St. Paddy's Day killer sentenced to life in prison

Jordan Cummins, the man convicted of murdering two people outside Jackson's annual St. Paddy's Day parade in 2023, has been sentenced to life behind bars.

At Cummins' sentencing hearing Monday, Hinds County Judge Faye Peterson called the situation “there are no winners” after hearing victim impact statements from members of the family of Joshua Spann and Jubilee Simpkins. Cummins' mother, Angie Kellum, who was arrested during her son's trial earlier this month on witness tampering charges, spoke on Cummins' behalf.

Peterson pointed out that all three mothers in this situation have lost or are losing, in Kellum's case, a child, with Cummins sentenced to two life sentences in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The sentences must be performed consecutively.

On March 25, 2023, Cummins, 29, fatally shot Spann, 27, and Simpkins, 23, outside Hal's St. Paddy's Parade on Jefferson Street near the state fairgrounds. While Cummins' attorney argued for self-defense, a jury sided with prosecutors who used evidence and testimony to argue that Cummins was beating his girlfriend, Jenny Lukens, when members of the group Spann and Simpkins tried to intervene.

Spann was a volunteer firefighter while Simpkins was a daycare worker.

Cummins' attorney, Bill Kellum, told media outside the courtroom that he plans to appeal the case.