2026-09-22 04:19:03 UTC / 路透社
一名女子在祈祷集会上佩戴诺兰·威尔斯徽章，这场集会是为了纪念克里斯汀和埃尔莫·温斯利的儿子诺兰·威尔斯本应到来的19岁生日。威尔斯的尸体于2026年7月4日周末与朋友一同前往的一座岛屿附近被发现，该活动于2026年8月19日在美国密西西比州比洛克西的大圣约翰AME教堂举行。… 获取授权许可，将在新标签页打开查看更多详情
华盛顿，9月21日（路透社）——杰克逊县地区检察官安杰尔·迈尔斯·麦克尔雷斯周一晚间表示，大陪审团一致决定不对诺兰·威尔斯的死亡案提起任何起诉。威尔斯是一名18岁黑人男性，7月4日与朋友出游后，其尸体在密西西比州一座屏障岛被发现。
“大陪审团认定，没有可信证据支持公开指控称，任何在2026年7月4日乘坐‘特里同号’、‘棕榈滩号’或‘海岸线号’往返霍恩岛的人员，存在与威尔斯先生死亡相关的犯罪行为，”麦克尔雷斯办公室周一晚间公布的大陪审团报告称。
美国民权倡导者和知名民权律师本·克拉普曾要求当局对威尔斯的死亡展开全面调查并保持透明。
作为威尔斯家族代理律师的克拉普在报告公布后于X平台表示，威尔斯的死亡仍需给出答案，大陪审团不起诉任何人的决定并未解决威尔斯的死因问题。
7月6日，威尔斯的尸体在密西西比州墨西哥湾沿岸外的霍恩岛西北端被发现。此前他于7月4日周末与来自附近密西西比州海洋温泉市的朋友一同前往该岛游玩后失踪。
威尔斯的死亡从当地调查升级为受到全国关注的案件。尽管当局未指控存在谋杀行为，但在他死亡后的几周里，家属、民权领袖和其他人士对透明度、问责制以及针对黑人受害者案件的关注度差异提出了质疑。
大陪审团在报告中补充称，“威尔斯先生尸体的位置、状态、发现时间和地点与溺水情况相符”。
“密西西比州首席法医和（姓名已隐去的）博士均认为，威尔斯先生的死亡原因和方式尚未确定，溺水属于排除性诊断，”报告称。
报告表示，大陪审团了解到两名法医专家均未排除意外溺水为死因的可能性。
“经过彻底且详尽的调查，杰克逊县的大陪审团于上周就诺兰·威尔斯的死亡调查进行了审议，并一致作出了‘不予起诉’的决定，”麦克尔雷斯在一段脸书视频中表示。
麦克尔雷斯称，没有证据支持有关威尔斯的失踪和死亡是出于种族动机的指控。
Kanishka Singh 华盛顿报道；Michael Perry 编辑
Grand jury declines to indict anyone in death of Black teen Nolan Wells in Mississippi
2026-09-22 04:19:03 UTC / Reuters
A woman wears a Nolan Wells pin during a prayer rally to mark what would have been the 19th birthday of Christine and Elmore Wonsley’s son Nolan Wells, whose body was found off an island he had visited with friends on the July 4th weekend, at the Greater St. John AME Church in Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S. August 19, 2026…. Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tabRead more
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – A grand jury has unanimously declined to indict anyone in the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black man whose body was found on a Mississippi barrier island after a Fourth of July trip with friends, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said late on Monday.
“The grand jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026 on the Triton, the Palm Beach, or the Tideline engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells,” said the grand jury report released late on Monday by McIlrath’s office.
US civil rights advocates and prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump had sought a comprehensive investigation and transparency from authorities on Wells’ death.
Crump, who is representing the Wells family, said on X after the grand jury report was released that Wells’ death still demanded answers and that the grand jury’s decision to not indict anyone does not resolve how Wells died.
Wells’ body was found on July 6 on the northwest end of Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, after he went missing during a Fourth of July weekend trip there with friends from nearby Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
Wells’ death had evolved from a local investigation into a case drawing national scrutiny. Although authorities had not alleged foul play, questions were raised in the weeks after his death by family members, civil rights leaders and others about transparency, accountability and disparities in attention to cases involving Black victims.
The grand jury found that “the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning,” its report added.
“Both the State of Mississippi Chief Medical Examiner and Dr. (name redacted) opined that the cause and manner of Mr. Wells’ death is undetermined and that drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion,” the report said.
The report said the grand jury understood that neither forensic expert had ruled out accidental drowning as a cause of death.
“Jackson County, after a thorough and exhaustive investigation, your grand jury met last week concerning the death investigation of Nolan Wells and unanimously returned a no true bill,” McIlrath said in a Facebook video.
McIlrath said there was no evidence to support the allegations that Wells’ disappearance and death were racially motivated.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Michael Perry