Defense wants 'Big John' capital murder trial moved from Lowndes County
The defense in the capital murder case of slain Lowndes County Sheriff “Big John” Williams wants the trial moved out of Lowndes County.
A motion for a change of venue cites “sensationalized” media coverage of the case. William Chase Johnson, 21, of Montgomery, is charged in the case. Williams, 62, was shot and killed in the line of duty the night of Nov. 23, 2019, while trying to disperse a large crowd in the parking lot of the QV convenience store in Hayneville.
“At each stage of the criminal proceedings against Mr. Johnson, the newspapers, broadcast media and other forms of communication in Lowndes County and neighboring counties have given the case such extensive publicity, and in a manner so prejudicial to Mr. Johnson, that it is impossible to conduct a fair trial by an impartial and unbiased jury in this county,” the defense motion reads.
The motion also notes that the courthouse in Hayneville, where the trial is set to take place, is named for the slain lawman. Members of any potential jury pool would enter the courthouse under a sign emblazoned with Williams’ name.
Retired Escambia County Circuit Judge Bert Rice was appointed to preside in the case after local judges recused themselves. Rice has not filed an answer to the venue motion, court records show.
Rice set the trial date for Oct. 10, which would be almost four years since Williams was killed.
A gag order bars prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case from commenting outside of court filings and courtroom proceedings.
The move seeking a change of venue has been long expected. Williams was popular and well known in his home county, population about 11,000.
Lowndes County courthouse observers also have long been discussing where the trial would move. Any new venue would have to remain in the Black Belt to maintain racial and economic parity with Lowndes County.
Dallas County, with Selma as the county seat, is contiguous to Lowndes but many feel it is too close geographically. Same thing with Wilcox County, where the courthouse stands in Camden.
So a bit of a road trip is likely to be in store, observers say. Marion in Perry County is about 45 minutes west of Selma, and matches well with the demographics of Lowndes County. Moving east, Tuskegee in Macon County is a possibility, as is Bullock County, with Union Springs as the seat.
Rice retired from Escambia County, which is in south Alabama near the Florida line, and now lives near Auburn. The trial is expected to take at least two weeks, with the guilt phase and a possible penalty phase.
Lowndes residents connected with the court system are reading the tea leaves, as it were, wondering if Rice would want to drive about three hours a day to get to Marion, or stay in a Selma hotel for the length of the trial and still have a 45-minute or so drive.
Tuskegee seems to be the pick of the locals, since it is about 20 miles from Auburn, or Union Springs, being about 40 miles away.
Capital murder is the most severe charge the state can file. The only sentencing options in the event of a conviction are life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. The defense has filed a motion seeking that the death penalty be removed from consideration. Rice has not ruled on that request, records reflect.
Johnson has been held at the Elmore County Jail under no bond since arrest that night. No bond is standard in a capital case. Johnson was 18 at the time of his arrest, and he is the son of a Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputy.
Williams spent more than 40 years serving his community. He started out as a reserve deputy in 1978 under then-Sheriff John Hulett. Then it was three years at Hayneville PD before going back to the sheriff’s office as a “road deputy.” He worked his way up to chief deputy and was elected sheriff in 2010.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Defense wants 'Big John' capital murder trial out of Lowndes County
