The Highest-Ranking Officer in the Jail That Day Graded His Own Team One Out of Ten. He Also Testified He Did Not Think CPR Had Started When He Arrived.

SHELBY COUNTY

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The trial of two former Shelby County corrections deputies charged in the 2022 death of Gershun Freeman held a Saturday session on August 8, its second day of testimony.

Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham each face charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Both have pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent. No jury has returned a verdict, and nothing in this post is a finding of guilt.

The case is being prosecuted by Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk, after Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy recused himself.

Testimony resumes Monday, August 10 at 9:30 a.m.

What the shift commander said

Chief Inspector Michael Green was the highest-ranking officer in the jail on the day Freeman died. Prosecutors and defense attorneys questioned him for several hours.

Green confirmed the jail has a written policy governing use of force.

He testified he was in his first-floor office when a Code Blue was called over the radio and public address system, and that when he arrived he saw officers with their hands up.

Asked whether Freeman was receiving CPR when he got there, Green testified he did not think so. Asked how long he was on scene before CPR began, he said he was not sure, because he was still being affected by the pepper spray.

Later, asked to assess how his team handled the situation, Green said he would give them a one out of ten.

That is the highest-ranking officer present grading the response on the record, under oath, in a criminal trial. It is testimony, not a finding, and a jury will decide what weight it carries.

What the video showed

Jurors were shown video from inside the jail depicting Freeman, who was unclothed, leaving his cell. Within seconds, according to reporting from the courtroom, several officers are seen punching, kicking and pepper-spraying him.

Later video showed Jones and Parham on the next floor with Freeman on the ground in handcuffs. When medical personnel arrived, they pronounced him dead at the scene.

Green testified that Freeman had reportedly expressed suicidal ideation, which is why he had been moved from the fifth floor to Cell 4J.

He also testified that the pepper spray appeared to have no effect. He described occasionally seeing people in custody who do not react to it as rare, and said Freeman was one of them.

The two accounts before the jury

The prosecution's case, as Funk argued in opening statements, is that Jones and Parham knowingly killed Freeman by pinning him face down in a prone position for more than five minutes, restricting his ability to breathe.

Medical Examiner Marco Ross testified about Freeman's physiological state during the restraint, describing a body seeking increased oxygen and blood flow, asking the heart to beat faster to deliver blood to tissues that needed it.

The defense's case is that the defendants did not intend to kill Freeman, and that the pepper spray made him harder to apprehend rather than easier.

Both accounts are argument until a jury decides. The autopsy classified the manner of death as homicide, which means a death caused by another person and is not a criminal finding.

Why It Matters for Memphis

This is the county's jail, the county's employees, the county's video and the county's money.

The nine charged deputies were indicted in September 2023. Jones and Parham face second-degree murder and aggravated assault. The other seven were charged with aggravated assault acting in concert resulting in death, and are to be tried separately. All are presumed innocent.

The trial lands into a documented record this newsroom has been building for weeks. The county has spent $58 million on emergency repairs at 201 Poplar. The chiller failed in June, sending temperatures to 92 degrees and 14 people in custody for medical attention. A family filed suit July 28 over a separate death in custody. Just City counts 68 in-custody deaths at the jail since 2018.

Sheriff-elect Anthony Buckner takes office September 1 and has said he plans to commission a feasibility study of the jail in his first year, noting that nobody knows how much life is left in the current building.

What this trial adds is testimony about the day itself, from the person who was in charge of it.

Accountability Watch

Who is accountable: The Shelby County Sheriff's Office, which operated the jail. Shelby County government, which funds it 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 Jones and Parham. Separate trials for the seven remaining charged deputies. A public statement on what has changed at the jail since 2022.

Timeline: Freeman died October 5, 2022, at age 33. Video released March 2023. Nine deputies indicted September 2023. Jury selection began August 3, 2026 and concluded August 6. Opening statements August 7. Second day of testimony August 8. Trial resumes August 10.

Status as of August 9, 2026: Trial underway. No verdict. Both defendants presumed innocent.

How to verify: The indictment, pretrial rulings and exhibits 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. The autopsy is part of the record.

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