Jackson County NAACP encourages public to wait for facts in Nolan Wells case
GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV) — State and local chapters of the NAACP responded on Thursday to the investigation surrounding 18-year-old Nolan Wells’ death.
The Mississippi State Conference NAACP said in a statement that they have been in direct contact with the Wells family and others close to the situation to offer both support and resources. Conference leaders also say they are committed to ensuring that Nolan’s death is investigated with urgency and absolute transparency. The Mississippi chapter is in support of the family’s call for sheriff’s investigators to release all relevant details in the investigation and say they are actively monitoring the situation.
If you would like to read the complete statement, click here.
On the local side, Jackson County NAACP President Curley Clark, per a statement to WXXV, is encouraging the community to wait for the facts in the investigation.
“We want to try to ensure that the family wouldn’t be hurt anymore than they had to be hurt with all these false accusations being made. So we wanted to appeal to the community to wait until the facts were known. And we want to ensure the community that the NAACP was gonna make sure justice would be served, but we want to make sure that everything was based on factual evidence,” said Clark. “So, that’s the stand of the NAACP. We’re monitoring the situation. We’ve ensured that the family had reputable representation, and we are confident that we are going to get to the bottom of what took place that led to his death.”
Clark says the Jackson County NAACP believes there has been contradicting and conflicting information thus far in the investigation, which is why he is encouraging the community to be patient for factual updates in the case.
“It just goes to serve that you got to wait until all the facts are made known, everything’s been verified before all of these things can be brought to conclusion. So, the NAACP, we want to make sure that there’s some full transparency, there’s been a complete investigation, and that justice will be served,” he said.
Clark told WXXV that until further information is made available, the NAACP will continue to monitor the investigation, but they will not be taking actions in the form of a public conference on the matter until it is necessary.
“We’re waiting because the ongoing investigation and everything that would be reported at this point would be preliminary. The autopsy results haven’t been made known, and I think I’ve read somewhere where the independent autopsy attorney [Ben] Crump thought that those results may be made Friday, but we’re going to wait and see if that takes place,” said Clark. “But in addition to that, the local authorities, the state authorities, they’re going to have to complete their autopsy and toxicology reports, things like that, would have to be finalized. So, right now, everything is in a fluid situation, and we just don’t want to put out any type of preliminary indications before, before more of the facts have been made known.”
He’s encouraging the public to come forward with any information they have concerning the case to ensure the investigation is thorough.
“It’s very important that all the information that can be obtained be obtained, and let the proper authorities have it to run down all of the leads to make sure that no stone is left unturned to get to the bottom of this,” he said.
