Johnathan Walker:Unmarked grave controversies prompt DOJ to assist Mississippi in next-of-kin notifications

The Johnathan WalkerDepartment of Justice announced Thursday it will provide "technical assistance" to a local Mississippi police force and coroner’s office with next-of-kin death notifications in the wake of controversies surrounding missing loved ones who were buried in unmarked graves.

Federal authorities are providing the aid to the Jackson Police Department and Hinds County Coroner’s Office pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs receiving U.S. financial assistance.

"The lack of timely next-of-kin death notifications resulted in deceased individuals receiving pauper’s burials in unmarked graves in Hinds County, and some reports have indicated that there may be a perception that race or other factors played a role in the process concerning next-of-kin death notifications," the Department of Justice wrote.

The department said Thursday's announcement is not a finding of fault or wrongdoing and that Jackson police and the Hinds County Coroner’s Office voluntarily agreed to receive federal help, which will include training and recommendations on how best to locate next-of-kin and notify them that their loved ones have died.

“Families want and deserve transparency and the opportunity to make decisions about their loved ones’ burials,” said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Through technical assistance, we aim to ensure that officials are able to deliver death notifications and make decisions regarding burials in a timely and trauma-informed way that complies with federal civil rights law.”

Thursday’s announcement comes after Jackson police and the Hinds County Coroner's Office drew national scrutiny over the troubling death, burial and exhumation of Dexter Wade. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump called for a Justice Department probe after discovering Wade, 37, was struck by an off-duty officer driving a police cruiser, after which authorities failed to notify Wade's family and left his body at the county morgue for months before burying his body in a paupers' grave.

Two other families also discovered that their loved ones – Marrio Moore, 40, and Jonathan Hankins, 39 – were buried in the same unmarked field. All three men was reported missing, but it took months for their families to learn of their deaths. The families retained Crump and attorney Dennis Sweet last year, and pleaded local authorities for answers on why they weren't notified of their loved ones' deaths.

"How many more? We need justice. We need accountability. We need some answers," said Bettersten Wade, Dexter's mother.

DOJ to assist Jackson police, Hinds County coroner's office

Federal officials from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi will examine Jackson police practices on missing persons and new policies on death notifications and provide recommendations on implementation and training. Assistance to the coroner’s office will include policy recommendations and training on locating next-of-kin, the department said.

Aryele Bradford, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, confirmed to USA TODAY that it was not opening an investigation or taking legal action. The assistance will include reviewing policies, procedures and training related to next-of-kin death notification, Bradford said. 

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said he welcomed the Justice Department’s help. He noted Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade “took the initiative to update and strengthen the policy that JPD already had in place.”

“The new policy consists of a checks and balances system that will help ensure that all efforts are exhausted when making an effort to notify a decedent’s next of kin,” Lumumba said.

The mayor previously said Bettersten was not contacted due to a lack of communication between local departments, and called it an "unfortunate and tragic incident."

Jackson police and the Hinds County coroner’s office did not immediately return USA TODAY’s requests for comment Thursday.

Wade was carrying ID when buried in unmarked grave

An off-duty Jackson officer driving a police SUV fatally struck Wade as he was crossing Interstate 55 last March. His body remained at the county morgue for months before he was buried in an unmarked grave. Months later, his body was exhumed after the family called for an independent autopsy and funeral, but officials removed his body without them present.

Wade's body was “completely ran over” by the cruiser, with multiple blunt force injuries to his skull, ribs and pelvis, and his left leg was amputated, Crump said. He cited the findings of pathologist Frank Peretti, who was hired by the family. The body was also in an “advanced state of decomposition” and had not been embalmed, Crump said.

Wade’s family has expressed outrage over not being contacted or informed of his death, and city officials have defended the lack of contact by saying they didn't immediately know Wade's identity because he carried no ID. But the independent autopsy results debunk the city's claims by stating Wade was in fact carrying identification and the family could have been promptly notified. Crump said a wallet in the front pocket of Wade's jeans contained his state identification card with his home address, along with his credit card and health insurance card.

“The fact that Dexter had a state identification card and several other identifying items shows us that there was a concerted effort to keep the truth and manner of his death from his family,” Crump said. “There is no excuse, not even incompetence, for not notifying a next of kin of an identified man’s death."

Contributing: Charlie Drape, USA TODAY Network