03/22/24 03/22/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> need for an immediate sustained ceasefire with release of hostages. that would create space to relieve the suffering of many people and to build something more enduring.

amy: secretary of state antony blinken is back in israel as the u.s., for the first time, introduces a u.n. security council resolution supporting a ceasefire in gaza after months of vetoing either ceasefire calls. we will get the latest and speak to a doctor just back from gaza as world health organization warns the looming famine is putting the future of a generation in peril. then to the goon squad. six white law enforcement officers in mississippi have incidents touch 40 years in prison for torturing two black men, michael jenkins and eddie parker. one of the torture survivors will join us along with his attorney malik shabazz. >> this is a history making moment was top i'm just so sorry it had to come on they've accepted pain-and-suffering, the torture and shooting and abuse and waterboarding of michael jenkins and eddie parker, our

clients. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel is continuing its relentless assault on the gaza strip, with deaths reported earlier today in residential areas of gaza city, rafah, and khan younis. meanwhile, the deadly raid on al-shifa hospital is in its fifth day. israeli soldiers have killed at least 140 people at al-shifa. journalists and medical staff have been blindfolded and forced to strip naked. at least 13 patients have died in recent days due to a lack of medical treatment. and israeli forces ordered thousands of patients, staff, and displaced people sheltering at the hospital to evacuate as they threaten to blow up the entire facility. families, who were already displaced and are once again one the move, described their brutal eviction from al-shifa.

>> we were surprised that it to :00 a.m., there was shelling. the children were terrified. we stayed until the morning. we were not allowed to go down or up. they were calling over the loudspeakers for me to prepare themselves, that the emergency team should prepare itself. outside they turned it upside down. i don't know what more to tell you. the children were terrified. they turn things upside down in al-shifa. they did not care about a child or pregnant woman or youth or anything. amy: al jazeera has shared video that appears to show an israeli drone targeting then launching an air attack on a group of at least four unarmed civilians as they were walking in an open area of khan younis in gaza. one young man who survived the first bombing attempts to leave the scene before being killed in another strike. the shocking video is said to

date back to february but was released on thursday. this all comes as u.s. secretary of state antony blinken held a meeting with netanyahu and other israeli officials. the u.s. is now pushing for ceasefire deal in exchange for the release of hostages. blinken just wrapped up meetings with arab leaders in saudi arabia and egypt, where he said, "children should not be dying of malnutrition in gaza," adding "100% of the population of gaza is experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity." the head of israel's mossad spy agency is meeting with cia director william burns and egyptian counterparts for talks around ceasefire in qatar. meanwhile, over 70 former diplomats, government, and military officials have urged president biden to warn israel against building illegal settlements in the occupied west bank and denying palestinian rights. the officials, which include

clinton national security advisor anthony lake and other white house, pentagon, and state department diplomats say the u.s. should be prepared to hold assistance with israel. israel has killed at least 430 palestinians in the west bank since october 7, including 10 people on thursday alone. among those killed yesterday was a 19-year-old teenager and a 63-year-old man who converted to judaism but was reportedly "mistakenly shot." israeli forces have detained over 7350 palestinians in the west bank since october 7. u.n. officials continue to sound the alarm over the humanitarian crisis in sudan, which they've described as one of the worst in recent history. the u.n. security council met wednesday to discuss the conflict as it nears the one year mark since fighting broke out between the sudanese military and rival rapid support forces. edem wosornu, the director of operations for the u.n. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, warned

sudan is possibly on course to become the world's worst hunger crisis. >> malnutrition is soaring to alarming levels and is already claiming children's lives. the recent report reveals that one child is dying every two hours in north darfur. our humanitarian partners estimate in the coming weeks and months, somewhere in the region of around 222,000 children could die from malnutrition. and with the estimated who estimates that more than 70% of health facilities are not functional. amy: in haiti, armed groups have launched new attacks and blockades in the suburbs near port-au-prince with multiple deaths reported. the u.s. state department on wednesday confirmed it had

