One year later: Teen’s death in gym mat still a mystery

From the time Kendrick Johnson’s lifeless body was found inside an upright gym mat in his high school’s old gymnasium a year ago this month, his parents and their attorneys have insisted the 17-year-old was murdered. They’ve since expanded their claim to allege a cover-up perpetrated by law enforcement officials.

However, two of south Georgia’s most prominent civil rights activists — organizers of the first major rallies held demanding more transparency from investigators — told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently they have since accepted the official police finding that Kendrick accidentally suffocated after he became trapped in the mat that measures about 6 feet high and 3 feet across. Each was sharply critical of how the Johnson family’s lawyers have handled the case.