It’s been 100 days since July 4, the last known day Nolan Wells was seen alive. In the time since, his body was recovered near Horn Island. His family and friends held a beautiful memorial service and buried him. Two autopsy reports, one official and another independent, were unable to determine his cause of death. A grand jury decided there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against anyone. Still, his parents are pushing to learn the truth about what happened to their 19-year-old, calling for a federal investigation. While those calls have appeared to stall, the Black community continues to rally behind Nolan’s family, both on and offline. That’s where Pastor Jamal Bryant and the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church come in. After recently hosting a balloon release to honor the late Wells, not everyone was too pleased with the method chosen.
RELATED: Ben Crump Reveals Miss. State Autopsy Shows No Signs Of Water In Nolan Wells’ Throat Or Lungs & Details Findings From His Cellphone
Pastor Jamal Bryant Reveals Balloon Release For Nolan Wells
On Sunday (Oct. 11), Pastor Jamal Bryant shared a video on Instagram depicting a gathering of people. Bryant appeared to coordinate the release of 1,000 white balloons into the air as the crowd chanted “Nolan Wells.” In his caption, Bryant said the release was a renewed commitment to finding justice and closure for Nolan.
“Today marks 100 days since the death of #nolanwells . @newbirthmbc released 1000 balloons in his memory and renewing our commitment for justice and closure. A shut door doesn’t mean a shut case! Say his NAME #nolanwells”
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Social Media Users Share Mixed Reactions To Balloon Release
Pastor Jamal Bryant’s Instagram post of the balloon release collected over 5,600 comments within 24 hours. While many understood the pastor’s and the church’s intent behind the tribute, others called out the balloons’ environmental impact. According to a 2019 study published in Scientific Reports, seagulls that had consumed marine debris were 32 times more likely to die from eating balloons than hard plastic. Keep reading to peep the divided comment section.
@iamdrstewart wrote, “So profound! As if we needed another reason to love @jamalhbryant & @mzkarribaby 😢🕊️❤️.”
@classic_mandee commented, “Great intentions however the environmental litter that happens as a result releasing balloons into the air is not good.”
“As much as I think this is beautiful!!! And his name should stay in the news and in the forefront until the family gets Justice. But like why are people not educated about what releasing all those balloons in the environment??? We’ve got enough pollution and people do not care about sustainability at all, it’s crazy that as big as they are that they don’t have another way to do things they could have did butterflies or anything but the balloons people have really got to stop that,” @sewdenisha added.
“No more balloon releases!!!!! They end up in our oceans and farm animals eat them and get sick. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 RIP to this beautiful soul. 😢,” @princessk2sweet said.
“This is so harmful for our environment. Let’s do positive and productive things in his name. We need to take better actions,” @taxexpert commented.
@wanderone2020 weighed in, “Thanking the Bryant’s for not letting this go. Justice for Nolan. 🙏🏾.”
@aliciakees81 said, “This is beautiful Pastor!!! We will never stop saying his name! #NolanWells”
@elgupoviajero wrote, “I thought balloons 🎈were not good for the environmental 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️ have they found who did it 🙏🙏🙏🙏”
“We will say his name! Justice for Nolan and all of the parents that have not been given answers or justice from the system. 🙏🏾,” @klafree74 commented.
@jennh2018 added, “Nolan Wells Fly High Baby Boy 🕊️🩵 Rest peace with our Heavenly Father 🙌🏻 while the people on earth will NEVER forget your name your beautiful face and personality and will continue to stand behind your parents in getting the justice you deserve!!”
“@jamalhbryant Please do not release Mylar balloons into the atmosphere!!! 😱,” @priceless_light said.
Christine Wonsley Won’t Stop Fighting For Justice
Nolan Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, hasn’t spoken out about the balloon tribute from Pastor Bryant or New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. However, in recent days, she emphasized that her pursuit of justice hasn’t ended. On Saturday (Oct. 10), she wrote on Meta: “The question remains: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO NOLAN WELLS?” A few days before that, on Oct. 7, Wonsley clocked anyone questioning her persistence behind learning what happened to her 19-year-old. Also, in a Meta status, she called out the undetermined results of the state autopsy and the documentations about her son’s dead body. If there’s one thing to know, it’s that Christine Wonsley isn’t giving up on Nolan Wells–no matter what anyone has to say about that!
“🚨DO NOT COME to my page and try to explain to me that despite there being NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE of a drowning/dry drowning in either autopsy report that I need to accept my child’s death and move on. MANNER AND CAUSE: UNDETERMINED!!! Have you people lost your minds?!? So you’re telling if YOUR CHILD DIED under these same exact circumstances you would not fight for the truth?!? Well guess what God built me differently and I WILL NOT stop. So please take your opinions, feelings, “prayers” and everything else in between elsewhere if this how you are thinking or feeling! Also if you’re so tired of hearing about it fix your algorithm but I’m standing 10 toes down for mine and I’ll scream his name/story everyday as I have been. What makes it worse is that the very people who send me vile messages, comments, etc are self proclaimed Christians 🙄. Goodbye and use those prayers for your own soul because some of you really need it! THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR TRUE SUPPORTERS! We see you 🩵,” Wonsley wrote in the Meta post.
