This is new by me. Have you heard anything about it?
You'd think the ATF would have burned down the house
afterwards to cover up the evidence. I guess since
they got away with murdering the Branch Davidians,
now they think they can get away with anything.
Carl Wilson's Death Ruled Homicide
By Wayne Hicks and Henrietta Bowman - Posted: 01.29.00
The death of 60-year-old Carl Ray Wilson in Arkansas, which we reported on
last week, has been officially ruled a "homicide" by the Arkansas State
Crime Laboratory. According to the family, the Death Certificate issued this
past Friday contains only that word in the space for "Cause of Death".
The question remains as to which of three legal classifications the death
falls into: Webster's Dictionary defines homicide as "The killing of one
human being by another," but continues, "Homicide is of three kinds:
justifiable, as when the killing is performed in the exercise of a right or
performance of a duty; excusable, as when done, although not as duty or
right, yet without culpable or criminal intent; and felonious, or involving
what the law terms malice; the latter may be either manslaughter or murder."
Which definition would best apply in this case? An examination of the facts
known may shed some light on the answer. Here's what we know at this point:
1. At the request of Agent Bill Buford, head of the Arkansas Office of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, a Search Warrant was issued by the
Honorable J. Thomas Ray, an Arkansas Judge. This warrant, we know now,
authorized the ATF to search the home of Carl Ray Wilson for a single rifle
and its ammunition, for the purpose of seizing same, on the premise that
Wilson, who had been to prison twice in his earlier years, was a convicted
felon and therefore forbidden by law to own firearms. We do not know what
the judge was told about Mr. Wilson.but it's a safe bet that he was not told
that this same rifle had been seized.without any trouble from Mr. Wilson.on
at least two previous occasions, after which it was returned to
Mrs. Wilson, since it was legally registered to her and she was not
prohibited from owning a firearm.
2. The warrant was worded in a manner which permitted it to be considered a
"no-knock" warrant, meaning that officers of the ATF (and the forty other
officers who were there as backup) were authorized to enter without knocking
and announcing their identities or intentions. No-knock warrants are usually
issued when it is considered likely that the person to be served is either
dangerous, or is likely to dispose of evidence before the search can be
conducted. It is therefore unlikely that Judge Ray was informed that Mr.
Wilson, during his previous encounters with law enforcement, was known as a
man who did not resist arrest or other authority. In fact, on many
occasions, the local sheriff would merely call him on the telephone to let
him know that there was a warrant for his arrest and he would then come to
jail on his own. As for the second reason, that evidence might be destroyed
or disposed of.how do you flush a deer rifle down a toilet?
3. ATF agents, backed up by local deputies and police SWAT Team members,
approached the house in pre-dawn darkness. Six of them are reported to have
entered the house, where they reportedly threw a "diversionary device" into
the floor. An alarm clock went off at the same moment, and Mrs. Wilson and
her niece, the only two witnesses, say shooting began at that moment.
Neither witness knows anything about the "diversionary device." They heard
the alarm clock and then gunshots.
4. At least six shots were fired through a wall into Carl Wilson's bedroom,
at which time, by a reconstruction of events, Mr. Wilson was hit more than
once, probably while trying to rise from his bed to reach a .44 Magnum
revolver he had in a stereo cabinet near the foot of his bed. Varying
reports have him firing from one to four times with that weapon.
5. During the shooting, one officer was struck in the back on his
bullet-proof vest. Since it is unlikely he would have had his back to Mr.
Wilson in the middle of a shootout, there is reason to speculate that he may
well have been hit by "friendly fire".which is nothing new to ATF
operations.
6. The only other injury suffered by an officer at the scene was when one of
them ducked too quickly to avoid Carl's returned fire and got splinters in
his face. An officer who was present at the time has speculated off the
record that the splinters were thrown up by a round from Carl's pistol
striking the floor, probably from a reflexive tightening of his trigger
finger after being shot seven times in total.
