Independent Autopsy Inconclusive on Cause of Death for 18-Year-Old Nolan Wells in Mississippi

Source for the family-commissioned independent autopsy. NPR’s own headline and reporting characterize the finding as “inconclusive.” Verbatim: “While Crump acknowledged the autopsy found no evidence of wrongdoing, he described the findings as inconclusive.” NPR states only that “the autopsy was performed by Dr. Roger Mitchell, who was not present”; no date or city appears in this article. Do not cite this record for the July 10 date, the Washington, D.C. detail, the Chicago/NAACP press conference, or the word “undetermined” as a direct Crump quote; those are sourced separately to wlox-nolan-wells-chicago-naacp-2026.

Corrected 2026-07-28 (receipt-gate): this record’s body previously stated a date (7/10), a city (Washington, D.C.), and the word “ruled” for cause and manner of death — none of which appear in the NPR article this record cites. The summary had been written from a different, undocketed article and never reconciled with its own citation.

Added 2026-07-29 (approval-brief round 5 + receipt-gate). This article is also the source for why the exam was limited. Verbatim: “Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney, said the body wasn’t in a state that would allow a complete forensic review of the remains.”