Spencer Lawton Jr., the reform-minded district attorney who played a critical role in a high-profile murder case encapsulated in the book and subsequent film, ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,’ passed away at 81 on November 13th at his Savannah residence. The cause, as stated by his wife, Ann Woolner, was cardiovascular disease. Although Lawton Jr.’s career spanned 28 years, his most notable contribution was his focused attention towards the victims’ rights, often a neglected area within the judicial system.
Serving as district attorney for Chatham County, Georgia, between 1981 and 2009, Lawton Jr.’s tenure was characterized by an uncompromising stance on crime, combined with his groundbreaking initiative to offer aid to victims and witnesses. He identified that the conventional judicial system, typically a battle between the government and defendants, frequently overlooked victims and witnesses who often found themselves navigating a complex and unknown labyrinth. To ameliorate this flaw, he established an office to extend counseling and other essential resources to this group.
This innovative Victim-Witness Assistance Program became a beacon for other jurisdictions, initially within Georgia, and subsequently across the country. The program offered victims and witnesses guidance, aid, and support during their involuntarily interactions with the judicial system, attesting to Lawton Jr.’s concern for the often sidelined victims and their loved ones.
Despite his groundbreaking reforms, it was an infamous murder case featured in John Berendt’s ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ book that catapulted Lawton Jr.’s name beyond Georgia and into national recognition. The narrative is a mixture of fact and fiction revolving around the shocking 1981 murder of Danny Hansford by wealthy antiques dealer James Arthur Williams. This narrative spent a staggering 216 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.
According to the defendant Williams, he killed Hansford, his lover, in self-defense at his residence after a violent outburst from Hansford. As the lead prosecutor in the case, Lawton Jr., fresh in his role, disputed this narrative. He proposed that the evidence suggested that Williams had shot Hansford from behind, subsequently staging the scene to appear as a self-defense killing.
The case saw Williams standing trial for murder on four separate occasions. The first two trials concluded with Williams being found guilty, only to be released on appeal. The third trial resulted in a hung jury, and in the fourth, Williams was acquitted, only to pass away a few months later.
Throughout the trials, Lawton Jr. maintained a professional conduct and chose not to engage in any discussion with Berendt. His professional journey continued until the end of 2008, when his exemplary work saw him being awarded the district attorney of the year by the District Attorney’s Association of Georgia.
Spencer Lawton Jr. was born on July 19, 1943, in Detroit. His father, who was there on a World War II posting, met and married his first wife, Georgette Winters, who became Spencer Jr’s mother. Soon afterwards, the family moved to Savannah, where several generations of the Lawtons had built their careers. Lawton Jr.’s great-great grandfather had been a Confederate general and subsequently a founder of the American Bar Association.
Following his parents’ divorce during his early years, Spencer Jr., along with his siblings, relocated to Atlanta with their father. Later, his father married Sarah Parker Weens, an interior designer. After starting his college education at the University of Georgia, Spencer Jr. decided to suspend his studies and enlisted in the Air Force.
Following four years of service, Spencer Jr. enrolled at Tulane University, graduating with a degree in Political Science in 1968. He subsequently pursued law at Georgia, earning his degree in 1971. On completion, he returned to private practice in Savannah.
Spencer Jr’s personal life saw him going through two unsuccessful marriages before marrying Woolner in 2008. He leaves behind his daughter, Sarah Brockenbrough; his brother, George; and his sister, Clayton Livingston.
Spencer Jr. entered the political arena in 1980 with his candidacy for district attorney, challenging the incumbent Andrew Ryan Jr. Notably, Ryan Jr. had continued his father’s legacy in the office. Spencer Jr. ran an aggressive campaign, promising to clear a significant backlog of cases and rectify the outdated local criminal justice system which he believed was failing the public.
In a clear victory, Spencer Jr took his place as district attorney and over the next 28 years, he worked diligently to make the system more empathetic and efficient. It is his dedication to systemic betterment, he consistently insisted, that serves as his true legacy, irrespective of the path taken by true crime narratives and their readership.
The considerable imprint that Spencer Jr. left on the judiciary, from his victim-centric reforms to his unflinching dedication to his role, is indeed his enduring legacy, a testament to a career that while punctuated by high-profile cases was truly devoted to the rights of victims, reform, and justice.