The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks during a news conference with Christine and Elmore Wonsley, parents of Nolan Xavier Wells, at National Action Network headquarters, Friday, July 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
- Without providing evidence otherwise, Al Sharpton issued a statement Tuesday morning disagreeing with the Jackson County grand jury’s no true bill in the case of Nolan Wells.
Hours after Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers-McIlrath announced that the grand jury had unanimously returned a no true bill in the death investigation of Ocean Springs teen Nolan Wells, Rev. Al Sharpton issued a statement saying they “will not confuse the absence of an indictment with the presence of an answer.”
READ MORE: No indictments handed down by Jackson County grand jury in death of Nolan Wells
Sharpton, along with Nolan Wells’ family attorney Ben Crump, has been pushing a racially charged narrative surrounding the teen’s death.
The 18-year-old Wells went missing on July 4 following a day on Horn Island with friends, many of which were white men also in their late teens. Wells, who was black, did not return with his friends, choosing to stay on the island longer that afternoon. He was reported missing in the early morning hours of July 5 and was then found on the shoreline of the island on July 6 after a search by law enforcement and concerned community members.
The parents of Wells engaged civil rights attorney Crump soon thereafter and Sharpton came on alongside the legal team to call for transparency, justice and answers, often referring to the possibility of foul play and using Mississippi’s past racial tensions to stir emotions and drive unfounded narratives in the case. Sharpton even came to Jackson County to speak at the teen’s funeral.
Tuesday morning, Sharpton said when he stood over Wells’ casket two months ago, “I said we wanted answers. A no true bill is not an answer to how 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells left for an outing with friends and never came home.”
“In my eulogy at Nolan’s funeral, I called for every stone to be rolled back and every veil torn away so that the truth could come out. That demand did not expire with this grand jury,” the founder of National Action Network said.
Sharpton went on to say, without providing evidence otherwise, that “while we strongly disagree with the conclusion that there was no criminal wrongdoing, we will not allow today’s decision to become the final word on Nolan’s death.”
“We will continue to demand answers, pursue accountability, and mobilize with even greater resolve until justice is served,” he said.
Sharpton then again used a similar refrain to harken back to the state’s past, saying, “Mississippi’s history painfully teaches us exactly why families should never be expected to simply accept unanswered questions surrounding the death of a young Black person. Transparency and accountability matter. The truth matters. Nolan’s life mattered.”
He further stated that Wells’ parents still do not know exactly how Nolan died, and “serious questions remain, including about the blunt-force injuries to his head.”
However, according to the grand jury report, “the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning.” It also noted that the bruising on the back of Wells’ head “was not a fatal injury” and the exact cause of the injury remains uncertain. A witness testified that he saw Wells slip off the side of a boat but could not say whether the teen struck his head in the fall. Yet, the witness did say he saw Wells socializing after the slip and did not appear to be injured.
Sharpton concluded his statement, saying, “I stood with Christine and Elmore Wells when they buried their son, and I stand with them now. They deserve compassion. They deserve dignity. And most of all, they deserve the truth. “
Frank Corder
