Nolan Wells March Brings Oxford Students Out For Answers
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Nolan Wells‘ name was back on signs at the University of Mississippi on October 25 as students and Oxford residents marched for answers about his death.
University of Mississippi freshmen Christopher Burnett and Avah Trevino organized the event, The Daily Mississippian reported. They walked from Fulton Chapel past the Walk of Champions, the Circle and James Meredith’s statue before returning.
“We just want, simply, for the family’s questions to be answered in further investigation,” Burnett said.
The demand had also reached Rider University, where its NAACP college chapter held an October 22 walk, according to The Rider News.
President E’miija Eccles brought campus Black organizations into the event and contacted Public Safety three weeks ahead. Participants made at least three laps around Centennial Lake.
Founding chapter president Naa’san S.J. Carr, a 2024 graduate, returned to speak. “We gather because remembrance matters, but so does the pursuit of truth and repair,” Carr said.
The marches followed the September 22 Jackson County grand jury decision to bring no criminal charges. Jurors found insufficient evidence to accuse anyone of a crime in the death of the 18-year-old, who had gone to Horn Island with friends for July 4.
Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said there was no evidence that Wells’ death was racially motivated. Through defense attorney Edward Paltzik, Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour maintained their innocence.
The state autopsy left the cause and manner of his death undetermined, while grand jurors described the circumstances as consistent with drowning.
The Wells family hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump and sought a second autopsy, separate from the state’s examination.
Relatives have said they still want answers about what happened during Wells’ last hours on the island.
At Mississippi State, students rallied on the Drill Field on October 16, The Reflector reported. The Mississippi chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized it.
NAACP political action co-chair Dave Claggette helped lead the event. Speakers urged students to vote and stay politically involved.
After about an hour, participants held a moment of silence for Wells and Richard E. Holmes, MSU’s first Black student.
