Fourth Mississippi 'goon squad' cop is sentenced to 40 years in prison for brutal torture of multiple men - and says 'he'll never forgive himself for pain he caused'

A fourth former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to 40 years in prison 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, 29, pleaded guilty last year to breaking into a home without a warrant and torturing two black men with a stun gun, a sex toy and other objects back in January 2023. 

The former Rankin County Sheriff did not look at the victims during his sentencing as he apologized on Wednesday and said he’d never forgive himself for the pain he caused.

US District Judge Tom Lee said Dedmon carried out the most 'shocking, brutal and cruel attacks imaginable' against victims Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker as well as a white man Alan Schmidt 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. 

Former Mississippi sheriff's deputy Daniel Opdyke, 28, has been sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison for his part in the racist torture of two black men by a group of white officers who called themselves the 'Goon Squad'

Michael Corey Jenkins, left, and Eddie Terrell Parker, right, stand with lead attorney Malik Shabazz, as they call on a federal judge Monday, March 18, 2024, to impose the harshest possible penalties

The officers charged in relation to the assault of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were (Top L-R) Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Christian Dedmon. (Bottom L-R) Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke, Joshua Hartfield

Dedmon is one of six former law enforcement officers who admitted to subjecting Jenkins and Parker to numerous acts of racist torture.

'Deputy Dedmon is the worst example of a police officer in the United States,' victim Jenkins said. 'Deputy Dedmon was the most aggressive, sickest and the most wicked.'

Hours before Dedmon’s sentencing, former officer Daniel Opdyke, 28, cried profusely as he spoke in court before the judge announced his sentence of 17.5 years. 

Turning to look at the two victims, Opdyke 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 inflicted upon him.

Former Rankin deputy Hunter Elward, 31, was sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison on Tuesday while Jeffrey Middleton, 46, was ordered to serve 17 and a half years behind bars. 

The judge said Opdyke may not have been fully aware of what being a member of the Goon Squad entailed when Lieutenant Jeffrey Middleton asked him to join, but he did know it involved using excessive force.

'You were not a passive observer,' Lee said. 'You actively participated in that brutal attack.'

Former deputy Brett McAlpin, 53, and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield, 32, are set for sentencing on Thursday. 

Elward, who had admitted to shoving a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and firing in a 'mock execution,' addressed the victims during his sentencing.

At a news conference Monday, Jenkins and Parker said they continued to suffer as a result of what they endured

Eddie Terrell Parker listens as his legal team calls on a federal judge at a news conference Monday 

'I’m so sorry,' the disgraced former cop said. 'I don’t want to get too personal with you, Michael. There’s no telling what you’ve seen. I’m so sorry that I caused that. I hate myself for it. I hate that I gave you that. I accept all responsibility.'

Jenkins nodded while Parker stood up and said, 'We forgive you, man.'

The two black men who were subjected to torture that included one of them being shot in the mouth during a mock execution by a group of cops known as 'The Goon Squad' had previously said they wanted their tormentors to be punished to the full extent of the law.

The former cops admitted in August to subjecting Jenkins and Parker to numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture.

Prompted by a neighbor's complaint in January 2023 that Jenkins and Parker were staying in a home with a white woman, the group of six burst in without a warrant and assaulted Jenkins and Parker with stun guns, a sex toy and other objects.

After a mock execution went awry when Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they devised a coverup that included planting drugs and a gun.

Elward was also accused in a separate incident of beating a mentally ill black man to death in 2021.

They pleaded guilty to charges including 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.

The Rankin County Sheriff's Department then supported the deputies' false charges, which stood against Jenkins and Parker for months.

An attorney for Jenkins and Parker called Monday for the 'stiffest of sentences.'

'Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific and bloody attack by Rankin County deputies,' Malik Shabazz said in a statement.

'A message must be sent to police in Mississippi and all over America,' he said, that such criminal conduct 'will be met with the harshest of consequences.'

At a news conference Monday, Jenkins and Parker said they continued to suffer as a result of what they endured.

'It's been very hard for me, for us,' Jenkins said. 'We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.'

Most of their lawyers did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment Monday. 

Former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy Hunter Elward was sentenced by US District Judge Tom Lee, who handed down a 241-month sentence on Tuesday. He is pictured in court last year

Eddie Terrell Parker, left, escorts Mary Jenkins, mother of Michael Corey Jenkins, into the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson on Tuesday

Michael Corey Jenkins, second from left, and attorney Malik Shabazz, left, are joined by supporters as they enter the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse Tuesday

Jason Kirschberg, representing Opdyke, said: 'Daniel has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his failures to act. ... He has admitted he was wrong and feels deep remorse for the pain he caused the victims.'

On the federal charges, Dedmon and Elward each face a maximum sentence of 120 years plus life in prison and $2.75 million in fines.

Hartfield faces a possible sentence of 80 years and $1.5 million, McAlpin faces 90 years and $1.75 million, Middleton faces 80 years and $1.5 million, and Opdyke could be sentenced to 100 years with a $2 million fine.

The former officers agreed to prosecutor-recommended sentences ranging from five to 30 years in state court, but time served for separate convictions at the state level will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences.

Shabazz said the false charges against the victims weren't dropped until June. That's when federal and state investigators began to close in on the deputies, and one of them began talking.

They were fired shortly thereafter, and prosecutors announced the federal charges in August.

Prosecutors say some of the officers nicknamed themselves the 'Goon Squad' because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover up attacks.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey called the crimes by his deputies the worst case of police brutality he had ever seen.

For months, Bailey said little about the episode. After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department.

Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department.

'I relive this every day,' Parker said. 'Every time I turn on the TV. Every time I get on the phone, every time I'm on social media, people are telling my story.'