Betty Wilson
Innocent in Prison

In May of 1992, Betty Wilson and Peggy Lowe, twin sisters, were arrested and tried for supposedly hiring James White to kill Betty’s wealthy, well-known and well-liked husband, Dr. Jack Wilson who was brutally beaten and stabbed to death in Huntsville, Alabama. There was no physical evidence connecting either twin sister to the murder. The only thing the State of Alabama had to convict either of them was the testimony of James White, a known alcoholic, drug addict and a diagnosed delusional schizophrenic who spent time in and out of jail and mental institutions. He was dishonorably discharged from the U. S. Army for stabbing an officer and shooting at his own men. He has never stated under oath or otherwise that he killed Dr. Wilson.

There is documented proof that the State of Alabama had made a statement that without White’s testimony there was no case against either Betty Wilson or Peggy Lowe. The State possesses seven different statements from White concerning the murder, none of which agree. White has stated he was coerced by the prosecution to testify against the sisters or go to the electric chair for capital murder. White was not tried until he testified at both sisters trials and was sentenced to life with a chance of parole. Peggy Lowe was acquitted. Betty Wilson was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison with no chance of parole.

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?

Two sisters tried for the same crime.

No physical evidence connecting either of them to the murder. Forensic evidence presented at Peggy Lowe’s trial proved that Dr. Wilson could have been killed elsewhere and White had an accomplice.

The only witness, who was not fit to testify against anyone, made a deal with the prosecution rather than face the electric chair.

One sister was acquitted.

One sister sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

THIS IS HOW IT HAPPEN!

Betty Wilson’s case was very high profile attracting a multitude of media attention. It was an election year. The prosecuting district attorney needed a conviction of this magnitude to further his political career.

Dr. Wilson was killed on a Friday. On Sunday Betty was asked to meet with a detective. He questioned her about her whereabouts on the day of the murder. He asked for a list of people who had access to their home or might have worked there. He asked her if she had any affairs and wanted their names. She gave them to him except one.

On Tuesday Betty’s husband was buried. Around 8:00 p.m. she was picked up and taken in for more questions. During this session the name of the omitted lover was divulged, a married black man who worked for the city. The detectives’ questioning was harsh and accusatory. (Just doing their job.) They accused her and her sister, Peggy, of hiring James White to kill Betty’s wealthy husband. They said White was in the next room and had given a complete confession implicating her and her sister. They said they also had Peggy and she had confessed which Betty knew was not true because there was nothing to confess!

Betty asked one of the detectives if she needed a lawyer. He said, "NO! NOT YET!" He left the room for awhile and returned with a telephone book which he tossed into her lap and said, "If you think you need a lawyer, call one." Around midnight she and Peggy were returned to the home of another sister where Betty had been staying. It is not clear when Betty received her MIRANDA rights.

The next day James White, Betty Wilson and Peggy Lowe were arrested.

Peggy was released on bail. Betty was denied bail for fear that because of her wealth she would leave the country even though all of her assets had been frozen.

For nine and one half months prior to her hearing she was confined to a cell used for solitary confinement. The bed took up most of the cell. She had no privacy whether she was eating, sleeping or using the toilet. Her lawyers had to meet with her in this cell. When her family visited with her, they had to look and attempt to talk to her through the small glass window in this cell.

One day a male, as on other occasions, peered through the small window in her cell. She asked him, "What do you want?" He said, "I just wanted to see what a rich bitch who had slept with a nigger looked like." She was treated like a hardcore criminal who was a threat to society. James White, the State’s star witness and only witness, became the jailhouse mascot.

White testified Betty had picked him up at a mall parking lot to drive him to her home to kill her husband and returned later to pick him up to take him back to the mall parking lot. There was not one shred of forensic evidence to prove White had ever been in her car. This in itself should have been proof enough that White was lying under oath. White lied 58 times in his testimony against Betty Wilson. So why was she convicted and her sister acquitted?

Betty was tried in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a city still having a difficult time adjusting to desegregation. The prosecuting DA subpoenaed her former black lover, who had moved to California, to testify at her trial. This man had no knowledge whatsoever about this case. His testimony basically consisted of stating his name and answering "yes" to the question, "Did you have an affair with Mrs. Wilson?" This was nothing more than a racist tactic!

After eleven hours of deliberation, the jury delivered its guilty verdict and a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for Betty Wilson, the rich bitch who had affairs.

Peggy Lowe, a first grade school teacher, active in her church, was tried a few months later. After one hour of deliberation, the jury acquitted her. 

Again, how could two sisters be tried for the same crime, with the same evidence and the same testimony of the likes of James White and one was acquitted and the other sent to prison? Simple. The racist card was tossed into the hat.

All of Betty's appeals had been exhausted and all hope of freedom looked dismal until, in 2003, a witness came forward with evidence that Betty had nothing to do with the murder. Unfortunately, the witness was betrayed by a backwoods southern lawyer, a dimwitted college professor, and a two bit PI.

This incident inspired a third book about this unbelievable injustice.

Shortly after Betty Wilson was sentenced to prison with no possibility of parole, two books were written and a television show was made about her case.

Betty Wilson Website

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