Six white former police officers pleaded guilty on Monday to state charges for torturing two Black men. The men had sworn an oath to protect and serve were huddled on the back porch of a Mississippi home as Michael Corey Jenkins lay on the ground, blood gushing from his mutilated tongue where one of the police officers shoved a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The roughly 90-minute period of terror preceding the shooting began late on January 24 after a white neighbor called Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin and complained that two Black men were staying with a white woman inside a Braxton home. McAlpin tipped off Deputy Christian Dedmon, who texted a group of white deputies who called themselves “The Goon Squad,” a moniker they adopted because of their willingness to use excessive force. “Are y’all available for a mission?” Dedmon asked. They were. Five of the former officers are from Rankin County Sheriff’s Office – Chief Investigator Brett McAlpin, Narcotics Investigator Christian Dedmon, Lieutenant Jeffrey Middleton, Deputy Hunter Elward, and Deputy Daniel Opdyke – while one is from the Richland Police Department, Narcotics Investigator Joshua Hartfield. Some of the group calls themselves the “Goon Squad,” as they were known for “using excessive force and not reporting it.” All pleaded guilty to state charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to hinder prosecution. Each reached individual plea agreements that include prison sentences ranging from five to 30 years, according to court records obtained by the Associated Press. The guilty pleas to the state charges arrive just over a week after all six men also pleaded guilty to 16 federal felonies “stemming from the torture and physical abuse” of two Black men. They will be sentenced for the federal charges in mid-November. According to the Justice Department’s release earlier this month, the officers admitted kicking in a door and entering a home belonging to two Black men – Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker on 24 January – without a warrant. The two men were handcuffed and arrested – without probable cause to believe they had committed any crime. The officers “called them racial slurs, and warned them to stay out of Rankin County,” according to the release. The officers reportedly “punched and kicked” Mr Jenkins and Mr Parker, “tased them 17 times, forced them to ingest liquids, and assaulted them with a dildo.” Court records detail how they burst into a home without a warrant, handcuffed Jenkins and Parker, assaulted them with a sex toy and beat Parker with wood and a metal sword. They poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over their faces and then forced them to strip naked and shower together to conceal the mess. Then one of them put a gun in Jenkins’ mouth and fired. As Jenkins lay bleeding, they didn’t render medical aid. They knew the mission had gone too far and devised a hasty cover-up scheme that included a fictitious narcotics bust, a planted gun and drugs, stolen surveillance footage and threats. The deputies were under the watch of Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, who called it the worst episode of police brutality he has seen in his career. On top of other torturous behaviour, the former officers devised a cover-up, involving making false statements and charging the two men with crimes they did not commit, but also neglected to provide medical aid to them. Law enforcement misconduct in the U.S. has come under increased scrutiny, largely focused on how Black people are treated by the police. The 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police ignited calls for sweeping criminal justice reforms and a reassessment of American race relations. The January beating death of Tyre Nichols by five Black members of a special police squad in Memphis, Tennessee, led to a probe of similar units nationwide. In Rankin County, the brutality visited upon Jenkins and Parker was not a botched police operation, but an assembly of rogue officers “who tortured them all under the authority of a badge, which they disgraced,” U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca said. The county just east of the state capital, Jackson, is home to one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any major U.S. city. A towering granite-and-marble monument topped by a Confederate soldier stands across the street from the sheriff’s office. The officers warned Jenkins and Parker to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River,” court documents say, referencing an area with higher concentrations of Black residents. Kristen Clarke, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the trauma “is magnified because the misconduct was fueled by racial bias and hatred.” She mentioned another dark chapter in Mississippi law enforcement: the 1964 kidnapping and killing of three civil rights workers. The violent police misconduct is a reminder “there is still much to be done,” Clarke said. Read More Former Mississippi officers expected to plead guilty to state charges for racist assault Alabama riverfront brawl videos spark a cultural moment about race, solidarity and justice Civil suit can continue against corrupt former deputy linked to death of Mississippi man

Anthony Sanchez has maintained that he is innocent, while his lawyers claim his father is the actual killer of 21-year-old Jewell Busken

A minister responds to a coroner over the death of Melissa Kerr, who died during surgery in Turkey.

While the top three spots in this week's MLB Power Rankings didn't change, there was plenty of shifting under them, thanks in part to the red-hot Seattle Mariners.

Artificial intelligence tools that can conjure whimsical artwork or realistic-looking images from written commands started wowing crowds last year

A man has been charged with assault after he allegedly shoved a passenger onto subway tracks in Manhattan. Derrick Mills, 49, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the attack on 74-year-old Trevor Crawford. The assault, which New York City transit officials have described as “disgusting” and unprovoked, took place at the 68th Street-Hunter College station on the Upper East Side on Tuesday. Mr Mills allegedly shoved Mr Crawford off the downtown platform after making eye contact with him. The victim landed on his back and suffered a broken spine as well as five fractured ribs and pelvis. “He was so fast, he came around the other side, he opened his eyes wide. I wasn’t scared, I was just more nervous,” Mr Crawford recounted in an interview with PIX11. “[He yelled,] ‘Didn’t I tell you not to say anything to me?’” Following the attack, Mr Crawford was pulled from the tracks by an MTA employee. The suspect then fled before authorities arrived at the scene. Mr Crawford was returning home from work when the assault unfolded. He was transported to a hospital, where he was briefly treated in the intensive care unit. “I must worry because I work at night, but I never expected it to happen to me,” Mr Crawford told PIX11. “ ...anyone would be happy. There’s one less troublemaker on the street.” The incident was captured in surveillance footage that the NYPD released to the public. A person who recognised Mr Mills, who is reportedly homeless, tipped authorities. The NYPD had offered a reward of up to $3,500 for information that led to an arrest. He was then arrested near West 80th Street on Thursday night and has since confessed to the crime, the New York Post reports. “We’ve said over and over that if you commit a crime in the New York City subway system, your picture will be taken, the NYPD will find you, and we will press for maximum prosecution,” NYC Transit President Richard Davey said in a statement after the arrest. “This was a disgusting incident that understandably unsettled riders, and we appreciate the rapid arrest that was assisted by a New Yorker who saw a photo of the perpetrator that was taken by a station platform camera.” Read More NYPD release pictures of man and woman suspected of repeatedly stabbing subway passenger on train Citibank workers clash with climate activists outside New York office in protest over fossil fuel funding Rudy Giuliani goes on unhinged rant claiming Mike Pence’s wife leads him around on a leash

It’s difficult to upstage all the abs, genitalia, and underwear featured in Minx, the sultry-humorous series that tells the story of a fictional porn magazine for women in the ‘70s. But the show, now in its second season on Starz, manages to do just that — with pantsuits that are too good to pass up. And it’s all thanks to costume designer Marie Schley.

Fetty Wap was initially arrested on charges related to the acquisition of over 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine

Nick Fuentes took to X and went on a rant against Oliver Anthony, calling him a 'cat lady'

Elon Musk has been married three times - once to Justine Wilson and twice to Talulah Riley, before being in a relationship with Grimes till 2021

An off-duty pilot riding in the cockpit of a Horizon Air passenger jet tried to shut down the engines in midflight

The Hawks are looking to trade for Pascal Siakam this offseason in a very interesting development for Atlanta and Trae Young.According to Marc Stein, the Hawks have tried trading for Pascal Siakam. However, "Toronto hasn't been moved by Atlanta's offers for Siakam to this point.&q...