Press Releases

WASHINGTON D.C. — Congressman French Hill (AR-02) released the following statement, applauding the introduction of a Senate companion to his bill, H.R. 3317, the Scipio Jones Post Office Portrait Act: 

“I would like to thank Senator Boozman and Senator Cotton for answering my call and working with me to introduce companion legislation permitting the painting of Little Rock attorney Scipio Jones to hang in the Little Rock post office that bears his name,” said Congressman Hill. “ Scipio Jones‘ fight for civil rights and equality is an important part of Arkansas’s history and is something we are deeply proud of in Little Rock. I would also like to thank the House Committee on Oversight and Reform for quickly marking up this legislation so that it can pass on the House Floor.”

H.R. 3317, Scipio Jones Post Office Portrait Act
"One of the heroic stories that emerged from the ashes of the Elaine Massacre was that of Scipio Africanus Jones, one of the greatest lawyers in American history. Jones's skillful legal defense saved the lives of 12 unfairly charged sharecroppers from the Elaine Massacre who were originally sentenced to death by an Arkansas state court. Jones's actions resulted in the landmark Supreme Court decision in Moore v. Dempsey establishing that federal courts could review criminal convictions in state courts under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. To honor his legacy, I'm proud to be the sponsor of legislation authorizing a portrait of Scipio Jones to be displayed at the U.S. Post Office in Little Rock that bears his name.