Latest / The Breakfast Club / One-on-One with Ben Crump: Nolan Wells' Funeral, the Kadir Skinner Video, and the Cases He's Fighting For

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One-on-One with Ben Crump: Nolan Wells' Funeral, the Kadir Skinner Video, and the Cases He's Fighting For · The Breakfast Club

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Today is the day the family of Nolan Xavier Wells
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: lays their son to rest.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: He would not.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Want us to be sitting around crying and eating.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: So what we're gonna do is kind of have a.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Party, and I'm joined by the man fighting for answers
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: they still don't have.
• 0:22
  Speaker 3: We're gonna to get to the truth.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Civil rights attorney Ben crump sits down with me for
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a one on one the latest on the Nolan Wells investigation,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the Kadeer Skinner case, Daniel Irving, Conan Wilie, We talk
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: all of it. It's Monday, July twentieth, from the Black
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Effect Podcast Network.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: I'm Needy Brown. This is front Page. Stay with me.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for being here with me today.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: How are you, thank you, Mimi.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: I'm doing well, you know, considering everything happening today.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: There's a lot happening today. Family and friends are saying
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: goodbye to Nolan. I know you've spent a lot of
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: time with the family over the past few weeks. How
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: are they holding up.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: They're still distraught, still in disbelief, still dealing with just
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: a wide range of emotions. Fourth of July will never
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: be the same. Fore, the Nolan Welles family never.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: What do they want people to remember the most about Nolan,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: you know, as.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: His mother Christine, and his father Elmore, and even his
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: sisters and brothers. They talk about how he was always
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: the person who was positive, who was the light.
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: In the room.
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: His mother and father say he was always the peacemaker
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: as well for the family. And they said that, you know,
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: he was doing incredibly well in football. He had a
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: great season last year and they were expecting him to
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: have a breakout season. And his father said they were
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: so focused on that. He was about to get an
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: nil deal to a Division I school and you know
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: now they don't have reason to go to the football games.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: You know, his laughter, his you know, just presence. I mean,
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: it is devastating when you lose a loved one, and
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: so it's multiplied in this situation because of all the
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: uncertainty about what really happened as to why Nolan Wells
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: is dead today.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: And you know, speaking of that, has your investigation uncovered
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: anything in the last twenty four to forty eight hours
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: that has changed how you and your team are looking
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: at Nolan's death.
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: You know, this is one of the most intense investigations
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: that we've worked on in quite a while.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: The fact that we have.
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: An incredible team of investigators, incredible team of lawyers and
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: paralegals who I work with on a daily basis, and
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: we're getting so many calls from people who are on
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: Horn Island, and people have photographs and videos and testimony,
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: and it is really starting to get us there where
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: we believe that we're going to get the truth, and
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: that is what we've always asked for. We want to
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: get to the truth of what happened and have accountability
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: because his parents did not feel they were going to
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: get our investigation that was fair and impartial. They had
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: distrust of the legal system based on the history of
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: the state of Mississippi. And I know a lot of people,
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: you know, attack us when we say that, but I'm sorry.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: We have to live in our experiences and a civil
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: rights lawyer for twenty six years, but I've been black
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: all my life, and I understand when their dynamics that
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: such as these investigations are handled differently if they are reversed.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: You mentioned, you know, you know, getting that self on footage,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: seeing those photos. The sheriff says that they've spoken to
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: more than sixty witnesses that they've interviewed more than sixty witnesses.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: From your perspective, is there anyone that you believe that investigators,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: even yourself with your own teams, still need to hear from.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: There are several people want to hear from. We want
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: to hear from everybody, me, me, everyone, and they're doing
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: their investigation. We're doing our investigation. We will try to
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: do things collaboratively when we can, but I'm not certain
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: that we're going in with the same perspective because, as
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: I've articulated, if this would have been three black boys
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: with a young white boy he ended up dead, it
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: would have been a different investigation. We've seen we would
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: have saw. Nobody can tell me differently because I've seen it.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: I've faulted too many times. There wouldn't be they say, well,
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: they're cooperate, and it wouldn't have been a choice. Had
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: it been three black boys, they would have been interrogated
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: like we see on first party, they would have been separated,
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: they would have still been in jail right now, I
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: mean taking cell phones. There would have been arrest and
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: I mean it's different. And black people in America understand.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: That I know you met with the district attorney, and
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: they said that the case will eventually go before a
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: grand jury.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: But is that is that normal?
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: You know, do they do they arrest first and then
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: go to the grand jury or is this something that
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: you know we're watching play out because of you know,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: the racial dynamics of the case.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: Well, I think it's the public pressure. You know, whatever
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: they say about us, I'm a student of my personal hero,
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: Theurgood Marshall, and so I believe in speaking truth to power.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: I understand that what my role is. You know, we're
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: private citizens. We don't have the power or the authority
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: to arrest anybody, to charge anybody, to put anybody in
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: jail and take away their liberty. But what we can
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: do is shine the light. We can fight in the
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: court of public opinion. And I think that's why you
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: hearing them say we're gonna do certain things. I mean,
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: the sheriff had come out and said, you know the
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: first day that infuriated Nolan's mother that well doesn't seem
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: to be an if oul play is an accidental drown
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: and that was his suggestion. And I mean, no investigation,
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: just taking their word for it, and that is the
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: troubling thing because we have black people been involved with
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: somebody had been killed a white person and they just
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: took our word for it and me, maybe there are instances.
