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Friday, March 10,1978— THE JANESVILLE GAZETTE—Page 21Mother Freed From ChargesCHICAGO (AP)—Attempted murder charges against a woman who was accused of shooting a man who allegedly had raped her 8-year-old daughter have been dropped by the state.Assistant State’s Attorney Michael J. Kress said Thursday psychiatrists have examined Esther Lee Clay “and have said she was insane at the time of the offense.”“As a matter of law,” Kress said, “what the psychiatrists have told us makes it impossible for us to meet our burden of proof in the courtroom.”Illinois law says a defendant cannot be found guilty if it is determined that he or she was legally insane at the time the crime was committed.Mrs. Clay, the mother of seven, was charged with the attempted murder of Patrick Williams, 27, who was shot six times as he sat in a police station on June 1,1976.Williams allegedly had abducted and raped Mrs. Clay’s daughter While Williams was being questioned, officers said, Mrs. Clay said she wanted to see Williams because she might know him.When she saw the handcuffed suspect in an interrogation room, police said, she pulled out a 38-caliber pistol and fired six times, with bullets striking Williams in the mouth, neck, chest and hand He was left partially paralyzed and remains hospitalized Williams was indicted on charges ofrape, kidnapping and taking indecent liberties with a child, but the case was dismissed after a psychiatrist told the court the mother and daughter were too emotionally overwrought to undergo rigorous cross-examinationMrs Clay was kept in psychiatric institutions from the time of the shooting until December 1976 — six months — and still receives psychiatric care.The alleged rape took place on May 27,1976, when Mrs. Clay’s daughter was walking home from her far South Side elementary school.i CINEMA
Newspaper Details
Janesville Gazette
Janesville, Wisconsin, US
Fri, Mar 10, 1978
Page 21
Full Page
Clipped by
Madison P.
WI, USA 14 Dec 2023
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