William Haymon just turned 16. He's spent the last 527 days of his life (since he was 14) incarcerated in an adult jail in rural Lexington, Mississippi - without ever being formally charged with a crime.
theappeal.org/mississippi-te…
theappeal.org/mississippi-te…
In Mississippi there are no rules regarding how long a person can be incarcerated without an indictment so someone can languish in jail after being arrested for months or, as in this case, years.
As to the charges against William, one of the complainants has died and one does not wish to pursue charges so it is highly unlikely the prosecutor would even be able to secure indictments, let alone convictions after trial.
It's critical tho, as Paloma Wu of the Mississippi Center for Justice says, to understand this is not one case "falling through the cracks." William is one of hundreds of children, one of thousands of people, in the exact same situation in Mississippi.
“This is not the exception to the rule, this is the rule. These are the rules in the Mississippi criminal system working as they’re supposed to.”
William has a court date on Monday August 3rd.
@BlackNoChaser have set up a petition demanding that the court release William from jail that you can sigh here. Please share widely.
change.org/p/da-akillie-m…
@BlackNoChaser have set up a petition demanding that the court release William from jail that you can sigh here. Please share widely.
change.org/p/da-akillie-m…
And here's more from @BlackNoChaser on William's case.
