GREENWOOD--An autopsy shows that a Mississippi man found hanging from a tree in Greenwood killed himself, according to the Leflore County coroner.
"The cause of death was hanging. The manner of death was suicide," coroner Debra Sanders said. She said the state crime lab faxed the autopsy results to her Monday night.
Frederick Jermaine Carter, 26, of nearby Sunflower, who Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks said had a history of mental illness, was fully clothed, his hands were free, and he had a cigarette lighter in his pocket, Sanders said.
Banks said he found no evidence of foul play and no signs that anyone else was at the scene near the Yazoo River in north Greenwood.
Carter and his stepfather were painting in Greenwood on Dec. 1 when Carter wandered off, which he did frequently, Banks said. He was found hanging from an oak tree two days later.
Banks said a toxicology report is not expected for at least several days.
Many African Americans in Greenwood, including the local NAACP challenged the initial official explanation of the man's death.
The local NAACP said it is still closely following the case. "I don't know enough at this point in time to accept or reject the decision," said state Rep. Willie Perkins, a Democrat and president of the Leflore County branch of the NAACP. "We'll continue to monitor and watch the situation."
Greenwood, in the Mississippi Delta, is in the same county as Money, Miss., where 14-year-old Emmett Till was infamously lynched in 1955.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Wednesday, December 8th 2010 at 12:50PM
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