Mississippi Democratic Party Condemns Fitch’s Finding in Death of One-Year-Old Kohen Wiley, Demands Transparency and Independent Review
Mississippi Democratic Party Condemns Fitch’s Finding in Death of One-Year-Old Kohen Wiley, Demands Transparency and Independent Review
Party leaders condemn Attorney General Fitch’s finding and call for the release of evidence, answers for the family, and accountability.
JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Democratic Party today condemned Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s finding that the police shooting that killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley in Senatobia was justified. The Party is calling on state officials to release the evidence supporting that conclusion and ensure an independent review. Declaring the shooting justified while withholding the evidence from public scrutiny is unacceptable. Kohen’s family and the public deserve answers.
Attorney General Fitch, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in 2027, has a responsibility to serve all Mississippians, regardless of race, income or political affiliation. Her record on officer-involved shootings raises serious questions about accountability. Mississippi Today reported that Fitch’s office declined to prosecute 20 officer-involved shooting cases in 2023 and 2024, finding the officers’ use of force justified. Mississippians deserve confidence that every case is examined rigorously, every family is treated with dignity, and every decision can withstand public scrutiny.
“A baby is gone, and the State of Mississippi has called it justified without publicly showing the evidence behind that decision,” said Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor. “Mississippians deserve a chief law enforcement officer who treats the life of a one-year-old as the most serious question a prosecutor can ask. Attorney General Fitch wants to be the next governor, and the standard for that job begins with the willingness to show the public her work. Kohen’s family, and every family in this state, deserve a full public accounting. We stand with them, and we will keep standing with them until they get it.”
“This decision came in a two-sentence statement that did not even say Kohen’s name,” said Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Director Mikel Bolden. “Transparency is how the public earns the right to trust a finding like this one. Release the video, release the investigative file, and let an independent reviewer examine the facts. Mississippi can be a state where every child is protected and every family can trust that the truth will be told.”
The Mississippi Democratic Party is calling for:
Public disclosure: Release all legally releasable video, including body-camera, dashboard-camera and surveillance footage, along with the investigative records and state autopsy report supporting the decision. Any necessary redactions should be narrowly tailored and explained.
Independent review: An examination of the shooting by an independent entity outside the Mississippi Attorney General’s office and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Communication with the family: Direct, respectful communication with Kohen’s family, including a designated point of contact and regular updates from the agencies involved.
Clear statewide standards: Strong safeguards governing the use of gunfire against moving vehicles, with narrowly defined exceptions for imminent threats to life.
A finding that a police shooting was justified should be accompanied by a clear explanation of the evidence supporting it. In a case where a one-year-old child was killed, a bare declaration is not enough. The public deserves transparency, and Kohen’s family deserves answers.
The Mississippi Democratic Party condemns the lack of transparency surrounding this decision and calls on state officials to provide the evidence and independent scrutiny necessary to establish public confidence.
The Party extends its deepest sympathy to Kohen’s family and to the Senatobia community.
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