In a 15-page response, attorneys for Al Sharpton, led by Daniel P. Watkins of Washington, D.C.-based law firm Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch LLP, said Sharpton never accused the three men of murder or other crimes and has not made defamatory statements about them.
“Reverend Sharpton did not insert himself into this family’s grief. He was asked,”
the attorneys wrote.
“He is an ordained Baptist minister, and he stands with (Wells’ parents) Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley in that capacity, as he has stood with families in that capacity for nearly fifty years.”
Sharpton was with the Wonsley family on July 10, when they spoke publicly for the first time, and later attended their son’s memorial service. He also appeared with them in Atlanta, Georgia, on Aug. 19, which would have been Nolan Wells’ 19th birthday.
