Jury begins weighing Jessica Williams case

Kim Smith

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001 | 11:24 a.m.

The jury's choices

The jury would have to find that the drugs in Williams' blood "rendered her incapable of safely driving or exercising actual physical control of a vehicle."

The jury would have to believe that Williams had 2 nanograms or more of marijuana's active ingredient -- THC -- in her blood at the time of the accident. Each charge carries a two-to-20-year prison sentence. She faces six counts of each. The jury could instead convict her of one of the following, but not both:

The jury would have to believe that Williams had a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of people or property and was inattentive or careless when special hazards existed. This charge carries a one to six-year prison sentence for each count.

The jury would have to believe that Williams unintentionally drove her vehicle in an unlawful and criminally negligent manner. It carries a one to four-year prison sentence per count.

Williams also faces one count each of possession of a control substance and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Jurors began weighing this morning whether Jessica Williams ran off the road, killing six teenagers, because she fell asleep or because of drugs in her system.

They could continue meeting through the Presidents Day weekend until they come to a verdict, District Judge Mark Gibbons said Wednesday. Gibbons allowed the after-hours deliberations, because jurors have been sequestered since the start of the trial last week.

The seven men and five women, plus four alternates, heard the attorneys' final arguments Wednesday.

Deputy District Attorney James Hartsell started closing arguments using two big-screen TVs to display photos of the six teenagers Williams is accused of striking and killing March 19 as they picked up trash along Interstate 15.

As the victims' family members moaned and sobbed, jurors saw for the first time the broken bodies of Scott Garner Jr., Alberto Puig, Anthony Smith, Malena Stoltzfus, Rebeccah Glicken and Jennifer Booth, most of whom ended up sprawled face down in the dirt.

The jurors also saw photos of the children in life, each one smiling.

The final photo was a long shot of the accident scene, with body after body covered in yellow plastic.

At least two jurors cried silently during the display, but quickly gathered their emotions.

One of the victims' mothers left the courtroom abruptly, and her anguished cries could be heard long into defense attorney John Watkins' closing arguments. It was later learned she had had an epileptic seizure, and she came back to watch Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker's final rebuttal.

Booker told the jurors the case is "painfully simple." He said Williams, 21, ingested marijuana and Ecstasy, got in her van, drifted off the road and killed the teenagers.

"Everybody born has two things," Booker said. "They have free will and they have their life. Free will is the ability to make decisions and choices. They can be good choices or bad choices.

"The defendant used her free will to ingest the felony substance of marijuana and the felony substance of Ecstasy, and she used her free will to stay up all night. What part of this is an accident?"

Because of Williams' decision to exercise her free will, Booker said, six teenagers lost their lives.

Booker reminded the jurors that even if they don't believe Williams was impaired by the drugs, the law requires them to convict Williams if they believe she had at least 2 nanograms of THC in her blood.

One day after the accident, tests showed Williams had nearly three times that amount in her blood, Booker said.

"If the chemistry says it and the defendant was driving, the defendant is guilty," Booker said.

Booker said the evidence shows that Williams was impaired, though. He asked the jurors to recall the testimony of the toxicologists who said marijuana is a sedative and can cause people to think that straight lines are curved.

The prosecutor also listed at least six witnesses who testified that within one minute of the crash they either saw Williams awake or in control of her van.

Watkins countered that the evidence shows Williams fell asleep. Defense experts testified that marijuana is not a sedative and it causes hallucinations only on rare occasions, he reminded the jurors.

One, sleep expert Mark Chambers, said Williams' body is wired so that her day times and night times are the opposite of most people's. Therefore, the 1:40 p.m. accident took place at 3:40 a.m. Williams' time.

More importantly, about half a dozen medical experts who treated Williams -- both at the scene and at the hospital -- said she was not impaired, Watkins said.

"You can't hide your blood pressure, you can't fake your pulse and you can't restrict or dilate your pupils," Watkins said.

Watkins reminded the jurors that the prosecutors have to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the blood tests showing Williams had 5.5 nanograms of THC in her blood are accurate.

Defense experts cast doubt on that, pointing out that the lab that did the tests ran only one control test, Watkins said.

"We're talking about a lady's life here," he said.

Watkins also called the law "unfair," causing two of the prosecutors to jump up and object.

Watkins went on to say "This is an appropriate time to say that in our country, the jury is the safeguard of our community. You are the most powerful group of people in this courtroom."

That drew another objection from the prosecutors, who later said they believed Watkins was asking the jury to ignore the law, which is improper.

Watkins also drew objections when he pointed out that one witness testified that had the children not been in the median, Williams would not have killed anyone.

Prosecutors reminded Gibbons subtly that Watkins has been admonished repeatedly not to inject the alleged liability of the county into the trial. A civil trial is pending against the county, since the teens were picking up trash as part of their probation.

The jury is unaware of Gibbons' ruling or the civil lawsuit.

Watkins told the jurors that if they don't want to convict Williams of driving under the influence, they can convict her of reckless driving or involuntary manslaughter.

DUI is punishable by two to 20 years in prison and reckless driving is punishable by one to six years. Involuntary manslaughter has a one- to four-year sentence.

Williams faces six counts of each charge, although she can only be convicted of one. If convicted, Gibbons has the option of running the sentences one after the other or at the same time.