This is the tragic story about the rape and torture of a young woman called Megan Williams by six residents in Logan County, West Virginia. Her captors are: 49-year-old Frankie Brewster, her son, Bobby R. Brewster, 24, Karen Burton, 46, her daughter Alisha Burton, 23, George A. Messer, 27 and 20-year-old Danny J. Combs.
First, let's talk about what happened to Megan Williams. The detailed description of her ordeal below is not, in any way, meant to sensationalize the incident; far from it. Her torment under the 6 accused consists of a great number of atrocities against a single human being and these details have been sprinkled across the Internet. This is understandable since new details will be revealed as it is uncovered. However, it has been noted, from a number of personal comments throughout the Internet, that people are considering this to be conflicting accounts of the same report and thus, questioning whether she was tortured at all. And so, I've gathered information from various media reports and interviews hoping to paint a clearer picture.
In her
interview to FinalCall.com, Megan reveals that a friend, Christa, drove Megan to Bobby Brewster's house, claiming it was a party. Once there, Christa makes an excuse about running an errand and then leaves. From the moment Megan arrives in Bobby Brewster's house, she is held, against her will for weeks until her rescue. On that note,
another article states that the investigators believed this be around the 2nd of August.
During her captivity, here is what Megan Williams was subject to:
Physical AbuseMegan Williams was stabbed multiple times in the left leg. In an interview with
FinalCall.com, Megan points out that they took turns to stab her, passing the knife around.
Megan also points out,
in the interview, of various occasions in which she was kicked in the stomach, back and that
they hit [her] ... with several objects, a cedar stick, a fly swatter handle, a belt, a shoe, and you know the gloves with the lead in them, they were smacking me in the face with those.
According to reports, both Alisha Burton and George Messer had beat Megan Williams with a flyswatter and shoe as well as Karen Burton who had
punched and beat Williams and struck her with the flyswatter.
Megans' interview reveals that
[the accused] kicked me in the head with steel toed boots, they hit me in the head with several objects, I remember seeing a knife, and they tried to cut my foot off.
She also states that she was whipped while they made her do manual work around the garden.
J.D. Charles, a staff writer for the Logan Banner
quotes police reports when he points out that Megan Williams was forced to bathe in scalding hot water in a trash can.
Other reports also note that Megan was choked using a cable cord.
Sexual assaultAccording to the
interview with FinalCall.com, Megan Williams was raped by Danny Combs and Bobby Brewster. In addition to this, the police
reports referred by Charles states that Alisha and Karen Burton forced Megan to perform sex acts.
Inhuman TreatmentsIn her interview, Megan states that her captors also forced her to eat rat poop, dog poop and human feces. Plus, her torture also included drinking from the toilet where she also claims that
they were taking my head and drowning me in a toilet, taking it back out and putting it back in. She also notes that Bobby Brewster made her suck his mother's toes.
Held against her WillWhile there have been claims that Megan knew one of the culprits, namely Bobby Brewster ( more on that later ), both Megan and the accused's account of her captivity show that she was held there against her will.
Charles' references note that in addition to keeping a padlock on the rear door,
Frankie slept in a chair blocking the only open door from the residence so the victim could not leave. In the same report, it reveals that she also threatened to kill Megan if she tried to escape. It also points out that George Messer, Danny Combs, Alisha Burton and Karen Burton have, on same or different occasions, guarded Megan to ensure she would not escape. Megan also reveals in her interview that when she tried to fight back, she was stabbed and was
taped up with duct tape around my neck, my hands and feet.
Physical LaborDetails of this are few and scattered but it's implications are scary. Megan Williams says in
her interview that she was made to work in the garden, picking beans and weeds where she was repeatedly whipped with switches.
Racial SlursIn various reports and in the interview itself, racial slurs against the victim have come to light.
Megan notes that the accused tried to cut off her foot saying
that is what they did to Kunta Kinte when they cut his foot off so he couldn’t run and that is what they were going to do to me.
