Joshua Hartfield, one of six former Mississippi law enforcement officers convicted of torturing two black men in January 2023, received a ten-year jail sentence Thursday afternoon.
He was the last of six offenders sentenced this week.
Hartfield, a former Richland Police Department officer, was the sole defendant not affiliated with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department. In August, he pleaded guilty to state charges of conspiracy and first-degree obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors claim that Hartfield used a Taser on Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins while they were under restraint and tried to destroy evidence.
“This is a historic day,” Melvin Jenkins, Michael Jenkins’ father, said following Hartfield’s sentencing.
Hartfield sobbed as he began to face the Parker and Jenkins families in court, handcuffed around the waist and hands.
“All I wanted to do was help others. I failed to assist the two people who needed me the most.” I’d like to apologize to Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Parker,” Hartfield stated.
Brett McAlpin, a former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy, received a 27-year jail sentence on Thursday.
Prosecutors alleged McAlpin was the “mafia don” of the cops who formed a self-proclaimed “Goon Squad,” infamous for aggressive interrogation tactics.
Officer Hartfield was not a member of the group.
He pleaded guilty to federal counts of conspiracy against rights, deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice.
McAlpin and the other former deputies broke into Jenkins and Parker’s home in Braxton without a warrant, assaulting and torturing them for roughly 90 minutes.
The torture included beating, tasering, attempting sexual assault, and shooting one of the victims in the mouth while they were naked and handcuffed.
McAlpin apologized when he addressed the court on Thursday.
“Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins, I want you to know I’m sorry for what you went through,” he stated.
McAlpin was the fourth-ranking member of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department at the time of the incident.
He could have stopped the torture but instead took over and instructed the other officers to cover up the crimes, prosecutors alleged.
“He told Dedmon to clean them up. He told Hartfield to get rid of their garments. “He told Hartfield to remove the surveillance video,” claimed Assistant US Attorney Chris Perras. “He was the one who escorted Eddie Parker out of the room and instructed him to keep to the tale. And Mr. Parker went along with it, not because he wanted to, but because McAlpin governed Rankin County, and if he didn’t, he’d end up in jail.”
Christian Dedmon was sentenced to forty years in jail. Hunter Elward, who shot Jenkins in the mouth during the torture ordeal, was sentenced to 20 years. Jeffrey Middleton was 17 and a half years old. Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to over 17 years in jail.
Jenkins and Parker have launched a $400 million lawsuit, claiming arbitrary confinement and torture.