completed the first evacuation of more than 15 u.s. citizens from port-au-prince. florida officials also chartered a plane to evacuate over a dozen residents of florida from haiti wednesday. florida's republican governor ron desantis has warned he'll block the entry of undocumented haitian immigrants into florida and threatened to fly any undocumented haitians in florida to martha's vineyard in massachusetts. this comes as dozens of congressmembers are urging the biden administration stop deportations to haiti due to the worsening violence and instability and to extend temporary protected status for haitians. over 70 rohingya refugees are believed to be dead or missing after their boat capsized. at least 75 others have been rescued as of friday. more than 2300 rohingya refugees fleeing arrived in indonesia last year while hundreds of

others have died or disappeared after attempting to leave burma for bangladesh. french lawmakers advanced a new bill that seeks to rein in fast fashion's impact on the climate, labor rights, and the economy. the bill would ban certain ultra-fast-fashion companies like shein from advertising and penalize them by up to 10 euros per individual item of clothing. it also would force fast fashion retailers to include information on their products' reuse, repair, recycling, and environmental impact next to the product's cost. this is french lawmaker huguette tiegna. >> fighting fast fashion means first protecting children living in other countries. it means perverse -- preserving our biodiversity, preserving our french know-how, preserving our artisans who work hard day and night in our districts to create close that are sustainable and that comply with a minimum of environmental rules. in russia launched a mash-up

attack on the energy system of not killing -- any qureshi launched a massive attack on energy systems, killing people. it comes one day after u.s. national security adviser jake sullivan visited the ukrainian capital. back in the u.s., the justice department has filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against apple, accusing the tech giant of orchestrating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone industry. u.s. attorney general merrick garland announced the suit thursday. >> apple carries out into ways. first, imposes contractual restrictions and fees that limit the features and functionality the developer can offer iphone users. second, apple selectively restricts access to the points of connection between third-party apps and the

iphone's operating system. degrading the function of not apple apps and accessories. as a result, for most of the past 15 years, apple has collected a tax in the form of a 30% commission on the price of any app downloaded from the app store as well as on in app purchases. amy: in florida, republican governor ron desantis signed a new law banning unhoused people from sleeping in public places such as parks and sidewalks. the law requires counties to establish temporary campsites if shelters are at maximum capacity. under the law, individuals can sue a jurisdiction if they see people living on the streets. housing advocates and other critics say the law does not effectively address the housing crisis or provide necessary funding and further marginalizes the already-vulnerable unhoused population. here in new york, home health aides are on a five-day hunger strike, calling on the city to pass the "no more 24 act" to put an end to 24-hour workdays.

the majority of home health workers are women of color and immigrant women. guihua song from the chinese staff and workers association said -- "working 24 hours a day for a long time, our bodies have been tortured, broken down, and full of aches and pains. we cannot care for our children and families. many of our sisters' health is destroyed, and they too have become patients." in more liberties, georgia republicans passed a bill that penalizes union-friendly employers. the legislation would bar workplaces that voluntarily recognize unions from receiving state subsidies. republican governor brian kemp backs the law but it is expected to face tough legal challenges. the president of the afl-cio liz shuler called the measure "appalling," adding that it "violates long-held precedent established by the national labor relations act." and senator bernie sanders and congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez reintroduced the

green new deal for public housing act this week to address the dual crises of climate change and unaffordable housing. this is aoc. >> green new deal for public housing would admittedly replenish the multibillion-dollar back out for public housing repairs, repealed the bear claws amendment, invest billions of dollars over 10 years to preserve, upgrade, and expand our public housing stop zero carbon emissions while creating 280,000 jobs in america. it would end the of government neglect and privatization of our public housing stock. it addresses unsustainable rent prices. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken has arrived in israel to meet with prime minister

benjamin netanyahu as the united states has introduced a u.n. security council resolution for a ceasefire in gaza. despite mounting international pressure, israel is continuing its war on the besieged territory. the israeli military raid on al-shifa, gaza's largest hospital, has entered a fifth day. hundreds of palestinians have been reported killed or detained by israeli forces. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has vowed to go ahead with an invasion of rafah, where more than half of gaza's entire population has sought refuge. blinken spoke thursday from cairo, egypt. >> the need for an immediate sustained ceasefire with release of hostages. that would create space to search more humanitarian assistance, to relieve the suffering of many people and to build something more enduring. amy: a vote at the u.n. security council on the u.s. proposal could come as early as today,

