Staff Writer
The NAACP has
requested a federal investigation for the August death of 17 year old Lennon
Lacy. Lacy was found on August 29 in a trailer park in Bladenboro, North
Carolina. The State Medical Examiner’s Office had declared his cause of death
to be asphyxiation from hanging, with no evidence of foul play. But in the
summary of the case, the local medical examiner included questions such as,
“did he hang himself? Will autopsy tell us?” In the autopsy report, the state
medical examiner had taken note of Claudia Lacy, Lacy’s mother, saying that her
son had been depressed recently. Lacy’s mother later said she did not mean her
son had been suffering from depression, only mourning for a recently lost
relative. North Carolina’s Chief Medical Examiner Doctor Deborah Radisch was
not given dimensions or photographs of the swing set and given Lacy’s height,
weight and lack of objects nearby, investigators are unsure of how he reached
the top. "His size, his stature does not add up to him being capable of
constructing all of this alone - in the dark," Lacy’s brother says. He was
found hanged by a dog leash and a belt, which his family does not believe were
his. According to the family, he left the house for an evening walk in size 12
shoes but was found wearing size 10.5 shoes. Lacy’s friends do not understand
why Lacy would have committed suicide, as he was a lineman for his school’s
football team and was focusing on college. Although, his friends also mention
that he was distracted with his girlfriend, a 31 one year old white woman. His
friends say some members of the community would bully Lacy for being involved
in this interracial relationship.
While the local
police department ruled it suicide, Lacy’s family doesn’t agree. Instead, they
suspect he was lynched. "Seventeen years old -- he had no reason to
[commit suicide]. I know my child. As a mother, I would have sensed if
something was wrong to the point that he was going to harm himself,” Lacy’s
mother said. In November the NAACP hired pathologist Christena Roberts to
perform another examination of Lacy. Roberts found that Lacy’s hands were not
bagged to prevent contamination and no photographs were taken at the scene. The
Bladen County District Attorney Jon David said he trusted the Bladen County
Sherriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation who processed the
scene, but supports the FBI involvement. "From the early stages, we met
with the victim's family and leaders of the community to assure them of the
process that would be in place," David said. "We need to make sure a
comprehensive and professional investigation is done. We recognize the
importance of the case to the community."
The community
has been intent on finding out the truth. On December 13 almost 500 people
marched through the streets of Bladenboro in honor of Lacy. Lacy’s mother adds,
“These are things that have happened that have not been explained to me and to
the community… we deserve better.”
