Friends had always been important to me and even in jail I would try to send them notes or call them sometimes. During the first couple of weeks I received cards from my friends almost everyday but after a while they stopped coming.
One day I tried to all an old friend who I had always been especially close to. I could tell she felt awkward as soon as she answered. After only a few seconds she tried to end the conversation. Almost begging, I asked her, “You don’t really think I’m guilty, do you?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before she finally replied. “Betty, I just don’t believe the news would talk about it so much if there wasn’t something to it!” I spent the rest of that day and night crying.
Soon afterwards, a poll showed that 85% of the people in Madison County believed I was guilty and my trial was moved to Tuscaloosa.
I was eagerly looking forward to my trial. Our strategy was simple; poke so many holes n the prosecution’s story that the jury would see the truth. The whole case against me was circumstantial and we felt it would be easy to prove our case.
White claimed he met me at the Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Parkway City Mall the day prior to the murder but I was having lunch with my son at that time. On the day of the murder I was supposed to have met him at Parkway City Mall and carried him to my home where he waited for two hours to kill Jack. Then I was supposed to have returned to the house, picked him up and carried him back to his truck at Parkway city Mall. The timing was impossible. I was able to establish with credit card receipts exactly where I was most of the day. In the few minutes unaccounted for it would have been impossible for the events to have occurred the way White described them.
It’s hard to describe my emotions when White took the stand. Curiosity, loathing, and sadness all welled up in me as I watched him being led in and placed on the witness stand. This was done before the jury was called in so they would not see him handcuffed and manacled.
In a way I felt sorry for him. The way his eyes kept darting around the courtroom reminded me of a small animal caught in a trap. At one point he looked over at me in a curious way as if he way trying to decide if I was the person her was talking about.
My attorneys had repeatedly cautioned me to remain calm, but in spite of the warnings my whole body and soul wanted to scream out and tell people it was a lie. At one point I must have started to stand up because one of the attorneys reached over and placed his hand on my shoulder to restrain me. All I could do was sit motionless, staring straight-ahead telling myself over and over – “He’s lying to say out of the electric chair.” More from Betty Wilson on next page.
Murder of Dr. Wilson
BettyWilson--My Story Part 1
BettyWilson--My Story Part 2
The Confession of James Dennison White
Poll: Who Plotted to Kill Dr. Jack Wilson?
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