CONCERT IN HOUSTON PLANNED FOR MEGAN WILLIAMS

By MICHAEL BROWNING, Managing Editor
Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Logan Banner

HOUSTON — A Texas woman plans to donate all proceeds from a Houston concert to help torture victim Megan Williams.

Sarah Kanorwala, a Texas legal secretary, has organized a concert set for January 19 at The Mink Club on Main Street in Houston. The concert is set to open at 7 p.m. and Kanorwala is charging $5 per person to get into the show.

“All the money is going to Megan’s trust fund,” Kanowala said. “I wanted the money to go straight into the fund. The account is at Chase Banks and it’s the Megan Williams Fund. Joyce Stephens is handling it. She’s the one we’re going to send the money order to once we collect it. The phone number to the bank is 304-348-5650 for anyone who wants to donate to Megan’s fund.”

Kanorwala said the bands set to perform at the show are: The Winchester Mansions, The Quarantines, The Factory Party, The Kamikaze Overture, The Shiny Darks, Penny Arcade and Brutally Normal.

All money, she said, will be sent via money order to the Chase Bank in Charleston.

“The news media had not made this a big story like it should be, because Megan is black and 20 years old,” Kanorwala said.

“When I found out about this I was in complete shock.”

 http://www.loganbanner.com/articles/2007/12/12/news/news02.txt

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ANOTHER MARCH PLANNED FOR MEGAN WILLIAMS

Monday, December 10, 2007

Logan Banner News

CHARLESTON (AP) — Supporters of a black woman allegedly tortured by six whites in Logan County plan to hold another rally to draw attention to the case.

The rally, set for Dec. 18 at First Baptist Church in Charleston, is a followup to a hate crimes awareness march held Nov. 3 in Charleston, said Malik Shabazz, leader of Black Lawyers for Justice and legal adviser for 20-year-old Megan Williams.

Shabazz said he was disappointed that hate crime charges have not been filed in the case.

Williams’ mother, Carmen Williams, said she and her daughter planned to attend the rally.

Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said Megan Williams’ presence at the rally would contradict the family’s agreement to not do any more media events or give interviews. The agreement came in November after Abraham filed a motion in circuit court, which he later dropped, seeking appointment of a legal guardian to represent Williams’ legal interests.

‘‘I would again encourage her not to participate in anything done in the media. It has the potential to have a harmful impact on the case,’’ Abraham said.

He said he had concerns from the previous march, which Williams and her mother attended.

‘‘Obviously when it first happened, there was a great deal of sympathy for her in Logan County and from Logan residents. But after that rally, I heard comments in the public by people in Logan County and Charleston. It almost seemed to be a shift in sympathy or a lessening of sympathy because of the way the rally took place,’’ Abraham said.

‘‘It’s not a form of racism, but when someone shows up and makes allegations about West Virginians in general and makes accusations that West Virginia is replete with racism, there are people in West Virginia that I am sure will take offense to that.’’

Abraham would not say whether he would refile the motion if Williams participated in the Dec. 18 rally.

‘‘I would have to get in touch with her family and her, and maybe Mr. Shabazz, before I would take that tack,’’ Abraham said. ‘‘I would first have to discuss the manner in which she was to appear and what role she plays.’’

Shabazz said he does not believe the rally is relevant to the family’s agreement with Abraham.

‘‘Megan has a right to receive public support and the right to an emotional lift, in light of the tragedy she suffered,’’ Shabazz said.

Police and prosecutors say Williams was raped and tortured for days. She was rescued after an anonymous caller alerted Logan County sheriff’s deputies.

Charged in the case are Bobby Brewster, 24; his mother Frankie Brewster, 49; Danny Combs, 20; Karen Burton, 46; Burton’s daughter, Alisha Burton, 23; and George A. Messer, 27.

All six face kidnapping and sexual assault charges, and kidnapping carries a possible sentence of life in prison.

Abraham has not decided whether to file hate crime charges.

‘‘We have some evidence that may mitigate against filing hate-crime charges against at least some of the defendants in that their motivations may have been something other than race,’’ Abraham said.

http://www.loganbanner.com/articles/2007/12/10/news/news03.txt

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