6 of 9 deputies charged in death of man beaten in Memphis jail plead not guilty

Published October 27, 2023 10:39 AM

By ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Six of nine deputies have pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from second-degree murder to aggravated assault in the beating and death of a Black man who was having a psychotic episode in a Memphis jail last fall. The deputies were charged in September in the death of 33-year-old Gershun Freeman, who was an inmate at the Shelby County Jail. Authorities said the jailers punched, kicked and kneeled on Freeman’s back during a confrontation after he ran from his jail cell. An autopsy said Freeman died of an exacerbation of cardiovascular disease after he was physically subdued. Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner has defended his deputies.

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