Mississippi
2 Black men tortured by Mississippi officers call for toughest sentences
JACKSON, Miss. — Two Black men who were tortured by six Mississippi law enforcement officers last year called Monday for a federal judge to impose the strictest possible penalties at their sentencings this week.
The former law officers admitted in August to subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell 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. The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department then supported the deputies’ false charges, which stood against Jenkins and Parker for months.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee will sentence two defendants each day, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after twice delaying the proceedings.
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, that level of criminal conduct will be met with the harshest of consequences.”
Jenkins and Parker were scheduled to address reporters on Monday afternoon.
The officers charged include former Rankin deputies Bret McAlplin, Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and Joshua Hartfield, a former Richland police officer. 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.
Most of their lawyers did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment Monday. 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.”
The former lawman agreed to prosecutor-recommended sentences ranging from five to 30 years, although the judge isn’t bound by that agreement. Time served for separate convictions at the state level will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences.
An investigation by The Associated Press published in March 2023 linked some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.
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.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi State hit seven home runs and scored 19 runs to defeat Louisiana 19-5 in the Starkville Regional final Sunday night.
Jacob Parker and Ryder Woodson each hit two home runs for the Bulldogs. Parker went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and five runs scored, while Woodson finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Early power surge
Mississippi State took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on solo home runs by Gehrig Frei and Parker. Woodson added a solo homer in the second inning to make it 3-0.
Louisiana’s Nate Lewis hit a solo home run in the third inning to cut the lead to 3-1.
Bulldogs pull away with four-run fourth
Mississippi State scored four runs in the fourth inning. Kevin Milewski drove in Reed Stallman with an RBI single, Frei added an RBI hit and Ace Reese hit a two-run homer to right-center to make it 7-1.
Woodson drove in a run with a single in the fifth inning. Louisiana scored one run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 8-3.
Five-run seventh extends lead
Mississippi State scored five runs in the seventh inning. Parker hit an RBI double, Vytas Valincius followed with an RBI double and Stallman hit an RBI triple. Woodson capped the inning with a two-run homer to left to extend the lead to 13-5 at the end of the seventh.
Parker, Valincius deliver final blows
Parker hit his second home run of the game in the eighth inning, a two-run shot that made it 15-5.
Valincius hit a grand slam in the ninth inning to push the lead to 19-5.
Strong performances throughout lineup
Frei finished with four hits, three runs scored and two RBIs. Noah Sullivan had three hits and scored three runs.
Ryan McPherson pitched five innings for Mississippi State, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Up Next
Mississippi State now heads to the Athens Super Regional where they will face 3-seed Georgia, a team that swept the Diamond Dawgs this season.
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Mississippi
Mississippi State baseball beats Cincinnati 10-5, moves within one win of regional title – SuperTalk Mississippi
Tomas Valincius struck out 10, Ace Reese and Kevin Milewski homered, and Reed Stallman knocked in three runs to lead Mississippi State to a 10-5 victory in the winner’s bracket game of the Starkville Regional on Saturday night.
The top-seeded Bulldogs (42-17) managed early behind another standout performance from Valincius, who allowed two runs over 7.1 innings to earn his 11th win of the season.
Valincius was supported offensively by Reese’s solo home run in the first inning, a run two-seed Cincinnati (38-21) responded to in the second to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs broke open the game with three runs in the fifth inning, then followed with four more in the sixth and two more in the seventh to build a 10-1 lead.
As part of the surge, Stallman knocked in three runs on two doubles, Gehrig Frei hit a two-run single, Bryce Chance drove in one, and Milewski hit a two-run shot. Vytas Valincius, Tomas’ brother, crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
Cincinnati worked to chip away late, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Bearcats scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth before Mississippi State reliever Ben Davis limited the damage by getting the final outs to end the ballgame.
Mississippi State is now just one win away from winning its first regional championship since 2021 – the same year the Bulldogs won the College World Series. Mississippi State will play the winner of Sunday afternoon’s elimination game between Cincinnati and Louisiana at 7 p.m. If Mississippi State drops the game, a winner-take-all final will be played Monday.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi State got a dominant performance from Tomas Valincius and a 13-hit offensive performance to defeat Cincinnati 10-5 on Saturday night at Dudy Noble Field, moving on the the Starkville Regional Championship.
The Bulldogs broke open a tight game with a three-run fifth inning before adding four more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Reese gets it started
Ace Reese started the scoring with a solo home run to center field in the first inning, giving the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead. Cincinnati answered in the second when Christian Mitchelle doubled to shallow left, scoring Enzo Infelise to tie the game at 1-1.
Bulldogs score three in the fifth
Mississippi State scored three runs in the fifth inning, beginning with an RBI infield single from Bryce Chance to shortstop that scored Jacob Parker. Gehrig Frei followed with an infield single to second, plating Reed Stallman and Kevin Milewski to push the lead to 4-1.
Four more in the sixth
Mississippi State added four more runs in the sixth. Stallman delivered an RBI double to left to score Parker before Valincius crossed the plate on a wild pitch from Cincinnati’s Alex Gonzalez. Two batters later, Milewski launched a two-run homer to right field, stretching the Bulldogs’ lead to 8-1.
Stallman extends lead in the seventh
The Bulldogs extended the lead in the seventh when Stallman ripped a double to right, scoring Noah Sullivan and Parker for a 10-1 advantage.
Cincinnati added two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, making the final 10-5.
Valincius dominates on the mound
Valincius worked 7 1/3 innings, allowing just three runs on five hits while striking out 10 and walking two. He threw 112 pitches and recorded his 10th strikeout before exiting in the eighth inning. Maddox Webb took over after that and walked two batter. Ben Davis closed the game for State, pitching 1 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two.
Offensive leaders
Mississippi State finished with 13 hits.
Stallman led the way offensively, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles. Chance collected three hits and drove in a run, while Frei finished with two hits and two RBIs. Reese added his first-inning homer, and Milewski’s two-run blast highlighted the sixth-inning surge. Parker scored three runs.
Up next
The Diamond Dawgs now head to the Starkville Regional Championship, where they will face the winner of the Cincinnati and Louisiana elimination game. State will only need one more win to advance to a Super Regional.
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