A former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Tuesday to about 20 years in prison for his part in torturing two black men last year while he was a member of a so-called “Goon Squad.”
Hunter Elward was sentenced Tuesday in Jackson by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, who imposed a 241-month prison sentence.
He faced the most serious charges among the six former officers charged in the case and is still awaiting sentencing on additional state charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, residential burglary and aggravated assault.
Judge Lee will also sentence five other former law enforcement officers who admitted to subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous racist tortures.
Before sentencing, Lee called Elward’s crimes “egregious and despicable” and said a “sentence at the high end of the guidelines is warranted – more than warranted.”
Former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy Hunter Elward was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, who handed down a 241-month prison sentence on Tuesday. He is pictured in court last year
Michael Corey Jenkins, left, and Eddie Terrell Parker, right, stand next to lead attorney Malik Shabazz as they call on a federal judge Monday, March 18, 2024, to impose the harshest possible sentences
The officers charged in connection with the assault of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were (Top L-R) Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton and Christian Dedmon. (Below L-R) Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke, Joshua Hartfield
He continued: “This is what the defendant deserves. It is what the community and the victims of the defendant deserve.”
Elward, who admitted to putting a gun in Jenkins’ mouth and firing during a “mock execution,” addressed the victims during his sentencing.
“I’m so sorry,” the disgraced former police officer said. “I don’t want to get too personal with you, Michael. There’s no telling what you saw. I’m so sorry I caused that. I hate myself for it. I hate that I gave that to you. I accept all responsibility.’
Jenkins nodded as Parker stood up and said, “We forgive you, man.”
The two black men who were tortured, with one of them shot in the mouth during a mock execution by a group of officers known as ‘The Goon Squad’, had previously said they wanted their tormentors to be punished to the fullest extent . the law.
The former officers admitted in August that they subjected Jenkins and Parker to numerous racially motivated and violent tortures.
Following a neighbor’s complaint in January 2023 that Jenkins and Parker were staying at a house with a white woman, the group of six burst in without a warrant and attacked Jenkins and Parker with narcotic weapons, a sex toy and other items.
Eddie Terrell Parker, left, accompanies Mary Jenkins, mother of Michael Corey Jenkins, to the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson on Tuesday
Michael Corey Jenkins, second from left, and attorney Malik Shabazz, left, are joined by supporters as they enter the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse on Tuesday
After a mock execution went wrong when Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they came up with a cover-up that included planting drugs and a gun.
The indicted officers include former Rankin deputies Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and Joshua Hartfield, a former Richland police officer.
Elward was also accused of beating a mentally ill black man to death in a separate incident in 2021.
They pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy against rights, obstruction of justice, deprivation of rights under law, discharge of a firearm in connection with a violent crime and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department subsequently supported the deputies’ false allegations, which stymied Jenkins and Parker for months.
A lawyer for Jenkins and Parker demanded the “severest punishment” on Monday.
At a news conference Monday, Jenkins and Parker said they continued to suffer as a result of what they endured
Eddie Terrell Parker listens as his legal team visits a federal judge during a news conference Monday
“Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific and bloody attack by Rankin County officers,” Malik Shabazz said in a statement.
“A message must be sent to law enforcement in Mississippi and across America,” he said, that such criminal behavior “will have the gravest consequences.”
At a news conference Monday, Jenkins and Parker said they continued to suffer as a result of what they endured.
“It’s been really hard for me and for us,” Jenkins said. “We hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
Most of their attorneys did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Monday. Jason Kirschberg, representing Opdyke, said: “Daniel has accepted responsibility for his actions and his failure to act. … He has admitted he was wrong and feels deep remorse for the pain he caused the victims.”
Under the federal charges, Dedmon and Elward each face a maximum sentence of 120 years plus life in prison and $2.75 million in fines.
Hartfield faces a possible sentence of 80 years and $1.5 million, McAlpin faces 90 years and $1.75 million, Middleton faces 80 years and $1.5 million, and Opdyke could be sentenced to 100 years with a $2 million fine.
The former officers agreed to prosecutor-recommended sentences ranging from five to 30 years in state court, but time served for separate state convictions will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences.
Shabazz said the false charges against the victims were not dropped until June. At that point, federal and state investigators began approaching the deputies, and one of them started talking.
They were fired shortly afterward, and prosecutors announced the federal charges in August.
Prosecutors say some officers nicknamed themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover up attacks.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey called his deputies’ crimes the worst case of police brutality he had ever seen.
For months, Bailey said little about the episode. After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had been rogue and vowed to change the department.
Jenkins and Parker have demanded his resignation and filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department.
“I live this every day,” Parker said. ‘Every time I turn on the TV. Every time I get on the phone, every time I’m on social media, people are telling my story.”