Vigil a show of support for Black Man Beaten to Death by Mississippi Jailers

A candlelight vigil Monday aims to provide comfort and hope to the community and to the children of Jessie Lee Williams Jr., said attorneys lamenting the lack of arrests in his fatal beating. Monday is the 100th day since the booking-room incident at the Harrison County jail, where corrections officers allegedly delivered the deadly blows on Feb. 4 while Williams, 40, was restrained. The death of Williams, father of seven, was ruled a homicide. Attorneys for Williams' estate said they expect the vigil to be a peaceful gathering of a cross-section of the community in support of justice. Organizers wanted to have the vigil at the jail but declined after Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. issued guidelines allowing no more than 50 people, requiring their Social Security numbers, providing only 10 parking spaces and a warning that anyone obstructing entries or exits would be arrested. Attorneys said they expect no problems at the Courthouse. Attorney John Whitfield said the silence "is morally and legally reprehensible and unacceptable. We cannot change the system without changing the people running the system." [MORE]