In the interview, Megan reveals numerous occasions where she was beaten while being called the racial slur, N____r. According to her,
they stated that this is what we do to n—-rs up here. Racial slurs were once again aimed at her when she was forced to work in the garden. She also points out that one day, one of them said that
hey n—-r, we got a noose out there for you, want to come look at it? We’re going to hang you, come on.
Reports claim that Megan Williams was finally rescued on Sept 8th when Logan County Sheriff's Dept. investigated the premises on an anonymous tip about a woman being held captive. This would mean that she had been held against her will for nearly a month, enduring severe physical and sexual assulat in that time period.
Confirmation of Megan's Story; Physical Evidence and ConfessionsWith regard to confirming her allegations about the six accused; firstly, material has been found on premises that support the allegations. Among the
evidence found on the premises, County Sheriff's Deputy Robinette has found
a wooden handle stick with “brownish and reddish stains on the stick” was found, which corroborates anal sodomy. Other items included knife with red stains and spots on it, fly swatters, rolls of duct tape, phone cords – all of which were mentioned by Megan as devices for torture and correspond to her story. Deputy Robinette testified that
there was physical evidence obtained at the scene supporting the claim of the many heinous acts of torture and violence Megan Williams had to endure, and was all consistent with Megan’s recollection of events and the signed written confessions of two other defendants.
On that note,
Bobby Brewster's confession admits to Megan being forced to eat human and rat feces and also to instances of Megan being forced to perform sexual acts on Frankie Brewster. In addition to this, his admission also included the instance of choking and racial slurs as well as other derogatory terms.
According to Charles' article about the police reports, Frankie Brewster did admit to threatens on Megan's life and to locking rear door with padlock and sleeping in front of door to prevent escape.
Statements from both also confirm Megan's claim that she was raped, forced to perform sexual acts as well as licking their toes.
Status of Megan Williams' CaseWhat's the update on the Megan Williams case? According to
Associated Press, Karen Burton has been
charged with kidnapping, first degree sexual assault, malicious wounding, assault during the commission of a felony and 13 counts of battery. Charges against the other five are expected to go forth in January 2008.
The biggest controversy surrounding this case has been the question of civil rights charges; can this case be filed as a hate crime? This incident can and should be condemned on so many levels – violation of basic human rights, irrespective of race, gender or ethnicity; the harrowing issue of gender-specific violence targeted at a large percentage of women, resulting in rape and/or physical assault at the hands of strangers, family members or acquaint ices. And of course, the issue of xenophobia and racial hatred – crimes that reveal underlying prejudices against a group or race of people. For all these reasons, this case is more than applicable as a hate crime. But filing charges are not as clear cut as it seems.
Why can't the rape and torture of Megan Williams be filed as a hate crime?
Race is a political issueLogan County Prosecutor, Brian Abrahams has shown reluctance to file hate crime charges, from his
claim that the Williams family did not wish to press charges as a hate crime to a
vague remark that Megan Williams' past relationship with Bobby might be an obstacle in proving hate crime charges. Added to this is the
exchange of words, between Abraham and Attorney General Darrell McGraw which can only be compared to a cartoonish image of frantically throwing a ticking bomb at each other. The point of it? Both of them skirted around the issue of actually calling this a hate crime. The r
emark by Malik Shabazz who has claimed that U.S. attorney Charles Miller was
being rebuffed by the Bush-led US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division when trying to lay hate crime charges, has added to the controversy. Some have pointed out that Shabazz's take on the matter is taking attention away from the issue at hand: ensure justice for Megan Williams.
Race and Gender: Woman of Color Stand at the End of the QueueAs harsh as it sounds, it's true. If there is discrimination against race and there is discrimination against women, women of a certain color have it twice as tough. And so it is the case of Megan Williams. One of the most supposedly glaring fault that everyone, including Abrahams, point out is Megan's past relationship with Bobby Brewster. There is compelling evidence to prove that she was involved with him; a neighbor
recalls past instances where Megan had approached her to call the police station. In addition to this,
other reports note that Bobby Brewster was arrested for a case of domestic violence against Megan Williams. The story uncovered provides a glimpse to the life of a woman subject to domestic violence. Why was she with him or keep going back to him? Condemning her for this is condemning all women who have been abused by violent partners. Did she go to his house willingly and so was she a captive? There
is sufficient evidence from the confessions of the culprits to prove that Megan Williams was kept in the trailer and in the shed against her will. Can this be a hate crime? Very possibly – hate crimes refer to targeting an ethnic group or race or gender; given the racial slurs and the evidence of past relationship, it could very well be applicable here.
