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Mississippi deputy facing 27 years for torturing black men seeks leniency, says he was only in the truck but admits he never stopped abusing them

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A former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy convicted in 2023 of torturing two black men asked a federal judge to commute his 27-year sentence, arguing that he simply waited in his truck while his fellow officers committed the crime.

Brett McAlpin is one in all six white former law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty in 2023 in reference to breaking right into a Jackson home with no warrant and participating in a brutal attack that lasted several hours.

The officers were convicted in March and received sentences starting from 10 to 40 years in prison.

Former Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy Brett McAlpin (Photo: Forrest County Adult Detention Center)

McAlpin, 53, was the lead investigator for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the crime.

He is serving a 27-year sentence, the second longest amongst the defendants, at a federal prison in West Virginia.

Just months into his sentence, McAlpin claims in legal papers that his sentence was “unjustified” because he remained in his truck and did indirectly participate in the torture of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker.

McAlpin’s attorney, Theodore Cooperstein, filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the fifth Circuit on Aug. 23, arguing that McAlpin was merely present when other officers committed heinous acts, hoping it might mitigate his punishment.

“Brett was drawn into the scene as events spiraled out of control but maintained his distance as the other officers operated,” Cooperstein wrote. According to Associated Press Press Agency

The other former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies are Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, in addition to former Richland Police K-9 officer Joshua Hartfield.

The lawsuit asked for a lenient sentence despite McAlpin doing nothing to assist victims during the tragedy and playing a job in transporting the crew to and from the scene.

“While Brett did not stop what he saw and knew was wrong, he did not order, initiate, or participate in the brutal abuse of the two victims,” the motion stated.

The lawsuit asks the appeals court to overturn McAlpin’s conviction and order the district judge to impose a lesser sentence.

Cooperstein argued that the cumulative impact of those atrocities overshadowed McAlpin’s individual role, causing him to bear the brunt of collective condemnation, and that court and public perception of the events unfairly exacerbated his punishment.

McAlpin’s appeal doesn’t specify the exact variety of years he is searching for to have his sentence reduced.

The motion significantly downplays McAlpin’s involvement, but his appeal for relief stands in stark contrast to Mississippi’s strict sentencing guidelines for violent crimes, including torture.

Mississippi law places an emphasis on the liability of those that aid in the commission of great crimes, and McAlpin’s argument doesn’t change the undeniable fact that his actions played a major role in the crimes against Jenkins and Parker.

The January 24, 2023 attack included beatings, the use of stun guns, multiple assaults with a sex toy and ended with one victim being shot in the mouth in a botched mock execution when the gun misfired.

The crime was so heinous that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned it.

“The vileness of the crimes committed by these defendants cannot be overstated,” Garland said after a gaggle of former officers received federal sentences.

Before he was sent to jail on March 21, McAlpin apologized in open court, but did so without making eye contact along with his victims.

“This was all wrong, very wrong. This is not how people should treat each other, and more importantly, this is not how law enforcement should treat people,” McAlpin said. “I’m truly sorry that I was a part of something that made law enforcement look so bad.”

Earlier, federal prosecutor Christopher Perras had sought the maximum sentence, arguing that while McAlpin was not a direct member of the Goon Squad, he played a key role in shaping the group into brutal law enforcers.

One of the victims also described McAlpin as a “mafioso chieftain” who was in charge of the officers throughout the attack.

Prosecutors noted that junior officers often tried to impress McAlpin, and Daniel Opdyke’s lawyer revealed that his client treated McAlpin like a father figure.

Perras said a few of the officers involved initially “wanted to be good law enforcement officers” but ultimately “turned into monsters.”

“How did these deputies learn to treat another human being this way? Your Majesty, the answer is right there,” Perras argued during the hearing, pointing to McAlpin.

Prosecutors said the nightmare story began when a neighbor contacted McAlpine to complain about two black men living with a white woman in the small town of Braxton.

