Charles "Peanut" Wilson - Defendant's setting
Today the defendant charged with Charles Wilson's misdemeanor death by motor vehicle had his first setting. His attorneys asked for a continuance and were granted one until October 3, 9am, when the next hearing is scheduled.
The family of Charles Wilson attended and had t-shirts printed up featuring pictures of Charles and honoring his memory. His mother, Brenda Sue, continues to be in visible grief, as the rest of the family tries to put on as strong a face as possible.
I attended the hearing on behalf of the family, and so did my co-counsel for this matter, Chris Nichols, whose help has proved invaluable as we continue to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding Charles Wilson's tragic death on July 10th of this year. Chris has great experience in handling wrongful death actions in this state, and he has already aided us immensely in our work thus far. For those readers who practice law in North Carolina, Chris also maintains a blog on North Carolina trial law topics found here.
We didn't have much to say in court as the Estate isn't a party to the criminal proceeding, however we did speak with the press afterwards. A recap of that conversation is on the flip. If you are visiting this blog for the first time, and if you happen to know anything about Charles Wilson's death, please contact us toll-free at 1-877-829-7211.
UPDATE: WRAL's Internet coverage can be found here.
Amanda Lamb from WRAL spoke with us and the family after the hearing. We let her know we are conducting an investigation, and we absolutely need any information that anyone has about the facts and circumstances leading up to his death.
What I didn't say to Amanda, and perhaps what I should have said, is that one of the reasons we need this information is because the State is conducting their "own internal investigation" into the circumstances surrounding the decision to send the inmates out onto I-40 at rush hour without any safety equipment.
Up to this point, we have heard no information at all from the state about its "internal investigation". And while we expect that they will share with us whatever they find out when they have concluded their work, we also know that the power to investigate is also the power to not investigate. When you conduct an investigation you must choose which facts are critical and which facts are not. There may very well be facts that the Department of Correction, in the course of its investigation, has determined are not critical and they will be overlooked.
Yet, anyone interested in the truth knows that it sometimes looks a little different when viewed from different angles, and since the state and Department of Correction may very well be a defendant in this matter, it is very possible that their investigation won't include facts which we think it should.
Thus, we need all the facts. The family deserves them. If you or anyone you know has any information at all about this unfortunate tragedy, please don't hesitate, call the Law Office of D. Hardison Wood today: 1-877-829-7211, your call is confidential and toll free.