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: I mean, and you know this came out last week
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: where I announced that we'll represent two other individuals who
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: died black young men who were with white friends.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Is one of them, right.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: Daniel Irvin in Dallas, Texas.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: They come to pick him up, go swiming, go fishing,
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: allegedly he allegedly dry, accidentally drowns, and the two young
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: white men who he's with, they then throw away his clothes,
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: throw away his cell phone to lead all the messages
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: in their self on with him. And then they don't
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: say anything to his mother or anybody who's desperately looking
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: for her eighteen year old son. And then four days
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: they then go and tell the police that he accidentally
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: drowned and we were afraid and we threw all his
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: stuff away, his phone. And it takes three months, not
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: until as my co counselor Seandrea said, not until a
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: turning crump you exposed the light on Nolan Wells did
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: they arrest the people for tamping with evidence. But then
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: one that you all don't know about this coming to
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: light on fourth of July, I mean fourth of July
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: twenty twenty six was not good for the young black men.
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: Same day that Nolan Wells goes missing, Smith and Lexington,
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: Kentucky is at our house with all white people. He
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: all there black and he is shot in the head.
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: The other people who are there the house with him.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: They then go hide the gun and then the police come.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: And when the police get there, they stay and you,
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: I can't make this stuff up. Eighteen year old black
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: man just like Nolan. They tell the police that, well,
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: it was an accident.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: They were playing Russian hulent.
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: The mother and grandmother of Tyler's mill say, well, they
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: asked the police, did you do a gunshot residue on
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: his hands to see if he had pulled the trigger?
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: They tell her, no, we didn't do a gun shot
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: resident on him or any people at the house, because
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: they all would have had gunshot residue on their hands
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: because they were playing Russian Roulette and they just took
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: their word for it. Can you imagine if that were
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: all black people and a young eighteen year old white
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: man ended up dead and they just gonna.
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: Take our word for it.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: That brings me to Kader Skinner, right, because very similar.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: You know, what people.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: Were saying is he perhaps was running from a dog,
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: and they say, you know that he had a gun.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: You know, talk to us about that case as well.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: You can see on the bodycam video a dog is
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: pursuing Kadir. We'll say that Kadir was running from the dog.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: We don't know why the police were involved. They alleged
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: that he had a gun and was shooting a brand
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: nisionate in front of a crowd of people. But people
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: saying there was no crowd. The dog owners said there
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: was no crowd. And yet this is the narrative the
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: police came up with, we believe, to try to justify unjustifiable, unnecessary,
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: and unconstitutional killing. Yet again, another young black man being
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: shot in the back running away from the police. I
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: have never understood, as I talked to Charlemagne and DJ
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: and Jass and everybody on for occasion, I've never understood
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: why a black man running away from a police officer
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: seems to be the most dangerous thing to white police officers.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: You don't see them shooting white men in the back.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: And saw my co counsuls attorney Harry Daniels, Attorney Chance Lynch,
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: these great young civil rights lawyers. We are not going
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: to let them get away with it. We want everybody
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: to look at the video of Cader Skinner.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I know the family and the attorneys and yourself.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: You fought for weeks basically to get that body camera
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: footage release from the police. They were it seemed to
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: be they were hesitant to release it. Now now that
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: the public has seen it, does it answer any of
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: the questions that you had before you saw it.
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: Well, we believe corroborates with the family and what the
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: community believe. I know it turned tasm Figuero, who's in
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: law school working with office. We often talk about the
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: links we have to go through just to get simple justice,
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: just to get things that should be released so we
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: can have transparency, like bodycam video. Why do we pay
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: as taxpayers the money for the bodycam video when we
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: need it most, they won't let us see it and
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: may maybe we had to fight to come a diress conference. Yeah,
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: that Margins rallies everything for them to release the video. Now,
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: if Kadire was doing something bad on that video, it
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: would have been.
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: Released that day.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: But it's only where the police are engaged in questionable
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: conduct do they say, oh, we have to investigate. We
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: got to wait to investigate.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: You know, one last case I wanted to ask you about,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: and this is, you know, a really really sad situation.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: And then that is of Cohen Wiley. You know, for
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: those who don't know, if you could shed a little
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: bit shed a little light on his case and kind
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: of the latest update on where that case stands.
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: Now, certainly baby Coin Wildye's case, well, we have a
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: whole segment just on this step.
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: So many issues.
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: It is alleged that baby Coin mother was in Walmart
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: well another young lady, and that she and baby Coy
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: actually left the store walking out and they alledged.
