Al Sharpton is urging Democrats to pursue a congressional probe into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells if the party wins control of the U.S. House.
Wells died following a Fourth of July boating outing to Horn Island, Mississippi, with three white teenagers. Speaking at a National Association of Black Journalists convention panel in Atlanta, Sharpton appeared with civil rights attorney Ben Crump and members of Wells’ family, saying the unanswered questions in the case — coupled with Mississippi’s fraught racial past — demand closer examination.
Sharpton said he could not claim to know exactly what took place, but argued that the circumstances could not be viewed in isolation. “I don’t know what happened, but I got your history in Mississippi,” he said. “And the history tells me: Black boy go out with three white kids, three white kids come back. There’s a blurred story on what happened.”
He added that the explanation surrounding Wells’ death has left too many doubts. “Some about this don’t make sense, given your history,” Sharpton said. “And I’m going to stay on this until we find out what happened. It may be nothing, but we’re not going to leave that up to chance with people that are distorted. We’re going to stay on this case.”
Sharpton then connected the case to the upcoming November elections, saying that if Democrats regain the House, lawmakers could use congressional authority to press for answers should local or state officials fall short.
“If we have a change in January and there is a Democratic House, I said that if Hakeem becomes the speaker, he needs to have the chair of Judiciary subpoena them to the Judiciary Department,” Sharpton continued.
The death of Nolan Wells has drawn growing public attention, with supporters calling for transparency and more information from investigators. Sharpton, actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry, and former NFL star Terrell Owens have collectively offered a $125,000 reward for information that could help authorities identify and convict anyone responsible.
Sharpton also took aim at local law enforcement, criticizing officials for publicly indicating that they did not believe a crime had been committed.
“We can’t have someone in law enforcement saying there was no foul play before there was an investigation,” Sharpton said.
