MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Jury selection began Monday, August 3 in the trial of two former Shelby County corrections deputies charged in the 2022 death of Gershun Freeman at the jail at 201 Poplar.
Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham each face a charge of second-degree murder and a charge of aggravated assault. Both were in the courtroom Monday with their attorneys.
Both men have pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent. No jury has heard the evidence and no verdict has been returned. Nothing in this post should be read as a finding of guilt.
Jury selection was set to resume Tuesday at 10 a.m. and could continue into Wednesday. The court and attorneys expect the trial to run more than a week, with some reporting putting it at two.
What the record establishes
Freeman, 33, died on October 5, 2022 after an encounter with corrections deputies at the Shelby County Jail. An autopsy found he suffered cardiac arrest while restrained, and the medical examiner classified the manner of death as homicide. A homicide finding by a medical examiner means a death caused by another person; it is not a criminal charge and not a determination of criminal responsibility.
Court records indicate Freeman had been booked on charges of attacking and kidnapping his girlfriend. His family has said he was experiencing a mental health crisis when he was arrested. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, has said Freeman had a mental health breakdown before the encounter.
In March 2023, prosecutors released video from two cameras inside the jail. The video shows Freeman, unclothed, running from his cell, and shows corrections deputies wrestling him to the ground, punching, kicking and using pepper spray, joined by additional officers.
A grand jury returned indictments on September 21, 2023 charging nine Shelby County corrections deputies. Jones and Parham were charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault. The remaining deputies were charged with aggravated assault acting in concert resulting in death. Reporting differs on how many of those remaining defendants are still set for trial, and this post does not resolve that; the court file does.
The other defendants are to be tried separately. All are also presumed innocent.
Two details worth watching
The prosecutor is not from Shelby County. District Attorney Steve Mulroy recused himself from the case, and it was reassigned to Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk. That is an ordinary mechanism for handling a conflict, and it means the office prosecuting county employees is not the office that works with them daily.
The jury is sequestered. Jurors will be away from home and without phones for the duration. Much of Monday was spent with prospective jurors explaining why they could not serve, and sequestration was the primary obstacle. A sequestered jury narrows the pool, which is worth noting because who ends up on it is shaped by who can afford to disappear for two weeks.
Why It Matters for Memphis
This is the county's own jail, its own employees, its own video, and its own money.
Shelby County taxpayers fund the jail, employ its staff, pay for the defense of county employees where indemnification applies, and would pay any civil judgment. A separate wrongful death suit brought by Freeman's family has been in litigation, and the county has sought its dismissal.
The trial also lands in the middle of everything else at 201 Poplar. The county has spent $58 million on emergency repairs at the facility. Its chiller failed in June, sending temperatures to 92 degrees and 14 people in custody for medical attention. A family filed suit on July 28 over a separate death in custody, alleging eight days in jail on two misdemeanor charges without seeing a judge. The criminal justice reform group Just City counts 68 in-custody deaths at the jail since 2018.
Sheriff Floyd Bonner is term limited and leaves office September 1, 28 days from now. Voters choose his successor Thursday. Whoever is sworn in inherits the building, the litigation and whatever this trial establishes.
Accountability Watch
Who is accountable: The Shelby County Sheriff's Office, which operated the jail and employed the deputies. Shelby County government, which funds the facility and carries the civil exposure. The Davidson County District Attorney's office, prosecuting. The court, which controls the record.
What is pending: The trial of Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham. Separate trials for the remaining charged deputies. The family's civil suit. A public accounting of the county's total legal cost.
Timeline: Freeman died October 5, 2022. Video released March 2023. Nine deputies indicted September 21, 2023. Six defendants arraigned and pleaded not guilty in late 2023. Trial date moved at a November 21, 2025 hearing to May 4, 2026, then to August 2026. Jury selection began August 3, 2026. Sheriff Bonner leaves office September 1, 2026.
Status as of August 4, 2026: Jury selection underway. No verdict. Both defendants presumed innocent.
How to verify: The indictment, pretrial motions and rulings are in the Shelby County Criminal Court file and are public. The jail video released in March 2023 is public. The Davidson County District Attorney's office is the prosecuting authority and the point of contact for case status. The autopsy report is part of the record.
