Another Jason on the line.....this time it's the guy who killed the woman on the board of education

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10759663/

trial on april 9

3/6/2012 7:37:35 PM

i'm on the jury, i'm gonna get drunk and be the worst juror ever

3/6/2012 7:38:20 PM

DEAD

IN

WOODS

3/6/2012 7:39:03 PM

Sad case. Old thread for reference: http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=592909&page=1#13918966

3/6/2012 7:39:13 PM

does anybody else think its weird that within a year 2 raleigh musicians have been charged with murder

first it was this guy and the evidence against him seems a little fishy to me

then it was grant hayes and he pretty much gave up that shit to the prosecution

3/6/2012 7:40:07 PM

Yee Haw

3/6/2012 7:40:30 PM

You think the evidence against Wiliford is fishy?

3/6/2012 7:40:39 PM

I wouldn't necessarily call either one of them musicians.

3/6/2012 7:41:33 PM

Quote :

"Defense attorneys for Jason Keith Williford, 32, asked Judge Paul Gessner"

Git yer popcorn ready!

3/6/2012 7:50:17 PM

OH LAWD

I'll allow it.

3/6/2012 7:51:30 PM

dude might as well bite into a cyanide pill, cause he's done

3/6/2012 7:52:27 PM

this one is not even going to be entertaining.

it's not even a close call, and he's definitely getting the death penalty.

3/6/2012 7:54:46 PM

I know they've asked for it, but I don't know that they'll get the death penalty. not if the guy has serious mental issues.

3/6/2012 7:56:45 PM

White people don't get the death penalty, silly.

3/6/2012 8:32:30 PM

they do when you kill well connected state employees, lol

[Edited on March 6, 2012 at 8:37 PM. Reason : .]

3/6/2012 8:37:28 PM

I think the type of crime he committed implies he has "serious mental issues" so I don't know what you're getting at.

3/6/2012 8:40:28 PM

If he's got mental issues, they won't give him the death penalty. That's what I meant by that.

They've asked for the death penalty, but I think he's got just enough crazy in him that he might not qualify for it.

3/6/2012 8:55:56 PM

Ahaha are you serious? Arizona killed a retard just this week.

http://www.kpho.com/story/17030353/lawyers-for-arizona-death-row-inmate-seeking-stays

3/6/2012 9:31:54 PM

It's been almost 6 years since NC has executed anyone, and a while since we've had anyone sentenced. I think the State may be informally moving away from it. People don't seem quite as willing to put someone to death anymore.

I used to be all for the death penalty if the situation merited. However, I'm not sure I can trust this justice system to execute someone in a fair manner, with the right to a *fair* trial first.

[Edited on March 6, 2012 at 9:58 PM. Reason : ]

3/6/2012 9:57:56 PM

I was about to post, in NC right now the death penalty does not mean we will kill you.

3/6/2012 10:03:05 PM

Wake county is not a good place to be accused of murder.

3/6/2012 10:05:01 PM

Not even TWW band-wagoneers will hop this guys cart, I can't believe he hasn't pled guilty. He reminds me of the guy who killed that girl in her apartment a few years back then hung himself in the jail.

3/6/2012 10:11:05 PM

If they've got DNA evidence that links him to Kathy Taft, they may not offer him a plea deal (similar to the Eve Carson case). They may want him to get death or at the very least, life without parole.

3/6/2012 10:11:51 PM

^^^most especially if you're a shitty husband

[Edited on March 6, 2012 at 10:12 PM. Reason : ~]

[Edited on March 6, 2012 at 10:13 PM. Reason : ~]

3/6/2012 10:11:56 PM

Jury selection starts tomorrow.

4/8/2012 9:45:25 PM

That house is up for sale.

4/8/2012 10:07:48 PM

Is this the woman they said an owl may have killed her?

4/8/2012 10:27:02 PM

The margaritas later and he is still guilty.

4/8/2012 10:28:06 PM

^^Nah, that's the Peterson trial. I believe the thread for that case is titled "The Owl Did It?"

