Not charged, Black Man Spends 3 months in Seattle Jail -- forgotten

From SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER [HERE] 

Spending even one night in jail was questionable enough, but an arrest for obstructing a public officer last year landed one homeless Seattle man behind bars for more than three months.

But the next morning, a city prosecutor who reviewed the officer's report quickly declined to press charges, citing "interests of justice." With that, Williams was supposed to be released from jail immediately.

"There were some moments that were pretty hectic," Williams said this week of his stint in jail. "I just didn't want to make an ordeal out of it."

"That's outrageous, like something you'd expect in a Third World country," said noted Seattle defense attorney Lem Howell. In Howell's opinion, Williams has a solid claim against the city.

"I got over it," he said late Thursday, from a Pioneer Square street corner outside the Bread of Life Mission men's shelter. "I just want to get it past me. It was a mistake, and they clarified it. It wasn't any major harm done."

An Illinois native, Williams has been estranged from his family for years. His mother, Loretta Williams, 61, feared her son was dead when a reporter called her in Chicago earlier this month in an effort to locate him.

But she added, "So he's alive then."

But never for this long, she said, noting relatives haven't heard from him since 2004.

The dead-end computer search makes sense. Williams has garnered tickets only for minor infractions, some still unresolved, court records show. But he'd never been arrested in this city before -- until last year.

When police questioned Williams, he became "increasingly belligerent," Bale wrote. He accused Bale of spying on him, then pointed and shook his hand and finger at the officer, Bale's report says.

"I was unable to continue my investigation into the urination incident and was required to direct my attention towards (Williams') aggressive actions to avoid a physical altercation or my being assaulted."

"I was just startled. It was a reaction, that's all. He creeped up behind me, and I didn't see him. It was just a startled reaction on my part. I wasn't going to hurt anyone."

The next morning, prosecutors didn't even bother to have Williams transported from the jail to the courtroom for a mandatory hearing, records show. Instead, the case was quickly dropped and the court ordered Williams released.

"It saves (the jail) from having to transport defendants," he said.

"They can hold you for 90 days, I thought," Williams said. "That's what another inmate told me -- that's as long as they can hold you. Ninety days."

"Evidently, Mr. Williams' case was (not charged) on 2/17/07 ... but release paperwork did not get filled out," the clerk wrote in an e-mail dated May 23, 2007, to a supervisor. "He is still in Jail."

"Unfortunately, the (release) paperwork wasn't processed in a timely fashion," she explained. "We just need to be much more diligent in ensuring proper protocol is met."

If an inmate thinks he's being wrongfully held, he said, that inmate usually voices concerns.

As time went by, Williams said he did raise the issue to jail officers several times.

Breakdowns also occurred beyond paperwork. Officials for cities that contract with the jail usually scrutinize lists of inmates who are billed to their cities through an automated system, Hayes said.

Told Darrell Williams is homeless, Hayes replied that it's possible Williams didn't want to be released.

"Of course, I'm just speculating. He had three meals and a cot a day."

"Time went by quickly, really," he said, before disappearing into the shelter for the night. "It was kind of like a bed and breakfast for a while."