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Judge OKs release of Silk Plant Forest data
Critical Interviews could be available next week By Michael Hewlett
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December 17, 2009
» Read the judge's orders of the release of interview documents
Published: December 18, 2009
Interviews that a citizens committee and the Winston-Salem City Council conducted with the lead detective in the 1995 assault at the Silk Plant Forest store could be released as early as next week.
Yesterday morning, Judge Richard Stone of Forsyth Superior Court ordered the release of the interviews that Don Williams, a former detective with the Winston-Salem Police Department, had in June with the council and the Silk Plant Forest Citizens Review Committee, which examined the police investigation of the case.
The ruling is a victory for the city, which petitioned a judge to allow it to release in full about 5,000 documents associated with the work of the citizens committee. Earlier, the city had released only the committee's final report, minus such specific documents as interviews with Williams and others.
Several city residents and the Winston-Salem Journal requested release of the documents. City officials said that the documents could not be released because they contain personnel information protected under state law. In asking for a judge to approve the documents' release, the city noted that there is a compelling public interest in the committee's work.
Yesterday's ruling applies only to interviews with Williams. Stone has continued until Jan. 15 a hearing on a request by eight current and former police officers who want to block the documents' release. They say that the city doesn't have the authority to petition for the release and that the release would violate their privacy rights.
Al Andrews, an assistant city attorney, said that it will take about a week to redact the 214-page transcript of Williams' testimony to make sure that it doesn't contains any personnel information related to the eight officers or other employees who were interviewed.
"I've got to go page by page and redact pursuant to the judge's order," Andrews said.
This summer, the citizens committee completed its report on the police investigation. In its final report, the committee concluded that it had no faith in the police investigation of the assault, which left a store manager, Jill Marker, blind and requiring 24-hour care.
Separately, the committee voted 7-2 to approve a statement saying that there is no credible evidence to believe that Kalvin Michael Smith, the man convicted of attacking Marker, was at the scene of the crime. Smith has maintained his innocence, but has failed in his efforts to win a new trial. His attorneys are preparing to appeal his case in federal court.
The work of Williams and his supervisors has come under intense scrutiny from the Innocence Project at Duke University, in a five-part investigative series by the Journal in 2004 and by the citizens committee.
Williams was in court Monday as the hearing on the petition began, but he left abruptly. He did not appear Tuesday when Stone heard the city's arguments on releasing Williams' testimony. And he did not show up yesterday morning for Stone's ruling. Efforts to reach Williams yesterday were unsuccessful.
Williams did file a document in Forsyth Superior Court opposing the city's petition. Andrews said that Williams could request a temporary injunction to prevent the release of his testimony, or he could appeal Stone's ruling.
Andrews said that Williams would have less than a week to get the injunction to bar the city's release of his testimony.
mhewlett@wsjournal.com
727-7326
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