home

Why Did This Man Die in Police Custody?

Why did this man die while in custody in Georgia? His family is asking for an investigation--they say it's a David and Goliath situation:

All Yanga Williams knows is her Fred with the easy smile and accommodating “sure, baby” attitude is gone. She doesn’t know why, and she can’t begin to tell their four children that daddy isn’t coming back. Grieving family members are left with many unanswered questions about the death of 31-year-old Frederick Jerome Williams. He died Thursday morning after struggling with authorities at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.

Williams was removed from life support when doctors at Gwinnett Medical Center determined he was brain dead, according to Williams’ family members. “He was just the kind of person that worshiped me and the kids,” Yanga said Thursday. “No matter what I did, no matter what I presented him with he was very supportive. It was always, ‘sure, baby.’”

A photograph of the smiling couple in traditional Liberian garb rested on the mantel above Yanga as she sat quietly in her living room Thursday afternoon, flanked by the family’s attorney and her father-in-law. About 100 relatives and loved ones gathered at the family’s home on Mill Station Drive in Lawrenceville to voice their sorrow following Williams’ death. ....Sniffles, sobs and cries of outrage perforated the stifling closeness of so many people crammed into the modest living room. The family’s attorney and friend, Melvin Johnson, called for the GBI or the state Department of Justice to investigate Williams’ death. “We feel this is a David and Goliath situation,” Johnson said. “We don’t have the tools and the manpower. I can’t overemphasize that we need help.”

< The Futile Search For a Perfect Death Penalty | Washington's 'It' Girl >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort: