- Nolan Wells’ death ruled undetermined despite evidence of blunt-force injuries
- Grand jury decision not to indict leaves family with unanswered questions
- Family and civil rights advocates call for continued investigation and federal involvement
The Nolan Wells case has officially entered that maddening category of cases where authorities can tell you what didn’t happen, but somehow still can’t tell you what actually did.
According to CNN reporting, a Jackson County, Mississippi, grand jury unanimously decided not to bring criminal charges in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, the Black teenager whose body was found in the waters near Horn Island two days after he disappeared during a Fourth of July outing with friends. After months of questions surrounding how Nolan ended up separated from the group, the grand jury concluded there was no evidence of criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing.
And while that may be a legal conclusion, it is understandably difficult for Nolan’s family to view it as an answer.
The grand jury reviewed a massive amount of information, including testimony from 43 witnesses, 132 subpoenas, cellphone and GPS data, videos, photographs and forensic reports. Investigators determined that the position and condition of Nolan’s body were consistent with drowning. But that’s the part that continues to make this case so frustrating, both Mississippi’s medical examiner and an independent forensic pathologist hired by Nolan’s family determined that the cause and manner of his death were undetermined.
The independent examination also documented blunt-force injuries to the back of Nolan’s head and his body. None of those injuries have been satisfactorily explained, according to ubiquitous civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Crump has argued that a decision not to indict anyone does not magically transform unanswered questions into answers and has called for the investigation to continue, including potential federal involvement. Crump spoke to both his and the family’s resilience to get justice and answers at a press conference following the announcement of the decision.
Via NBC News:
“Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McArthur will have you accept that Nolan Wells’ death can be summarized in three words: ‘We’ll never know,’” attorney Ben Crump said. “But Nolan’s family offers three other words: ‘We’ll never stop.’”
Rev. Al Sharpton also spoke to the insufficient nature of the grand jury’s ruling.
Via theGrio:
“A no true bill is not an answer to how 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells left for an outing with friends and never came home,” Sharpton said. “His cause and manner of death remain undetermined.”
Sharpton added that the family “will not confuse the absence of an indictment with the presence of an answer.”
That distinction is of great importance. Nobody is saying a grand jury should manufacture a criminal case where the evidence does not support one. But after everything Nolan’s family has endured, “no charges” understandably lands as a devastatingly incomplete conclusion when the official cause and manner of death remain undetermined.
Nolan left home for a holiday outing and never came back. His family buried an 18-year-old son while still not knowing exactly how he died. Now the grand jury has closed the door on criminal charges while leaving that central question hanging in the air.
The investigation can reportedly be revisited if credible new evidence emerges. For Nolan’s family, however, the painful reality remains the same; they wanted answers, and this decision still leaves them desperately searching for them.
