MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tyre Nichols’ parents, RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, plan to be in the courtroom as fired Memphis detectives Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley go on trial Monday in the beating death of their son after a traffic stop in 2023.

“You’re the mother. You want to make sure that what they’re saying is correct and you want to make sure that everything is going accordingly,” says RowVaughn Wells. “So you have to sit there and listen, even though you don’t want to.”

The former police officers are charged with depriving Tyre Nichols of his rights through excessive use of force, failure to intervene and obstruction of justice for conspiring to cover up what happened.

The felony charges carry a possible sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. Two other former policemen indicted in the case have pleaded guilty.

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