Logan County, West Virginia prosecutor Brian Abraham dropped a kidnapping and hostage taking charge from Karen Burton, who was one of 7 people charged with crimes in the Megan Williams rape and torture case. As part of her plea bargain, she will cooperate against the four remaining defendants in the case. Abraham recommended a sentence of 14 to 30 years for all charges – 2 to 10 years for the kidnapping and hostage charges, and 10 years for the hate crime charge.
Abraham believes the plea deal for Burton carries a proper penalty, considering that the three charges combined, which are to be served consecutively, could add up to 30 years in prison.
"If I had let her have a plea deal on just the hate crime charge and she just got 10 years, that is not enough," he said, "And it would look like I was trying to pacify some special interest."
In addition to the hate crime charge, Burton pleaded guilty to assault during the commission of a felony and malicious assault. In the related indictment, prosecutors accused Burton of choking Williams with a cable.
She was charged with a hate crime for stabbing Williams in the ankle while saying, "This is what we do to niggers around here," according to the indictment.
Police discovered Williams at a trailer near Big Creek on Sept. 8, 2007. Logan County prosecutors say Williams was forced to eat animal droppings, was sexually assaulted and stabbed by six white men and women who held her captive for days last summer. Logan County sheriff's deputies, acting on an anonymous tip, found her at a Big Creek trailer on Sept. 8.
Five people were indicted Tuesday, February 5, in the case. Bobby Brewster, Frankie Brewster, Karen Burton and Danny Combs were charged with malicious assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, and holding Williams hostage.
Grand jurors indicted Linnie Burton Jr. on one count of misdemeanor battery. He was not among the original six people arrested in the case.
George Messer and Alisha Burton pleaded guilty Friday to one count of kidnapping and one count of assault during the commission of a felony. Each faces up to 10 years in prison and has agreed to testify against the other defendants.
"We are still trying to determine each individual's involvement in the acts they committed and assign the proper charges and proper punishment based on their conduct," Abraham said of the four remaining defendants.
Abraham said he has not ruled out cutting deals with the remaining defendants.
"In every criminal case, there is usually some negotiation that takes place. That is not to suggest that we have done so on this case," Abraham said. "It is not my practice to try a case just to be trying it. If I have a case that has more certainty to it by a plea and the outcome is just, then it is something we will consider. ... I am not going to cut deals just to expedite the case. We don't do that here in Logan."
Malik Shabazz, who organized rallies in Williams’ support through his group Black Lawyers For Justice, was pleased with the guilty plea.
"All of the key charges against the defendants are sticking. I have to give Mr. Abraham his day here. Justice is becoming a reality," Shabazz said. "I think the message being sent will protect others from being the victims of race hate and violence in the future."
Shabazz said he feels activism by those who rallied for Williams was vindicated through the conviction.
"Now the test is to see if Mrs. Karen Burton's sentence reflects the crime," he said.
Without the hate crime charge, Burton would be facing between 12 and 19 years in prison; with it, she faces much more, he said.
Shabazz said activists still want the maximum charges and longest penalties in the case.
"But it's up to the prosecutor's discretion to know how to come to a plea agreement," he said. "Mr. Abraham should be given the benefit of doubt in the case."
Abraham said that hate crimes are not intended to create special rights, but are intended to enhance sentences which may be otherwise plea bargained down to lesser acts.
"I have an obligation to uphold my oath and enforce the laws of West Virginia and, by extension, to represent the interests of Megan Williams," he said. "I will not base my decisions on any special interest."
Williams also made an appearance on a Montel Williams show featuring hate crimes. She will receive a new computer, six months of tutoring to help her earn her GED, and a 2 year, $40,000 scholarship to ITT Technical Institute.
(Update 3-17-08) From the Charleston(WV) Daily Mail:
Forty-six-year-old Karen Burton and 49-year-old Frankie Brewster were sentenced Thursday for their roles in the kidnapping and assault of Megan Williams. Both pleaded guilty last month.
Brewster and Burton were among seven white Logan County residents who were charged in the Willlams case.
Logan County Circuit Judge Roger Perry sentenced Burton, of Chapmanville, to three consecutive sentences. She received separate 2-10 year sentences for malicious assault and assault during the commission of a felony and 10 years for the civil rights charge.
Brewster received a 10-to-25-year sentence for second-degree sexual assault.
Williams and her parents were in the courtroom Thursday and wept as the sentences were read.
"I just believe he (prosecutor Brian Abraham) shouldn't have plea bargained with any of them,'' her mother Carmen Williams said during a press conference after the sentencing. "She (Megan Williams) wanted them to do life.''
Two other defendants had already pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
Burton's 23-year-old daughter, Alisha, and George Messer, 27, both of Chapmanville, both pleaded guilty in February to kidnapping and assault and received 10-year sentences.
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