FBI investigates lynching of black teen
The FBI is looking into the death of a black teen who was found hanging from a swing set at a trailer park on Aug. 29.
17-year-old Lennon Lacy’s death was originally ruled a suicide.
An emergency caller found 17-year-old Lennon Lacy hanging by a dog leash and a belt Aug. 29 in the town of Bladenboro, N.C., his feet 2 inches off the ground. Lacy’s mother and supporters with the North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP) said there are too many unanswered questions after the state medical examiner ruled the teen had killed himself.
CBS affiliate WRAL reported Lacy’s family members and NAACP officials have called the teen’s death a “possible race-based homicide,” saying local authorities rushed to reach a conclusion and did not fully investigate the case. Heather Rattelade, an attorney for the Lacy family, told 48 Hours’ Crimesider on Monday that the NAACP is not taking any position on what may have led to Lacy’s death — they are only requesting a full and complete forensic investigation to determine whether it was suicide.
The teen’s mother, Claudia Lacy, told the Associated Press on Monday that her son had no reason to commit suicide.
“I know my child,” she said. “As a mother, I would have sensed if something was wrong to the point that he was going to harm himself.”
A pathologist hired by the NAACP to assess the teen’s autopsy, found that the state medical examiner was never provided with photos of the swing set, making her unable to determine if it was possible for the high school junior to hang himself from it.
May justice be served.
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