Joshua Hartfield, the last of the six members of the Mississippi law enforcement group known as the “Goon Squad,” has been sentenced to just over ten years in prison for his part in the January 2023 torture of two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker.
All six officers were fired and pleaded guilty for their role in the incident. They were accused of breaking into the home of Jenkins and Parker, whereupon they proceeded to subject both men to hours of physical and emotional abuse. This included tasering, waterboarding, and straightforward assault, ending in Jenkins being shot in the mouth by one of the officers.
The sentences of the other members of the “Goon Squad” were distributed earlier, with Daniel Opdyke and Christian Dedmon receiving 17.5 and 40 years respectively. Brett McAlpin was given a 27.25-year sentence, while Hunter Elward and Jeffrey Middleton were both given 20-year sentences.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division voiced her support for the verdicts: “By holding these officers accountable, we are sending a clear message that law enforcement abuse of Black people, or any American, will not be tolerated in our country.”
The misconduct charges that the officers pleaded guilty to included 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.
Regarding the final verdicts, US Attorney General Merrick Garland proclaimed, “The depravity of the crimes committed by these defendants cannot be overstated, and they will now spend between 10 and 40 years in prison for their heinous attacks on citizens they had sworn to protect.”
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This article is based on information extracted from a report by JURIST, a respected legal news and research platform.