Families in disbelief after hundreds of bodies found buried behind Mississippi jail
PBS News Hour, January 10, 2024: Families in disbelief after hundreds of bodies found buried behind Mississippi jail
“The gruesome discovery of 215 bodies buried in unmarked graves behind a jail outside of Jackson, Mississippi, has left a community in disbelief. The families are angry their loved ones were buried in so-called pauper's graves marked by just a metal rod and a number and families were never notified of their deaths. The startling revelation came months after the mother of 37-year-old Dexter Wade filed a missing persons report last March. It wasn't until August when Bettersten Wade learned her son had been hit by a police car and killed, then buried in that same cemetery.
“For more about this case and the disturbing details that have emerged since then, I am joined now by Bettersten Wade and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing her and other families. Welcome to you both. Ms. Wade, can I just begin by saying how very sorry we are for your loss, and thank you for joining us.
“'Bettersten Wade, Mother of Dexter Wade: Thank you all too.
“Amna Nawaz: I understand, Ms. Wade, you contacted the Jackson Police Department after reporting that your son was missing several times, even after he had been buried without your knowledge. Give us a sense of what they told you over those many months and what those months were like for you, not knowing where your son was.
“Bettersten Wade: Well, it was devastating to me, because I didn't know where he were. And then I was calling them. They didn't have no information to let me know, have they found any information? All the details that I gave them for leads, they never came back to me to say, well, that lead led to something that we can work with. And I just couldn't believe that he had disappeared off the face of Earth and nobody knows where he at.
“And it was just horrible for me. And every day I wake up, I just want — I just look, look, look, just looking for him, just out in the streets looking for him. And, I mean, that's heartbreaking for a mother, and can't say hello, don't know how to get in touch with him. That is a horrible thing for a mother.”
Additional reading:
Sign the petition: Authorities Buried 251 People in Unmarked Graves Behind a Jail in Mississippi
The Marshall Project, January 19, 2024: The 5 Most Powerful People in Mississippi’s Hinds County Justice System
NBC News, January 17, 2024: Coroner's office that buried men without telling families releases a policy that leaves questions unanswered
