Second subpoena served on Williams in Silk Plant review

By: Dan Galindo | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: March 08, 2009

A subpoena was served yesterday afternoon on Don Williams, a retired Winston-Salem Police Detective who was the lead investigator in the Silk Plant Forest case.

The subpoena was the second one served on Williams in recent months as part of the city's effort to ask him questions about his work in the case.

Kalvin Smith is serving 23 to 29 years in prison for the beating of Jill Marker inside the Silk Plant Forest store in 1995. Marker was pregnant at the time of the attack and was hit in the head about 20 times. She later gave birth while in a coma.

Smith has maintained his innocence. His case is the most prominent claim of wrongful conviction in Winston-Salem since Darryl Hunt, who was exonerated of murder in 1984.

Smith asked for a new trial last year, alleging that witnesses against him were pressured by police and have since recanted. He also claimed that his trial attorney was ineffective.

Judge Richard Doughton rejected his request after a weeklong hearing in January.

A citizens committee doing a separate review of the case and police policies asked the city council, which has subpoena power, for a subpoena in August, saying Williams' testimony is needed to fill in crucial information.

Williams was subpoenaed for a December meeting, but ignored the subpoena. The subpoena served yesterday is to call him to court so that the city can ask a judge to order Williams to obey the first subpoena. A company that the city uses for serving subpoenas had tried repeatedly to find Williams in recent weeks.

The City Attorney's Office on Thursday asked the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, which serves notices in civil lawsuits, to serve the subpoena on Williams.

The citizens committee Thursday postponed voting on a proposal to put in its report that it finds no credible evidence of Smith's guilt and that the city council should do everything it can to try to free Smith.

Committee members have said that their review of the case has found repeated instances of Williams and other detectives not following the department's own procedures in place at the time of the investigation. The committee agreed Thursday to put in their report that they have no confidence in the investigation that was done.