4th Miss. deputy gets 40-year prison term in torture of 2 Black men
JACKSON, Miss. — A fourth former Mississippi sheriff ’s deputy was sentenced Wednesday for his part in the racist torture of two Black men by a group of white officers who called themselves the “Goon Squad,” receiving 40 years in federal prison.
Christian Dedmon, 29, did not look at the victims as he apologized and said he’d never forgive himself for the pain he caused.
All six former officers charged in the case pleaded guilty last year, admitting that they subjected Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous acts of racist torture in January 2023 after a neighbor complained the men were staying in a home with a white woman. Prosecutors said Dedmon slapped the men with a sex toy and threatened to brutalize them with it.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said Wednesday that Dedmon carried out the most “shocking, brutal and cruel attacks imaginable” against Jenkins and Parker and against a white man during a traffic stop weeks earlier.
Jenkins, who still has trouble speaking due to his injuries, said in a statement read by his lawyer that Dedmon’s actions were the most depraved of any of those who attacked him.
“Deputy Dedmon is the worst example of a police officer in the United States,” Jenkins said.
Hours before Dedmon’s sentencing, former officer Daniel Opdyke, 28, cried profusely as he spoke before the judge announced his sentence of 17.5 years. Turning to look at the two victims, Opdyke said isolation behind bars has given him time to reflect on “how I transformed into the monster I became that night.”
All six former officers pleaded guilty last year to breaking into a home without a warrant and torturing the Black men with a stun gun, a sex toy and other objects.
On Tuesday, Lee gave a nearly 20-year prison sentence to Hunter Elward, 31, and a 17.5-year sentence to Middleton, 46, calling their actions “egregious and despicable.” They, like Opdyke and Dedmon, worked as Rankin County sheriff’s deputies during the attack.
Another former deputy, Brett McAlpin, 53, and a former Richland police officer, Joshua Hartfield, 32, are set for sentencing Thursday.
The terror began Jan. 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence when a white person in Rankin County complained to McAlpin that two Black men were staying with a white woman at a house in Braxton.
Union endorsement: The United Steelworkers Union has endorsed President Joe Biden, giving him support from another large labor union.
The announcement Wednesday by the Pittsburgh-based union came less than a week after Biden voiced opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying it’s vital that the company remain American owned and operated.
The USW, which represents 850,000 workers in metals, mining, rubber and other industries, said Biden has a track record of supporting retirement security, affordable health care and laws that help workers, all important issues to its members.
The AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, and several other unions previously endorsed Democrat Biden in his race against Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee. The Teamsters union has talked with both candidates and has yet to announce its pick.
Idaho hospital shooting: A white supremacist Idaho prison gang member and an accomplice remained on the loose Wednesday after the
Festival of colors: A Hindu devotee tosses flowers over a boy dressed as the god Krishna during Holi festival celebrations Wednesday in Amritsar, India. Holi is a colorful celebration of love and friendship in the spring. accomplice staged a brazen overnight attack to free the inmate as he was being transported from a Boise hospital, police said.
Police identified the man suspected of shooting two corrections officers during the ambush as Nicholas Umphenour. A warrant with a $2 million bond has been issued for his arrest, police said.
Police said the search continues for Umphenour and escaped inmate Skylar Meade. Three corrections officers were shot and wounded in the brazen attack — two allegedly by Umphenour and one by responding police.
Officials described Meade, 31, as a white supremacist gang member. Meade was sentenced to 20 years in 2017 for shooting at a sheriff ’s sergeant during a highspeed chase.
Kate’s medical records: A British privacy watchdog said Wednesday it was investigating a report that staff at a private London hospital tried to snoop on the Princess of Wales’ medical records while she was a patient for abdominal surgery.
The Information Commissioner’s Office said: “We can confirm that we have received a breach report and are assessing the information provided.”
The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that at least one staff member at the London Clinic tried to look at Kate’s notes during her stay there in January. The princess had surgery at the clinic Jan. 16 and was discharged almost two weeks later.
Afghan school year: The school year in Afghanistan started Wednesday but without girls whom the Taliban barred from attending classes beyond the sixth grade, making it the only country with restrictions on female education.
The U.N. children’s agency says more than 1 million girls are affected by the ban. It also estimates 5 million were out of school before the Taliban takeover due to a lack of facilities and other reasons.
The Taliban’s education ministry marked the start of the new academic year with a ceremony that barred female journalists.
During the ceremony, the Taliban’s education minister, Habibullah Agha, said the ministry is trying “to increase the quality of education of religious and modern sciences as much as possible.”
The Taliban have been prioritizing Islamic knowledge over basic literacy and numeracy with their shift toward madrassas, or religious schools.