Over 200 Unmarked Graves Were Found Behind A Cemetery In Jackson, Mississippi

Typically, OnlyInYourState brings you your daily dose of state pride. Whether that’s the best hiking trails to explore, road trips to take, or where to get the best burger. Today is different. This is not a feel-good story. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. But this story needs to be told. More people need to know what’s going on in Jackson, where 215 unmarked graves were found in Jackson, Mississippi.

The 215 bodies were recently discovered in the fall of 2023.

These unmarked graves are located behind the Hinds County Penal Farm in Jackson, Mississippi.

The revelation came to light after Bettersten Wade spent seven months looking for her son, Dexter Wade, who had suddenly gone missing in March of 2023.

It was later revealed that Dexter had been hit by a Jackson police car while crossing a highway, but there are more questions than answers. Dexter had identification on him, he had his wallet with his ID and credit cards that could easily identify him, but police never informed his family. It wasn’t until a new investigator took on the case in August of 2023 that Bettersten learned that Dexter had died, and then another two months to track down his body. To add salt in the wound, the Wade family had to pay a $250 fee to claim Dexter’s body.

Since Dexter’s story, many families have discovered their missing loved ones are buried in these shallow, unmarked graves.

To make matters worse, it appears the families were never informed of their deaths despite many cases where the bodies were buried with identification on them. These are families that were still holding out hope that their loved ones were still alive.

The shallow graves do not contain a headstone, nor any other identifying marker... just a metal rod with a number.

The bodies were also not embalmed nor were they given coffins. They were buried in body bags. It’s believed that the prisoners were responsible for digging the graves.

According to records from the coroner’s office, this gravesite has been used since 2016.

And it appears that none of the families were notified. While the Jackson Police Department has changed its policy on how they inform families, the mayor maintains that there was no misconduct or malicious intent from police.

As we learn more about these graves, a common thread among them seems to be that they were all working class and poor.

And there are both white and black victims here. Regardless, the disregard for human life is astounding.

While this is an extremely tragic story, we hope that this revelation will finally bring closure to many families and hopefully, something like this can never happen again.