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: That her friend stole a botch of diapers.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: Now that is an allegation because Walmart and nobody had
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: bought criminal charges because there is the belief that there
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: is a digital receipt. Now, unfortunately, the police were called
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: and they shot into a car that they knew two women.
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: And an infant baby was in.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: That They tried to claim it was for the officer
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: being in fear of his life. Multiple witnesses said the
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: car was not headed towards the officers. In fact, it
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: was heading away from the officers. And we know through
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: our independent autopsy and the objective evidence that maybe CORYN
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: Wilin was shot from the side right wonder of the
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: car willet going from right to left, this one year
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: old infant child. And we know, me, me that if
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: a car I mean he shot from the right side,
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: the officer can't be in harm's way if he shot
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: from the right side. And also the driver of the
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: car was shot and I mean half of her intestines,
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: I mean, she was in serious condition. That's why we
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: don't have as many answers from her at this time.
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: Thank god, she's stabilized, so we believe we will get
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: those answers. But the crux of the matter is this.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: It was a box of diapers that they allegedly stolen.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: We're talking about a box of diapers. Let that sink
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: in for a minute. A box of diapers they were
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: called for. This one year old baby is dead because
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: of a box of diapers, I mean a box of
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: If you're allegedly still in a box of diapers, it
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: ain't like you engaged in a heinous crime where you're
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: going out to sell these diapers on the black market.
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: One, will you know.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: Common sensical conclude if somebody was still in a box
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: of diapers, it was because they were in a desperate
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: situation to be able to give their baby some comfort.
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: I mean, you had to shoot.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: Into a car healing an infant baby because the lage
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: self of a box of diapers.
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: Now, was this also in Mississippi too? Right?
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: It was in Mississippi, And we're fighting to get the
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: video out. They do, and that's why we're asking people
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: to continue to put pressure on the local police department
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: on the Mississippi Beard investigations and Walmart. Walmart can release
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: the video. There's nothing saying that they can't release their
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: surveillance video.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: You know, it's a Walmart.
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: They got surveillance videos all over.
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: That parking lot.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: And before I let you go, I actually just had
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: a two more questions I wanted to ask you. New
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: dispatch audio from the boat trip has now been released.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: Have you had a chance to listen to that, and
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: if so, did you hear anything that stood out or
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: change your understanding of what happened that day with Nolan.
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: We think we've heard some of it.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: We don't know if there's more that we hope to
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: get from our investigation team, and so we believe there's
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: more to this story, and so I'll just say that.
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: And we have to keep pushing them to be completely transparent,
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: not to just release some information, but release all information.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because I know there's that also that GPS data
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: as well, that came with you know that tracking, did
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: that show anything at all as well?
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: Or you guys still investigating.
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: That, Well, we're investigating it me and every part of
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: this is just another part of the puzzle because we
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: are going to get to the truth of what happened
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: to Nolan Welles and why he is dead. And we
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: have to continue to be dogmatic. I mean, it was
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: Nolan Welles' family today, you know, but by the grace
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: of God, it could be your family too. So let's
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: not have these families. Whether it's Nolan Welles, whether there's
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: Daniel Irvis, whether it's Tyler Smith, three eighteen year old
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: black boys all killed in very we're all unlive and
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: very you know, suspicious ways around the fourth of July.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Holiday and on independent autopsy. We are just still waiting
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: on that to come back.
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am. And we hope sooner rather than later. You
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: want to let the doctors try to make their analysis
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: and do a thorough job. Obviously, we are always having
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: to play Monday morning quarterback because Mississippi got the body first,
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: got to do everything first, and then we get the
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: body six days later and try to figure out what
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: was the condition before they started. But we're gonna get
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: to the truth. Doctor Roger Mitchell is a shop brother
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: who's one of the best forensic pathologists in the country
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: working today, and he is always focused on trying to
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: do a detailed review of these people, especially black people
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: who are killed in very questionable ways. So we're gonna
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: get that information and release it as soon as this
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: he tells us, we got everything we need.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: Thank you for all the work that you're doing.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: You went over so many different cases, and you know,
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: I know that has to be a lot for one person,
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: so this is truly a calling for you, So thank
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: you again.
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: Now, yes, ma'am man. In most of these cases, we're
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: doing them just because they're the right thing to do.
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: We're not even expecting any recovery or anything, but we
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: just think there are times you have to take on
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: cases just to fight for our people, our culture because
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: the ancestors sacrifice for us to put us in this
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: position to have these you know, law degrees, this legal
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: education and resources. Shame on us if we don't use
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: them when it matters most.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: Well, leave it right there.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: I don't want to say enjoy the funeral, but I
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: know it's going to be a celebration of life today
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: where you know, the best of Nolan and his friends
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: and family will get to remember how he lived, how
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: he died.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: That's your front page. I Mimi Brown.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: This podcast was brought to you by the Black Effect
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Podcast Network.
• 21:11
  Speaker 4: M