Sunday, May 19, 2013

GOOD FOR LOUIE BARBER (JASON ORIC WILLIAMS EXECUTED IN ALABAMA ON MAY 19, 2011)



On this date, May 19, 2011, Jason Oric Williams was executed by lethal injection in Alabama for the shooting spree of four people on February 15, 1992. The brother of one of the victims, Louie Barber was satisfied with the execution.
 

Louie Barber
Summary: After a night of bar hopping and injesting crack cocaine, LSD, and alcohol, at 6:00 a.m. Williams returned to the Paravicini trailer in Irvington where he had been temporarily living with the family. After talking to his estranged wife on the phone, Williams grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and shot Gerald Paravicini. He then beat Paravicini's wife with the gun and shot her 16-year-old son in the face. He then walked to a neighbor's house about 200 yards away and gunned down Linda Barber, who was getting ready for work at the U.S. Postal Service, and Freddie Barber, who was drinking coffee in the kitchen. He walked into a bedroom and shot the couple's 22-year-old son Bryan as he slept. A younger brother, 16-year-old Brad, was shot in the hand before he ran away. Williams stole the family van, cash and credit cards and fled the scene. He was apprehended in Mississippi, telling law enforcement that he had thrown the rifle over a bridge and that he did not remember the shootings.


Jason Oric Williams
Jason Oric Williams was adopted by his aunt and uncle at infancy. His aunt and uncle did not disclose to Williams that they were not his biological parents. Williams grew up in poverty, performed poorly academically, and felt he was snubbed by his family and peers. When Williams turned seventeen years old, he attempted to obtain identification documents so that he could work. During this process, Williams learned that he was adopted. This news devastated Williams, and he began experimenting with alcohol and drugs such as LSD, crack, marijuana, ecstacy, and prescription medications.
In 1990, Williams married Sandra Ellzey. Williams and Ellzey remained married for about ten months, divorcing in 1991. On a few occasions, Williams slapped Ellzey in the face, pulled her hair, and broke her glasses. Williams, however, continued to live with Ellzey after they were divorced. In January 1992, Ellzey discovered needles for drug use in her home, and learned that Williams had been taking her tranquilizers. Ellzey then asked Williams to leave.
When Ellzey forced Williams to move out, Gerald and Clair Paravicini, who had known Williams for about eight years, allowed Williams to move into their home with them and Clair’s minor son, Jeffery Carr. Williams resided in the Paravicini home for approximately two weeks. Shortly after moving in with the Paravicinis, Ellzey and Williams agreed to re-unite and move in together.
On February 14, 1992, they arranged a date. The couple went to a club and had a few drinks. Afterwards, they bought sandwiches at a deli. By 11:00 p.m., Ellzey was ready to return home. However, Williams was not, and he asked Ellzey to drop him off at another club. Ellzey advised Williams to call her when he was ready to leave the club so that she could give him a ride home. At the club, Williams purchased LSD, and prescription drugs, and he drank a large amount of liquor. Rather than call Ellzey to pick him up as they had agreed, Williams met with some friends, and they drove to a drug-house to smoke crack cocaine together all night.
Early the next morning, Williams’ friend dropped him off at a corner store. Williams then walked about a half-mile back to the Paravicinis’ trailer home. On February 15, at approximately 6:00 a.m., Williams arrived at the Paravicinis’ home, and he knocked, either on Jeffery’s window or on the side of the trailer that corresponded with Jeffery’s room. Jeffery let him in and asked him about his plans for the day. Williams told Jeffery that he had a “side job” to do. Jeffery thought that Williams seemed normal and did not appear to be drunk because he was neither tilting his head nor slurring his speech.
Williams then called Ellzey on a cordless telephone. Ellzey was upset with Williams because she had wanted him to return to her house and because they had planned for her to come and pick him up from the bar. Ellzey, who had observed Williams inebriated many times in the past, did not believe that Williams was intoxicated. According to Williams’ statement to law enforcement officials on February 16, 1992, the day after the murders, he had a few drinks with Ellzey and then drank liquor all night at the club. While at the club, he bought two round, yellow pills from someone named Teddy. He did not know whether the pills were ecstacy or LSD, but believed that they were LSD. On February 15, he believes that he took the pills between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m.
Jeffery watched Williams pacing while he talked to Ellzey. While still on the phone with Ellzey, Williams walked into the Paravicinis’ bedroom, where Clair was in bed, and retrieved a .22-caliber automatic rifle. While still on the phone with Ellzey, Williams shot Jeffery in the face and in the hand. When Gerald came to Jeffery’s aid, Williams shot Gerald in the base of the left neck and in the upper left chest area. Jeffery ran to a neighbor’s house to get help. Gerald also ran out of the home. Clair came out of the bedroom when she heard the second gunshot. She saw Jeffery running away and Gerald in the yard. Her husband told her to get help. Clair ran to George Evans’ house next door. She then ran back to her husband, who fell by the road. Evans followed Clair, holding a shotgun. He looked to his right and saw Williams standing in the doorway of the trailer, with no more than 100 feet of open ground between them, with the rifle in his hand. George Evans brought up his shotgun and aimed at Williams, warning Williams not to shoot. Williams ducked back into the trailer, and Evans ran back to his trailer.
