17-year-old Kendrick Johnson died almost 10 months ago when his body was found rolled up in a gym mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia. On Thursday, Michael Moore, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, said that federal authorities will finally be able to look into Johnson’s death and the circumstances surrounding it.
Johnson’s family has said that the teen was most likely murdered, and that the killer covered up the evidence. However, Moore said that he was able to find a “sufficient basis” for an investigation based on what the authorities and family investigator presented. Moore also said he would pursue criminal or civil rights charges if something were found. “I will follow the facts wherever they lead. My objective is to discover the truth,” he said.
Johnson’s family is also relieved that an investigation will soon begin. “We’re happy,” Kendrick’s mother, Jacquelyn Johson told CNN. “The only thing we ever wanted was the truth.” The family’s lawyer commented that the delay in action on the part of the authorities may have been partly a civil rights issue, and questioned whether they just weren’t taking the death of an African-American teen seriously enough. However, officials at the sheriff’s office have denied the claims. “Race never played into it,” Stryde Jones of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office said. “The victim played into it. That’s who we’re working for is the victim and the victim’s family.”
