ACTION ALERT: Court hearing Friday for Ashley Williams!
Phil Wilayto
Defenders and Friends,
This is an appeal for anyone who is available to please attend a court hearing tomorrow, Friday, for Ashley Williams, the young Richmond mother falsely accused of involuntary manslaughter in the tragic death of her two-year-old son D'Sean.
The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 pm before Judge Richard Taylor in Courtroom 302, John Marshall Courts Building, 400 N. 9th St. (just north of East Marshall St.) in downtown Richmond.
There is a very good article about the case in today's edition of the Richmond Free Press. The article points out that Ms. Williams' previous court-appointed attorney, Pauline Ewald, had lined up a noted medical expert who was prepared to testify that the child most likely died from a genetic disease - a disease that children of Ms. Williams' three sisters are known to suffer from. Further, the medical examiner whose office conducted an autopsy on the child reported that the cause of death was "undetermined." But instead of allowing the expert to testify, the court took Ms. Ewald off the case, claiming she had offered inappropriate payment to the medical expert. Countering that claim, Ms. Ewald has reportedly shown the Free Press an affidavit from the expert saying he was not improperly offered any inducement to testify.
Ms. Williams' other court-appointed attorney, Devika Davis, did not pursue bringing in the expert witness, and instead reportedly counseled Ms. Williams to plead guilty, without a trial. Burdened by grief over the loss of her child - and the snatching of her other three - and healthy - children by the courts, Ms. Williams pled guilty in November, and has since been held in the Richmond City Jail. She could be sentenced to many years in prison for a crime she never committed.
With the support of the state NAACP and other community advocates, Ms. Williams has since asked to withdraw her guilty plea, to go to trial and to be represented by Ms. Ewald as her non-court-appointed attorney. Judge Taylor has not yet acted on these requests, now several weeks old. Meanwhile, Ms. Davis has removed herself from the case. We understand that the latest court-appointed attorney, Cary Bowen had, as of Wednesday, not yet been informed of tomorrow's hearing.
Something very funny seems to be going on here. Why did Ms. Davis not want to bring this case to trial? Why did she not want to present the testimony of the expert witness? Why did the court remove Ms. Ewald from the case? Was it because she was aggressively defending her client, something court-appointed attorneys are not normally known to do? Why has Judge Taylor refused to act on Ms. Williams' request to withdraw her guilty plea and be represented at trial by the attorney of her choice? And finally, why has Judge Taylor, according to the Free Press story, now sealed part of this nearly three-year-old case, making it nearly impossible for the media to properly report it?
This is the kind of case where the attention of the public is absolutely critical. That's why members of the Defenders and other advocates will be in court tomorrow to monitor the hearing. We sincerely urge you join us there. We apologize for the late notice, but we have acted as quickly as we could.
Phil Wilayto
for the Defenders