A civil rights attorney representing the family of a Black man found dead hanging by a rope at an abandoned house in Colbert County said that the FBI will investigate the case.
“This is a family issue, community issue for Colbert County, State of Alabama, and the United States of America,” said Roderick Van Daniel, attorney for the family of Dennoriss Richardson, 39.
Richardson was found dead on Sept. 28.
“I am grateful to know that a federal investigation will be done. We all are seeking the truth, understanding, and justice,” Van Daniel said.
Richardson earlier this year filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he was beaten and abused by Sheffield police officers during a five-day stay in the Sheffield City Jail.
His wife, Leigh Ann Richardson, said he was later arrested again on a drug charge and told it would be dropped if he dropped the lawsuit, but he refused, she said.
Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine said that Richardson was apparently depressed and ruled the death a suicide. He said last week he contacted the U.S. attorney’s office about the case.
“We submitted a request in writing to the FBI asking them to come in and review the case, just to be transparent and to be sure we didn’t miss anything,” Balentine said in an interview today. “They responded back a couple days later, and they are going to be reviewing the case.”
Mrs. Richardson and Richardson’s mother, Bonitta Richardson, both said he was not depressed, would not have orphaned the five children that he helped raise and coach in youth sports, and would not have gone to an abandoned house that he had never been to near the Mississippi line, and especially would not have hung himself.
“America is the greatest country in the world,” Van Daniel said.
“We have to believe in the checks and balances of our governmental system to make sure that all our citizens within our communities are safe. No one should be living in fear. No matter the color of your skin. We all are Americans and have the same concerns with living in a safe and peaceful community.
“Someone hung on the porch should not be seen as an everyday occurrence. I believe in the principles of this country and the words within the Constitution. We cannot allow injustice to overtake the normalcy that we have all strived so hard for to make this country the leader of this world for Democracy.”
Van Daniel also said that he intended to keep Richardson’s lawsuit active.
“We are moving forward step by step to substitute the party for the current lawsuit,” Van Daniel said. “It is a procedural issue, but we will get it done in the appropriate time frame within the federal laws over Mr. Richardson’s case.”
An FBI spokesperson has declined comment on the case.
“We can’t deny or confirm the existence of any investigation,” said FBI Public Affairs Specialist Toni Herrera-Bast.
