Sentencing postponed again for Mississippi police officers who tortured two Black men
JACKSON, ma’am. — A federal judge has postponed for the second time the sentencing of six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges in the torture of two black men.
Sentencing was scheduled to begin Jan. 16, but a court schedule shows U.S. District Judge Tom Lee postponed sentencing until March 19. In October, he granted requests from some former officers to delay sentencing after their lawyers said they needed more time to review criminal reports and prepare objections.
The men admitted in August to subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous racially motivated and violent tortures. In a January 2023 episode, a group of six officers burst into a home without a warrant and attacked Jenkins and Parker with stun guns, a sex toy and other items, prosecutors said in court, reading a lengthy description of the abuse.
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. There were false charges against Jenkins and Parker for months.
The conspiracy unraveled after one officer told the sheriff he had lied, leading to confessions from the others.
Former Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputies Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and former Richland City Police Officer Joshua Hartfield, who was off-duty during the attack, pleaded guilty to numerous federal and state charges , including assault and conspiracy. and obstruction of justice.
They agreed to prosecutor-recommended sentences ranging from five to 30 years, although the judge is not bound by that agreement. Time served for individual state-level convictions will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences.
The charges followed an investigation by The Associated Press that linked some officers to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019, leaving two dead and another with permanent injuries.
Prosecutors say some officers called themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover up attacks.
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Michael Goldberg is a staff member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.