PBS News Hour

jail outside of Jackson, Mississippi,# has left a community in disbelief.

The families are angry their loved ones# were buried in so-called pauper's graves## marked by just a metal rod and a number# and families were never notified of their## deaths.

The startling revelation came months# after the mother of 37-year-old Dexter Wade## filed a missing persons report last March.# It wasn't until August when Bettersten Wade## learned her son had been hit by a police car# and killed, then buried in that same cemetery.

For more about this case and the disturbing# details that have emerged since then,## I am joined now by Bettersten Wade# and civil rights attorney Ben Crump,## who is representing her and other families.

Welcome to you both.

Ms. Wade, and thank you for joining us.

BETTERSTEN WADE, Mother of# Dexter Wade: AMNA NAWAZ: I understand, that your son was missing several times, even# after he had been buried without your knowledge.

Give us a sense of what they told# you over those many months and what## those months were like for you,# not knowing where your son was.

BETTERSTEN WADE: Well, it was devastating# to me, because I didn't know wh And then I was calling them.

They didn't# have no information to let me know,## have they found any information?

All# the details that I gave them for leads,## they never came back to me to say, well, that lead# led to something that we can work with.

And I just## couldn't believe that he had disappeared off# the face of Earth and nobody knows where he at.

And it was just horrible for me.

And every# day I wake up, I just want -- I just look,## look, look, just looking for him, just# out in the streets looking for him.

And,## I mean, that's heartbreaking for# a mother, and can't say hello,## don't know how to get in touch with him.# That is a horrible thing for a mother.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mr. Crump, after it was# discovered that Dexter had been killed,## that he had been buried in this grave,## his body was exhumed in November.

There was an# autopsy conducte But I also understand a wallet was# found in his front pocket with his I.D.,## his home address, his insurance card.# What's the explanation officials give## for why no one was notified# he had been killed and buried?

BENJAMIN CRUMP, Attorney For Wade# and Other Families: There really## They claimed that they tried to reach out to# Ms. Be Bettersten is the named plaintiff in# a lawsuit against the Jackson Police## Department, because they killed her# brother three years earlier.

Now,## she went through two criminal trials,# had several press conferences.

So when they called her house, if they# did call her house, like they claim,## they knew where she lived.

They knew how to get in# contact with her if they really wanted to notify## her that her son Dex had been hit by a police# car.

So it is very suspicious that they would## just bury him in a pauper's grave because they# said they could not identify his next of kin.

Ms. Bettersten does not accept it.

And# because of her tenacity, it has exposed## all of these loved ones being dropped in# a hole in a bag behind a Mississippi jail.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mr. Crump, the Jackson# mayor did say there were mistakes.## He also just said that Dexter Wade's# death was a tragic acciden there was no malicious intent# in failing to notify the family.

We know the police department has new# notification procedures right re course are you specifically seeking right now# in these -- for these families you represent?

BENJAMIN CRUMP: We're seeking to have the# federal Department of Justice come in and## do an investigation to make sure that# each and every one of these citizens,## disproportionately Black citizens,# whose lives matter will be identified,## their families notified, and# them given a proper funeral.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I should say, Ms. Wade,# I mentioned families because you are## not alone here.

There's been in the last few# months the discovery 40-year-old Mario Moore and 39-year-old# Jonathan Hankins were also killed and## buried in that same cemetery and their# families not notified for months.

From your perspective, Ms. Wade,# what do you want to see happen now?

BETTERSTEN WADE: Well, first of all,# I feel like that the city need to give## me an acknowledgement to say that, hey,# I'm sorry.

I mean, just give me some kind## of closure and explain to me what actually# happened to my son on that freeway that night.

How did it actually occur, you know, just# what went down, the events that went down## with it?

And I want to see justice.

I want to# see justice done for this, because it's wrong.## It's wrong to take somebody's child and bury# them in a field and take -- and I didn't even## get a last chance to say anything to my child,# or I didn't even get a last chance to just say,## babe, I love you, just to look down# on them and say, babe, I love you.

They haven't even came and called me and said,# Ms. Wade, could you come down to you what happened?

I mean, I haven't even got# a word.

And so how do that feel?

That makes you## feel like they are guilty.

They are guilty of a# crime, because they can't tell you what happened.

AMNA NAWAZ: Ms. Wade, do I understand# correctly that the mayor, no one from## the police department has reached out to# you to explain what happened to BE TTERSTEN WADE: No, no one have reached# out to me to say -- to explain it,## to explain what happened to my son.

But I did at least have city supervisor to say that they hated what happened to me.

But# I haven't had said anything -- nobody from JPD,## Jackson Police Department, have# came to me and acknowledged me.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mr. Crump, the story gets even# more disturbing with this discovery of 215## bodies in that cemetery.

What# do we know about those bodies?

BENJAMIN CRUMP: We know, based on the records# from the coroner's office, that, since 2016,## in the last eight years, we can identify 215# individuals that were buried behind that jail,## and their families have not been notified.

Furthermore, Mr. Wade was number 672.# That means there are 671 buried behind that jail marked with only a number.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mr. Crump and Ms. Bettersten Wade,# I thank you so much for joining us tonight.

I## have a feeling we will be following up on# this story in the weeks and months ahead.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Appreciate it.

BENJAMIN CRUMP: Thank you.