4/8/2012 10:44:27 PM

I murder this shit without words

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

4/9/2012 12:17:58 AM

Quote :

"RALEIGH, N.C. — Jury selection begins Monday for the trial of a Raleigh man accused of killing state school board member Kathy Taft two years ago. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Jason Keith Williford, 32, who faces charges of first-degree murder and first-degree forcible rape in Taft's death. Wake County prosecutors have only rarely sought the death penalty since 2007, when executions were effectively halted in North Carolina. Taft's relatives said at a February court hearing that they know the trial will be tough. "I'm just ready to get this part, this whole, horrific part of my life over with," Taft's daughter, Jessica Gorall, said. The last time Wake County jurors imposed the death penalty was in 2007. Bryon Waring was convicted in the Nov. 8, 2005, stabbing death of Lauren Redman. Wake County prosecutors most recently sought the death penalty against Samuel James Cooper, who was convicted in 2010 of a series of five murders between 2006 and 2007. After deliberating for 15 hours, a jury sentenced him to life in prison. Taft, 62, of Greenville, was recovering from surgery in a friend's home on Cartier Drive in Raleigh on March 6, 2010, when she was raped and beaten. She died three days later. Williford, who lived less than a mile from where Taft was staying, was arrested April 16, 2010, after police say they found DNA evidence on a cigarette butt that he discarded in an apartment parking lot. In February, Superior Court Judge Paul Gessner denied a defense effort to suppress that DNA evidence, claiming it was illegally obtained and contaminated by being placed in the same bag as a purple evidence glove. Gessner did agree to postpone the trial, originally slated for March 5, to allow the defense time to review the results of a state-ordered psychiatric evaluation and the contents of Williford's laptop, which police say include child pornography. Defense attorneys say the evidence is vital to their defense of Williford's mental state and that his psychological history is tied to what's in his computer."

I am interested in 1. Who the computer experts will be and 2. Whether Colon Willoughby can be an impartial prosecutor, due to the nature of the relationship of Taft with his office.

Legal docs: http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/7415450/


If the man's guilty as heck, at least the prosecutors should play fair, but I wonder if they will:

Quote :

"Defense attorneys complained they had not had enough time to go through DNA reports and other evidence gathered in the case. Prosecutors contended they could not turn over a computer to defense lawyers because federal investigators claimed it contained child pornography. But defense lawyers said the images of concern were of children on the beach in the 1970s, some clothed and some not."

[Edited on April 9, 2012 at 9:51 AM. Reason : ]

4/9/2012 9:48:36 AM

Im pretty sure anyone photographed nude on a beach in 1970 has moved on with life.

4/9/2012 9:40:56 PM

Quote :

"Gessner, however, did grant a motion Monday morning for the state to turn over the results of two State Bureau of Investigation analysts who failed in December a new DNA certification exam. He also ordered that the exams of their supervisors also be made available to the defense."

Lovely.

4/9/2012 9:43:19 PM

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2710-Cartier-Dr_Raleigh_NC_27608_M54858-22708?cid=EML300104

this the house?

if so that is a killer deal

[Edited on April 9, 2012 at 10:44 PM. Reason : another]

4/9/2012 10:44:28 PM

Quote :

"RALEIGH -- After five weeks spent picking jurors, attorneys will start the capital murder trial Wednesday for Jason Williford – a rare and high-profile death penalty case for Wake County. It took 26 days and 120 potential jurors to seat the panel of 12 and three alternates, and evidence in the trial could easily last another six weeks. Williford, 32, is accused of raping and killing Kathy Taft, a 62-year-old mother, grandmother and state school board member from Greenville who was found unconscious and bloodied in the home of a Raleigh friend. She had been recovering from cosmetic neck surgery, and her skull was crushed by what medical examiners ruled as blunt head trauma. Her death captured unusual attention because of her political prominence, both as a state school board member and the ex-wife of former state Sen. Tom Taft of Greenville. Gov. Bev Perdue attended her funeral. “They knew Al Gore and his wife, Tipper,” said Ernest “Buddy” Conner, one of Williford’s attorneys, while questioning a juror. “They knew the governor. They knew the movers and shakers.” A bass player in a local jam-band, unemployed at the time of the 2010 slaying, Williford pleaded not guilty to the crimes in February. He was charged in the case after Raleigh police asked neighbors around the crime scene on Cartier Drive to provide DNA samples. After Williford refused, police later collected a sample from cigarette that he dropped. For the last month, Superior Court Judge Paul Gessner has walked potential jurors through the evidence that may surface against Williford, warning them that it could be emotionally volatile, making sure they could hear it and be fair. Among items that could be introduced: evidence that Williford sought homosexual encounters on Craigslist; that he engaged in sexual activity using inanimate objects such as vegetables; that a computer in his possession contained possible child pornography; and that he was cruel to a family dog. Gessner warned that bloody linens from the crime scene may be brought into the courtroom. Earlier this year, Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby has said he is pursuing capital punishment because, in the scenario put forth by prosecutors, the case involves an uninvited intruder sexually assaulting and bludgeoning a woman in bandages from surgery. Assistant District Attorneys David Saacks and Trish Jacobs will prosecute the case. Conner will handle Williford’s defense along with attorneys Diane Savage and Michael Driver."

