Immediately after reports of Reed’s death circulated, civil rights activists pushed for a thorough investigation, citing Mississippi’s long and bloody history of lynchings, including the brutal death of Emmett Till in 1955.
On Wednesday, the Mississippi state examiner conducted an autopsy that ruled out foul play in Reed’s death. The Cleveland City Police Department has reportedly handed their findings over the FBI, which said they’re willing to investigate further if evidence “if, during the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation.”
On Friday, Crump announced that Kaepernick, a vocal advocate against police brutality and racial injustice, will be paying for an independent autopsy on Reed’s body as soon as it’s released from the state medical examiner. The money will be coming from Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp’s Autopsy Initiative, which provides free, second autopsies for those whose loved ones have died in police custody or under other suspicious circumstances.
Good fucking deal. Hell, Mississippi should be paying for this to avoid any accusations of bias. Maybe a bad precedent for the state to allow second-guessing, but this particular case screams for a second opinion.
My gut tells me the guy hung himself in a way to stir shit up. Keep in mind, this guy’s college was roughly 50/50 black/white. I’m sure there’s plenty of racism to go round, but he wasn’t living in some backwoods redneck business. But I’m not believing anything until we get an independent autopsy.
