CNN and MSNBC legal analyst
Midwin Charles, a legal analyst for CNN and MSNBC, has died at age
47, her family confirmed on social media.
“It is with a profoundly heavy heart and the deepest sadness that we announce the untimely passing of our beloved Midwin Charles,” her family posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts Tuesday.
“She was known to many as a legal commentator on television but to us, she was a devoted daughter, sister, aunt, niece and cousin,” the family wrote. “Our lives are forever changed and we will miss her for a lifetime. The family thanks you in advance for your love and prayers. Please allow the family time to grieve.”
Her cause of death is
unknown.
Charles was a prominent defense lawyer and the founder of Midwin Charles & Associates LLC, a boutique law firm offering full services in criminal defense, commercial and civil litigation, and general corporate law, according to her LinkedIn bio.
She was also a contributor for Essence Magazine and a commentator on a number of media outlets.
“Heartbroken” friends and former colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to Charles.
“Midwin dear heart, you were a brilliant spirit and beautiful soul,” MSNBC’s Joy Reed tweeted on Wednesday night. “You were such a blessing. I’m just stunned, and have been since I learned of this today. Blessings to your mom and family. To all, please live every moment like it’s your last, and OVER-appreciate your friends.”
“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin, who’d worked with Charles on court TV’s “In Session,” wrote that “Midwin was my friend. … She was a brilliant beautiful legal mind. I will miss her and am praying for her family and especially for her mother whom she adored and spoke of so often. Rest my dear friend.”
“I have no words here. I’m having trouble comprehending this loss,” wrote New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “It’s stunning!”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, a former political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, wrote that “this one hit really hard today.”
CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates tweeted, “I am so incredibly sorry to hear this. I respected her so much. What a devastating loss of a beautiful soul. I am so sorry for your family’s tremendous loss,” she wrote responding to the family’s tweet.