The NAACP’s Office of General Counsel announced Monday that it will join the legal team investigating the death of Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old whose body was found in the water off Mississippi’s Horn Island on July 6 following a Fourth of July boating trip with friends.
What did the NAACP say about joining the investigation?
The organization stated it will work with the family’s legal team, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, to ensure a thorough investigation focused on transparency and accountability.
“We’re taking up this fight to search for truth and to demand transparency concerning the tragic death of Nolan Wells,” Kristen Clarke, General Counsel of the NAACP, said in a news release statement.
Wells’ death has raised concerns among his family, their attorneys and Black communities nationwide. His parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, continue to seek answers and advocate for their son over a month later.
Federal review request
On Thursday, they joined Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention and Career Fair in Atlanta. The Wonsleys participated in a panel, sharing memories of their son and describing the events before his trip and the search that followed, Blavity reported.
By the afternoon, the group held a press conference with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Representative Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), calling for a federal review into Wells’ disappearance and death.
On Wednesday, U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, requesting a review into Wells’ case. Despite an ongoing investigation by local law enforcement, Clarke’s letter states that a local investigation does not diminish the need for federal assistance or an independent assessment of whether additional investigative resources or federal jurisdiction are warranted.
“We simply want to ensure that every appropriate resource, investigative tool, and avenue of inquiry is being used to establish the truth,” she said in a news release.
NAACP president on the Nolan Wells case: ‘The deaths of young Black people are dismissed’
Wells was reported missing on the night of July 4 after several friends said he decided to stay behind on the island to talk with a girl he had met named Katie. The teen’s body was later found in the water on the northeast side of the barrier island on the morning of July 6.
Crump and his legal team have since raised questions about Wells’ death, the statements from his friends, and why his phone was with one of them and not on his body when he was found.
An independent autopsy was commissioned by Wells’ family on July 7 and conducted by Dr. Robert Mitchell. The results were revealed at the 117th NAACP National Convention in Chicago last month, with the autopsy’s findings stating that Wells’ cause of death remains undetermined.
The NAACP’s involvement in the case will further highlight the century-long commitment the organization has to bringing truth to Black families who have lost their loved ones.
“The world is watching, and Nolan Wells’ family deserves a thorough accounting of what happened,” Derrick Johnson, President & CEO of the NAACP, said in a press release statement. “Too often, the deaths of young Black people are dismissed, downplayed, or inadequately investigated unless we demand answers. Our involvement in this case is part of our ongoing commitment to make sure those answers are pursued with urgency and respect for Black lives.”
