Third Mississippi Man Is Buried in a Pauper’s Grave Without Family’s Knowledge

Published on December 12, 2023

JACKSON, Miss.—A third man in Mississippi has been discovered buried in a pauper’s cemetery without his relatives’ knowledge—and despite authorities knowing the identities of the deceased. It is the latest case in which families learned of their deceased love one’s death from news reports instead of from officials in Hinds County, Mississippi, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Jonathan David Hankins, 39, is the third person to have been quietly buried in the paupers’ cemetery near the Hinds County Penal Farm in suburban Jackson, said Crump, who represents the families. “Jonathan David Hankins’ family has been desperately seeking answers about their loved one’s disappearance for more than a year,” Crump said in a news release. “Now, to find out from news reports that his body was found in the same county where Dexter Wade’s body was buried after being struck by a police cruiser raises disturbing questions.”...