Nolan Wells and 10 other unsolved Black death cases: Catalog injustice with this free app

Black communities have noticed a disturbing pattern recently of Black people dying in mysterious ways, and then local officials jumping to early conclusions about the causes of death. In addition to cases like Nolan Wells, Daniel Erving, and Tyler Smith, who were found dead near bodies of water, this year, a number of Black bodies have reportedly been found hanging from trees across the country. - GRIO

‘Can’t Be Trusted’: In a State Scarred by Lynchings, Four Black Deaths and One Troubling Autopsy Finding Have Black Families Questioning Mississippi’s Medical Examiner

Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old student at Southwest Mississippi Community College. On July 6, authorities found his body submerged in water near Horn Island, a remote barrier island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. - Atlanta Black Star

Cataloging unsolved Black death cases

‘Don’t Sweep Under the Rug’

• At Least Six Black People Found Hanging, Families and Communities Question Quick Conclusions from Police. Kyle Bassinga, 21, was found dead, hanging from a tree in Marietta, Georgia, on Feb. 18. - Atlanta Black Star
• Haitian immigrant with mental illness found dead after ICE released her in 20 degree weather wearing summer clothes. The medical examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide. A lawyer for the family announced their decision to file a lawsuit “very soon” because they want to see justice done. - The Guardian

70 modern-day lynchings

The “Crimson Record” report published by JULIAN found that over 70 modern-day lynching cases have taken place across TX, LA, MS, AL, TN, GA, and FL since 2000. Defining a modern-day lynching (MDL) as “a multiple perpetrator homicide, targeting a group or individual, driven by race, gender identity, or other bias with the intent of causing community terror or carrying out an extrajudicial homicide for a perceived threat or wrongdoing,” experts noted that lynching is “one of the hardest hate crimes to prove,” and is often ruled as a suicide initially. - The Grio

“A Crimson Record exposes the long-buried truth about modern-day lynchings, calling these crimes exactly what they are despite systemic attempts to erase and deny them,” said JULIAN founder Jill Collen Jefferson. “Lynching has never disappeared — it has adapted, hidden behind silence and indifference.”

And among the findings, Mississippi reported the highest number of modern-day lynchings with 20 cases, a trending uptick that has been flagged since 2021 and echoes elements of the state’s violent history. 

Takeaway: Justice must to be color-blind.

Deepak
DemLabs

DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG AND INFOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF.

For Whom the Bell Tolls - John Donne

No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own Or of thine friend's were. Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.