5/16/2012 8:24:01 AM

Quote :

"http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2710-Cartier-Dr_Raleigh_NC_27608_M54858-22708?cid=EML300104 this the house? if so that is a killer deal"

haha, nice.

but I hope you weren't serious about it being a good deal. I mean, maybe the location + price makes it one, but that house is pretty blah IMHO (yeh, I know, location is everything, but not to me... I wouldn't drop $250k on a house that bad)

[Edited on May 16, 2012 at 8:34 AM. Reason : .]

5/16/2012 8:33:08 AM

He didn't say it was a good deal, he said it was a killer deal.

5/16/2012 9:33:41 AM

Quote :

"A bass player in a local jam-band"

GUILTY

5/16/2012 9:50:28 AM

a couple of close friends live on oberlin right where cartier intersects. I often park on cartier when I visit them-- but their house is even smaller and they paid over $300k for it.

ITB is cool and all, but I can't fathom dropping that kind of scratch just to say you live in ITB.

5/16/2012 9:52:32 AM

Quote :

"but I can't fathom dropping that kind of scratch just to say you live in ITB."

Pretty sure they don't spend that scratch just to say that . I think living there does have advantages for some people. I'd definitely spend more for less house (than I have now) to live that central, but obviously it's not for everyone.

If you compare that house with others around it though, one would think it would sell for less given the history of the place. Does that info even have to be in the disclaimer? If not maybe they're hoping to hook someone who doesn't know how to use Google.

5/16/2012 10:08:31 AM

The defense attorneys asked for Judge Paul Gessner?

5/16/2012 10:08:47 AM

That's not even possible. The DA's office sets the calendar and basically chooses the Judge. Where do you see defense attorneys selected Gessner?

5/16/2012 10:10:57 AM

^Oh, misinterpretation of a quote itt that was only partially lifted from the article. Hence the ? mark.

[Edited on May 16, 2012 at 10:16 AM. Reason : -]

5/16/2012 10:15:26 AM

That's what I figured. Darned ncsuapex being misleading.

5/16/2012 10:18:12 AM

sounds like a prime candidate for the needle.

5/16/2012 10:29:49 AM

Quote :

"sounds like a prime candidate for the needle."

Texas thought this guy was a prime candidate for the needle too:

http://news.yahoo.com/wrong-man-executed-texas-probe-says-051125159.html

5/16/2012 10:37:51 AM

nope, dna actually cleared him....dna will convict this dude. Infact, almost all past case like the one you linked to were finally proven incorrect by dna.

your example was actually a case of over zealous police/prosecutors, in the direct contradiction of the evidence

[Edited on May 16, 2012 at 10:42 AM. Reason : .]

5/16/2012 10:40:51 AM

Quote :

