Reckoning in Mississippi: Ex-Deputy Sentenced for Racially Motivated Abuse of Two Black Men

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Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Hunter Elward, right, appears in the Rankin County Circuit Court in Brandon, Miss., Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. Elward is one of six white former Mississippi law officers that pleaded guilty to state charges on Monday for torturing two Black men in a racist assault. All six had recently admitted their guilt in a connected federal civil rights case. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
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Former Mississippi Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Elward has been handed down a 20-year sentence for his part in a chilling ordeal that’s shaken people to the core. It revolves around the inhumane treatment of two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, who endured a nightmare at the hands of Elwood and five other officers.

Michael Corey Jenkins, who along with Eddie Terrell Parker had been victims of torture by then six Mississippi Rankin County law officers in 2023, shows the scar left from having a gun fired off in his mouth by one of the now former lawmen, while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Jenkins still suffers from the injury. Former Mississippi Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Elward, received a 20-year in prison sentence, for his role in the torturing Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The group of officers, dubbed the “Goon Squad,” stormed into a home uninvited and without a warrant, targeting Jenkins and Parker with cruelty from stun guns to a sex toy. Their methods of torture were racially charged, all sparked by a complaint of the men’s presence in a house with a white woman.

This combination of photos shows, from top left, former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield appearing at the Rankin County Circuit Court in Brandon, Miss., Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The six white former Mississippi law officers pleaded guilty to state charges on Monday for torturing two Black men in a racist assault that ended with a deputy shooting one victim in the mouth. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Southern District of Mississippi U.S. District Court Judge Tom Lee didn’t hold back in condemning Elwood’s actions, labeling them egregious and despicable. As we await the sentencing of the remaining officers, the community is watching closely.

Jenkins and Parker have not only called for the maximum sentences, but are also pushing for the resignation of Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey and are seeking a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department.


Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

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