The Justice Department has announced that they will be assisting authorities in Mississippi in improving their death notification procedures after systemic failures uncovered by NBC News led to individuals being buried in pauper’s fields without their families being notified. Families deserve transparency and the opportunity to make decisions about their loved ones’ burials, according to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. The focus will be on helping the Jackson Police Department and Hinds County coroner’s office, as a response to NBC News’ reporting on failed death notifications, beginning with the story of Dexter Wade, who was buried in a pauper’s field without his mother knowing about his death for five months. This resulted in calls from civil rights lawyers and Rep. Bennie Thompson for a federal investigation.
Over the course of several months, NBC News uncovered cases of six other men who were buried in the pauper’s field without family notification. These individuals were often homeless, mentally ill, or struggling with addiction. The Hinds County coroner’s office and Jackson Police Department failed to search for missing person reports, leading to families being unaware of their loved ones’ deaths. Grieving families expressed frustration with the lack of transparency and difficulty in getting responses from officials. Repeated calls for change stemmed from each new revelation, with families highlighting the disrespect shown to those facing mental illness, homelessness, and addiction.
Efforts have been made to address the systemic breakdown, including the adoption of policies by the Jackson Police Department and Hinds County Board of Supervisors regarding death notifications. However, a lack of transparency around these policies has been an issue, with the county not releasing a copy of their policy on checking missing person registries before requesting a burial. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba expressed support for the Justice Department’s involvement, stating that it will help improve the new standards already in place. Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart, who previously expressed difficulty in finding people, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Justice Department’s technical assistance is based on the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, aimed at preventing discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance. Although the failed notifications reported by NBC News included individuals of varying races, with three Black and four white men affected, the department emphasized that this assistance does not imply fault or wrongdoing by the police or coroner’s office. The civil rights division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi will provide recommendations on the Jackson Police Department’s policies on missing persons and death notifications, as well as training for the Hinds County coroner’s office on locating next of kin.
Bettersten Wade, the mother of Dexter Wade, expressed her gratitude for the Justice Department’s intervention, as it will hopefully lead to improvements in the death notification process. The technical assistance provided to the Jackson Police Department and Hinds County coroner’s office aims to ensure that officials are equipped to deliver death notifications and make burial decisions in a timely and trauma-informed manner, in compliance with federal civil rights law. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to address the failures of the death notification system and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