but the language of the resolution has been criticized for not going far enough. a group of non-permanent members of the u.n. security council have drafted a separate resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. up until now, the u.s. has repeatedly blocked calls for a gaza ceasefire. on thursday, blinken also spoke about the humanitarian crisis in gaza. >> children should not be dying of malnutrition in gaza or anywhere else, for that matter. 100% of the population of gaza is experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity. we cannot, we must not allow that to continue. amy: joining us now in washington, d.c., is phyllis bennis, fellow at the institute for policy studies. she also serves as an international adviser to jewish voice for peace. her new article in "the hill" is titled "gaza shows food airdrops often take lives instead of

saving them." she also recently wrote a piece for al jazeera headlined "what lies behind the biden administration's changing 'ceasefire' language." let's start there. if you can talk about what the u.s. has introduced into the u.n. security council -- it could be voted on today and it -- also what could be voted on our -- is the resolution that has been adopted by or sponsored by eight of the elected members of the security council. >> thank you. what we are looking at is a lot of playing with words. what is different is the language of the biden administration. we heard it yesterday from secretary of state blinken and we are hearing from president biden, we are hearing from others using the word "ceasefire." we are seeing "the new york times" saying the u.s. is

introducing a resolution of the security council calling for an immediate cease fire. that is not the case. what the u.s. resolution calls for -- and we should be clear there has not been a formal distribution of what the u.s. is actually going to put on the table for the vote this morning. there is at least three different versions circulating around. but they're all about the same on the critical description. it is in the first operative paragraph of the resolution, uses the language of an immediate cease fire. but it does not actually call for a ceasefire. it does recognize the importance of a ceasefire and this has, and therefore, we should support the negotiations that are underway in doha. these are the negotiations that have been underway for weeks, the hostages as well as the parameters of a short-term ceasefire probably six weeks.

but the key thing is the u.s. draft does not call for an actual security council call for ceasefire. the language of eight of the 10 elected members of the security council is much simpler and much more direct. it says explicitly that the security council demands an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties leading to a sustainable ceasefire. period, full stop. the u.s. language is very convoluted. it then says something about and therefore, we unequivocally support the negotiations that are underway. so it takes all of the authority out of the secret counsel, makes the counseling to essentially a group of cheerleaders for the existing negotiations that are underway and takes away any

additional pressure that an actual security council demand for an immediate ceasefire would have because security council resolutions, as you know, is part of international law. it is enforceable. it does not mean it would be enforced, but it is a very powerful signal. something that an acknowledgment of the importance of a ceasefire is simply not that. it is not that. amy: do you think united states introduced the ceasefire resolution because the group of eight, of the unelected members of the security council, are introducing their resolution? and if that went forward, could the u.s. afford to veto it? >> i think that the u.s. resolution has been in preparation for quite some time. the resolution by the eight of the 10 elected members is a new

development that emerged only in the last several days. it is clearly in response to the massive escalation of political pressure both from governments and from civil society, certainly here in the u.s., but also around the world where there is demand, there is outrage at the united states position at the united nations, which has been a consistent pattern that has gone on for months now of vetoing in the security council any calls for ceasefire and voting against it in the general assembly where it has no veto, and using pressure -- economic, political pressure -- on other countries to encourage or in some cases really pressure them to vote against these resolutions. there is outrage growing. the u.s. government and the biden administration in particular is very isolated as a result. here in the u.s., we are seeing a huge escalation in the opposition to the biden

administration insistence on continuing to support israel, sending military aid despite the change in language, the recognition of famine that we just heard again from secretary of state blinken. the recognition of the humanitarian crisis that is killing people, the level of hundreds every day. when we are hearing from the mediterranean experts at the level of famine is at 55% of the entire population of northern gaza right now, the highest possible level of absolute famine -- which means that even if food began to be delivered on a large scale today, probably hundreds, maybe even thousands, of the most vulnerable people -- primarily babies and children and the elderly -- would be at risk of dying because their bodies have been so undermined, so destroyed by the lack of food and water for so long. so we're dealing with an absolute crisis. an absolute human catastrophic

