2
Wednesday, November 8,1995
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Dee Williamson, the father of Wendell Williamson, talks with media outside Orange County
Courthouse immediately after his son was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
~. * -r v- ■* ■
Weadefi WBluiuMm's rifle *nd anmumition pack
Jan. 26 - Williamson shoots and kills Chapel
Hill resident Ralph Walker Jr. and UNC
sophomore lacrosse player Kevin Reichardt
and wounds police officer Demitrise
Stephenson on Henderson Street.
4
January
REACTION
FROM PAGE 1
what he did, ifhe knows he took something
away from me that I can never get back.”
Families expressed disbelief and shock
with the verdict, saying justice had not
been served in this case.
Wilhamson’s statement ma3e*to police
the night of the shooting was proof that
_ Williamson knew what he was doing, fam
ily members said.
The statement was also proof he knew
- the difference between right and wrong,
according to family members.
“Obviously, the system failed com
pletely. I feel that Carl Fox proved
(Williamson) knew right from wrong,"
Carol Reichardt said.
“He is a very sick man. But he knew
right from wrong, and he was planning. He
picked Kevin out and shot him, then he
crawled away and then he shot him again
and again.”
Walker’s sister said she agreed that
Williamson had planned the shooting. “I
S’s first Electronic i
UKUrEVV ii
tPIWE W iii |i
It’S Easy! . =9
It’s Simple! JrZaH!
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\MeLcc4He to |;
TLe U/ofHefv4 f-Muei ii
Wtefv: November 7-21,1995 I
Fom All members of the campus community with an ;:
interest in women’s issues, but specifically our women ;;
faculty, staff, and students. i :
Pwijpde: To obtain input that will assist the Task Force on j;
Women at Carolina in developing recommendations for ii
the improvement of opportunities and resources
available to women at UNC. ii
You can access the survey from a cluster computer or other computer ii
using NETSCAPE. You can access the survey if you have an e-mail \ \
account. Instructions will be posted at ail OIT microcomputing facilities, ii
Four sites will be staffed at certain hours by people specifically trained ii
to help people take the survey:
Greenlaw Hall, room 221: 4am-9am i ■
Thursday 11/9, Tuesday 11/14, Thursday 11/16, and Tuesday 11/21
School of Public Health, 2308 McGavran-Greenberg: 4am-Bam !
Thursday 11/9, Tuesday 11/14, Thursday 11/16,a and Tuesday 11/21
Teague Residence Hall, basement: 4am-9am
Tuesday 11/14 and Thursday 11/16 j |
R.B. House, the Undergraduate Library, will be staffed continuously 11
1995 Timeline of Events for the Wendell Williamson Double-Murder Trial
dan 25 _
Wendell
Williamson
stashes two
boxes of
ammunition in
the Botanical
Gardens.
April 17 Orange
County Superior'Court
Judge Gordon Battle
orders Williamson to
undergo a psychological
examination at
Dorothea Dix Hospital.
Feb. 25 Officers
from the Chapel Hill
Police Department
recover ammunition
matching what
Williamson used
from the Botanical
Gardens.
Kevin Reichardts bicycle
February
think he knew what he was doing. I think
he was so smart he was mad,” Iris Walker
said.
“He planned it so meticulously with so
much precision, and he told police. He
may be sick, but he is guilty.”
The pain of the verdict that family mem
bexs pjost i| tfcatjiow
their ordeal will become an ongoing and
recurring process.
Williamson was transported to
Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh follow
ing the verdict.
Williamson will be re-evaluated after 50
days and annually thereafter, and will only
be released ifhe proves himself sane at one
of the annual hearings.
Family members said nothing would
stop them from missing these hearings,
which will be held in open court in
Hillsborough.
By attending these hearings, the
Reichardts said they would be honoring
Kevin and making sure that Williamson
did not slip through the cracks.
“We’ve been there for Kevin his entire
Sept. 6 - At a pretrial hearing,
Battle rules that evidence seized
from Williamson's apartment will
be inadmissable because of an
illegal search warrant.
June 19 Battle
rules Williamson
is competent to
stand trial after
hearing testimony
that he is
suffering from
paranoid
schizophrenia.
April
June
l||gy
fit ..jflnj ’ *
KEVIN REICHARDT and RALPH
WALKER JR. were the two victims in
the Jan. 26 shooting spree.
life, and we will continue to be there for
him as long as we live,” Carol Reichardt
said.