Although no crime had been committed, McAlpin passed the information on to Deputy Sheriff Christian Dedmon, who then contacted an alleged group of white officers often called “The Goon Squad” — known for their brutality and excessive use of force.

On the night of the attacks on Jenkins and Parker, police broke into the home with no warrant, turned off the body cameras on the victims and started brutally beating them, hurling racial slurs at them.

They handcuffed them, shocked Parker and Jenkins dozens of times with stun guns, after which poured milk, alcohol, and chocolate syrup over their heads.

They then forced the victims to undress and shower together in an try and wash away the evidence.

Jenkins survived the gunshot wound to the mouth, but the gunshot wound damaged his tongue and broke his jaw.

The police tried to cover up the crime, but when the attack was discovered, it backfired on everyone.

During the investigation, it was discovered that members of the group had been exchanging disturbing text messages on WhatsApp in which they described shocking individuals with stun guns in the face and personal parts, joked about having sex with individuals who had committed suicide, been murdered or died in automotive accidents while showing photos of their bodies, and planned a simulated murder of a person involved in a road accident in which the perpetrator fled the scene.

The gruesome details of the case are a painful reminder of Mississippi’s history of racist abuse by law enforcement. But this time, the perpetrators faced serious consequences for their actions, attorneys for the victims said.

District Judge Tom Lee condemned the former officers’ actions as (*27*) and imposed sentences near the maximum allowed under federal guidelines for five of the six men involved in the attack.

Six former officers also pleaded guilty to the charges against them and were convicted in April.

Hartfield, a former Richland police officer who was not a part of the sheriff’s department or the “Goon Squad,” was the only defendant to receive a sentence below the maximum advisable by federal guidelines. Judge Lee sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Dedmon was sentenced to 40 years, Opdyke and Middleton to 17.5 years, and Elward received a 20-year sentence.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Politics and Current

Distraught mother of 13-year-old Texas boy who died on gymnasium floor – questions why school didn’t immediately get him help when he had trouble breathing

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A grieving family is questioning the actions of administrators at a Texas middle school where their son died after falling during basketball practice.

According to KTRKXavier Thompson died at Thornton Middle School in Katy on November 15. His mother said he suffered an asthma attack that day, and immediately after her son’s fall, they immediately received calls from concerned teammates.

“I had to call a panicked student who kept asking me what to do,” said 13-year-old Xavier’s mother, Brittany Thompson. “It saddens me that no one called 911 when they saw my baby was having trouble breathing.”

According to his family, 13-year-old Xavier Thompson died at Thornton Middle School in Katy, Texas, after an asthma attack. His parents said the school called them immediately, but not 911. (Photos: KTRK screenshot, Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District)

Xavier coaches also quickly contacted Thompson and her husband, and the couple insisted that they call emergency services to the school. The family also noticed that there was a hearth station right round the corner.

When Xavier’s father arrived at school, his son was not breathing. Family members claim that he was the one who resuscitated their son, however the actions taken didn’t bring him back to life.

Xavier’s mother said that just the day before his asthma attack, her son was dancing within the lounge, thrilled to make the school’s basketball team. The next day he died.

“I don’t understand,” said the Thompsons’ lawyer, George Powell. “Without medical personnel present, calling parents will not help anyone who has been injured or has some form of respiratory distress.”

The family told KTRK that Xavier had suffered from asthma his entire life, but his condition was well controlled. They established an motion plan regarding his condition with the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District. The middle school also had two inhalers reserved for the teenager in case he needed medication.

“They have medical exams, we have medical insurance on file and they have all their emergency contacts,” Thompson said. “What’s the point if kids have to name it and say, ‘What do we do?’”

Thornton Middle School officials sent a letter to oldsters of all students notifying them of Xavier’s death and offering students counseling.

“I just want my son back. I’d give my life for him in a heartbeat. I’d go and breathe for him if I could,” Xavier’s mother said with tears in her eyes.

Xavier’s family said an autopsy was performed to find out the precise cause of death and is currently awaiting the outcomes.

