Black Who Killed White Bank Teller Gets Trial Delayed Due to Mental State

ABC 3340
December 16, 2013

William Merriweather
‘Merriweather walked up behind Tracey Oliver, brandished a 9mm pistol, and shot two tellers, Eva Hudson and Sheila Prevo, in the head. Ms. Prevo died instantly; Ms. Hudson died shortly thereafter due to exsanguination. Anita Gordon stood up, produced a set of keys, and attempted to hand them to him. When she did, Merriweather shot her in the face at point-blank range. He then turned his gun on Ms. Freeman, who was standing close by with her hands held in a defensive posture, and fired one shot at her head.’

It will now be at least mid-March before a man charged with killing two Bessemer bank tellers and wounding two others during a robbery in 2007 could face a federal judge and jury. Eva Loveland Hudson and Sheila McWaine Prevo were killed at the Wachovia Bank branch in Bessemer. Two other bank tellers, Anita Siler Gordon and Latoya Shaniece Freeman were wounded.

William Merriweather’s trial has been so long in coming because of issues concerning his competency to stand trial and his mental state when the robbery was committed. If Merriweather is convicted, federal prosecutors expect to ask for the death penalty. In February, 2013, federal judge David Proctor issued an order stating Merriweather was competent.

Once trial does begin, it is expected to take up to two months to try.