this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2025
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335
Black Student Found Hanging From Tree At Delta State University (thesource.com)
submitted 13 hours ago by andros_rex@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
40 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I’m not seeing any mainstream media coverage. They’re trying to pass this off as a suicide.

top 40 comments
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[–] IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 93 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I’m not seeing any mainstream media coverage.

It really irks me when people use "mainstream media" as a pejorative like there's some kind of conspiracy. There are way more sources covering it than that, but I think that's more than enough to make my point.

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 34 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Those are all local news outlets. This is the first I'm hearing of this. I live in Atlanta.

[–] scops@reddthat.com 20 points 8 hours ago

AP News has picked it up now at least.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 50 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

This would be the first acknowledged US lynching since '81. 1981.

[–] fishos@lemmy.world 21 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Call me crazy but I remember a few of these exact circumstances over the years. Always passed off as an accident or suicide or something.....

[–] brendansimms@lemmy.world 34 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

they'll call it a suicide and keep the last acknowledgement in the 80's.

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Yup.

Dude had defensive wounds like bruises and a broken arm. Anyways, it’s definitely suicide, so we don’t have to look into it any further /s

[–] primrosepathspeedrun@anarchist.nexus 2 points 2 hours ago

Well yeah. Look at people who try and fail to kill themselves. Usually no fresh defensive wounds. Clearly that's what they're always missing.

[–] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 25 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (2 children)

Dude had defensive wounds like bruises and a broken arm.

Citation needed especially since the Coroner's department has specifically refuted this.

[–] primrosepathspeedrun@anarchist.nexus 0 points 2 hours ago

Well, cops said cops are innocent. Must be true.

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 7 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I think they were joking about that like people say someone committed suicide with two shots to the back of the head. But thanks for posting that article, it does say the coroner didn't find any evidence of assault so far.

[–] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 11 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

I think they were joking about that

Nah, there's a pile of misinformation circulating on social media claiming that the deceased had broken arms / legs / bruises / etc.

People unthinkingly gobble it up because it fits their world view. Farther down in the comments here you can find people already claiming that it's a cover-up / conspiracy because the Coroner's Statement (he's black BTW) doesn't jive with what they want to believe.

[–] primrosepathspeedrun@anarchist.nexus 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Maybe but let's wait for a reliable source before citing somethong transparently aligned, unqualified to know what a defensive wound looks like, and known for lying-like a coroner.

I genuinely cannot think of a less reliable source.

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 4 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

The comment you are referring to is unedited and ends with a /s Commonly used as a tag for sarcasm in case they thought someone may mistake it for being serious.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 points 2 hours ago

Yes, but it could be read that only the final sentence was being said sarcastically. Even with the context of the rest of the conversation.

[–] ZephyrXero@lemmy.world 102 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

If there was a black man hung in Mississippi, odds are that it was NOT a suicide. This is awful

[–] primrosepathspeedrun@anarchist.nexus 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

The cops said it was a suicide. Are you not trusting the police in Mississippi to be honest about when a black man seeking education found hanging from a tree is suicide?

Are you saying you don't trust the police to not murder whoever they want for no reason with no accountability then ask for extra money to do more?

Because that's an awfully cynical thing to suggest!

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 49 minutes ago

Historically accurate too

[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 76 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

“As of this time, there’s no evidence of foul play”

Yeah, no evidence at all. Not like racial tensions at their highest in 50+ years, political assassinations happening on college campuses, and a Southern university smack in the center of where KKK activity was an open secret just a generation ago.

Probably he slipped and fell, maybe he was learning Russian culture /s

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 39 points 12 hours ago

Bolivar County fought for fifty years to keep its high schools segregated.

I’m absolutely confident that we can trust the Bolivar County Police department to thoroughly investigate the death of a black college student /s

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 27 points 12 hours ago

I’m not seeing any mainstream media coverage.

If a white conservative student athlete in a deep-blue area of the country had been shot and killed yesterday for no really apparent reason, it would be the lead story on every single news that exists.

[–] NJSpradlin@lemmy.world 43 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

I mean, obviously if this were a legitimate lynching… the guy would have had broken limbs from defending himself… /s 🤦‍♂️

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 44 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

“As of this time, there’s no evidence of foul play,” Peeler said, adding that the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office retrieved Reed’s body for further examination. Deputy Coroner Murray Roark, who assisted in the medical review, stated there were no signs of broken limbs and suggested the case pointed toward self-harm, though the investigation remains active.

Kind of comes over like "We can tell this isn't a lynching because we always break the victim's legs."

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 20 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

There have been rumors that both of the guy's legs were broken. IDK whether this is just the coroner's office clearing up wild social media speculation, or if they're so brazen about a coverup that they're willing to lie about the state of his body, but that's why they specifically talked about broken limbs.

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 13 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Supposedly the autopsy report will be released in full, but as you say - if they are willing to cover it up then the report won't matter.

An independent review would be needed, which, with this admin especially, isn't going to happen.

