Nolan Wells pals’ attorney slams allegations of deleted messages

The lawyer’s statement lands with a thud that should worry anyone following this story. Accusations of deleted messages were always going to carry weight, given the tragedy and the public pressure to find answers. But now we have a direct, on-the-record denial that the phone was touched. Either the attorneys are lying, or the people who leaked the allegation should be held to account for poisoning the well.

The rush to convict these young men in the court of public opinion is doing real damage. We’ve seen the headlines. We’ve heard the outrage. But a high school football player’s reputation is not a small price to pay for a prosecutor’s desire to look tough or a reporter’s need for clicks. What happens when the evidence doesn’t match the narrative? The apology is never printed on page one. Too many people have already decided what happened based on rumor and innuendo, and that stain doesn't wash off just because the accusation turns out to be flimsy.

If the state’s case hinges on proving they tried to cover something up, and the cover-up turns out to be fiction, what else in their story is shaky? We’re not going to presume guilt or innocence here—that’s for a jury. But we are going to point out that the constant, unverified leaking to friendly media outlets shouldn't be mistaken for an investigation. For now, the only fair thing to do is take the attorney at his word until the state produces something that proves otherwise. The rest is just noise.