Mississippi

Six police officers in Rankin, County Mississippi were convicted of thirteen felonies and face lengthy prison sentences.

The defendants admitted to torturing and assaulting two Black men who could not defend themselves or escape the abuse. These officers label themselves the “Goon Squad,” known for using excessive force and not reporting it. According to evidence, the defendants barged into the victims home without a warrant, and then handcuffed and arrested the men without probable cause to believe they had committed any crime. The defendants punched and kicked the men, tased them 17 times, held them down and poured liquids on their faces, threw eggs at them and assaulted them. The senior officer on the scene did not stop the torture or abuse and stole property while the incident occurred.

One officer forced the barrel of his gun into the mouth of one of the victims and pulled the trigger to try to scare him. When the officer did it a second time, a bullet ripped through the victim’s mouth and throat, causing life threatening injuries. While the victim was bleeding on the floor, the officers tried to come up with a cover story, destroying evidence and charging the victims for crimes they did not commit.

The six officers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 40 years.

Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/six-former-mississippi-law-enforcement-officers-sentenced-torturing-and-abusing-two-black

A judge sentenced a Mississippi man to more than three years in prison after the man pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and arson charges.

According to the plea, on December 3, 2020, the defendant made racial slurs toward his Black neighbors, then burned a cross near their property to intimidate them.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/mississippi-man-sentenced-federal-hate-crime-cross-burning

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/mississippi-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime-cross-burning

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/mississippi-man-charged-federal-hate-crime-cross-burning

Graham Williamson and Louie Revette, of Seminary, Mississippi, were sentenced for a racially motivated crossburning in a predominantly African-American residential area. Williamson was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison. Revette was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for recruiting Williamson, planning, and executing the crossburning.

In October 2017, the two men built a cross that they set up and lit on fire near the homes of African-American residents in the Keys Hill area of Seminary, Mississippi. Both men admitted to knowing that burning crosses have historically been used to threaten, frighten, and intimidate African-Americans, and that they wanted to make the community members in the neighborhood fearful. The crossburning was mostly directed at a young African-American victim and placed near the victim’s home.

Williamson Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/pr/mississippi-man-sentenced-36-months-crossburning

Revette Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/mississippi-man-sentenced-11-years-crossburning