A district spokesperson told KHOU 11 that Xavier’s death was asthma-related and there was no information on the medical treatment he received.

Another Houston-area family also experienced the same tragedy to the Thompsons three months ago when a student died at the center school.

Landon Payton collapsed and lost consciousness Aug. 14 at Marshall Middle School. Unlike young Xavier, the 14-12 months-old didn’t suffer from any breathing problems and was in good health, in response to his father, Alexis Payton.

Payton raised questions concerning the school’s response to Landon’s fall within the school gym after learning that the school nurse didn’t know how one can perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation or use the school’s automated external defibrillator (AED), a tool that emits an electrical shock to revive normal function. heart rhythm when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest.

Two teachers’ unions later said the school’s defibrillator was defective or outdated.

A Southern California family can be questioning the moments surrounding the death of their 12-12 months-old son at middle school last 12 months. Yahshua Robinson collapsed during gymnastics practice at Canyon Lake Middle School during a heat wave when temperatures reached 107 degrees. Robinson’s parents learned that a teacher had told him to run away as punishment for wearing inappropriate clothes to class. His family says he collapsed at school and died of cardiac arrest.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Politics and Current

We need to have an uncomfortable conversation about America

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2024 elections, theGrio.com

We need to talk about cockroaches.

According to renowned entomologist Karlous Miller and John Whitfield Jr. (known for his groundbreaking research on a young fly): everyone has them. Although the mosquitoes could have killed more people throughout history than all of the wars, open borders, and Black Lives Matter protests combined, people they’re biological programmed to hate cockroaches greater than every other insect. Housefly it’s much dirtierbut cockroaches symbolize uncleanliness and misery. For many, a single dead cockroach on the lounge floor is more embarrassing than a fly within the kitchen, a mosquito in your skin, or a dead body within the basement.

Not I.

It’s not that I’m just not ashamed of them. I understand that there may be nothing I can do to erase the bulk those that survived prospered from the surface of the planet. The only thing I can do is solve the issue and forestall it from getting worse. Nobody really eliminates cockroaches, you only have to fight them every single day. But apparently there’s just one thing more embarrassing than being a cockroach hunter:

Being a part of a monoracial coalition.

According to experts, political analysts and folks who just say things, the 2024 election was a results of many aspects. For some, Trump’s genius was a matter of religion – proof of what can’t be seen. Wind bags stuffed with political opposites Joe Scarborough AND James Carville blamed Kamala Harris’ loss on the “woke era.” Others blamed the Democrats’ defeat on the party’s inability to attract white women, Latinos switching sides and the party’s lack of messaging. These may sound like different political theories, but they’re all based on the identical unspoken hypothesis. It is an unkillable pest that crawls out of its hiding place every election season. Even essentially the most progressive, outspoken experts are reluctant to address this. This shouldn’t be a theory. It is a fact hiding within the deepest, darkest recesses of each post-election postmortem. But in some way it’s

White can’t be defeated…

The unspoken concept of an invincible coalition of white voters is the breeding ground from which all political opinions are hatched. Experts not only base their analyzes on the existence of this hidden nest of Caucasian voters, but assume its inevitability… Progressive candidates will lose. A black woman cannot turn into president… it doesn’t deal with race… it doesn’t admit that trans people exist. It’s as if white persons are biologically programmed to vote against everyone else. And apparently the one way to defeat the good white cockroach of electoral politics is to pool our voting power through Black, indigenous, people of color washing their feet, eating spicy food, and playing tambourines in church, just like the BIPOCLGBTQIAvengers trying to stop white supremacist Thanos from straight finger snaps.

The tacit acceptance of white invincibility is the rationale and reason for the existence of the phrase “multi-racial coalition.” race is a greater predictor of electoral politics than sex, education and even religion. That’s why the information showing that Spanish male voters support Trump is even noteworthy. White invincibility explains why 53% white women I voted for a white woman opponent in 2016 and why 19% black men vote for white supremacist in 2020.