"RALEIGH, N.C. — Attorneys are expected to present opening statements Wednesday in the first-degree murder trial of a Raleigh man accused of killing state school board member Kathy Taft two years ago. Taft, 62, of Greenville, died March 9, 2010, three days after she was raped and beaten at 2710 Cartier Drive, the Raleigh home of her longtime companion, where she was staying with her sister while recovering from surgery. Jason Keith Williford, 32, who lived with his wife a block away at 2812-D Wayland Drive, was arrested more than a month later after police linked him to the crime using DNA from a discarded cigarette butt. The state is seeking the death penalty, and although prosecutors and defense attorneys have said little about their cases, the DNA evidence that led to Williford’s arrest is likely to be key evidence at the trial. Defense attorneys have unsuccessfully sought several times to have it thrown out of the trial, challenging the methods in which investigators collected it and the qualifications of the analysts who tested it. Williford's mental state could also be at issue in trial. It took the attorneys more than six weeks to seat the jury and three alternates, a time they spent questioning potential jurors on mental health issues and how they would feel if the defense were to agree with most of the state’s evidence but were able to prove that Williford was acting in a "diminished capacity." Likely jurors were also questioned about their views on homosexuality and whether they can be objective about subjects that might come up at trial, such as cross-dressing, child pornography and animal abuse. The crime Taft’s attack in the quiet Wayland Heights neighborhood early on the morning of March 6, 2010, put neighbors on edge for weeks as few details emerged about the investigation, a possible suspect and whether the crime was random. Taft’s sister, Dina Holton, found her unresponsive and initially called 911, thinking Taft might have possibly been experiencing complications from surgery. It wasn’t until Taft was at the hospital that doctors found she had been raped and beaten in the left side of her head. For weeks thereafter, police canvassed the neighborhood and conducted traffic stops looking for answers. Neighbors reported that officers went door-to-door asking men in the neighborhood for voluntary DNA samples. It was Williford’s refusal to give a DNA sample that raised the suspicion of detectives and prompted them to follow him until they got the cigarette butt, a police investigator testified at a pre-trial hearing in February. The DNA matched evidence at the crime scene, and police arrested Williford on April 16, 2010, at Lake Jordan, where he had been camping with friends. The victim The arrest brought obvious relief to Taft’s four grown children. "We can start to focus on her life, and we don't have to keep asking these crazy questions," her youngest son, Jonathan Taft said a day later. "I am ready for everybody to start thinking about the good she did, rather than the harm that he caused." Those who knew Taft said she had a passion for politics and was a dogged supporter and advocate of public education. She helped found Communities in Schools in Pitt County, and spent five years on the local school board before Gov. Jim Hunt appointed her to the State Board of Education in 1995. Board members said she was a strong advocate for raising education standards in North Carolina. "Her passion for education and for finding every opportunity to better serve North Carolina’s children has clearly made this state a better place to live and raise a family," Gov. Beverly Perdue said upon Taft’s death. "For that, we all owe Kathy a debt of gratitude." The suspect At the time of his arrest, Williford was an amateur musician who had worked as an electrician's assistant while studying to be an electrician. He was convicted in a 1998 felony breaking-and-entering case, in which the homeowner said Williford broke into the home and made calls to phone-sex lines and left feces on the floor. In 2003, Williford was charged with communicating threats and making harassing phone calls against his girlfriend at the time. Although the charges were voluntarily dismissed, she also took out a protective order against him in 2005, claiming he was violent and emotionally unstable. Many of Williford’s neighbors said he kept to himself and that they never met him. Others who knew him said he was a talented musician who had drinking problems. "He was always a devious-looking character, sort of a seedy-looking person," said John Bloomquist, the owner of a downtown café where Williford often played with his band. "He had the type of personality of the kid you just don’t want to be hanging out with." The death penalty A de facto moratorium on the death penalty has been in place since 2007 because of legal challenges to how executions are carried out in North Carolina, where 156 people live on death row. Since then, Wake County prosecutors have sought it only three times and have been successful only once. "We try to use the death penalty only in those cases in which we think the community would think this is a case in which death is an appropriate verdict," Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby said. Although he has not spoken about the specific reasons for pursuing the death penalty against Williford, Willoughby has said that his office looks at the facts of each case when deciding whether to seek death. Aggravating circumstances – such as the commission of another crime at the time of a homicide – are factors, but Willoughby said the behavior of a defendant and his or her background also can play a part. So can the behavior of the victim. "When you look at the victim, you ask if this person is truly innocent," Willoughby said. "Were they at home minding their own business or in the grocery story just buying groceries?""

More in depth article.



It's like déjà vu!


[Edited on May 16, 2012 at 11:20 AM. Reason : ]

5/16/2012 11:16:43 AM

Quote :

"your example was actually a case of over zealous police/prosecutors, in the direct contradiction of the evidence"

Let me introduce you to the lowest piece of shit on earth to whom Satan himself is undoubtedly personally preparing a firey eternity of brimstone and sodomy:

Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby

5/16/2012 11:42:38 AM

Ahahah. What do you have against Colon (aside from the obvious, as he's the DA) ?

5/16/2012 11:46:49 AM