Rev. Al Sharpton and Tyler Perry put up $100,000 reward seeking answers in Nolan Wells’ death
“I didn’t come here to make money. I came here to give money,” Sharpton said, announcing a $50k reward that Tyler Perry quickly matched.
Today, as Nolan Wells’ family and friends prepared to lay the 18-year-old to rest, Rev. Al Sharpton added new stakes to the community’s quest for answers. While giving the eulogy during the service, Rev. Sharpton addressed the critics who sent hate mail to Nolan’s mother, accusing him and civil rights attorney Ben Crump of their involvement being rooted in financial gain.
“I’m so inspired by who’s accused us of that, that I want to put up a reward of $50,000 for anybody who could give the information that will lead to an arrest and a conviction in the case of what happened,” Sharpton announced. “He was not on that island by himself, somebody saw something and knows something. So I didn’t come to make money. I came to give money. Stand up and tell the truth. Whatever it is, good or bad.“
“We’re not gonna prejudge it, but we cannot end it until we know all the facts. So all you got to do is reach out to Attorney Crump’s office, and National Action Network can do that if it leads to an arrest and conviction. And I will, I guarantee you, you’ll have it ‘fore the sun goes down,” he added.
Sharpton’s financial incentive is a new layer in the investigative efforts to find out what happened to Nolan Wells, who was found dead on Horn Island, Mississippi, after a boat day with friends during Fourth of July weekend. Since discovering his body, Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, as well as attorney Crump, have been open about the conflicting information they’ve received from those who were reported to have been on the boat with Wells.
“Am I my brother’s keeper, or am I the keeper of some secret, some information, that you could give and won’t stand up?” Sharpton asked the crowd. Those in law enforcement, your job is to follow the oath, not to follow the preference of what goes down…We want a full and thorough investigation. We don’t want nothing sugar coated either way. But for an 18-year-old young man, to no longer be with us, we want answers. Not biased either way. Just answers. I think that for the family, the closure can come if there is justice.”
Moments after Sharpton announced his $50,000 rewards, the National Action Network founder revealed that Tyler Perry texted him with plans to match his award to those that come forward with information to help the case.
“You know that Tyler Perry said he would pay for the funeral. He must be watching because he said I’m gonna match you and put up $50,000 more. So we’re putting up $100,000 for anybody that’ll come forward,” Sharpton shared. “We just want the truth. That’s all. We just want the truth, and we want to thank Tyler Perry.”