William "Junior" Downs FILE/STAFF

2 states fight for trial in homicide

Confessed killer stays in Carolina

Politics and paperwork may no longer be immovable objects blocking a capital murder trial for the man who confessed to killing an Augusta child.

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The state of Georgia has been trying to convince South Carolina to allow William "Junior" Downs to be extradited since a Richmond County grand jury returned an indictment against him four years ago this Sunday.

But the extradition was stalled and flatly denied by South Carolina, where Mr. Downs also faced capital murder charges in the April 17, 1999, slaying of a 6-year-old North Augusta boy, Keenan O'Mailia. Mr. Downs pleaded guilty in that case, and a judge sentenced him to death nearly a year ago.

"There is no logical reason for them not to let William Downs return to Georgia for trial," said Billy Johnson, Gov. Sonny Perdue's extradition coordinator.

Mr. Johnson says the people who loved and knew 10-year-old James M. Porter and the Augusta community could soon see it happen.

"This is not lingering as a result of any lack of effort on District Attorney Danny Craig's part," Mr. Johnson said of the long delay in the Downs extradition process.

Mr. Downs was first extradited from Georgia to South Carolina in April 1999, when South Carolina officers charged him with Keenan's murder. When Richmond County sheriff's investigators traveled across the Savannah to ask Mr. Downs about James' disappearance in March 1991, he confessed he sexually assaulted and killed the child.

Mr. Johnson brought up the Downs extradition case this week when he attended a national conference of extradition officers and talked to others, including his South Carolina counterpart, about the Downs case.

Someone apparently got involved in the extradition process in the past and blocked it, said Mr. Johnson, who would not name names because, he said, "I don't want to complicate matters before we get this done."

The process also became complicated when the executive agreement sent by former Georgia Gov. Roy Barns seemingly slipped through the cracks in January as both states had new governors moving into office, Mr. Johnson said.

Concerns have been expressed about the physical transfer of a death row prisoner from South Carolina to Georgia, Mr. Johnson said. It's a legitimate concern, but a concern anytime any prisoner is moved, and precautions can be taken.

"That's still not grounds for them not to comply with the governor's request," Mr. Johnson said.

It's been done before. In March, a death-penalty trial in Douglas County, Ga., brought closure in the June 1993 slaying of a young pregnant woman, Peggy Grimes. Her confessed killer, Gerald Patrick Lewis, was extradited from Alabama, where he was - and will be again - imprisoned on death row for killing an Alabama woman after committing murder in Georgia.

But a governor's executive agreement isn't a mandate, Mr. Johnson said. One governor cannot force another to temporarily turn over a prisoner.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's spokesman, Will Folks, said Friday that the governor has received the extradition request from Georgia, but would not comment further until officials there are able to discuss the matter with Georgia officials.

"We're going to do everything possible to expedite this matter," Mr. Johnson said. "The main thing is we brought the case back to life."

Trials are the traditional way in this country for people to have closure in a criminal case, Mr. Craig said. He said that especially in the case of a murdered child, it's important that the victim's family and community have a final, official decision as to who committed the crime.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or shodson@augustachronicle.com.

--From the Saturday, May 31, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle