Shannon Harps came to Seattle five years ago from Columbus Ohio. She had a Masters' Degree in Environmental Education, and quickly found a job here with the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club. She had backpacked the mountains of Alaska, studied and lived in Europe and was planning a backpacking trip to South America next month. She was an optimistic adventurer who wanted to both see the world and make it a better place.

James Williams was released from prison in March of 2006 after having served an 11-year sentence for the random and unprovoked shooting of a person at a bus stop in Seattle. He received the top of the range for this crime, and committed 248 serious infractions during his stay in the Department of Corrections. He served his entire sentence and upon his release he was classified as a Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender (DMIO in DOC parlance) and required to attend a mental health treatment program and undergo enhanced supervision in the community. 

Williams did receive enhanced supervision.  He was brought before the court several times when he violated conditions of his community placement.  On one occasion, Williams was sent to Western State Hospital for involuntary commitment where he stayed for several months for stabilization.  On other occasions, he was sanctioned to jail terms and ordered to continue with his outpatient mental health treatment.  As a result, during 2007 Williams was incarcerated for approximately 9 ½ months for various violations of his community supervision conditions. He was arrested in September for threatening a woman at a housing facility on Capitol Hill. He was held in jail until his guilty plea in Seattle Municipal Court on December 21 st.

Ten days later, on New Year's Eve, Shannon Harps's world collided with James Williams's world. As she walked toward her apartment building on Capitol Hill that evening, she found her path blocked by Williams who began stabbing her, and commanding her to die. We allege that Williams stabbed her repeatedly, then threw the knife into nearby bushes and ran away from the scene.

A few hours later, Seattle police detectives were canvassing the scene and encountered Williams at a bus stop. He was not, at that time, a suspect, but the alert detectives interviewed him and convinced him to voluntarily provide a cheek swab DNA sample. That proved to be the big break in the case.

Williams now faces a first degree murder charge that carries a standard range sentence of 25 to 33 years.

This crime gripped the community. It is our worst fear -- a random predatory violent killing. There is nothing that Shannon Harps, a truly innocent victim, could have done to prevent this attack.

The bigger question is: Is there something that the criminal justice system can learn from this tragedy to help prevent another attack on an innocent victim?

I believe that we owe it to the memory of Shannon Harps and to the public that we serve to closely examine the case of James Williams, and to gather lessons learned.

This is not an exercise in blaming anyone other than James Williams for this murder. It is simply the responsible thing to do -- to examine our system when the most intensive supervision scheme we have developed could not prevent this terrible crime.

Yesterday I spoke with the new Secretary of the Department of Corrections, Eldon Vail. We agreed to convene a workgroup of DOC professionals, mental health professionals, deputy prosecutors from our office and representatives from law enforcement to study this case. I will convene this group over the next several days and ask them to get started immediately.

We will produce a definitive report detailing the efforts made to supervise the defendant upon his release from prison. We will examine the DMIO designation and determine whether changes in the law or in the system are warranted.

Make no mistake, these are the toughest cases that we face in the criminal justice system.

Our prisons contain many dangerous and impulsive offenders, some with serious mental health issues. In truth, we cannot avoid the reality that mentally ill offenders will be released into the community after they have served prison terms.  

If they are no longer in custody, some will reoffend.  It is the job of the Community Corrections Officer to provide support, supervision and sanctions for offenders when they are released from prison to the streets. We have yet to develop a failsafe system to supervise offenders once they are out of custody. The tragic murder of Shannon Harps compels us, not to point fingers, but to roll up our sleeves and re-examine the system we have built to accomplish the goal of community supervision and public safety.

For Information Contact: Dan Donohoe: 206-296-9029

Dated: January 29, 2008