crisis. what we are hearing is wordplay at the united nations. how can we use the language of "ceasefire" so everybody says, oh, they're calling for ceasefire, without calling for ceasefire? amy: this is benjamin netanyahu speaking to the israeli parliament about plans to invade rafah, where more than half of gaza's entire population has sought refuge. >> we share this desire to allow in orderly exit of the population from rafah and the provision of humanitarian aid to silly populations. we have been doing this is the beginning of the war. i made it clear to joe biden in our conversation that we are determined to complete elimination of hamas battalions and raw fat and there's no other way to do it step going in on the ground. amy: there he is speaking to the israeli parliament. he addressed republicans in a closed-door session and there's a question whether the house

speaker will be inviting him to address a joint session of congress. phyllis bennis, if you could talk about what netanyahu is doing, the significance of the calls for there to be new elections by none other than the majority leader in the senate chuck schumer, a real change from the way he has embraced the israeli leadership? >> this is something that is a long history in the united states. over the last 15 years or so, there has been a significant shift in how support for the long-standing u.s. support for israeli military, military, economic support, political and diplomatic support -- how all of that shakes out in washington. it has become a much more partisan issue, something that groups like aipac and other parts of the probe israel lobby have always wanted -- pro israel lobby have always what it. they have wanted it to be a

bipartisan consensus to support israel and it no longer is. the polls have enjoyed for years there is a massive shift underway, particularly generational, but also between parties where on the democratic party side, support for israel has diminished profoundly. on the republican side, it has been a complete embrace of all things israel. what we're seeing now is a continuation of that, certainly with the republican leadership in house of representatives following what happened in 2015 when the republican leadership in the house at that time invited netanyahu to address a joint session of congress in order to pressure president obama and oppose the iran nuclear deal that was then being discussed. it was one of these things that was diplomatically outrageous. it had never happened before. there was no consultation with the white house. usually they are invited by the

white house. not this time. netanyahu ignored the white house, came at the invitation of the republican leadership of the house and gave what amounted to a campaign speech in u.s. capitol as if it was his own capitol, calling on the members of congress to vote against their own president in the interest of his country. and in response, over 60 members -- mainly of the progressive and especially the black caucus of the congress -- protesting the racism of netanyahu toward president obama, boycotted the speech -- something that had never happened before. we are saying essentially a repeat of that now where he is emerging as a partner of republican opposition that is demanding more support for israel, more money for israel, more arms for israel, at a time of the biden administration itself, despite its change of language, is continuing to send more weapons and more money, trying to get congress to approve $14 billion more in

military aid to israel without any conditions. that is in violation of u.s. law. what we're saying is a real shift on the political parameters. you mentioned earlier the diplomats and former military leaders in the united states who are calling for reevaluation of the u.s. aid to israel, saying it must be conditional, it must not continue at this level. we are seeing that coming from all kinds of new places. from funders of the biden campaign poster pressure is mounting in ways i've never seen in decades of doing work -- amy: i want to quote from over 100 democratic that have worn the president support for israel's assault could cost him the election saying "because of the disillusionment of a critical portion of the democratic coalition in the gaza war increasing the chances of a trump victory."

you have the state department, white house like clinton and the national secured advisor anthony lake -- deep establishment people, saying this has to change. yet president biden seems to say the least dragging his feet on this. the whole issue of weapons, sending weapons to israel. we just learned in "the washington post" exposé, over 100 shipment of weapons through this time just under the threshold where it would have to be approved by congress. we are wrapping up and then we will talk to a doctor who particularly deals with child nutrition and hunger in gaza. we what to have your final comment on what this would mean. yet the same time you have senators like van hollen, merkley -- both went to rafah -- and others who are saying cut the weapons sales. >> it is crucial to weapons sales be cut. one of the things i want to point out in the last moments, this issue of chuck schumer

coming out against netanyahu. there is a move to isolate prime minister netanyahu right now. it is certainly appropriate. part of the reason he is in power is to stay out of jail. but we have to be very clear that the people who are likely to replace him if he were to either resign or be recalled in an election, they all support this war. so we should not have the illusion that i'm afraid people like chuck schumer and others might have that anybody who is not netanyahu should be and would be welcomed with open arms in washington with more weapons, more hundreds of smaller weapons shipments that would not necessarily have to be approved by congress. this is a very dangerous reality. we have to be clear this is a systemic decision by the israeli leadership, not a one-man show in this horrific genocidal war being waged in gaza. we have to be careful to not

