James Williams III, a Mississippi man who spent nearly two decades years in prison for killing his father and stepmother back in 2002, has been confirmed to have passed away in a car wreck in Rankin County over the weekend.
According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, state troopers responded to a crash on Highway 18 in Brandon on Saturday just after noon. A driver heading northbound in a 2009 Honda Civic collided with another motorist traveling east on the highway in a 2019 GMC Sierra. The Civic driver, identified as Williams, passed away at the scene. Meanwhile, the occupants of the Sierra, 73-year-old Curtis Jones, and 72-year-old Ruth Jones, were taken to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries.
Williams, who was just three months away from turning 18 at the time of the 2002 murders, unsuccessfully attempted to poison his father and stepmother. He then opened gunfire on his father nine times before shooting his stepmother in the face before dismembering them.
Following the murders, Williams brought 15-year-old Adam White to the scene of the crime and threatened to shoot him if he did not help dispose of the bodies. The two teenagers proceeded to transport the bodies to a wooded area near Shiloh Park in Brandon in trash bags containing Rubbermaid containers. Williams and White were eventually taken in for questioning by police, with White telling officials the location of the bodies one week after the murders.
During initial court hearings, Williams’ motive was believed to be his discovery of the family’s large inheritance, estimated at nearly $1 million in 2001. Family members have also stated that Williams was informed that his father and stepmother would be inheriting his grandmother’s estate several months before the murders occurred. He was given two life sentences for the killings.
In 2021, after Williams had been incarcerated for 17 years, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that any sentencing of individuals under 18 to life without parole is a violation of the Eighth Amendment, giving Williams a chance to be eligible for parole.
Two years later, a 3-2 vote from the Mississippi Parole Board allowed Williams to walk free. The decision to grant Williams parole stemmed from a “moral rehabilitation” while in prison through his attainment of a GED and his work as a Christian minister — despite a litany of the victims’ family members, a former prosecutor, and nearly 30 House members disputing Williams’ newfound good character.
Williams returned to a familiar home behind bars in October 2023 after he was arrested for driving his vehicle into a ditch while intoxicated. The parole board reversed its initial decision and ruled that Williams must spend at least one year in prison before his parole could be reinstated since the DUI charge was a misdemeanor.
Due to his offense being deemed a technical violation of his parole and not a substantive violation, Williams was released from prison well ahead of his scheduled hearing by the parole board. Williams’ attorney argued that the subject was only required to spend 90 days in jail for the infraction. A judgment signed by Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Debra Gibbs and Assistant District Attorney Joe Hemleben backed the jailed’s request for relief, prompting pushback from state lawmakers.
At this time, no additional information has been provided surrounding Williams’ death.
