Death of Black Teen Nolan Wells to Go to Mississippi Grand Jury

A grand jury ​in Mississippi will review the circumstances around the death of Nolan Wells before the evidence is made public ‌in the case of the Black teenager whose body was found in the water off an island he had visited with white friends, a local prosecutor said this week, but as of Friday had not said when jurors would take up the matter.

This week, an attorney for the ​teenager’s family said a private autopsy could not rule out foul play. The family’s calls for answers have ​been amplified by civil rights leaders and social media, feeding a debate about the safety of ⁠young Black Americans in predominantly white environments.

The district attorney for Jackson County said that, as a matter of routine, case ​information would be withheld from the public to protect the “integrity” of the grand jury which will decide if there is ​evidence a crime may have taken place and someone should be charged.

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The prosecutor did not respond to questions from Reuters about when jurors would be convened and ​what kinds of evidence they would consider.

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A pathologist who conducted an independent autopsy of Wells ​on behalf of his family could ​not draw conclusions and ⁠requested further information from the state medical examiner’s initial autopsy, Crump told a press conference earlier this week.

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