fall into that trap of putting it all on one person and thinking that if one person is replaced, somehow that is an answer. amy: phyllis bennis is a fellow at the institute for policy studies. serves as an international adviser to jewish voice for peace. we will link to your articles. when we come back, we speak to a doctor just out of gaza. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "sung to children" by fairuz. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we continue our coverage of israel's war on gaza, the world health organization director-general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus warned thursday the future of an entire generation of palestinians is in serious peril. >> on tuesday, the integrated partnerships say gaza faces imminent famine because so little food has been allowed in. 60% in northern gaza of children.

all households are already skipping meals every day and adults are reducing their meals so children can eat. children are dying from the combined effects of malnutrition and lack of adequate water and sanitation. the future of an entire generation is in serious peril. amy: we are joined now by dr. nahreen ahmed. she is a pulmonary and critical care doctor based in philadelphia. the medical director of the medical humanitarian aid group medglobal. her first medical mission to gaza was earlier this month, she january. returned to gaza where she volunteered for two weeks. she left on wednesday and joins us now from gaziantep, turkey. dr. ahmed, thank you for being with us. talk about what you have seen in terms of child hunger. >> thank you for having me and for this opportunity to speak

about what is going on. this was my second trip back and it was pretty clear how rapidly the malnutrition has risen in gaza. i had the ability to actually go and see what was happening in the north as well. i will start with the south. we have a stabilization center in the south of gaza that is purely to treat malnutrition. the situation is so bad, there needs to be specific centers that are primarily treating patients with malnutrition. as was mentioned, the most vulnerable population here are children under five. we are also seeing pregnant and lactating women are suffering as well and there's a rapid increase in malnutrition across mothers as well. you can imagine these two things are connected as children under five or newborn babies are receiving nutrition from their parents, their mother. with the fact mothers are also experiencing malnutrition, we are seeing newborn babies are being born at an astoundingly

low weight. infections are happening rapidly as a consequence. mothers are going through a mental health crisis of experiencing the inability to feed their children because of their own level of malnutrition. the percentages of malnutrition from when i went in january two when i just returned now have doubled. that is practically a months time. this situation is happening so rapidly, that even if aid was increased tomorrow, would still be in a severe situation where the amount of food would not be enough in the immediate term. this is what i, unfortunately, witnessed with my own eyes. amy: can you talk about what it means when children in incubators, a little older children, experience now nutrition? how they are able to cope? they get some kind of aid, go out of

the hospital, being more bondable, especially, to say the least, the extremely harsh conditions now of gaza? >> thinking about this, first of all, this is not just a problem that is solved by nutritional therapeutic feedings. this is a cyclical problem. one, it is very painful. a child suffering from hunger is extremely painful thing to experience. two, the access of food once someone is released from an inpatient unit, is going to be a problem. you see children chasing after food distribution trucks. children chasing with water bottles to water trucks. this situation is also degrading for them to have to experience finding food and water in this way. lastly, when we talk about vulnerability, we're talking about vulnerability to infections. in the north of gaza, almost

every single patient ice on the inpatient pediatric unit was suffering from malnutrition. either there were suffering from liver disease from rampant hepatitis a from lack of access to clean water or had severe pneumonia that they were even more subject to complications because levels of malnutrition. children are dying from infections as well, the complications of severe malnutrition. all of these issues are preventable. amy: i want to turn to a palestinian who has nothing to feed her children. >> what has this child done to suffer from hunger? i cannot find milk for five shekels or a packet of milk from the agency. the normal milk is 150. there is no work. there is no food, no drinks. we started eating donkey food.