7. When the firing stopped, Mrs. Wilson and her niece ran into the room to
find out what was going on. They were thrown to the floor, handcuffed and
threatened with weapons shoved against their faces. Officers demanded to
know why Mrs. Wilson was not in the bed with her husband, then began
shouting at Carl to "GIT UP, GIT UP!" Carl weakly replied, "I can't" and
then bled to death on his own bed, in his underwear.
8. Mrs. Wilson and her niece, still handcuffed, were denied use of a
telephone to call for an ambulance for Carl and were roughly dragged
outside, barefoot and in their nightclothes. An ambulance did arrive moments
later.the two "injured" officers were treated at the scene, and taken to the
local hospital for further treatment. The attendants were not taken into the
house, and were reportedly not told that a man had been shot inside.
9. After it was reasonably certain to officers Carl was dead, a call was
placed for removal of his body. Once that was accomplished, Mrs. Wilson and
her niece were released and allowed to return to the house. No attempt was
made to perform any crime scene investigation and even the spent shells from
the fired weapons were left lying on the floor. The only photos of the
bloody scene were those taken by Mrs. Wilson, which are now in the
possession of her attorneys.
10. Bill Buford, head of the Arkansas office of the ATF and one of the
principal planners of the Waco debacle against David Koresh and the Branch
Davidians, led the raid and called a press conference afterwards, in which
he stated that officers encountered fire from Mr. Wilson "as they approached
the house". This we now know to be false.
11. Mr. Buford stated that he was certain that Carl knew they were officers
of the law. If firing began before any announcement of the officers'
identity or purpose, which we know to be the case, it is immaterial who Carl
thought the officers were. He had been illegally fired upon and had the
right to defend himself, no matter who the shooters were. A badge is not a
license to kill.it is a symbol of authority that may be required to use
deadly force in the proper performance of duty.
12. Mr. Buford stated that the search warrant was "sealed", but that he
could
say it involved drugs and explosives. This is now known to be untrue and Mr.
Buford, who applied to Judge Ray for the warrant, knew so when he uttered
this statement.
13. Official statements by police have been cited as saying that only about
20 shots were fired in total. If this is true, then we are at a loss to
explain nine zip-lock bags of spent shells picked up in the house
afterwards. These are also in the possession of the widow's attorneys.
14. Many years before, a much younger Bill Buford told a much younger Carl
Wilson."I'm gonna get you!"
With the number of blatant untruths told in this case, both those speculated
to have been used (at least by their very omission) to obtain the "no-knock"
warrant, and the ones told by Mr. Buford, it would seem that there was a
motive beyond the seizure of a single deer rifle and four rounds of
ammunition for this raid. Could it be that Mr. Wilson was such a known,
dangerous criminal that it was necessary for him to die for the safety of
his community?
Well, he and his wife had just been approved for a mortgage to buy a new
home. The banker who approved that loan came to see Mrs. Wilson the day of
the shooting. He let her know rrangements would be made to ensure she would
still get the house, although it would mean lowering the interest rate and
lengthening the term of the mortgage in order to make that possible. He also
gave Mrs. Wilson several hundred dollars to help pay for "a nice funeral for
Carl." Many local businesspeople followed suit, bringing from one hundred to
six hundred dollars to Mrs. Wilson, to help pay for that "nice funeral." At
the funeral home, several hundred more appeared anonymously upon the casket
in which his body lay. His church misses him.and so do the many, many
friends who have contacted this writer to express their shock and outrage
over what they term "Carl's Execution"!
Sounds like a real bad dude, doesn't he?
The cause of death in the matter of Carl Ray Wilson is now listed as
homicide. From the facts now known, it seems rather apparent that this was
indeed a homicide, in the sense we are all most familiar with, from movies,
TV, and news: murder most foul.
Further developments involving an investigation into the matter, which
cannot
be fully reported at this time, are expected shortly! Please watch for more
on this story.