But what in the event that they’re fallacious?

What should you discover about it? most white women he didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 and never got anywhere near that result 20% of the vote by Black men? What if Latinos hadn’t moved toward Trump? What if black voters didn’t stay home? What if that is all exit polls as fallacious as ever?What if there have been no “unless”? What if sometimes in some elections you only cannot beat white people?

Does this make you are feeling uncomfortable?

When 8 out of 10 white Georgians crawled out of their hiding places to vote, Trump’s victory was inevitable. The rappers who showed up to twerk at Harris rallies didn’t matter. The pantomime guy on the Trump microphone was irrelevant. The discussion about black male voters has turn into moot. More again. Harris has greater than Biden. But even when every non-white voter in Georgia voted for Kamala Harris, she would still lose the state.

Harris winning Georgia was mathematically inconceivable.

There are no “Black jobs” in the Trump administration, despite the cadre of Black Republicans who canvassed for him

Another example comes from the much-discussed Berks County, Pennsylvania. Everyone was shocked once they came upon about it Trump won essentially the most Latino county within the state of Pennsylvania. However, when comparing the outcomes from 2024 counting votes in individual districts down 2020 election results and the US Census shows that Harris’ campaign won more votes than Biden in each of them majority-Hispanic census tract tract within the district. Harris lost because Trump simply accrued votes and increased turnout within the whitest areas and throughout the county 74% white.

Because few states release this sort of data, we cannot have a more complete picture of what happened across the country until we see more accurate data from studies like Verified Pew Voters or A study of cooperative elections. But explaining the 2024 election is awkward. The point is that 2020 was an anomaly. It is kind of possible that the person who won second essentially the most votes within the history of American presidential politics can only be surpassed by a nationwide pandemic that gave voters unfettered access to the ballot. It may simply be that they desire a lying, corrupt white supremacist as their leader, and there may be nothing the democracy can do to stop it.

As uncomfortable as it might be to admit, possibly that is what America wants and democracy has actually won. Maybe white supremacy is like cockroaches. It’s actually inconceivable to do away with it…

You have to fight it every single day.


This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Politics and Current

Trump chooses first black cabinet member, not Byron Donalds

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Byron Donalds, Trump, Scott Turner


President-elect Donald Trump has chosen the first African-American cabinet member. Scott Turner, shall be SSecretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Trump announced Turner’s placement in a press release. Highlights Turner’s past achievements. The future HUD secretary is an NFL veteran who also supported Trump during his first term. The former House Representative from Texas served because the first executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC).

The release said Turner: “Put an unprecedented effort that has transformed our nation’s most vulnerable communities. These efforts, undertaken in collaboration with former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, were maximized by Scott’s guidance in overseeing 16 federal agencies that implemented greater than 200 policy actions to support economic development.

Turner thanked President-elect Trump and his mentor Ben Carson in X’s post.

The nomination seems to come back at the fitting time. Many media outlets and social media users are questioning the shortage of Black representation in the subsequent administration’s cabinet. Especially since many black surrogates sided with Trump through the presidential campaign.

Trump’s most significant vocal deputy was Florida Congressman Byron Donalds. CNN’s Laura Coates spoke with Donalds and asked if Trump had really useful him for a cabinet position. Donalds denied feeling disrespected and continued to support the GOP’s election. The Congressman believes that achievement trumps diversity. He argues that the Biden administration has sacrificed progress for diversity, despite the fact that it has many victories on economic and social policy.

“The election of Donald Trump is approaching bringing competence and reality back to DC. within the White House, ensuring that the work gets done on behalf of the American people, no matter race, no matter religion or creed,” he said.

Turner’s nomination could decelerate the conversation concerning the lack of Black people entering the White House. The conversation is interesting since the Republican Party is not known for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in any workplace. Attacks on DEI in Republican legislatures across the state may lead one to imagine that diversifying current mandates is the ultimate piece of a really broad conservative agenda.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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