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Cindy Lassister Williams’s Family Responds to Release of 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.
- 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. He also said that he had planned to kill himself which was a new story not heard before.
- On May 12, 2023, the family of Cindy Lassister Williams released a letter in response to James Williams III stating that once a murderer, always a murderer and that fact will never change. In 20 years, the family never heard “I’m sorry” and only now that James and his attorney decided that it is to his benefit to reach out to make him seem remorseful. Why now? He created a nightmare for the family to live every day for the rest of their lives. Cindy’s son Zeno said, “For 8 years, we have gone to the Parole Board every year and 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. 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. 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? 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?”
- May 16, 2023, James Williams is released by MDOC to live in Rankin County in the Pelahatchie area with his mother and stepfather.
- May 17, 2023, The family of Cindy Lassister Williams was not notified by the MS Parole Board or MDOC of the release of James Williams III. However, after calling the parole board office, they were told by one person that he was released and by another that they had no idea if he had been released. The family is heartbroken that their rights have been totally disregarded and that they were never allowed to meet face to face with the Mississippi Parole Board or have their questions from their phone meeting even answered other than to say that James is better in the community than incarcerated. How hard was it for them to give us the list of people that have listed and their contacts for Victim Services? Their answer was that “the addresses used were the ones provided by the victims to the MS Dept of Corrections Victim Services”. We just wanted to make sure something had not changed in their system and we did not even get a straight answer about that. The one thing that the family does know for certain is that at the end of time that James will have to face God and answer for his actions in the heinous crimes he committed, and that God will be in complete control of that judgement and not the Mississippi Parole Board. Our family has been so fortunate to have been supported by so many families, friends, state officials, and the media in helping to ask for Justice for Cindy. Even though we have not gotten the outcome that we wanted or felt that the victims deserved, we know that the questions that we have posed and the light that we have put on how the Mississippi State Parole Board operates with no regard to victim rights may make a difference to other families in the future. We are grateful to the previous Mississippi State Parole Board (Steve Pickett, Nehemiah Flowers, Butch Townsend, Betty Lou Jones and Kathy Henry) for listening to our concerns and looking at the facts of what James did in keeping him incarcerated as long as they did. Listing people who have stepped up to help us is so hard to do, but we do want to mention Angela Hill, Price Wallace, Chris Caughman, Tom Weathersby, Tom Miles, SuperTalk, Clay Edwards Show, WMPR, WJTV, WAPT, WLBT, Mississippi Today, MageeNews.com, Magee Courier, Gene Bell, Shannon Long and Janna Hughes. We feel that Cindy and James are in Heaven cheering us on for being the voices for the true victims left in the path of this double murderer.
If you have any questions, please contact Zeno Mangum at thirdzeno@gmail.com or 601-927-3642. We appreciate all of the support that you have given for Justice for Cindy.
MageeNews.com is an online news website covering Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi.