Nolan Wells, 18, died under unresolved circumstances after a Fourth of July boating trip off the Mississippi coast. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith publicly called for answers following Wells’ funeral on July 20. An independent autopsy funded by Colin Kaepernick returned inconclusive results, while the official state autopsy remains pending. Attorney Ben Crump and the NAACP have demanded a transparent DOJ investigation. Wells’ mother says local authorities prematurely called his death accidental. Civil rights leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, have called for justice as questions about racial bias in the investigation continue to mount.
