A former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for his role in the torture and sexual assault of two Black men early last year.
Hunter Elward, 31, is one of six former officers who admitted to taking part in the gruesome torture of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker in January 2023.
The six white men burst into a home in Braxton, just south of Jackson, after a white person called Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin to complain that Jenkins and Parker were staying at the residence with a white woman.
In August, the defendants — five former members of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office and one former member of the Richland Police Department — pleaded guilty to all federal charges against them.
Federal prosecutors said they handcuffed and arrested the two men without probable cause, called them racial slurs, and warned them to stay out of Rankin County. They also “punched and kicked the men, tased them 17 times, forced them to ingest liquids, and assaulted them with a dildo,” according to court papers.
The terror went on for nearly two hours. At the end of the assault, Elward shoved a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and pulled the trigger. The bullet lacerated his tongue and broke his jaw before exiting through his neck.
On Tuesday, Elward was also sentenced for his role in a separate assault, which took place weeks before the torture and abuse of Jenkins and Parker.
He received a 241-year sentence for his “egregious and despicable” crimes.
A “sentence at the top of the guidelines range is … more than justified,” U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said. “It’s what the defendant deserves. It’s what the community and the defendant’s victims deserve.”
Jenkins and Parker, who called for the “stiffest of sentences” for Elward, attended the hearing at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss.
At one point, Elward turned to Jenkins and Parker and addressed them directly.
“I see you every night, and I can’t go back and do what’s right,” Elward said. “I am so sorry for what I did.”
“I forgive you,” Parker responded.
The six officers, who called themselves “The Goon Squad,” also pleaded guilty to state charges against them stemming from the same incident.
With News Wire Services
