Sentencing continues for deputies who tortured 2 Black men in racist assault

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Sentencing continues Wednesday for two more of the white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi who 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. Daniel Opdyke and Christian Dedmon face lengthy prison terms. U.S. District Judge Tom Lee gave a nearly 20-year prison sentence to Hunter Elward and a 17.5-year sentence to Jeffrey Middleton on Tuesday. The men worked as Rankin County sheriff’s deputies during the attack. The judge called their actions “egregious and despicable.” Another former deputy and a former police officer are set for sentencing Thursday.