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Cindy Lassister Williams’s Family Responds to letter from James Williams III
- In 2001, James Williams III killed his father James Williams Jr. and his stepmother, Cindy Lassiter Mangum Williams. Their bodies were found a week later near Shiloh Park in Brandon, Miss.
- In 2005, James Williams III was convicted of both murders, and he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole. A change in the law allows him to be considered for parole.
- On April 15, 2023, Mrs. Williams sister, Brenda Rankin, received a letter from the parole board stating that James Williams III will be released for parole around May 16, 2023. Williams’ family did not receive notification of the parole hearing, therefore no family members appeared before the parole board to protest his release. They have never failed to appear in the past.
- On April 23, 2023, the MS State Parole Board agreed to a conference telephone call with Cindy Williams’ family. During the call, the family again asked if they could have a face-to-face meeting with the board and they were told no. The family raised questions about the notification system used to alert families, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Sheriff’s Office of the parole hearing. They also asked for verification of the advertisement posting of the parole hearing. The response from the parole board was that they would try to get answers to the questions and get back with them. Additionally, the parole board said they would take their concerns under advisement and notify them of their response. No time frame was given for when to expect the answers to their questions and concerns.
- On May 3, 2023, the MS State Parole Board delivered a letter that did not answer the family’s questions. There was dancing around the answers but no direct answers. The Parole responded that the community is better served to have James Williams III, the double murderer living in the community rather than be incarcerated. We believe the release date to be May 16, 2023.
- On May 11, 2023, the family of Cindy Lassister Williams received a letter from James Williams III. His letter stated that he understood that the family wanted to hear from him to apologize. That is not what the family ever said. The family stated that if James Williams III had in fact changed, he would have reached out to the victims to apologize. This letter seemed to try to make James III seem remorseful. However, in the letter he said that he did not poison his dad and stepmother. He said that Adam White just made all of that up. However, rat poison was found in his room and in the milk.
- On May 12, 2023, the family of Cindy Lassister Williams releases a letter in response to James Williams III. Here is a copy of the letter from Cindy Lassister Williams’ family.
James,
Let me first say this. Once a murderer, always a murderer and once a double murderer, always a double murderer. Nothing you can ever say will change that from being a fact. Nothing you say will ever bring back my mom, Cindy, and your dad, James.
It seems very strange to our family that in 20 years that we never heard “I’m sorry” from you and it is only now that you and your attorney have decided that it is to your benefit to reach out to us to make you seem remorseful. Why now? Why just days before your release did you think that this is the time for us to hear from you? Is that to show the parole board that you have reformed? You’ve had 20 years and just like now, you could have gone against your attorney’s advice and reached out to us. We don’t think so. If you were sincere in your faith, then you should have reached out when you turned your life around. Now, we think this is just another one of your stories…. just like all the stories that you made up to the parole board when you tried to get out before…. always a new story and new excuse. You have created so many stories, we don’t know if you can even tell the truth. Let’s see…was it the drugs, was it that your dad did something to you, or yeah, your dad shot my mom and then shot himself nine times. How could someone physically do that? Like I said, it is always a new story. Do you think about what you did to my mom and James’s bodies? Do you know how hard that was for us to look at those photos of what you did? Do you know that we can NEVER get that picture out of our mind? Do you know that my Uncle Don still has nightmares about what you did? He had to help identify my mom. Also, seasoned law enforcement officers say that they struggled after having seen what you did. How can you say that you did not poison them first when the evidence shows that you did?
Did you ever think that maybe you “broke” not from your dad but from your own evilness? What about the real reason your mom sent you to live with James and my mom? What about that victim and her family? Did you apologize to them as well? Your mom wanted you out of Brandon because of what you did. Did you apologize to your sister? You forever changed her life as well. You changed Adam’s life too. You have done nothing but leave a trail of destruction behind your path. You changed the lives of our entire family….my aunts lost their sister (that acted like a mom to them their whole life), I lost my mom, my wife never had the opportunity to meet her, and my children never had a chance to make memories with her which was a dream she had.
In your letter you said, “It was like living a nightmare.” I still live in your nightmare every day. It may have ended in your mind, but I still live it every day. For 8 years, we have gone to the Parole Board every year and have to re-live the death of my mom over and over…every year… the date of her death…her birthday…my birthday…Mother’s Day…Christmas…and the notice of your damn parole hearing…every damn year. The current board members looked across the table and promised you would never be released. Parole Board Chairman Jeffrey Belk looked us in the eye and bragged that he was the chairman of an new board, tough on crime and would never parole you. And now to find out that your new address with your MOTHER was approved before the board even voted? You are right, it is a nightmare with no end. You get to go home to your momma and I get to go to the graveyard. James, you are our nightmare. We are all living in the nightmare that YOU created.
This weekend is Mother’s Day and my birthday. What a great weekend, right? Well, that is a big No! I don’t get to celebrate my mom in person and she doesn’t get to celebrate my birthday. There is a big void in my life from losing my best friend, my mom. That is the result of your doing, James. However, you do get to talk to your mom or visit her and apparently soon, you can even live with her and see her every day. That is something I can NEVER DO! Wonder if your mom will ever be afraid of having you in her house? Wonder if she will ever think about if what happened to our parents, could happen to her? Have you asked yourself these questions?
You are correct that you did horrible things. You shot your dad nine times; you shot my mom in the face and then you dismembered them and put them into trash bags and stuffed them into plastic storage containers. How could you have done that to someone that loved you? My mom defended you! She helped to get you a job and even tried to get a date for you to the prom. Your dad even bought you a car even though you were in trouble in Brandon. Your letter makes me sick, and I feel like this is your way to make yourself feel better. You took a friend and ruined his life after you threatened to do to him what you did to our parents, and you threatened to kill his family as well. The jury got it right…. life without parole. The parole board has evidently bought your story. I hope that you have found Jesus, but I feel that you should stay in jail and spread your faith there where innocent people are safe from the monster that you are. Don’t you realize people fear for their safety around you?
I wish that I had never had to hear your name again or to see your face. Yet, our family has been forced into having to face you every year to let the parole board know why we feel that you should be kept in prison. Just how did it happen this year that none of us, my family or Rebecca, were notified to appear. I don’t care what the parole board is saying because WE know that they DID NOT NOTIFY US or we would have been there, and we would have continued to explain why you need to stay locked up. You don’t deserve to be set free and you know in your heart that is true. Your letter, which our family believes is nothing but a farce, does not give us any peace or closure. It only reinforces that once again you can spin a story. In the end, James, God will deal with you, and you will answer to him for all the damage that you have done to so many of us. He may give your forgiveness, but He will also pass His Judgement. Don’t think that your letter has made a difference to us. We still believe just like the jury that you deserve LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE. We believe in Justice for Cindy and James and that means that you should stay in Prison. Once a murderer…always a murderer.
Zeno
If you have any questions, please contact Zeno Mangum at thirdzeno@gmail.com or 601-927-3642. We appreciate any help that you can give our family.
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