Note stuck in purse sank trial
Blame this week's double-murder mistrial in Charleston on simple human error: A note given to the jury forewoman went into her purse, where she apparently forgot about it.
How much the flub cost taxpayers hasn't been formally calculated but probably runs into the tens of thousands of dollars, including the salaries of a judge, prosecutors, public defenders and support staff.
The fumble came in the trial of Rick Morocco Williams, 26, of North Charleston, who's accused of fatally shooting his two roommates on New Year's Eve 2010 -- slayings he admits to but calls self-defense.
According to a source familiar with the case, the process started to fall apart at the outset, when one of the jurors, described as an older man, failed during jury qualification Monday to mention that authorities had ruled his son's gunshot death a suicide, but that he still harbored doubts.
After he was picked for the panel, the man wanted to make his story known. He reportedly was told he had to go through proper channels, starting with the jury foreperson.
The foreperson, however, was not formally appointed until Tuesday when testimony in Williams' trial began in full.
According to the timeline, the man then wrote his concerns on a note that he passed to her. That note apparently stayed in her purse through Wednesday.
After the man's issue went nowhere, a second handwritten note was written by the juror and both notes were then forwarded to Circuit Judge Stephanie McDonald on Thursday. The juror's concerns led to the mistrial after the alternate jurors had already been dismissed.
McDonald told The Post and Courier on Friday a key aspect was that the case was halted before a significant error was allowed to pass.
"The timing was unfortunate, but the process worked," she said. "He did the right thing, and I don't think it was easy for him."
An estimate of the cost of the mistrial could not immediately be calculated. But 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said a good starting point for the prosecution is at least $25,000, and should include the fact that a medical examiner, subpoena servers and other investigators were part of building the case.
"We've just missed an opportunity," she said. Charleston holds court only about 32 weeks a year.
Williams is accused of killing 58-year-old Nathaniel Lonnie and Lonnie's 44-year-old girlfriend, Angela Ferguson. Williams contends he shot Lonnie after the man attacked him with a sword and then shot Ferguson after she came at him with a box cutter. The case is expected to be retried months from now.
Court personnel, meanwhile, say they are taking every step possible to make sure similar message-errors don't happen again.
"We're going to give a refresher on it," Clerk of Court Julie Armstrong said of her office's plans to stress that jurors come forward if they have pre-trial concerns. Even if it takes repeating twice and repeating clearly again."
Reached Friday, S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal added she'd use the Charleston case to stress to courts across the state to "make it clear" that bailiffs and forepeople promptly deliver notes destined for judges.
