Sun Herald gains release of jail video

The Sun Herald, 8/29/7

The Sun Herald on Tuesday made public the videotaped beating of a Harrison County jail inmate whose death 18 months ago spawned a federal investigation and a growing list of civil lawsuits.

Until the recent trial of two former jailers, the graphic images of what happened under color of law to Jessie Lee Williams Jr. have been kept secret, sealed by federal court orders. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. made the video available in response to the Sun Herald’s public-records requests and a resulting lawsuit that asked for the documents to be unsealed and returned to the public domain.