Less Than Life For Convicts In W. VA Torture Case

[Athena]

2 sentenced in W.Va. torture case
By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 8 minutes ago

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080313/capt.c67de7afe9f34de39d412674da15b6fb.woman_tortur ed_wvjg102.jpg

LOGAN, W.Va. - Two people accused of taking part in the torture of a young black woman received the maximum sentence possible Thursday, but the victim's mother said it wasn't enough.

Karen Burton, 46, and Frankie Brewster, 49, both pleaded guilty last month for their roles in the kidnapping and assault of Megan Williams last summer. They were among seven white defendants charged in the case.

Logan County Circuit Judge Roger Perry sentenced Burton to 10 years for violating Williams' civil rights. She also received separate 2 to 10 year sentences for assault charges. All three sentences will be served consecutively. Brewster received a 10-to-25-year sentence for second-degree sexual assault.

Williams and her parents wept as the sentences were read.

"I just believe he (prosecutor Brian Abraham) shouldn't have plea bargained with any of them," said Williams' mother, Carmen, after the sentencing. "She (Megan Williams) wanted them to do life."

Megan Williams, wearing dark sunglasses and a large black coat, made no statement.

The judge said during the brief, sparsely attended hearing that he was giving the maximum sentence in each case.

According to Department of Corrections officials, Burton must spend at least six years and six months in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Brewster must serve at least 10 years before being considered for parole.

Authorities say Williams was held captive for several days last summer at Brewster's trailer in Big Creek. In addition to the beatings and assaults, authorities said Williams was forced to eat animal feces and was stabbed. The 21-year-old woman was rescued by sheriff's deputies on Sept. 8 after they received an anonymous tip.

The Associated Press generally does not identify suspected victims of sexual assault, but Williams and her mother agreed to release her name. Carmen Williams has said she wanted people to know what her daughter had endured.

Full Article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080313/ap_on_re_us/woman_tortured;_ylt=Arr_LRZd.HkF.q_Eau9B9b2s0NUE)

_______________

I suppose we can only hope that as bad or worse happens to these people when they're behind bars.

[Jaded]

Check out the mug shots.....

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0911071logansix1.html

Obviously not the smartest tools in the shed. I felt my IQ drop by at least 10 just looking at the pics.

[Athena]

No kidding, SJ...No kidding.

I guess I didn't realise that three of them were women. That sort of surprised me.

[nurseronda]

Megan Williams Torture Case Is Over
http://wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=44682&catid=267


What a headline, Megan Williams torture case is over. This case will never be over as long as Megan is alive. I could not imagine being her at the time these idiots tortured her. The nightmares from her ordeal will never stop. I just hope a big black Bubba takes special care in creating future nightmares for these idiots.

[Just my luck sucks]

The 21-year-old woman was rescued by sheriff's deputies on Sept. 8 after they received an anonymous tip.


Thank goodness someone cared enough to report this, and tried to help her. I wonder if "anonymous" was the only member of the group that has an IQ above 40.

[crickett]

I remember this case at the time that it happened. They would have killed her if someone had not tipped off the police. They are getting off way too easy.

[Undeniable Truth]

Not much info yet. The prosecuting DA is brushing this news conference off as a publicity stunt.



The office of Columbus, Ohio, attorney Byron L. Potts says Megan Williams will attend a news conference there Wednesday saying she lied about being assaulted by a gang of whites.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_on_re_us/us_woman_tortured

There's a photo of her there as well.

[Athena]

Not much info yet. The prosectuting DA is brushing this off as a publicity stunt.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_on_re_us/us_woman_tortured

There's a photo of her there as well.

What?!?

Wow. Is she mentally ill or something?

[Undeniable Truth]

What?!?



I know!! It sounds too fishy. I wonder what time the conference is.

[backlash]

The 23-year-old victim was freed Saturday after cops responded to the home of Frankie Brewster for a "welfare check on a female that was reportedly being held against her will." When cops arrived, Brewster claimed she was the only one home, but then the victim limped to the door and said, "Help me."

So then how is it possible to recant your story if there was a police officer who rescued you? I'm confused...

[Jessiesgirl1108]

Maybe she's scared that because they didn't get much time to serve, they will be getting out soon and coming after her. She may feel that if she recants her story they will leave her alone when released. Just a guess...

[biteme]

Seems the DA didn't have a choice in this case but to deal, definite credibility issues with the victim. This whole mess sounds really strange.

