Ferguson Cop Shooter Recants His Confession
By Brian Anderson, March 18, 2015.
Hang on, the man who admitted to shooting two cops in front of the Ferguson, Mo police station last week has had a change of heart. After confessing to the shooting on audio and video, Jeffrey Williams’ memory has changed about the incident and he says he didn’t shoot anyone.
Shortly after being arrested over the weekend, Williams readily admitted to firing the gun that wounded two police officers. He claimed that one of the Ferguson protesters had robbed him and he was settling a beef when he fired his illegally possessed .40 cal. handgun that inadvertently resulted in the wounded officers.
Now, according to Yahoo! News, Williams is recanting his confession:
“He told me that he never fired a weapon,” said Jerryl T. Christmas, attorney for Jeffrey Williams.
Christmas said Williams, 20, was scared and in a “tremendous amount of pain,” having allegedly been pistol-whipped before being questioned by detectives.
By the way, Williams’ lawyer’s only defense is that he was beaten by police during the arrest. It’s a lame excuse that is without corroborating evidence. In fact there is overwhelming evidence that he was taken into custody without incident and safe and healthy before he gave his confession:
Sgt. Brian Schellman said Williams was immediately transported to police headquarters and interviewed by detectives, which was recorded on video and audio. At the jail, he said, a nurse evaluated Williams as part of the intake process.
“The nurse released Williams as fit for confinement and he was subsequently turned over by detectives to the custody of Justice Services,” Sgt. Schellman said.
As for Williams new version of the story that has him not firing the shots:
St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch told reporters on Sunday that Williams admitted firing the gun but claimed he was involved in a feud and that the shots were in connection with that dispute. McCulloch said investigators recovered a .40-caliber handun during the arrest which matches evidence found at the scene.
What are the chances that a guy that admitted to shooting the officers would be in possession of the gun that matches the evidence collected in connection with the shooting? Williams’ lawyer is going to need to come up with a way bigger lie to explain away that one.
And unfortunately for the piece of fiction that has Williams delivering the confession under duress, he also made a confession to the clergy without evil racist police officers beating his ass:
Complicating Williams’ retraction is that he didn’t just admit being the shooter to police. On Sunday and Monday, St. Louis pastor and Ferguson activist Derrick Robinson told reporters that Williams expressed remorse to him during a jailhouse visit.
“He told me that he shouldn’t have done it,” Robinson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He was embarrassed.”
Williams is being undercharged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle and three counts of armed criminal action. He faces life in prison if convicted. My guess is he initially didn’t think what he did was that big of a deal and now that he realizes the gravity of the situation he’s trying to walk back his confession. Imagine how much of a panic he will be in if prosecutors wise up and charge him with attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm.
http://downtrend.com/71superb/ferguson-cop-shooter-recants-his-confession
