Mississippi Dad Who Survived Sadistic ‘Goon Squad’ Attack Calls for More Prison Time

Eddie Terrell Parker woke up in a Mississippi jail cell last January with an unfamiliar taste of alcohol on his tongue and the painful memory of seeing his friend, Michael Corey Jenkins, get shot in the mouth by a Rankin County sheriff’s deputy.

Prior to that Tuesday night, Parker was not a drinker. The amount of alcohol that was doused over his face for up to 90 minutes the night before left him disoriented. All he wanted to do was lay on the cold concrete floor and rest.

Parker left jail on a mission to get justice for Jenkins, who he affectionately calls his bonus little brother. It had been hours since he last saw Jenkins’ severely damaged face. Parker had no idea whether the 33-year-old was dead or alive. Regardless of Jenkins’ condition, Parker was not about to let what happened to his friend go in vain.

“I told them: ‘Y’all done effed up,’” Parker said. “Michael, he didn’t deserve that, not one way, shape or form. I didn’t deserve what happened to me, either, but I did this more for Michael.”

Parker, 38, spoke to Capital B a day before five former sheriff’s deputies and a former K-9 officer were sentenced for state charges stemming from the Jan. 24, 2023, torture — which included attempted sexual assault and left Jenkins with a severed tongue.

The 20-year friendship between Jenkins and Parker has only gotten stronger. Parker said he spends more time with Jenkins now to assist Jenkins’ mother, Mary, with caring for her son.

“That’s my little brother. … His mother knows that he’s OK when he’s with me,” said Parker, who is a father of four teenagers.

Jenkins’ physical road to recovery has been challenging, to say the least. Some days are better than others. Speaking, let alone chewing, are daily obstacles that Parker is there to help Jenkins through. He’s there to prepare the softest foods possible for Jenkins to eat. And it doesn’t matter that he finishes breakfast by lunchtime or lunchtime by dinner.

“He’s a fighter; I look up to him,” Parker said. “He is the reason why I wanted to make it through the scenario. The situation we went through, it brought us closer. I’m glad to have him around — struggle and all.”

Last month, as Parker was on his way to the former law enforcement officers’ federal sentencing in Jackson, he felt a butterfly in the pit of his stomach. That one butterfly, he said, gave him the strength to stay calm while being within feet of the six white men who nearly killed his friend. Over a three-day period, they received sentences ranging from 10 to 40 years in federal prison.

This week marked the final chapter of criminal cases for the former officers — Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton, Brett McAlpin, Christian Lee Dedmon, Daniel Opdyke, and Joshua Hartfield. They pleaded guilty last August to various state charges, including home invasion and aggravated assault that each carry a sentence of up to 25 years.

On Wednesday, the six men were sentenced in state court to serve between 15 and 45 years for their horrific acts.

As the officers are serving prison time, Jenkins and Parker will proceed with their $400 million civil lawsuit and continue to call for the resignation of Sheriff Bryan Bailey, who supervised five of the “Goon Squad” members.

“In Rankin County, what really is needed is a complete constructive change,” Malik Z. Shabazz, an attorney for Jenkins and Parker, told Capital B this week ahead of the state sentencing. “Not just minor changes, but a complete overhaul of the system here. Because the proximate cause of the horrific torture and abuse that happened to brother Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins, it comes from a system of gross neglect.”

Angela English, the leader of the Rankin County chapter of the NAACP, said in a statement that they are “well on our way to gathering the necessary petition signatures that will force Governor Tate Reeves to oust” Bailey.

For years, Parker said he heard rumors about Rankin County law enforcement officers, but wasn’t personally affected by their racist and sadistic actions. When Parker gives his victim impact statement, he said he will urge the judge “to make a statement” to other law enforcement officers in Mississippi by adding more years to their incarceration. Whatever sentence the former officers receive will run concurrent with their federal sentence.

“The state’s criminal sentencing is important because, historically, the state of Mississippi has lagged behind or ignored racial crimes and police brutality against Blacks, and the Department of Justice has had to lead the way,” Shabazz said in a statement referring to various investigations launched across Mississippi by the Department of Justice.

Yet, Parker said he can still forgive Elward for the hell he put him and Jenkins through.

“I looked into his eyes at the moment before he shot Mike. I saw the expression on his face when he shot Mike. I saw the look. The ‘Oh my god! I done effed up’ look on his face after he shot Mike.”

Parker said he saw that same look in Elward’s eyes when he pleaded guilty in August, and again last month in federal court before he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Parker says he continues to stand on his decision to accept Elward’s apology at that time. It was the first time since that horrific night that Parker heard any of the former officers’ voices, but to hear an apology from Elward meant the most.

“I did it because I felt that,” he said.

Continuing to go to therapy has helped Parker tremendously, but “as far as normal, I don’t think I’ll ever be normal again,” he said.

Now that this part of the legal saga is over, Parker said, “there’s nothing that’s going to hold me back” from becoming an advocate for other survivors.

“I want to be a voice for those who need a voice. I want to make a difference, in that, I want to turn this upside down,” he said.

This story has been updated.

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