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 7 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Presumably they're going to release the body to the family at some point, and at that stage it'll become obvious whether the legs are broken or not broken. It would have to be a pretty shockingly brazen coverup for that part of the story to be true and covered up.

[–] onslaught545@lemmy.zip 16 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

"Oops, we accidentally cremated him."

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 6 points 9 hours ago

Correct, that kind of thing has happened before. That would be a shockingly brazen coverup.

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

It would have to be a pretty shockingly brazen coverup for that part of the story to be true and covered up.

I agree, and at the same time... I can still see it as a possibility given everything else going on. There are plenty of ways "unfortunate mishandling" can happen.

I have even lower trust these days. There is so much willingness to blatantly lie all the way up to the federal level that I doubt I would trust any report produced. Not to say I'd assume it was something else, just that I have virtually zero trust in the police there or the coroner.

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

What I'm saying is that you do not have to trust the police or the coroner in order to know whether the guy's legs were actually broken.

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 4 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

I understood entirely.

What I said was there is entirely the possibility of "Oops! His body went to the furnace instead", or "oh no! The body was mishandled and fell", or a whole variety of other things.

Off the top of my head, I can recall cases where:

  • The body is sent to the wrong place
  • The wrong body is sent to the right place
  • Bodies not kept at temperature and then sent for cremation
  • Bodies suffered damage due to falling down stairs
  • Mishandling of bodies and reporting with the specific intent to cover up crimes (CA Sheriffs office, I remember this one distinctly, because they were protecting cops)

I'm saying its not a guarantee until the body of this kid ends up with the family, and given the history in this particular area.... I have little to no trust of those involved.

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 0 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

What I said was there is entirely the possibility of "Oops! His body went to the furnace instead", or "oh no! The body was mishandled and fell", or a whole variety of other things.

I mean, there's a possibility that Mossad killed Charlie Kirk. And sure, if something happens that leads towards that conclusion then it'll be extremely revealing about whether or not that's a reasonable conclusion.

IDK what type of argument you're looking to have here which leads you to keep repeatedly emphasizing your side of this thing, but I am planning to stop now on my side. Have a blessed day.

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I wasn't having an argument.

I agreed with you. And then I said I have little trust in those responsible for handling things, making it a concern.

Then you seemed to completely misunderstand what I said, so I clarified.

Not everything is an argument, sometimes a comment is just additional thoughts.

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Fair enough. I didn't misunderstand anything, I just wasn't real overt about responding to it directly I guess.

As I see it, there are two possibilities:

  • They give the body back to the family and the legs are fine
  • They give it but the legs are broken, or they cremate it first, or they refuse to give it back, or basically anything other than that first thing

In the second case, there's fuckery by the coroner. In the first case, there's not (which of course doesn't mean he wasn't lynched of course). I just don't get how trust for the coroner or police needs to enter into that equation in any capacity. Sure, if they fuck with the body or have some ridiculous excuse for why the legs were broken, then it also means that the coroner is dirty and trying a coverup for some horrendous reason. But it's not like the original question is going to stay as an unknowable thing.

People have this kind of knee-jerk "the system is going to lie about everything" reaction which sometimes makes them kind of throw up their hands on the concept of every getting to the bottom of anything, and I think that's insidious, especially when they start inserting all kinds of speculation and saying it's a possibility so who knows. We're going to be able to tell if his legs were broken or not with a pretty high degree of certainty at some point in the pretty near future. I feel like it's good to hold onto that ability to make sense of the world instead of retreating into nihilism and just assuming everyone's probably lying and giving up. Doesn't that make some sense?

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 2 points 9 hours ago

In the second case, there's fuckery by the coroner.

I don't think gross incompetence would be entirely unexpected! But it would put really heavy lean into the 'fuckery' bucket, definitely.

People have this kind of knee-jerk "the system is going to lie about everything" reaction which sometimes makes them kind of throw up their hands on the concept of every getting to the bottom of anything

I understand, and I wasn't saying that so much as "Ugh, I really hope this doesn't get handled poorly". What I was saying - for clarity - is there is a long history of racism there and enough is off about this to make me put on my "worried" hat. That I would feel more assured about how this would be handled if there were more trustworthy folks involved, but thats unfortunately not an option given the current administration, instead needing to wait not just for the coroner to finish, but for the family to receive his body and have the unpleasant experience of potentially needing to get their own specialist to take a look.

Even just the prospect of a family needing to verify the report is an upsetting reality.

[–] ech@lemmy.ca 12 points 13 hours ago

Not specifically him, but...yeah, pretty much. Lynchings typically involve torture and bodily mutilation. They don't want to "just" kill someone, they want to send a message. Hiding it as something else kind of defeats the purpose.

[–] whiwake@lemmy.cafe 7 points 13 hours ago

I had to read that part of the article twice to be sure my brain wasn’t broken.

[–] ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

If it were a legitimate lynching he wouldn’t be pregnant

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 11 points 12 hours ago

https://www.blackenterprise.com/delta-university-hanging-reed-student-mississippi/

Since link seems to be broken right now

[–] not_that_guy05@lemmy.world -4 points 13 hours ago

Interesting.