Her husband, Karl, said, “We have to
do it because nobody else will represent
Kevin.”
Iris Walker said she felt she had “no
option”buttobe presentbecause she feared
the possibility of Williamson’s release.
Both families recounted fond memories
of their lost loved ones when discussing the
PEACE CORPS
The benefits last a lifetime!
Find out more about the Peace Corps
when we visit UNC-Chapel Hill!
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9
11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. -- stop by our
information table in the
Carolina Student Union Lobby.
4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. -- attend an
information session at Old Carroll Hall
in Room 02.
For more information, call 1-800-424-8580 (press 1).
TRIAL COVERAGE
WILLIAMSON
FROM PAGE 1
After the verdict was announced, Williamson
was released from the custody ofthe Orange County
Jail and transported to Dorothea Dix Hospital in
Raleigh for commitment.
Williamson will return to Orange County on
Dec. 27 for a commitment hearing to determine
whether he will remain in custody at the hospital
or be released.
Defense attorney Kirk Osborn said at the future
hearings, the double murder would be entered into
evidence to determine whether Williamson was a
danger to himself or society.
“There isn’t going to be a judge anywhere that’s
going to release anyone under that evidence,” he
said.
Osborn repeated, as he had throughout the
trial, that defendants found not guilty by reason of
insanity often spend more time in mental hospitals
than defendants found guilty spend in prison.
Orange—Chatham District Attorney Carl Fox
said he disagreed. “That may apply to some crimes,
but not to murder,” Fox said.
Fox said he had acknowledged the possibility
of the jury returning a not guilty by reason of
insanity verdict.
“It was definitely an uphill battle for us,” Fox
said after the trial. Fox pointed to the fact that the
defense called friends, family members and 10
mental health experts who all testified to
September
pain the trial and the verdict had caused
them.
“We are just going to try to remember
the good things, and put these bad memo
ries out of our minds,” Iris Walker said as
she spoke about her brother, who she de
scribed as an aspiring photographer and
lover of the natural beauty ofthe world.
The Reichardts discussed a scholarship
set up in Kevin’s honor by his friends for
students who excel academically, athleti
cally and bestow other qualities Kevin ex
emplified.
“Kevin, in his short 20 years of life, had
a tremendous impact on hundreds of
people, ” Karl Reichardt read in a prepared
statement.
“He had insight, leadership qualities
and the love of life that was contagious.”
While the trial may be over, Ralph
Walker’s mother said Wendell Williamson
would face justice eventually.
“He’s guilty, and he doesn’t feel sorry
forit,” Sarah Walker said. “Hetookapart
of me but he’s not free. God has his num
ber.”
Williamson’s past history of mental illness. “It
was the fact that they had so many witnesses, ” Fox
said. “It was just sheer volume.”
Earlier, in a prepared statement, Fox stated,
“These witnesses testified that the defendant had
a long history of mental illness and irrational
behavior predating these offenses.
There was an abundance of expert testimony
supporting the defense of insanity.”
Fox would not say whether a “guilty but men
tally ill” verdict would have made his job easier.
But in his press release, he stated that “even though
the state may prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt, if the defendant proves that he is
not guilty by reason of insanity, he cannot be
convicted of the crimes he has committed.”
“That’s our law,” Fox said after meeting with
one of the victim’s family. “I, as all citizens, have
to live with that law.”
Fox said he was unsure whether the taped
statement Williamson made the night of the mur
ders sealed the decision in the jurors’ minds.
Fox said he had considered entering the tape in
the state’s rebuttal case, but the defense chose to
enter it instead.
“I think the taped statement cuts both ways, ” he
said.
After the verdict, public defender James Will
iams acknowledged the difficulty of the jury’s
decision.
“I think the jury showed courage in reaching
their decision,” he said. “I certainly feel confident
Oct. 25 Joanna Morrisey,
a UNC senior, testifies she
saw Reichardt be "shot at
again, then move closer to
the car, then be shot at
again ... finally he would
I not be able to move again."
Oct. 26 Chapel Hill attorney
Robert Epting testifies Williamson
"never, never flinched" and the
shooting between Williamson and
officers "sounded like the last
scene of Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid."
