William Mayo

William wanted to expose other young men to the world of opportunities he had obtained for himself. It was Williams's belief at heart that he could help make a difference in the lives of young people through a mentoring program. In November of 1991, William drove two young men - Tyrone Wilson and Dale Thomas -- from Chicago to Atlanta for the Morehouse College homecoming weekend. It was William's hope that the visit would demonstrate to the young men what college life was like, and that it would encourage them to seek a better life than what they were living in Chicago. They arrived in Atlanta on November 3, 1991.

That evening, around 7:15 to 7:30, William made a stop in Smyrna (a small town outside of Atlanta located in Cobb County) that would forever change his life.

William retrieved some clothing and personal items from an acquaintance who had stored them for him until he could return from Chicago to pick them up. The two young men accompanying William remained in the car while he picked up his belongings.

During the time William was as at the house, these two young men burglarized and robbed a home that was two doors away from the house were William was. According to many statements made by the men themselves, their intent was to go to the house where William was, rob him, and steal from anyone who would have been in the house. In a May 2004 interview with Atlanta's WAOK, one of the two men (Wilson), repeated his often-made statement that he and Thomas had planned all along to steal from William, turning the trip into an easy crime spree.

Instead, they went to the wrong house. Having planned to commit crimes, however, Wilson and Thomas decided to make the most of the moment.

They terrorized a bi-racial, middle aged couple for about 10 to 20 minutes, tying them up with telephone cord before stealing jewelry and small items from the house. The duo was able to make it back to the car just before William returned with his belongings. William drove away without any knowledge that a crime had taken place. The car was pulled over upon entry onto the interstate by police officers with their guns drawn. William and the two young men were arrested, taken into custody and charged with burglary, armed robbery and aggravated assault.

Even though the victims initially reported seeing only two attackers, and though the young men themselves eventually stated in court appeal hearings that William had nothing to do with the robbery, William was slammed with two life sentences for armed robbery, and two 20-year sentences for the aggravated assault charges. The victims suffered no serious injuries during their attack.

To support William Mayo, go to his website: www.freemayo.com