On the morning of February 6, 1986, Rankin County Deputy Sheriff Travis O. Biddle, a 56-year-old Caucasian male, began what was supposed to be a routine transport of three inmates from the county jail in Brandon, Mississippi, to the state penitentiary at Parchman. The three prisoners, identified as Marvin Edward Hoover, Stephen Allen Sutherland, and Marty Hitt, were secured with handcuffs and restraints. However, the journey took a tragic turn on a stretch of Mississippi Highway 8 near Minter City in Leflore County.
Unbeknownst to Deputy Biddle, two of the inmates had a concealed weapon. Hoover and Sutherland had managed to smuggle a razor blade, which one of them had hidden in his Bible, and used it to sever their leather restraints during the trip. In a coordinated attack, Hoover reached over the front seat from behind and began to choke Deputy Biddle with a handcuff chain. As Biddle was being assaulted, Sutherland lunged forward, grabbed the deputy's service revolver, and shot him. After fatally wounding the officer, the inmates dragged his body from the patrol car and left him in a ditch along the roadside before fleeing in the vehicle.
The escape of the three inmates was short-lived. A few hours after the murder and escape, law enforcement captured Hoover, Sutherland, and Hitt. The subsequent investigation led to severe legal consequences for the two men who orchestrated the attack. Both Marvin Edward Hoover and Stephen Allen Sutherland were charged with and convicted of capital murder. Following their trials, both men were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The violent death of Deputy Biddle prompted significant changes in law enforcement protocols in Mississippi. In direct response to the incident, the state legislature passed a law requiring that all vehicles used for transporting prisoners to the state penitentiary be equipped with protective screens to separate the officers from the inmates. This measure was implemented to prevent such a tragedy from happening again and stands as a lasting part of Deputy Biddle's legacy. He was survived by his wife.