we are like animals. amy: that is a posting mother in gaza. the u.n. agency for palestinian agencies, unrwa, is calling the situation in northern gaza beyond desperate. maybe that is why the israeli government wants them to lose all their funding, the most comprehensive agency for palestinians there in gaza. in a post onx, unrwa said they visited a hospital and fuel and medical supplies were delivered but aid is just a trickle. food needs to reach the north now to avert famine. you went to that hospital. can you describe the difference between january and now? and what about the doctors and the medical staff, how are they dealing with all of this? >> i think we just lost dr. nahreen ahmed so we going to go

to break and see we can get her back. she is a pulmonary and critical care doctor based in philadelphia. medical director of the medical humanitarian aid group medglobal. she just got out of gaza and is speaking to us from gaziantep, turkey. back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: "mississippi goddam" by nina simone. in a moment we will go to mississippi were a so-called goon squad, self-described, of police officers and sheriff's deputies have just been sentenced to years in prison for torturing their victims. but we are going to see if we can now resume our contact with a doctor just out of gaza. first, we're going to keep looking at the looming famine.

>> the hospitals rely on quota systems for how many drugs that keep in their pharmacies and stocks in each department and have to choose between joyfully stock my operating theater, my icu, or emergency room. this is where you have doctors facing horrific decisions of having to intubate and amputate children and adults without anesthetic in emergency rooms. part of the reason is we have internally displaced people living in hospitals, sheltering in hospitals because they have nowhere safe to go. they are stay in hospital beds. what does that mean for injured people? they arrive and get a quick and dirty surgery in an operating theater and have nowhere to be hospitalized afterward. or when they are, they are lost throughout the hospital and our teams spent all day searching for the patients they just operated on 12 hours before.

the longer this war goes on, the longer these wounds had to rot. the infections are getting worse and worse and it is horrific for providers and absolutely horrific for these patients. amy: she is with doctors without borders. she went on to describe how the humanitarian crisis in gaza is impacting women and children. >> two populations are particularly vulnerable, pregnant and lactating women who are already facing iron deficiency and anemia before the war which puts them at risk for hemorrhage during birth. with the work of an estate of malnutrition which means they can't breast-feed properly. the milk doesn't necessarily come in deftly not enough. the other population is children under two years. there's not enough space for us to work closely with the mothers to help them start lactating again. we can even access them.

you have to have day-to-day activities with those women and that is not something that is not possible for us right now. those children need to be breast-fed. if not, they need formula. to have formula, the clean water. none of these things are possible. women are squeezing fruit into tissues and trip feeding their children with some sort of sugary substance to nourish them. amy: she is with doctors without borders. speaking at the united nations on tuesday. we are rejoined with dr. nahreen ahmed, pulmonary and critical care doctor based in philadelphia. she is speaking to us from gaziantep, turkey. if you can go on to talk about the mental health situation of the people in gaza, particularly children? >> the mental health situation is devastating. pre-war, 50% of gazan children

were experiencing ptsd. this is not the first time given that 50% of children were experiencing it, we are probably up to 100% of children expressing trauma based on the day-to-day proximity to missile strikes and experiencing what they are experiencing. our team that went with me this last week in collaboration with an organization, we went to several of our medical access points and shelters across rafah . we spoke to women and children about what they are experiencing and approach mental health support. music, activities. very low cost. we're not just talking about medications, we're talking about the ability to get agency, a voice and empowerment back to people. what we heard was the amount of

children unable to dream. that's the first thing they tell us, we have no dreams. we used to have dreams. we cannot imagine or lives will go back to normal. you hear children say, i want to go home. in an exercise we did with a group of women and children, mothers and children, caregivers and children, the number one thing when asking people to think about something positive they could hold onto, they would draw a picture of them returning to their home. this was overwhelmingly the number one thing. most of these children have been displaced more than one time. they talk about how much they miss their home, miss playtime, playing with children, going to school. we met so many children who just wanted to be back in school. there missing that opportunity to have any kind of intellectual stimulation and it is causing a great deal of depression,

anxiety, and just absolute horrific experience for all involved. amy: we thank you so much for being with us. dr. nahreen ahmed is a pulmonary and critical care doctor based in philadelphia. with the group medglobal medical , director of the medical community turned aid group. she just left gaza on wednesday, speaking to us from gaziantep, turkey. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show in mississippi, where six former law enforcement officers have been sentenced to between 10 and 40 years in prison each for raiding a home and torturing two black men. the officers, all of whom were white, belonged to a group that described itself as the "goon squad." in january 2023, the six officers burst into a home and then beat, handcuffed,

