Ferguson shooting suspect gave false confession after pistol-whipping

"Attorney: Client was in a ‘tremendous amount of pain’ when interrogated"

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Ferguson shooting suspect gave false confession, lawyer says Quote: The suspect charged with shooting two police officers during a demonstration in Ferguson, Mo., last week is now recanting a confession that he was the gunman, his lawyer told Yahoo News on Tuesday. “He told me that he never fired a weapon,” said Jerryl T. Christmas, attorney for Jeffrey Williams. Christmas said Williams, 20, was scared and in a “tremendous amount of pain,” having allegedly been pistol-whipped before being questioned by detectives. “I think under those circumstances he would have said anything,” Christmas said. “Anytime someone is questioned without counsel and then I see that kind of bruising, then I'm suspicious about any statements that he may have voluntarily given.” The lawyer said the injuries can be seen in the jail mug shot of his client. “He had bruising … you see the redness on the right side of his face,” Christmas said. “I don't see how they are denying it, it’s right there on their own mug shot.”... Sgt. Brian Schellman said Williams was immediately transported to police headquarters and interviewed by detectives, which was recorded on video and audio. At the jail, he said, a nurse evaluated Williams as part of the intake process. “The nurse released Williams as fit for confinement and he was subsequently turned over by detectives to the custody of Justice Services,” Sgt. Schellman said.

Later in the article...

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Complicating Williams’ retraction is that he didn’t just admit being the shooter to police. On Sunday and Monday, St. Louis pastor and Ferguson activist Derrick Robinson told reporters that Williams expressed remorse to him during a jailhouse visit. “He told me that he shouldn't have done it," Robinson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He was embarrassed.” By Tuesday, Robinson quit discussing the case and reportedly referred questions to Christmas. An online public database providing St. Louis County Jail information doesn’t indicate what time the mug shot was taken or when Williams was received into custody.

:whistling:

Ferguson shooting suspect gave false confession after pistol-whipping