В суде по делу убийства заключенного в тюрьме Шелби-Кантри прозвучали противоречивые показания экспертов о причине смерти

‘Coughing, struggling to breathe:’ Jail nurse, forensic pathologist testify in Gershun Freeman murder trial MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The second-degree murder trial for two Shelby County jail deputies entered its fourth day of testimony Tuesday. Jurors heard from a forensic pathologist on how Gershun Freeman died, along with a nurse who described Freeman’s final moments in a chaotic environment. Jail deputies Stevon Jones and Cortney Parham are charged in the 2022 death of Freeman, who was an inmate at the jail. The defense called forensic pathologist Dr. William Oliver, who rejected the state’s claim that Gershun Freeman died of mechanical asphyxia from being pinned face-down. Instead, Oliver testified that Freeman died of cardiogenic shock caused by severe underlying heart disease and the extreme adrenaline rush of the fight, psychosis, and heavy pepper spray. “Does mechanical asphyxia occur? Absolutely, but it’s when people, you know the cases that I’ve seen are farmers out in the field where the tractor falls over and they’re caught underneath the tractor or, you know, as Dr. Lee said, when someone’s working under a car and the jack breaks and the car falls down,” said Oliver. “While these corrections officers are pretty beefy guys, they’re not an F-150.” Oliver created a presentation for the jury explaining this reasoning. Part of that shared recent studies showing that people can be put in prone positions with weight on their backs and breathe just fine. “Overloading of adrenaline here, you’re moving from the GS dominance to the GI dominance and that causes myocardial stunning. In other words, the heart muscle just can’t work,” said Oliver. The state called Shelby County Jail Nursing Director Michaela Armstrong who testified that the air on the fifth floor was thick with chemical spray impacting employees. She said many were throwing up. “Coughing, struggling to breathe, trying not to throw up,” said Armstrong. Armstrong also testified she couldn’t keep her fingers on Freeman’s neck long enough to check his pulse because of the conditions on the floor. Armstrong stated she could not tell whether Freeman was conscious when she arrived but based on the video played in court, he did not look like he was. Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday morning. Click here to sign up for our newsletter! Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline. Copyright 2026 WMC. All rights reserved.