Oct. 31 - Dr. Christina Mickewicz
testifies that in 1992 commitment
papers were initiated on
Williamson, but a judge ruled
Williamson was not a danger to
himself or others.
Distnct Attorney Carl Fox
October
WEDNESDAY
Noon AFRICAN-AMERICAN LUNCH
TIME FORUM for Rape Awareness Week in Union
213.
12:30 p.m. ASIAN STUDIES Luncheon Semi
nar Series presents Shi Yinhong, professor oflnter
national History at Nanjing University in 02 Man
ning Hall.
3 p.m. DISSERTATION SUPPORT GROUP
in Nash Hall, 962-2175.
3:30 p.m. RAPE AWARENESS COMMIT
TEE meeting in Union 226.
UNIVERSITY CAREER SERVICES will spon
sor “Introduction to Internships” in 210 Hanes Hall
and for seniors and graduate students, “Job Hunt
103: Interviewing Skills” in 209 Hanes Hall.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR WOMEN GRADU
ATES in Nash Hall, 962-2175.
4 p.m. UNDERGRADUATE SOCIOLOGY
CLUB will meet in Union 210. A lecture by Dr.
Mann on Medical School Admissions will be given
JAPANESE CONVERSATION TABLE will
meet in Lenior.
5 p.m. UNC JAPAN CLUB will meet in Frank
Porter Graham Lounge on the second floor ofthe
Union.
sp.m. YOUTH ANGST SOCIETY will have an
evening of students reading their own work in Bull’s
Head Bookstore.
5:30 p.m. LUTHERAN CAMPUS MINIS
TRIES would like to invite everyone to worship in
the campus center.
6 p.m. WESLEY FOUNDATION invites you to
dinner and a program at 214 Pittsboro St. Cost is $2.
7 p.m. CAROLINA FEVER will meet in 106
Carroll Hall.
DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SO
CIETIES present the Kemp Plummer Battle lecture
s Resume Drop b
November 9 • B:3oam-3:oopm • 211 Hanes Hall
FOR THE ATLANTIC RECRUITING ALLIANCE
•(NEW YORK CITY INTERVIEWS ON FEB. 26, 1996)
Organizations Participating:
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PUBLISHING
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•This program requires you to travel to New York at your expense-further information available in 211 Hanes Hall
••Information on these organizations is available in 208 Hanes Hall
University Career Services • Division of Student Affairs
spiv
Nov. 2 Williamson's
mother, Fonda, testifies
that in February 1994
Williamson told her he
was a telepath. She
also testifies Williamson
was "totally not
himself" when he was
home Jan. 2, 1995.
Defease Attorney
KMOiboni
Public Defender James Williams
Campus Calendar
lath} (Ear
that the decision they reached is an appropriate
one and one they can be proud of.”
Williams said Williamson was beginning to
recognize the severity ofhis actions. “(Williamson)
now understands the gravity of what he did. As
recently as today he expressed remorse and con
cern for what he did,” Williams said.
He said Williamson remembered the shooting
spree, but only in the context of mental delusions
chronicled in testimony throughout the trial.
Dee Williamson, Wendell Williamson’s father,
traveled from Clyde to attend most of the trial,
including the verdict.
“It is a relief to have this over,” he said. “I feel
very sorry for everybody involved.”
Suzannah Thomas, Wendell Williamson’s sis
ter, said that she also was glad the trial was over,
but that the verdict meant the tragedy associated
with her brother’s crimes was still not over. “Cer
tainly there is no joy in this verdict,” she said.
In a prepared statement, Karl and Carol
Reichardt stated that Williamson had intention
ally killed their son and Walker “to call attention
to his problem.”
“We came to this courtroom screaming for
justice and accountability. Justice has not been
served,” the release stated. “Where is the justice if
Wendell Williamson is not convicted?”
Fox said the community must now accept the
jury’s verdict. In his release, Fox stated, “The
court has accepted their verdicts. We must like
wise accept their verdicts.”
I
JH
tjj MMB
Nov. 3- Williamson's statement to
police was played in court: "I killed
two people and that should be
sufficient to get me the death
penalty ... it was a terrible thing I
had to do."
i Nov. 7 Williamson is found
j not guilty by reason of
I insanity.
November
Wendell Williamson
DTH/CHRIS KIRKMAN