Actually, for many, the four years of high school are pretty hellish. Teenagers can be incredibly nasty and cruel to one another, and especially to serious, sensitive or obviously intelligent kids. One of the white girls Raynard dated told police she broke up with him on the night of his death. That doesn't seem like much of a reason to be despondent, but it might have been enough for a teenage boy. The suicide rate for black teens aged 15 to 19 doubled between the years 1980 and 1998.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young black men after homicide and accidents.
At a dramatic August 10 press conference, state officials announced they were officially closing the Johnson investigation. District Attorney Buddy McDonald, accompanied by Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, stated bluntly that the state sees no evidence of murder. We are told the braided leather belt used in the hanging didn't belong to Johnson, but state officials unveiled a startling color video surveillance tape showing Raynard in a convenience store less than two hours before his death wearing what appears to be the same belt. The Johnson family flatly rejected the state' s findings, and plans to hire an independent pathologist and private investigator. The FBI's investigation also continues.