DOJ to help Mississippi with unmarked graves
The Department of Justice said Thursday it will provide “technical assistance” to a Mississippi police force and coroner’s office after missing loved ones were buried in unmarked graves.
Federal authorities are helping the Jackson Police Department and Hinds County Coroner’s Office pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs receiving U.S. financial assistance.
“The lack of timely next-of-kin death notifications resulted in deceased individuals receiving pauper’s burials in unmarked graves in Hinds County, and some reports have indicated that there may be a perception that race or other factors played a role in the process concerning next-of-kin death notifications,” the DOJwrote.
Thursday’s announcement followed national scrutiny of the death, burial and exhumation of Dexter Wade.
Wade, 37, was fatally struck by an off-duty officer driving a police SUV last March. Authorities failed to notify his family and left his body at the county morgue for months before burying his body in an unmarked grave.
Months later, after the family called for an independent autopsy and funeral, Wade’s body was exhumed without them present.
City officials defended the lack of notification by saying Wade carried no identification. But independent autopsy results found Wade was in fact carrying ID.
“The fact that Dexter had a state identification card and several other identifying items shows us that there was a concerted effort to keep the truth and manner of his death from his family,” said Ben Crump, an attorney for the family. “There is no excuse.”
Two other families also found that their loved ones – Marrio Moore, 40, and Jonathan Hankins, 39 – were buried in the unmarked field. All three men were reported missing, but it took months for their families to learn of their deaths.
“How many more? We need justice. We need accountability. We need some answers,” said Bettersten Wade, Dexter’s mother.
The department said Thursday’s announcement is not a finding of fault or wrongdoing and that the police and coroner’s offices voluntarily agreed to receive federal help.
Aryele Bradford, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, confirmed to USA TODAY that it was not opening an investigation or taking legal action.
Federal officials will examine Jackson police practices on missing persons and death notifications and make recommendations on implementation and training. Assistance to the coroner’s office will include policy recommendations and training on locating next of kin, the department said.
Jackson police and the Hinds County coroner’s office did not immediately return requests for comment. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said he welcomed the Justice Department’s help. He noted that Jackson’s police chief “took the initiative to update and strengthen the policy that JPD already had in place.”