This story discusses suicide, lynching and violence against Black women. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text, 24/7.
Police have finally made an arrest in the case of Tasia Fortune, one of a number of Black people found hanging. A number of similar cases have recently caused concern among the Black community. While the deaths have stoked fears of lynching, the arrest of a Black man in Fortune’s case is shifting the conversation to that of violence against Black women.
Police arrest suspect in death of woman found hanging
Police in Jackson, Mississippi announced Friday that they had arrested a man in connection to the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman whose body was reportedly found in August hanging from a tree in the yard behind an abandoned house. Jackson police arrested 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff in connection with Fortune’s death, after determining that Ratliff had a personal connection with the deceased 29-year-old mother of four. Fortune is one of a number of Black people found hanging in recent months. Although many of the deaths have been ruled suicides, families of the deceased have disputed some of these determinations. Earlier this month, a group of nearly 60 lawmakers led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) called on the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to launch a probe into the deaths. “A recent report documented more than 70 modern-day lynchings in the United States between 2000 and 2025,” the legislators’ letter notes. “In 2026 alone, there have already been at least 10 reported hangings of Black people.”
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney spoke to CNN about the case, providing some new details while calling others into doubt. While various reports have stated that Fortune was found hanging from a tree, Brackney stated “We don’t want to speculate, and we don’t want to add fuel to the fire of these incidents in which other people have said that she was found hung.” Brackney only confirmed that Fortune’s body was found in “various states of decomposition.” Brackney also explained to CNN that some of the reasons for the apparent delays in the case included the need to interview witnesses and the wait for the ruling of the medical examiner concerning Fortune’s death. Police talked to nearly 15 witnesses in order to determine that Ratliff had a personal connection to Fortune. Brackney explained that “one of the delays is you cannot get a warrant for homicide until the medical examiner gives us an exact cause of death,” noting that medical examiners ruled Fortune’s death a homicide on Thursday, one day before police executed search warrants and an arrest warrant that brought Ratliff into custody.
Fortune’s mother has indicated that the deceased woman had dealt with homelessness and domestic abuse in the past but had been looking forward to putting her life in order prior to her death. The exact details surrounding her death are not yet clear. The Clarion Ledger reported that Ratliff was arraigned in court Monday, during which time he entered a plea of not guilty to the murder of Fortune; he was denied bail. Ratliff’s lawyer Toney Baldwin maintained that his client was “innocent,” calling on “the press and the public not to prejudge until we get the entirety of the evidence.” Chief Brackney has indicated that the investigation into Fortune’s death is far from over. “We expect more arrests to come,” Brackney said after Ratliff’s arrest. He also explained the relative lack of information that has been shared with the public concerning how and why Fortune may have died. “There are certain things that the persons involved in this would know about this case,” Brackney said, “and continued disclosure of a lot of the information puts the investigators at a disadvantage and could also compromise the integrity of this case.”
Fortune case shines light on violence against Black women
While the exact nature of Ratliff’s relationship with Fortune has not yet been made public, the fact that both Fortune and Ratliff are Black may call into question the fear that Fortune’s death is part of a pattern of modern-day lynching. The arrest of a suspect who had some type of personal connection to Fortune is instead placing focus on the prevalence of personal violence against Black women and the danger of Black femicide. The statistics for violence against Black women are staggering. In 2020, the Black Femicide Prevention Coalition tracked over 1,800 Black women and girls who were killed in the United States, equating to a rate of approximately 5 deaths every day. Black women in the United States are six times as likely as white women to be murdered, a disparity that has risen in recent years. According to the Violence Policy Center, 9 out of 10 murdered Black women are killed by someone they knew, with half of those deaths coming at the hands of current or past spouses or romantic partners.
The dangers faced by Black women have spurred some efforts to protect against Black femicide and other forms of violence against Black women and girls, though progress remains limited. In 2023, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-New Jersey) introduced legislation that would have created a special office in the Department of Justice dedicated to the cases of missing and murdered Black girls and women. Also in 2023, California launched an Ebony Alert system for missing Black children and young women. In its first year of operation, the system was credited with helping to recover over two dozen people, even as critics argued that the system was being underutilized. In 2025, the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. and the Washington Association of Black Journalists launched a new media guide for news outlets covering missing Black persons.
Since Fortune’s body was discovered, her family has insisted that she did not die by suicide. The ongoing investigation into Fortune’s death seems to be confirming the suspicions of her family, with one man in custody and other suspects possibly to come. As details surrounding the circumstances of Fortune’s death come to light, her case appears to be one among many tragic examples of Black women and girls who are murdered in the United States.