waterboarded, and tasered michael corey jenkins and eddie terrell parker. the officers also sexually abused them with an object while shouting racial slurs. one of the officers put a gun in jenkins' mouth for a mock execution and pulled the trigger. the bullet lacerated his tongue, broke his jaw, and exited through his neck. the officers then planted drugs at the scene in an attempt to cover up their act. the attack occurred in the majority-white rankin county, which is about 20 miles away from majority-black jackson, mississippi. some of the officers were also sentenced for their role in a separate assault, just two weeks earlier, when another member of the goon squad repeatedly tased a man and pressed his genitals in his mouth. while the charges focused on these two cases, "the new york times" and "mississippi today" have revealed that deputies in the rankin county sheriff's

department have for decades barged into homes, handcuffed people, and tortured them for information or confessions. u.s. attorney general merrick garland issued a statement thursday saying -- "the depravity of the crimes committed by these defendants cannot be overstated, and they will now spend between 10 and 40 years in prison for their heinous attack on citizens they had sworn to protect." we go now to jackson, mississippi, where we are joined by eddie parker, as well as his attorney malik shabazz. malik shabazz, can you talk about the courtroom scene and the sentencing of the sheriff's deputies and police officers for what they did? >> good morning to the democracy now! audience and ms. goodman. the scene inside this courtroom

and the united states district court for the sentencing of the goon squad was incredible. you would not believe it if it was a movie. to see the big bad intimidating murderous goon squad, to see hollow of them there, to see all of them in court crying tears out of their eyes and begging the judge, begging eddie and michael -- in this packed room -- was incredible. it was well-deserved. so many other families and victims have had to shed those tears and go to joe for a long time behind their crimes and lies. it was incredible. and never have we seen this many police officers sentenced to this kind of time in one week. it was awesome. amy: talk about how this self-described goon squad operated.

>> ok. the operate worse than criminals. they handcuffed people. like they did to eddie. when they handcuffed, they don't use warrants. they beat, they tase, they take their private parts out of their pants on another victim. they use dildos or a among eddie and michael. they waterboarded them like u.s. troops in iraq. they put guns to heads, guns in malls. they shoot in mounts. everything you have ever heard the police may do, they did. they throw down guns, they plant guns, they still video tapes. this is why they have received

the longest and strongest sentences for any police brutality case in the history of united states of america. and even the world. this week the 132 years given to the goon squad squad defendants represent the longest criminal sentences ever given out collectively and individually to police officers in the history of united states of america. and they deserve every day and hour of it. amy: eddie terrell parker, your feelings in the courtroom after having been so seriously brutalized and tortured, to see these officers put away for years? >> it was a moment in history. it was satisfying. i enjoyed every second of

watching it all come to reality. amy: i wanted to turn to michael jenkins' mother, mary j because, who earlier in the week spoke outside the federal courthouse in jackson, mississippi. >> when i first found out my sign was shot and he was shot in the mouth, i was on a certain he was dead. i called rankin county and at first they would not let me speak with anyone. they said they were in a meeting. when i finally spoke with someone, i asked if my son was alive. and he said, "as far as i know." i said, "when can i see him?" he said, "when we let you see him." this is a crying mother on the phone trying to inquire about his son. he said, "michael is our property." my son shot in the mouth and he is telling me that michael is

their property. amy: that is mary jenkins, michael corey jenkins' mother will stop malik shabazz, will michael corey jenkins and eddie terrell parker also civilly sue for not only personally these men but, clearly, one of the things their lawyers argued, the lawyers for the sheriff's deputies and the officers, is that there was this permissive atmosphere that allowed them to operate in this way. will they be suing the state or the city? >> we are suing rankin county and its board of supervisors and sheriff bailey who was supposed to be running a department that is supervised and monitored its officers. unfortunately, during the sentencing hearing, it came out that the chief investigative officer, similar to internal

affairs, the criminals ran the department in rankin and that is why they are facing a very large civil judgment and civil trial in this case. this is a pattern and practice of the rankin county police department to routinely ignore constitutional rights violations. i want to say one thing and then i want to hear from the mississippi attorney trent walker who is with me. eddie terrell parker gave the most powerful victim's testimony in these three days of sentencing these six defendants. he was very powerful. michael jenkins father was very influential in these hearings. i would like you to hear a further answer on your question from mississippi attorney trent walker who is from rankin county. here he is. >> hello.

