(AP) — Six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges for torturing two Black men will be sentenced by a federal judge starting Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee will sentence two defendants each day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after twice delaying the proceedings.
Each faces the potential of decades behind bars.
The former law officers admitted in August to subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture.
In a January 2023 episode, the group of six burst into a Rankin County home without a warrant and assaulted Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Parker with stun guns, a sex toy and other objects.
The terror began on Jan. 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence.
A white person phoned Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin and complained that two Black men were staying with a white woman at a house in Braxton, Mississippi.
McAlpin told Deputy Christian Dedmon, who texted a group of white deputies so willing to use excessive force they called themselves “The Goon Squad.”Once inside, they handcuffed Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker and poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over their faces.
They forced them to strip naked and shower together to conceal the mess.
They mocked the victims with racial slurs and shocked them with stun guns.
After a mock execution went awry when Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they devised a coverup that included planting drugs and a gun.
False charges stood against Jenkins and Parker for months.
Ahead of sentencing, Jenkins and Parker called for the “stiffest of sentences” at a news conference Monday.
“It’s been very hard for me, for us,” Jenkins said.
“We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.”Jenkins suffered a lacerated tongue and broken jaw.
He still has trouble speaking and eating.
Malik Shabazz, an attorney representing both men, said the result of the sentencing hearings could have national implications.
“Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific and bloody attack by Rankin County deputies,” Shabazz said.
“A message must be sent to police in Mississippi and all over America, that level of criminal conduct will be met with the harshest of consequences.”Months before federal prosecutors announced charges in August 2023, an investigation by The Associated Press linked some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.
The officers charged include McAlpin, Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and Joshua Hartfield, a Richland police officer.
They pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy against rights, obstructions of justice, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm under a crime of violence, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Most of their lawyers did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment Monday.
Jason Kirschberg, representing Opdyke, said: “Daniel has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his failures to act.
He has admitted he was wrong and feels deep remorse for the pain he caused the victims.”On 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 convictions at the state level will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences.
The majority-white Rankin County is just east of the state capital, Jackson, home to one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any major U.S. city.
The officers warned Jenkins and Parker to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River,” court documents say, referencing an area with higher concentrations of Black residents.
In the gruesome crimes committed by men tasked with enforcing the law, federal prosecutors saw echoes of Mississippi’s dark history, including the 1964 killing of three civil rights workers after a deputy handed them off to the Ku Klux Klan.
For months, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, whose deputies committed the crimes, said little about the episode.
After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department.
Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department.
___Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News In
Jackson, Miss. (AP)— Starting on Tuesday, a federal judge will sentence six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who entered guilty pleas to numerous state and federal charges for abusing two Black men.
U. S. After twice postponing the proceedings, District Judge Tom Lee will sentence two defendants each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each could spend decades behind bars.
In August, the former law enforcement officials acknowledged that they had repeatedly tortured Eddie Terrell Parker and Michael Corey Jenkins violently and with racial motivations. The six individuals broke into a Rankin County home without a warrant in January 2023 and used stun guns, a sex toy, and other objects to attack Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Parker.
On January, the horror started. 24, 2023, accompanied by a racist demand for extralegal force.
When two Black men were staying at a house in Braxton, Mississippi, with a white woman, a white person called Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin to voice their concerns. McAlpin informed Deputy Christian Dedmon, who then texted a squad of white deputies who were so eager to use excessive force that they went by the moniker “The Goon Squad.”. “.
When they were inside, they covered Jenkins’ and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker’s faces with chocolate syrup, milk, and alcohol while handcuffing them. To hide the mess, they made them shower together in their underwear. They mocked the victims with racial slurs and shocked them with stun guns.
Following the botched mock execution in which Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they came up with a plan to plant a gun and drugs as part of a cover-up. For several months, Jenkins and Parker were facing false accusations.
Jenkins and Parker demanded the “stiffest of sentences” at a press conference on Monday, prior to the imposition of sentence.
Jenkins remarked, “For me and for us, it’s been really difficult.”. While we prepare for the worst, we are holding out hope for the best. “.
Jenkins sustained a broken jaw and lacerations to his tongue. Speaking and eating are still difficult for him.
The outcome of the sentencing hearings may have national ramifications, according to Malik Shabazz, the men’s attorney.
“After this horrifying and violent attack by Rankin County deputies, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker are still going through emotional and physical pain,” Shabazz stated. “Police in Mississippi and across the United States need to be made aware that serious criminal behavior will result in severe repercussions. “.
A Reuters investigation connected some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019, two of which resulted in deaths and one in lifelong injuries, months before federal prosecutors announced charges in August 2023.
Rankin County Sheriff’s Department officers McAlpin, Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton, and Daniel Opdyke, as well as Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield, are among those charged. They admitted guilt to a number of charges, including deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy against rights, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime.
Emails seeking comment on Monday were not immediately answered by the majority of their attorneys. Daniel has taken ownership of his actions and his inaction, according to Opdyke’s attorney, Jason Kirschberg. dot. He is truly sorry for the suffering he inflicted upon the victims and has acknowledged that he was mistaken. “.
Dedmon and Elward are each facing a maximum sentence of 120 years in prison plus life in prison as well as $2.75 million in fines in relation to the federal convictions. Hartfield could receive a sentence of 80 years and $105 million, McAlpin 90 years and $175 million, Middleton 80 years and $105 million, and Opdyke up to 100 years with a fine of $2 million.
The former officers consented to state court sentences in state court that ranged from five to thirty years, as recommended by the prosecutor. However, the time served for individual state convictions will run concurrently with the possible longer federal sentences.
Just east of Jackson, the state capital, which has one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any major U.S. county, lies the predominately white Rankin County. s. the city.
A region with higher concentrations of Black residents is referenced in court documents as the place where the officers advised Jenkins and Parker to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River.”.
Federal prosecutors saw echoes of Mississippi’s dark past in the horrific crimes committed by men entrusted with upholding the law. One such crime was the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers who were turned over to the Ku Klux Klan by a deputy.
Though his deputies were involved in the crimes, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey remained silent about the incident for months. Following their guilty plea in August, Bailey claimed the officers had turned rogue and pledged to reform the department. Along with a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department, Jenkins and Parker have demanded his resignation.
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