Kind of going far back on ‘THE BOOK’ as it’s called around here (Midnight in the Garden for everyone else).
I remember watching the news reports about the murder case. The whole thing was just a big mess.
It’s actually a good book all the same.
Actually, Williams WAS convicted twice by jury trial but both verdicts were thrown back by the State Supreme Court due to defects in the Prosecutor’s case. In the third trial, the Prosecutor’s case became so unhinged that THAT jury failed to convict.
Williams never claimed innocence of the shooting and the defense posture was ALWAYS that the ‘crime’ was something less than 1st Degree Murder. The prosecutor stubbornly refused to make a lesser charge and Williams ultimately walked.
Williams, apparently, spent most of a decade in jail awaiting trial for a capital murder charge. Ironically, shortly after the third trial, Williams died of an apparent heart attack and never enjoyed the fruits of his acquittal.
BTW: Only 1/3 of Berendt’s book addresses the murder and Williams’ trials. The remainder provides a backstory of simply fabulous dimensions that is supposed to convey the ‘context’ within which Williams moved and the nature of the community that grappled with his behavior and ‘alleged’ crime. I would hesitate to label this a ‘True Crime’ book.
One Man’s Opinion
21stCenturion