Rape and Torture of Megan Williams: Insight into a Dysfunctional SocietyPerhaps the most disconcerting issue surrounding this case is the sudden confrontation with the ugly realities of society; violence against women, problems with law enforcement and apathy towards prejudice.
Violence against women
This is a somewhat typical example of women abused by those familiar or close to them. Granted, Megan's torture was way beyond what anyone has heard so far but consider the fact that she might have been dating him a while back. Weren't there instances of police being called due to domestic disturbance involving her and Bobby? Didn't she approach a neighbor because she feared for her life? At what point, does any given member of society step in and say
Hang on, this man is dangerous, you could endanger your life. There is clear evidence that she was held against her will for that week, possibly month, of torture. If she had a past relationship with him, does that mean that in some way she asked for it? Surely not. Any such claim is detrimental for women suffering under abusive spouses or ex-partners. Why should it be any less shocking if she had known him? Does it make society less accountable for socially conditioning an abusive spouse if they can blame a woman for being with him?
Problems with law enforcementThis is, in no way, implying that law enforcement officers don't do their job – this is a basic pondering of what falls through the cracks and why it happens.
For instance, consider this: All six accused have
previous criminal records, all of which are rather colorful ones!
Frankie Brewster had previously been charged with the first-degree murder of the 84 year old mother of her live-in boyfriend. Even though she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, she was out after five years. Anyone else shocked?
Bobby Brewster later on killed the live-in boyfriend but since he was not of legal age, was handled in juvenile court. More disturbing is the report that he had attacked his mother with a machete a few months ago!
Karen Burton had previously been charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest amongst other charges.
Alisha Burton, along with another suspect in Megan Williams case, George Messer, were indicted for assaulting and robbing a Logan woman. Perhaps more sinister is the fact that the case was dropped since the police could not trace the victim. Life spiced up for Burton and Messer a month later when she struck him with a shovel!
Danny Combs has also been guilty of various charges; from unlawful wounding to domestic battery!
Question: Whatever happened to catching people who are a danger to others in society?
Question: Why are these people roaming free in society? No, seriously!
Another enlightening fact was the
article by J.D. Charles. According to him, there have instances in the past in Logan County where charges had to be reduced due to insufficient details (
bad police report if you will). In the Megan Williams' case, he notes that original complaint lacked significant details which was only revealed much later; details which helped greatly in determining the case as one of kidnapping and torture. Perhaps authorities also need to address negligence on the side of law enforcers, especially when addressing crime.
Apathy Towards PrejudiceThe best way to celebrate diversity is to acknowledge and ensure that xenophobic attitudes or harmful prejudices are punished. On that note, it is shocking that there is a refusal to accept Megan Williams' case as a hate crime; the point of punishing such perpetrators is to send a clear note that such attitudes are unacceptable in society. So why is there a strange unwillingness to label it as such?
Megan Williams was deprived of
- her right to move about on her own free will
- forced to do manual labor, whipped while doing so
- perform sexual acts without consent
- dehumanization and treated as a commodity
- cut off her foot to prevent her from escaping; there was also the chilling reference to Kunta Kinte
Does this remind anyone else of a certain distasteful human rights violation from the “good old” American days? Perhaps the countless times the racial slur, N___r was used can be a helpful hint.
The use of the word N___r is hateful; it symbolizes a painful past and has prejudiced connotations to it. Much as the Swastika does, as would burning religious books or symbols. The city of
New York has banned the N-word stating that it was
derived solely out of hate and anger and that its meaning cannot be changed.
Why is the tragic tale of Megan Williams not recognized as a civil rights violation? If she does not get justice, it is a silent message of support to people who perform heinous acts of violence against groups of people, hateful acts based simply on a dislike of their gender, ethnicity, race, religion or sexual orientation. What does it say about “justice for all”?