Meanwhile, Ellzey remained on the telephone. She heard two cracking, popping noises. When Williams picked the phone back up again, she started to say his name. Williams dropped the phone without saying anything. Clair found that she could not get Gerald to stand. She went back into the trailer to find something to stop Gerald’s bleeding and for her car keys. There, she found Williams, who waved the rifle at her and told her to get back and leave him alone, or else he intended to kill her. Clair replied that Gerald was hurt. She asked Williams to please help her with him. Williams then struck her in the face with the rifle, breaking her jaw. He left with the rifle and her purse, which contained her credit cards, a checkbook, and over $500 cash.
Meanwhile, Buford Billedeaua was driving a truck past the Paravicinis’ trailer. He saw Jeffery and Gerald run out of the trailer. He then saw Williams follow them, holding a large black purse. When Williams took a shot at Gerald, Billedeaua stopped his truck. Williams then approached Billedeaua, telling him that he needed the truck because he had an emergency. Billedeaua noted that Williams looked as though he had been taking dope. Billedeaua got out of the truck with his keys and began to run into the woods. Williams then began shooting at Billedeaua, who avoided being shot.
Unable to flee in Billedeaua’s truck without the keys, Williams turned and walked 100 yards up the road to the home of Linda and Freddie Barber. Williams was barely acquainted with the Barbers, having only played basketball with their sons, Brad and Bryan, at their church on a couple of occasions. Williams attempted to enter the Barbers’ home. Linda Barber was getting ready for work at the US Postal Service and answered the front door. Williams inflicted gunshot wounds to her head. Williams then went into the kitchen where Freddie Barber was drinking coffee and also shot him in the head. Next, Williams shot their son, Bryan, who was asleep in his bed. It was later discovered that Bryan had multiple gunshot wounds, at least two of which were found in his head. Each victim was shot at close range.
Brad was asleep in the back bedroom. He awoke to the sound of gunshots and screaming. Brad got up and opened his door. Williams then proceeded down the hall to Brad’s room. Brad closed and locked his door, but Williams kicked it in. When Brad grabbed the barrel of the gun, Williams shot him in the left hand. The two struggled, but Brad managed to escape through the backdoor, and ran through the woods to his sister’s house. Williams took the Barbers’ keys and took their van.
On the afternoon of February 16, he reached the Mississippi-Louisiana border and called Ellzey, who advised him to surrender. When Williams was apprehended, he told the law enforcement officers that he had thrown the rifle off an unknown bridge into the water. He had also disposed of Freddie Barber’s wallet, after taking all the money it contained. Williams spent the money he stole from the Barbers and Clair Paravicini on crack cocaine after leaving the crime scene.
On April 12, 1992, Williams was indicted on two counts of capital murder. Williams was also charged with and convicted of attempted murder on the lives of Clair Paravicini and Brad Barber. During the trial on November 10, 1992, Williams testified that he did not remember all the events of February 14 and 15, 1992. Williams testified that he had a few beers with Ellzey, and then drank a “pretty good bit” of beer after she dropped him off at another club. At the club, he purchased three hits of LSD for seven dollars ($7) each from someone he did not know and remembered taking two of them. Williams testified that he did not remember killing anyone. He only recalls that he went into the bathroom, and that he began to feel very scared. He said that he saw the walls move, and he saw a larger-than-life apparition walking towards him that made him fear for his life. Regarding the day of the killings, Williams further testified that he began flipping out even before he called Ellzey, and that he tried to disguise his drug use from her to keep her from getting angry with him. He testified that he did not remember anything that occurred between the time that he dialed her number and when he found himself driving a van in Mississippi a day later.
However, Williams did not mention seeing the apparition to the Mississippi or Alabama law enforcement officers with whom he spoke on February 16. Williams did tell the officers that he did not remember killing anyone the night before. Williams said that he remembered seeing blood on his pants and throwing the rifle in the water near the bridge. Dr. Claude L. Brown, a psychiatrist, met with Williams in August 1992. At trial, Dr. Brown testified for the defense. His testimony was based on his meetings with Williams. He diagnosed Williams with borderline personality disorder (“BPD”), which he testified is a mental disorder characterized by inner emptiness, dissatisfaction, and impulsive actions undertaken in an effort to feel better, such as suicide attempts. Persons with BPD have limited, but intense, fluctuating relationships. He testified that individuals with BPD can be thrown into psychotic behavior by increases in anxiety from any source. Dr. Brown testified that Williams’ BPD dated to