From Fox News · Bradford Betz · · 2m
An arrest upends the Mississippi hanging story
A Black mother of four was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, and the arrest that followed looked nothing like the story people expected.
In brief
A Black mother of four was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, and the arrest that followed looked nothing like the story people expected. Public speculation ran weeks ahead of the forensic evidence, and when the evidence arrived it pointed somewhere else entirely. Originally reported by Fox News.
A body behind an empty house
Tasia Fortune, 29, a Black mother of four, was found Aug. 3 hanging from a tree behind a vacant property on Road of Remembrance in Jackson, Mississippi.
A state with a long memory
The location did the talking. In a state carrying a history of racialized violence, the image of a Black woman hanging from a tree drove weeks of national and global attention.
Congress picked it up
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned of "racial terror" and modern-day lynchings, joining dozens of Democrats pressing the Justice Department to investigate hanging deaths of Black Americans.
“widespread modern-day lynchings”
The medical examiner ruled
Police logged hundreds of hours and interviewed nearly 15 people, but could not move on warrants until the state medical examiner classified the death a homicide late Thursday.
An arrest on Capitol Street
Jarques Ratliff, 51, a Black Jackson resident with a prior personal connection to Fortune, was taken into custody without incident after officers served two search warrants.
Evidence over speculation
Chief RaShall Brackney said the department takes the public's concern seriously but will only say what forensic facts support. She also denied ever naming a 65-year-old man as a person of interest.
“We do have a responsibility to make sure that what we say publicly is supported by our evidence and the facts.”
Her mother never believed suicide
Christy Spivey thanked police for the quick notification and repeated what she had said all along: her daughter would never take her own life.
The case is not closed
Ratliff is held at Hinds County on a murder charge with an initial appearance due by Monday. Police expect more arrest warrants and have not detailed the evidence linking him to the scene.
The key point
Public speculation ran weeks ahead of the forensic evidence, and when the evidence arrived it pointed somewhere else entirely.
