not reflect the makeup of the community.
Flowers stood trial six times for the 1996 shooting deaths of four at a Winona furniture store. Flowers had four convictions and two mistrials, although he maintained his innocence throughout.
