Photo, YouTube screenshot
So far, four former Mississippi sheriff’s deputies have been sentenced for their roles in the heinous torture of two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker. Hunter Elward and Jeffrey Middleton faced sentencing in a federal court in Jackson, marking a significant milestone in a case that has drawn national attention for its brutality and anti-Black torture. The March 19 sentencing comes as part of a larger investigation into a group of six law enforcement officers known colloquially as the “Goon Squad,” who perpetrated a shocking act of violence against their victims.
The sentencing of Elward, 31, to approximately 20 years in prison, and Middleton, 46, to 17.5 years, represents a significant victory for justice and accountability, AP reported.
On March 20, U.S. District Judge Tom Lee sentenced former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon to 40 years in federal prison and ex-deputy Daniel Opdyke to 17.5 years, NPR reported.
Two other former law enforcement officers who admitted to torturing Jenkins and Parker are set to be sentenced, AP reported.
The harrowing ordeal began on Jan. 24, 2023, after a neighbor complained that the Black men were staying in a home with a white woman. The group of six officers burst into a Rankin County home without a warrant and assaulted Jenkins and Parker with stun guns, and sex toy, among other objects. Elward admitted to shoving a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and firing in a “mock execution.”
They handcuffed Jenkins and his friend 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.
Jenkins and Parker sat on the front row of a packed courtroom on March 19 and watched as a federal judge handed down the sentences to two of the white former Mississippi law enforcement officers.
Photo, YouTube screenshot, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWPrkhsnUGs
