Who is Ben Crump? Nolan Wells’ family hires ‘America’s black attorney general’ after Mississippi teen’s death
family Nolan Xavier WellsThe 18-year-old man from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, who was found dead in the water on the northwest tip of Horn Island on Monday morning, July 6, has reportedly hired prominent attorney Ben Crump. Wells disappeared on July 4 after sailing to the island with friends. this The search for the teen has been called off Passed by a body found Monday, July 6, park rangers.
Wells’ cause of death has not been released. The circumstances of his disappearance and death also remain unclear.
“Nolan Wells was a beloved son, teammate and friend who went out to celebrate the Fourth of July and never came home,” Crump said in a statement, according to the Clarion Ledger. “His family deserves answers. They deserve the truth. We will not rest until every fact about what happened to Nolan at Horn Island is revealed, and we call on investigators to pursue this case with the urgency and transparency this family deserves.”
Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lind told the Sun-Herald that the body found matched Wells’ description. However, as of Monday afternoon, the Mississippi Medical Examiner’s Office had not confirmed the identity of the body through DNA testing.
one to fund me The campaign for the family said that after “an extensive search involving countless volunteers from the U.S. Navy, first responders, local law enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard and organizations in the area, our worst fears came true.”
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, July 7, Crump’s team said.
Active investigation
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said the investigation is ongoing. TMZ reports that the Sheriff’s Office is investigating a video shared on social media that appears to show people getting into an argument on Horn Island over the holidays. Video showed crowds of people on the beach, but it was unclear whether it was related to the case.
Crump and his legal team are planning an independent review and have pledged to press for the “timely release of all records, witness statements and autopsy results.”
Who is Ben Crump?
Crump is a well-known American civil rights attorney and the founder of the national law firm Ben Crump Law PLLC. He has represented victims’ families in some of the most high-profile cases, including those of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Breonna Taylor
Crump has been named a 2021 Most Influential Person by TIME100, one of Ebony Magazine’s 100 Most Influential African Americans, a National Trial Lawyer Top 100 Lawyer, and a 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year. He is known as “America’s Black Attorney General,” according to his website.
“Crump is president of the National Association of Civil Rights Trial Lawyers and previously served as president of the National Bar Association. He is the first African American to serve as chairman of the Florida State University School of Law’s Board of Trustees and is founder and director of the Benjamin Crump Institute for Social Justice. In 2023, the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Miami, Florida, changed its name to the Benjamin Crump School of Law. It is one of the most diverse law schools and the first in the country to be named after a practicing black lawyer, and this partnership will open doors for minority students pursuing law degrees,” his website states.
“Attorney Crump has dozens of accomplishments, including the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award, SCLC Martin Luther King Jr. Servant-Leadership Award, American Justice Association Johnnie Cochran Award and Alpha Kappa Alpha Eleanor Roosevelt Service Medal,” the statement added.
Crump even hosted the legal documentary Proof of Innocence on TVOne and Who Killed Tupac: The Search for Justice on A&E. He served as executive producer and writer on the documentary “Women in Action,” which tells the story of Nichelle Nichols, one of the first African-American television actresses.
“Crump’s book, published in October 2019, Open Season: Legalizing Genocide against People of Color, reflects on the landmark cases he fought and how discrimination in the courts destroyed real families and communities,” his website reads.
Crump is a graduate of Florida State University and received his law degree from Florida State University College of Law.