[backlash]

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a national civil rights leader who addressed a 2007 Charleston rally against hate crimes and donated $1,000 to Williams' family as a Christmas gift, was contacted by Potts on Tuesday, who told Sharpton that Williams wanted to apologize for lying.

Sharpton has sent a letter to Logan County prosecutor John Bennett asking him to look into Williams' new claims and has urged Potts and Williams to meet with Bennett.


We can all rest easy, the Good Reverend Al is on the case. Douche...

[Athena]

Maybe she's scared that because they didn't get much time to serve, they will be getting out soon and coming after her. She may feel that if she recants her story they will leave her alone when released. Just a guess...

That's definitely plausible, but bad, bad logic on her part if that's the case.

[backlash]

Williams and her mother, Carmen, agreed to release her name. Carmen Williams, who died in June, said she wanted people to know what her daughter had endured.

What are the chances that this crime was embellished, and her mother Carmen perpetuated it for media attention? Now that her mother is gone, she feels bad and wants to set the record straight? The only problem with this line of thinking is that all 7 of the suspects pleaded guilty. I really want to hear what she has to say in her press conference.

[Mare]

What are the chances that this crime was embellished, and her mother Carmen perpetuated it for media attention? Now that her mother is gone, she feels bad and wants to set the record straight? The only problem with this line of thinking is that all 7 of the suspects pleaded guilty. I really want to hear what she has to say in her press conference.

Our justice process is a damning one. Even without the confession there was a lot of intimidating and incriminating evidence. Defendants tend to be encouraged to plead by their attorneys. Considering how public this was; the defendants were looking at pleading guilty and being out within 10 years or going to trial and possibly risking 15 to life in prison. Again, considering how public this case was it may be safe to say that the jury would have convicted them of the worst charges.

I do think juries are biased and I believe most of them convict by preponderance of evidence rather than beyond a resonable doubt (in criminal cases).

I do not have an opinion on this case yet, but this wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened - Tawana Brawley, anyone?

[backlash]

Tawana Brawley, anyone?

Ah yes, another Al Sharpton Gem. The good reverend sure knows when to show up for face time.

I think that the main difference is that people were convicted here. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this case, like the Brawley case, were perpetuated for somebody else's gain, regardless of the damage incurred to others.

[Undeniable Truth]

An attorney for a black woman who claimed torture by a white group in West Virginia says his client fabricated the story to get back at a boyfriend who had beaten her up.

Megan Williams' attorney, Byron Potts, said at a news conference Wednesday that Williams came forward because she no longer wants to live a lie.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_on_re_us/us_woman_tortured

[carolinablue]

what a horrible thing to do.
not only did she stir up some powerful emotions in everyone who read about this case, she also wasted time, money and resources. she took up the time of police officers who could have been attending to genuine victims of crime, and let's not forget about pretty much ruining the lives of those arrested for this non-crime. stupid, selfish and just plain MEAN. i would NEVER get tired of slapping her face.

[The Diabolical Mr. Lieman]

At what point do we start prosecuting these false charges as serious crimes of their own. And here, the DD lynch mob was still feeling sorry for her AFTER she said she was lying, saying that she WASN'T, and that she was LYING about saying she was lying because she was so victimized.

Just wow.

[backlash]

I still don't understand how 6 people got convicted of a crime that never happened. And then to admit to some of the crimes...."She was forced to lick her anal cavity."...Why would anyone admit to that if they never did it? Fucking West Virginia...

[Bay]

If it didn't happen, how is it these hillbillies are serving time?

[dr_awkward]

I'm rather curious as to how she wound up in the hillbilly house all stabbed and beat, if it was a boyfriend that did the damage. The original articles mentioned a cop doing a welfare check because of an anonymous tip, and that she staggered to the door and begged for help. It's pretty hard to imagine that the 6 convicted were in on the hoax, so how did she know them and wind up in their house?

[hunibuni]

Acording to the information on CNN, she said there was a fight with her boyfriend that resulted in the facial injuries, everything else she inflicted herself. She has had no contact with the people convicted and said that she was being badly effected by the guilt of knowing how long the sentances ended up being.

Unfortunately, alot of attorneys, specifically appointed ones, speak with defendants that are not familar with the process and plead alot of cases. My first cousin ended up serving 4 years in the Federal System because he walked into a service station and spoke to someone under investigation for Meth distribution. He was picked up in a sweep and his attorney told him that since his voice was on tape they could make the case for conspiracy. The attorney further stated that if he "rolled the dice" he could get 30 years. He is poorly educated and had never dealt with any kind of legal difficulties. He took the deal and the rest of the people within the sweep were aquited due to a lack of evidence and proceedural issues with the arrests.

