Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
23%
5 of 22 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has released new details from a forensic examination of Nolan Wells’ cellphone and the official autopsy, days after a Mississippi grand jury found no evidence of criminal conduct in the 18-year-old college student’s death.
asserted
jury → release → death
Wells, who was Black, was found dead two days after traveling with a group of mostly white friends to Horn Island for a July 4 party.
asserted
who → find → party
His family and attorneys have challenged the grand jury’s findings and called for federal authorities to investigate.
asserted
authorities → challenge → findings
They are also demanding the release of the grand jury’s investigative materials and the full official autopsy report.
asserted
They → demand → materials
Crump said Thursday that a forensic examination of Wells’ phone tracked messages and its location from the day before he disappeared until the device was returned to his family.
asserted
device → say → family
The grand jury had access to the cellphone evidence, including 282 pages of Snapchat conversations, when it met last week, according to its report and Crump.
uncertain
it → have → report
“The messaging, as I said, was very telling,” Crump said, adding that some of Wells’ friends had expressed concerns about racism on Horn Island.
asserted
some → say → Island
Forensic examiner Andrew Garrett said phone data showed Wells unlocked the device using facial recognition while it was on a boat at about 2:17 p.m.
asserted
it → say → boat
The phone was later locked and continued receiving messages as it traveled by boat and car before eventually being returned to Wells’ family.
asserted
it → lock → family
Garrett said some Snapchat messages had been deleted but stressed that he could not determine why.
uncertain
he → say → ?
No evidence was presented indicating anyone unlocked Wells’ phone after it left the island and before it was returned to his family.
asserted
it → present → family
Wells’ family has questioned why he would have voluntarily remained on the island without his phone after his friends left.
asserted
friends → question → phone
Attorney Edward Paltzik, who represents some of Wells’ friends, said it was unclear what new evidence the cellphone examination had uncovered.
uncertain
examination → represent → evidence
He said his clients never had Wells’ phone.
asserted
clients → say → phone
District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath also defended the investigation and called on Crump’s team to turn over any new evidence suggesting Wells was killed.
asserted
Wells → defend → evidence
The grand jury said Wells’ death was “consistent with drowning” and found no evidence that he had been involved in a fight or altercation on the island.
asserted
he → say → island
However, Crump and Wells’ family have questioned that conclusion because both the official and independent autopsies listed the cause of death as undetermined.
asserted
autopsies → question → death
According to Crump’s team, the official autopsy also found Wells’ airways and stomach were empty.
uncertain
airways → accord → team
“What this means is that there is no water in the stomach, there is no water in the lungs and there is no water in the throat,” family attorney Liza Park said.
asserted
Park → mean → throat
Both autopsies documented fresh bruising to Wells’ head.
asserted
autopsies → document → head
A witness told the grand jury that Wells had slipped awkwardly from the side of a boat at about 3:30 p.m. on July 4 but continued socializing afterward and did not appear injured.
asserted
Wells → tell → July
The grand jury said it could not determine whether the fall caused the bruising but concluded the injury was not fatal.
uncertain
injury → say → bruising
The Aporia
