Mississippi Police Make First Arrest In Death Of Tasia Fortune

According to the BBC, police in Jackson, Mississippi, have made their first arrest in the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in August, and said more arrests could follow. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said the medical examiner had ruled the death a homicide and that a murder charge would be filed against a suspected killer. Police said they had interviewed 15 people in the case. Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, said she felt some relief after officers called her on Friday with the update, but said she still hoped police had arrested the right person. She had previously said she struggled to sleep and had tried repeatedly to contact Jackson police without success. Brackney said the department had been in constant contact with Fortune's mother, stepfather and biological father throughout the investigation. More than 50 members of Congress have also sent a letter to the FBI and the Justice Department calling for an independent investigation into suspicious deaths of Black Americans, saying there had been at least 10 reported hangings of Black people in the US this year.