Do not always assume what you see is what actually happened. Unless you have dealt with a district attorney and a public defender that really don't want to try a case, you have no idea what you would do in that situation.

:stupido3:

[~Absynthe~]

What?!?

Wow. Is she mentally ill or something?

that would be my guess.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Caretaker: Woman has changed torture story before
A black woman who recanted 2007 allegations of being kidnapped and tortured by a group of white people in West Virginia has mental issues and has changed her version of what happened more than once, her caretaker said Thursday.

Valencia Daniels of Columbus said that Megan Williams "goes back and forth, back and forth" about the allegations of being beaten, raped and tortured. Williams sometimes says the story is true and other times says some of it didn't happen, Daniels said.
[...]http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5idqSRBiNk7vY4jU-JyXYVNvdVXDgD9BGDSR00

Williams' supporters don't believe her latest story
The woman Megan Williams now lives with and the man who rallied to her side shortly after she was found are both skeptical of her most recent claim that she wasn't abused in Logan County in 2007.

"I don't think much of what Megan Williams is allegedly saying. I think she is being manipulated," said Malik Shabazz, head of the group Black Lawyers for Justice. "Her not showing up at the news conference is telling.

"And based on my knowledge of what's been happening with her over the last year and a half, this seems like a scheme by her caretaker to garner sensationalism and publicity in an attempt to get some money," Shabazz said.
[...]

[MC30]

fuck her, fuck her caretaker and fuck the hillbillies. she has issues and im sure they do as well. i honestly don't think i could be railroaded into a crime i didn't do unless i was guilty of something else. and she probably did lick some asses but not forced. i say they are all crazy and,
fuck em!


JMO!

[TDH]

wtf?
:hmmmm:

[feisty76]

I am genuinely perplexed by this case.

"Brewster received a 10-to-25-year sentence for second-degree sexual assault."

Wouldn't there have to be some sort of DNA test and positive result in order for the D.A. to charge her with second-degree sexual assault in the first place?

The entire situation just doesn't make sense.

:hmmmm:

[Abnorma09]

I know Im gonna sound like a right idiot,
but what is second life?

[thehesbomb]

Wouldn't there have to be some sort of DNA test and positive result in order for the D.A. to charge her with second-degree sexual assault in the first place?


She confessed to forcing Megan Williams to perform oral sex on her. They don't need DNA if they have a confession.

[lesasells]

"It did happen," Brewster said during the interview at the Lakin Correctional Center, where she is serving 10 to 25 years. "All of us participated."

Brewster denied that race or Williams' relationship with her son started the series of crimes. Rather, she blamed a co-defendant who accused Williams of stealing.

While Brewster would not detail her own actions, she acknowledged having improper contact with Williams. Brewster pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault in the case.

Brewster also said that race wasn't a factor and she said some of the crimes did not occur at her trailer home.

"I just want the truth out and for people take responsibility for what they did," Brewster said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569374,00.html

[sheevaa]

So...neither the victim or the suspects know what actually happened. There may or may not have been a crime. Good to know people all have their heads on straight!

[62julietandvoid]

Acording to the information on CNN, she said there was a fight with her boyfriend that resulted in the facial injuries, everything else she inflicted herself. She has had no contact with the people convicted and said that she was being badly effected by the guilt of knowing how long the sentances ended up being.

Unfortunately, alot of attorneys, specifically appointed ones, speak with defendants that are not familar with the process and plead alot of cases. My first cousin ended up serving 4 years in the Federal System because he walked into a service station and spoke to someone under investigation for Meth distribution. He was picked up in a sweep and his attorney told him that since his voice was on tape they could make the case for conspiracy. The attorney further stated that if he "rolled the dice" he could get 30 years. He is poorly educated and had never dealt with any kind of legal difficulties. He took the deal and the rest of the people within the sweep were aquited due to a lack of evidence and proceedural issues with the arrests.

Do not always assume what you see is what actually happened. Unless you have dealt with a district attorney and a public defender that really don't want to try a case, you have no idea what you would do in that situation.

:stupido3:

That's fucked up. I hope that stupid lawyer got canned, by the bar. Not doing one's job is high on my list of what really pisses me the fuck off.:argh: