William Marcus Wilson murder case

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William Marcus Wilson Case

On June 14, 2020, Marcus Wilson (born c. 1999) fatally shot Haley Hutcheson (born c. 2003). He asserts that the shooting was in self defense; he has been charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.

Case Incident

In the early morning hours of June 14th, 2020 while Wilson, who is biracial, and his Caucasian girlfriend were at a Taco Bell in Statesboro, they were involved in a deadly shooting. Wilson and his girlfriend were getting dinner and were being tormented by a group of white teenagers including driver Mason Glisson along with passengers Luke Conley, Haley Hutcheson, and two other intoxicated passengers- Maci Neagley and Ashton Deloach. After leaving the Taco Bell, the couple traveled down Veterans Memorial Parkway between Brannen Street and Highway 67 located in Statesboro, Georgia. Glisson began to swerve toward the Wilson’s Ford fusion and shout racial slurs towards Wilson and his girlfriend such as “nigger lover” and “your lives don’t matter.” The teens continued to torment the Ford Fusion by running them off the road, hanging out the truck windows shouting racial slurs, flipping the middle finger, and one of the passengers struck Wilson’s car with a beer can. Wilson, a 21-year-old biracial man legally permitted to carry a gun, felt threatened after the truckload of continued taunting him and his girlfriend. In a successful attempt of self-defense, Wilson is said to have fired off a warning shot that ultimately struck 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson in the head. She died a few hours later at East Georgia Regional Medical Center. Wilson turned himself to Bulloch County Jail following Statesboro Police Department’s warrant for his arrest.

Investigation

Detective Travis Kreun of Statesboro, Georgia questioned Wilson, his girlfriend, Glisson and his passengers. Through his investigation, it was determined that the pickup truck did not run the car off the road, the teens did not shout racial slurs or throw any objects; Although beer cans that the teens were drinking were discovered on the bypass. Detective Kreun later testifies in court that neither the driver or passengers were breathalyzed. Luke Conley was also arrested that night for obstruction and later in court plead the fifth as to avoid self-incrimination. Conley has a record including DUIs, hit and runs, speeding, underage possession of alcohol, failure to signal turn or lane change and failure to obey traffic control device.

Court Ruling

Judge Michael Muldrew determined 21-year-old William Marcus Wilson a flight risk and is a threat to the community. He acknowledged that Wilson has no past criminal history but said he “let anger overcome him” when he fired his gun. The judge charged Wilson with murder and aggravated assault. Attorneys representing Wilson argue that he felt threatened and stood his ground under Georgia statute, code section 16-3-21 (Use of force). Wilson’s legal team claims the charges be reduced to reckless conduct, causing bodily harm. Civil rights attorney Mawuli Mel Davis from The Davis Bozeman Law Firm is a part of Wilson’s legal team. He states, “the five teens should be charged with aggravated assault, and the murder of the passenger within their vehicle."

Defense attorneys argue that the murder charge is excessive because it’s “an unfortunate case of justified self-defense that ended with a life being lost.” Georgia’s Stand Your Ground Law, enacted in 2006, “allows Georgians to use deadly force to defend themselves or other persons based on a ‘reasonable belief’ that such force is necessary to prevent death, bodily injury or a forcible felony.” If prosecutors decide to charge someone who uses deadly force, the person can raise a "stand your ground" defense during a pretrial hearing before a judge. If the person is successful, he or she is granted immunity from prosecution. Other states like Florida and Texas also have stand your ground laws that have been used as defense for previous cases.

Stand Your Ground defense

Critics have alleged that "stand your ground" laws are used to protect white people, but not people of color like Wilson, from prosecution. As of today, there are over 140,000 signatures on a change.org petition demanding a fair trial for Wilson.

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