By Michael Goldberg and Emily Wagster Pettus | Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. — A fourth former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced for his part in the racist torture of two Black men by a group of white officers who called themselves “the Goon Squad.” Christian Dedmon was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years in federal prison, hours after Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years.
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 of the white former officers charged in the torture pleaded guilty, admitting that they subjected Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous acts of racist torture in January 2023 after a neighbor complained that the men were staying in a home with a white woman.
Federal prosecutors detailed sexual assaults by Dedmon that made him stand out among the other officers charged.
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. “Deputy Dedmon was the most aggressive, sickest and the most wicked.”
Earlier Wednesday, Opdyke, 28, cried profusely as he spoke in court before the judge announced his sentence. Turning to look at the two victims, he said his isolation behind bars has given him time to reflect on “how I transformed into the monster I became that night.”
“The weight of my actions and the harm I’ve caused will haunt me every day,” Opdyke told them. “I wish I could take away your suffering.”
Parker rested his head in his hands and closed his eyes, then stood up and left the courtroom before Opdyke finished speaking. Jenkins said he was “broken” and “ashamed” by the cruel acts visited upon him.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said Opdyke may not have been fully aware of what…
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