amy: if you could talk about the significance of what has happened and does this open up hundreds of cases going back decades? >> it should open hundreds of cases going back decades. anything that these six have touched, given the testimony that they themselves gave and they used terms like there was a culture of violence -- more than one of them said that. and that violence and brutality was expected for you to work on the night shift, which they did not refer to as the night shift. they talked about it as the goon squad shift. yes, anything that they touched should go back, be as a matter of course, be overturned.

new find they are willing to plant evidence and falsify reports -- you know, they had michael jenkins charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and with possession of drugs. michael could have been sentenced to up to 38 years in prison. as a criminal law practitioner in rankin county, i can tell you he would not have been slapped on the wrist. he would have served many years in prison for those charges that they falsified and put on him. amy: i want to go to u.s. attorney der lamarck speaking last year announcing the federal charges against the former officers for the attack. >> these defendants committed heinous acts of violence against handcuffed victims when they to rest them under the color of law

. as reflected in the information's unsealed today, these men sexually abused their victims, repeatedly tased them, tortured them all under the authority of the badge, which they disgraced. not only did they brazenly commit these acts, but after inflicting serious bodily injury by putting the shot through one of the victims malls, they left them lying in a pool of blood. gathered on the porch of the house to dis discuss how to covt up. what disregard for life. amy: i am wondering if either trent walker or malik shabazz

can talk about the state charges , so federal charges, what this means. we're talking about officers sentenced not only for the attack that we are describing today on michael corey jenkins and eddie terrell parker, but to ask before when they barged into someone's home -- i think this was dedman -- and how has he been described? the judge said he committed the most shocking, brutal, cruel acts imaginable. attorney shabazz, you described dedman as oppressive and sick. talk about these acts that you know about that they did, that there were sentenced for in addition to the case of michael and andy. >> about a month before they had targeted a person named adam. adam schmidt allegedly had offended dedman because he had

allegedly stolen something from one of dedman's friends. so the goon squad gangsters, they had the tag tracers and had an order out that if they found him driving anywhere without any probable cause, to stop him that they were going to stop him and do with him. they found him one night. they called dedman who came off duty on duty and then dedman, who was on this night shift -- i want to remind you that according to the sentencing hearings come you could not work the night shift in rankin county sheriff's department without being a part of the goon squad. and overall, you could not rise or be promoted into the rankin county sheriff's department without participating in violence and being violet at night with the goon squad. and everyone of the defendant

said they were doing ok in their careers until they were inducted into this gang called the goon squad. dedman himself -- they're so much sickness here. in the officer you see who would whip out his private parts and put it in the mouth of a defendant on the side of the road, take his gun out, shoot it by the side of his head to make him believe he is going to be killed, pull his pants down while handcuffed -- this came out in 4 -- pull a man's pants down while handcuffed, grabbed his genitals, told him how -- the size of his genitals, then dry humped him. it came out in court that dedman dry humped event after they took him to a private house in another jurisdiction. you would not believe it if you saw it if you saw in a movie.

i imagine it will be that one day. in mississippi -- i have got to say this. we have a department of justice civil rights division that is headed by a black woman and kristin clark takes her job seriously. her southern division attorneys have pursued and made history in this area. and judge thomas lee -- they thought judge thomas lee in mississippi would not do justice and, oh, how he has set a standard and put police officers on notice all over america that if you do the crime, you are going to do the time. just like anybody else. amy: i want to say eddie terrell parker, you and michael corey jenkins, amazingly brave in coming forward and describing what happened to you, which seems to have broken open all of these investigations right now. i want to thank civil rights attorney malik shabazz and trent

walker with black lawyers for justice and eddie parker, who was tortured by the goon squad. thank you so much joining us from jackson, mississippi. that does it for our show. happy belated birthday to tami warnock. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]