his childhood and was unrelated to his use of drugs before the murders. Dr. Brown also testified that LSD is, per weight, the most psychogenic drug in the world. He testified that LSD causes frightening distortions and detachment from reality—i.e., psychosis. Furthermore, using alcohol and cocaine with LSD exaggerates these responses. Dr. Brown opined that Williams was psychotic at the time of the killings. He further opined that Williams was suffering from a mental disease or defect that rendered him unable to appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness of his acts. He opined that this destructive psychosis resulted from a combination of his preexisting personality structure acted upon by the heavy overload of drugs that he had been taking all night. Lastly, he opined that Williams’ BPD in and of itself probably did not trigger his conduct and that, had Williams been sober, the murders probably would not have occurred.
Dr. Harry McClaren, a psychologist, testified for the State. He also diagnosed Williams with BPD, as well as with anti-social personality disorder and substance abuse. Dr. McClaren testified that, given Williams’ account of his drug and alcohol ingestion, he was very intoxicated at the time of the killings. He testified that psychosis resulting from LSD can last from eight to twelve hours and that Williams’ amnesia was probably chemically induced. He also testified that when some individuals are highly intoxicated from hallucinogenic drugs, they may display some symptoms of psychosis.
Dr. McClaren testified to meeting Williams in August and September 1992. During those sessions, Williams recounted the events of the night before the killings. Dr. McClaren testified that Williams told him that he had a few drinks with Ellzey. After she dropped him off at the club, he bought three hits of LSD. He also ingested a long, purple tablet, and drank whiskey over the course of the evening. He also told Dr. McClaren that he went to a house on Dixon’s Corner where, in two trips, he bought crack. He remembered arguing with Ellzey on the phone and that he then began to flip out and feel frightened. He claimed that he heard someone holler his name and felt like everyone was against him. He told Dr. McClaren that he thought the only way out was to shoot his way out.
Williams claimed again that he had no other memories before he found himself driving the van in Mississippi. Dr. McClaren testified that when someone has taken LSD, he or she may see distortions of things that are there. In contrast to Dr. Brown, Dr. McClaren opined that, because Williams deliberately shot each victim twice in or near the head, Williams was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts. Dr. McClaren further opined that, because Williams had no significant psychiatric history other than attempted suicide, he knew the wrongfulness of his acts. Dr. McClaren testified that since the drugs and alcohol exacerbated Williams’ BPD, without the intoxication, Williams probably would not have killed Gerald Paravicini or Linda, Freddie, and Bryan Barber.
At trial, other witnesses testified that they thought Williams had taken drugs. Gregory Rockwell testified that he worked the door at the club. He saw Williams arrive at around 11:30 p.m. and leave around 1:00 a.m. Williams returned within an hour appearing disheveled, sweating profusely, jumping, and dancing around. Rockwell thought that Williams appeared as though he were tripping on LSD. Kelso Stewart testified that Williams asked him if he knew where some LSD or crack cocaine could be located. Stewart left the bar between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., and when he returned, he found Williams disheveled, sweaty, and hyper.
On November 11, 1992, the jury returned a guilty verdict on one count of intentional murder during the course of a robbery for the deaths of Freddie Barber and Linda Barber. The jury also returned a guilty verdict for the capital offense of intentional murder for the deaths of Gerald Paravicini, Freddie Barber, Linda Barber, and Bryan Barber. The jury recommended, by a 10–2 vote, that a death sentence be imposed for the murder convictions.
On December 1, 1992, the State trial court sentenced Williams to a punishment of death.
UPDATE: Prior to his execution, Jason Williams said, "I hope that the families of the victims forgive me for what I've done." Ten family members of the four victims witnessed the execution. One of the witnesses was a survivor of the shooting rampage. The older brother of victim Freddie Barber said that his family has suffered for the past two decades sine the murders. He said Brad Barber, who was 16 years old at the time, still has nightmares about the massacre. "I never did think I'd live to see this day, but I did and I thank the good Lord for it," said Louie Barber, now 75. "We're going to try to put it behind us and go on with our lives. You don't never really want to see somebody die, but I think justice was served." 


Jason Oric Williams
QUOTE 1: “Ill be 75 years old in a few months and I never did think I would live to see this day, but I did, and I thank that good Lord for it.”

QUOTE 2: For Louie Barber, watching this execution was closure.

"I feel now that my brother and his wife and his son can rest in peace,” said Barber.

AUTHOR: Louie Barber is the brother of Freddie Barber. Freddie was the third person Williams killed on his 1992 shooting spree on 15 February 1992. Jason Oric Williams was executed by lethal injection in Alabama on 19 May 2011. 

CHECK THIS VIDEO TO HEAR FROM LOUIS BARBER:



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