On June 1, 1994, after spending two years behind bars, James White gave the following sworn statement. He later took the Fifth Amendment when questioned about it in court.
I, James D. White, being of sound mind, do of my own free will, and without coercion, enhancement, or inducement other than my desire to find personal peace with my conscience by correcting the wrongful and harmful injury I’ve done to Mrs. Betty Wilson, do offer this sworn statement to all interested parties attesting to her innocence and the contrived testimony given against her by me during Mrs. Wilson’s criminal prosecution and trial for the murder of her deceased husband, Doctor Jack Wilson.
I have long been diagnosed as being severely manic-depressive and have a lengthy history of being emotionally unstable. I have been hospitalized on several occasions for the aforementioned mental disorders and take prescription mood altering drugs on a permanent basis for the purpose of treating these mental disorders.
In addition, I am a chronic alcoholic and chemical substance abuser, which causes me to experience frequent and prolonged states of alcohol induced amnesia (blackouts) where I have absolutely no awareness or recall of my actions or the events which transpire during these blackout episodes. My only references to my actions and the events which occur during these episodes are the fragmented re-fabrications I am able to construct from the suggestions of others who may or may not have actual knowledge of my actions and of what occurred during my periods of obliviousness.
During the spring of 1991, I had an occasion to meet Mrs. Betty Wilson’s sister, Mrs. Peggy Lowe, for the first time byway of her being a schoolteacher at my daughter’s elementary school. As a result of our initial informal introduction, Mrs. Lowe and I formed an amicable acquaintance. In the course of that acquaintance, Mrs. Lowe would recommend me for jobs as a handyman as a kindness to me, which helped to supplement my income as a short order cook.
As a result of the kindness shown to me by Mrs. Lowe, I began to form romantic notions toward her; but when I professed my feelings toward her, Mrs. Lowe merely laughed at me and rebuffed me in what I perceived as being demeaning, which made me feel inadequate, humiliated and resentful toward her. I immediately resorted to soothing my injured pride and feelings of rejection by heavy drinking and drug use.
The weeks after Mrs. Lowe’s rejection and prior to my arrest for the murder of Dr. Jack Wilson were, and still are, a visual blur to me. My last lurid memory of that period was deciding in a drunken state to travel to Roanoke, Alabama to visit my children by my third wife. My only recollection after making the decision to visit my children is my being interrogated by Detective (...deleted) and (...deleted) at the Shelby County Sheriff’s office concerning the murder of Dr. Jack Wilson.
Initially denied any involvement in the murder of Dr. Wilson but in reality, I could not remember nothing of what I’d said during the weeks prior to my arrest. I did not believe that I’d committed this crime but Detectives (...deleted) and (...deleted) kept insisting that they knew things that I didn’t which proved that I murdered Dr. Wilson, and kept demanding that I confess to killing Dr. Wilson.
Confession continued 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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