Kelsey L. Rushing is the Capital Defender of the Office of State Public Defender. In addition to managing day-to-day operations of Capital Defense, Kelsey actively supervises the office's case load, and litigates death-eligible cases at the trial level. Mr. Rushing began his legal career with Ferr Smith & Associates in Canton, Mississippi in a general practice concentrating primarily on personal injury and chancery matters. After joining Blackmon & Blackmon, PLLC as a staff attorney, Kelsey handled mass tort litigation and civil defense clients. In 2004, Kelsey was a founding and managing partner of Smith, Rushing, Cotton & Robinson, PLLC in Jackson, Mississippi, where he handled primarily personal injury claims and criminal defense matters. Kelsey has also served as a contract public defender with Warren and Yazoo Counties in Mississippi. Prior to his work with the Office of the State Public Defender, Mr. Rushing established a solo practice in Canton, Mississippi, and served as the Municipal Judge for the City of Canton in 2009-2010. A native of Carthage, Mississippi, Kelsey is a 1999 graduate of Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Kelsey also holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in Political Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.