DOJ finds no evidence Otis Byrd's hanging was a homicide; Racial grievance industry hardest hit

Greg P. | 6:10 PM on May 29, 2015

Remember the tragic story of Otis Byrd we reported back in March? At the time, many on Twitter, including former MSNBC contributor Goldie Taylor, called Byrd’s death a lynching even though there was no evidence at the time to suggest foul play was involved:

https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/578683992775491584

And even as evidence started to come in suggesting his death was a suicide, Taylor, and others, weren’t convinced:

‘Question anything authorities say’: Preliminary autopsy suggests #OtisByrd committed suicide, not lynched

She even cursed at a Tweeter who suggested she wait for evidence before ratcheting up the racial tension and questioned if the DOJ, who had been called in to investigate Byrd’s death, would be unbiased:

https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/578687406859255808

https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/579009086177599489

Which brings us to today where the DOJ released its findings, declaring that they found no evidence to suggest Byrd’s death was a homicide:

in case of Otis James Byrd, Miss. man found hanging from tree in March, DOJ finds "no evidence to prove that Byrd’s death was a homicide"

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 29, 2015

More from the Los Angeles Times:

“After a careful and thorough review, a team of experienced federal prosecutors and FBI agents determined that there was no evidence to prove that Byrd’s death was a homicide,” the Justice Department announced. “Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed.”

Claiborne County Sheriff Marvin Lucas said he agreed with the Justice Department decision, and that he believed Byrd’s death was an apparent suicide.

“At present there is no evidence a homicide was committed, and I’m OK with the findings,” he told the Los Angeles Times. He expressed his condolences to the Byrd family.