Family of Dexter Wade Denied Witnessing Exhumation in Latest Insult

Civil Rights Lawyers Call for Justice Department Investigation into Handling of Case

Dexter Wade, a 37-year-old man from Jackson, Mississippi, was struck and killed by a police officer in March 2023 and was buried without his family's knowledge in a pauper's field at the county penal farm.
His mother, Bettersten Wade, discovered his death in late August and arranged with Hinds County officials to exhume his body for an independent autopsy and a proper funeral.
Despite an agreed-upon time for the exhumation, county officials exhumed Wade's body hours earlier, denying his family the chance to witness the process.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has expressed regret about the city's handling of Dexter Wade’s death, blaming a miscommunication and saying there was no malicious intent.
Civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Dennis Sweet, representing Bettersten Wade, are calling for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the circumstances surrounding Dexter Wade’s death and its aftermath.