- The former district attorney of Mississippi's largest county was sentenced Thursday to more than three years in prison for accepting bribes in a scheme that involved several city officials.

Former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens was charged on accusations that he solicited $250,000 in bribes in exchange for awarding city contract bids to certain people.

Why you should care: "He took an oath to uphold the law, and yet he solicited $250,000 in bribes to rig what should have been a fair and open bidding system for city contracts," said U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan during the court hearing, WLBT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi, reported.