HATTIESBURG -- The silent drama of the videotaped fatal beating of inmate Jessie Lee Williams Jr. played out for the first time in public view in a federal courtroom Thursday.
Raised eyebrows and a few soft gasps formed the backdrop for the somber occasion - the trial of two former Harrison County jailers, including the one accused of torturous acts resulting in Williams' death. Prosecutors showed the tape on the third day of trial for former Harrison County Sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Michael Teel and his supervisor at the time, Capt. James Ricky "Rick" Gaston. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola has kept the tape under seal and said Thursday it will remain so until the trial has ended.
The tape answered some questions lingering since the incident Feb. 4, 2006. It clearly shows Williams - with hands cuffed behind his back while waiting to be booked in at a counter - leaning back to dodge an obvious kick from an officer identified by witnesses as former Sheriff's Sgt. Teel. And that was only the beginning.
Williams lunged at Teel after the kick, and a series of assaults followed while Williams remained cuffed and, according to witnesses, no threat to anyone.
Williams was kicked, punched, shot with a Taser, hog-tied, carried like a suitcase and dropped head first. The punching continued as he was strapped to a restraint chair and pepper-spray was spewed in his face through a spit mask.
In the courtroom, Teel, his cheeks turning red at times, whispered to his attorney occasionally and took notes as the tape was played.
The family of Williams, the father of six, had not been allowed to view the video until it was played in court. Terry Williams, Jessie Williams' brother, watched the tape with a pained expression on his face while his wife, Annette, patted his back and wept.
"The tape shows exactly what we believed it would," said Michael W. Crosby, attorney for Williams' estate. "It was inhumane, barbaric and surrealistic, representing mankind at its worst."
Several people who didn't know Williams or his family have attended the trial this week and given their moral support. Andrea Gibbs, a former sheriff's deputy who blew the whistle on inmate abuse at the Harrison County jail more than a decade ago, leaned over and whispered to Terry Williams after the tape played.
"I'm so sorry," Gibbs told him.
Five current or former law enforcement officers who witnessed the Williams incident testified Thursday afternoon. They said they were shocked or overwhelmed and all agreed they did nothing to stop it, nor did they contact authorities. Their reasons varied.
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