- For others with a similar name, see James Williams and Jim Williams.
James Arthur Williams (December 11, 1931 - January 14, 1990) is the only person in the state of Georgia who has ever been tried four times for the same crime. After May 2, 1981, shooting the death of Danny Lewis Hansford's assistant at his home in Savannah, Mercer House, Williams was accused of murder and sexual harassment, and tried four times. He was found not guilty at the last trial.
Video James Arthur Williams
Kehidupan
Born in Gordon, Georgia, Williams is a renowned Savannah, Georgian antiquities agent and historic preservationist who plays an active role in the preservation of Savannah's historic area. In 1955, at the age of 24, he bought and restored his first three houses located at 541, 543 and 545 East Congress Street. Over the next 35 years, he will restore more than 50 homes in Savannah as well as low states in Georgia and South Carolina. The famous Savannah homes he restored include: The Odingsell House, the Merault House, the Hampton Lillibridge House, the Habersham House House, the Armstrong House, and the Mercer House. It is an interesting coincidence that Williams has a great-grandmother with the name of Martha Ann Mercer (1833-1871), though it is unclear whether there is any connection, even remotely, with General Hugh Mercer.
In 1969, Williams bought a house originally built for General Hugh Weedon Mercer, the great-grandfather of the famous American songwriter Johnny Mercer. At the time of purchase, the house had been vacant for nearly a decade since its former inhabitant, the Shriners organization, had used the building for their Alee Temple. For two years, Williams had painstakingly recovered the house. After the restoration, it becomes his private residence and he runs his antique storage business out of the carriage located behind the house.
Maps James Arthur Williams
Catching and testing
Williams was arrested in 1981 for the shooting death of Danny Hansford, with whom he had sexual relations. After the next four trials, Williams was finally released by a jury in Augusta, Georgia, in 1989.
Bobby Lee Cook defended Williams during the first trial. Williams was sentenced and sentenced to life in prison. He appealed, posted a $ 200,000 bond. Cook later received, anonymously, a copy of a police report indicating that the arresting officer had been in conflict with himself. The verdict was canceled and a new court was ordered.
Sonny Seiler assumed Williams's defense at the second hearing and decided to have Williams openly conjure up his sexuality. Slightly different from the first experiment. The Georgia Supreme Court overruled a belief that the sheriff should not be allowed to testify as an expert, and that the prosecutor waited until his closing argument to show some evidence.
New evidence in the third trial shows the victim's hand is not pocketed by the police at the scene, a possible explanation for the lack of residual gunpowder. During deliberation, a jury should call paramedics to ask some medical questions, even though it can not be proved. After two considerations, the jury still has not reached the verdict, a woman firmly insisted that she saw reasonable doubts and would not change her verdict. With 11: 1 jurors supporting the "guilty" verdict, it was declared a suspended jury and resulted in a cancellation of the trial.
The fourth trial began two years later with a change of venue to Augusta, Georgia. The jury takes an hour to return with an innocent verdict.
Death
On January 14, 1990, six months after the trial, Williams died unexpectedly at his home, at the age of 59, due to pneumonia and heart failure. Reportedly, Williams fell dead in the same place where he would have fallen eight years earlier, Danny Hansford actually firing a gun and shooting him. Another source said he died in the lobby outside the office where Danny Hansford was shot. Williams is buried next to her mother, Blanche Brooks Williams, at the Friendly Church Cemetery, located in Gordon, Georgia. Danny Lewis Hansford is buried in Greenwich Cemetery, Savannah, GA.
Popular culture
The book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , of the Hansford murders and Williams's follow-up trial for the murder, was written by author John Berendt and published in 1994. Best New York Times New York Times bestselling book and Pulitzer Prize 1995 in General Nonfiction, the book was adapted into a film directed by veteran Hollywood Clint Eastwood in 1997. Williams is portrayed by actor Kevin Spacey.
References
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (ISBN 0-679-75152-1)
- More than Mercer House: Savannah's Jim Williams and his South House (ISBN: 0-9672187-0-5)
External links
- Mercer Williams House Museum Site
- James Arthur Williams at Discover the Mausoleum
Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed February 8, 2018), memorial page for Danny Lewis "Billy Hanson" Hansford (March 1, 1960-2 May 1981), Find A Grave Memorial no. 9925, citing Greenwich Cemetery, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, USA; Retained by Find A Grave.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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