Spencer Lawton, the Savannah prosecutor who tried 'Midnight in the Garden' case, dies at 81

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Spencer Lawton Jr., a former Georgia district attorney who worked to expand the rights of crime victims and prosecuted a Savannah killing made famous by the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” has died. He was 81.

Lawton died Wednesday at his home in Savannah, according to an obituary from Gamble Funeral Service. No cause of death was given.

Lawton was a young Savannah attorney in private practice when he won election as Chatham County district attorney in 1980. He held the office for 28 years before retiring. During his tenure, Lawton created a program to help victims navigate the confusing and potentially traumatizing course of criminal court proceedings. It became a model adopted by other prosecutors across Georgia.

“He was a huge proponent for victims of crimes," said Meg Heap, who worked as a victim advocate and an assistant prosecutor under Lawton before she was elected Chatham County's district attorney in 2012. “You stand on the side of right and you bring justice for somebody who would not otherwise get it, a victim coming in who’s dirt poor and thinks nobody cares. That was Spencer.”

Despite his nearly three decades as the Savannah area's top state prosecutor, Lawton would become best known for a murder case that began just a few months after he took office.

In May 1981, antiques dealer Jim Williams called police to his 19th century mansion in Savannah's historic district. Williams had fatally shot 21-year-old Danny Hansford, an employee and Williams' lover. Though Williams insisted he killed Hansford in self-defense, police suspected he staged the scene to make it appear that Hansford had fired a gun at him first.

Lawton had Williams indicted on a murder charge and personally prosecuted the case. It went to trial four times, with the Georgia Supreme Court overturning convictions in the first two trials and the third ending with a hung jury. Williams was ultimately acquitted in 1989. He died at home seven months later.

The case's twists and turns formed the central narrative of John Berendt's 1994 bestseller “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” With Williams as its central character, the book portrayed Lawton as his “eloquent and venomous” courtroom antagonist.

When Clint Eastwood directed a 1997 movie based on the book, the district attorney was renamed Finley Largent.

“I don’t really think about the Williams case when I think of Spencer’s contributions to the community,” said David Lock, who served as Lawton's chief assistant prosecutor. “I never read the book. But from what I’ve heard, it’s an unfair portrayal of Spencer Lawton.”

Lawton created a special program for assisting crime victims as well as courtroom witnesses soon after he first took office. He hired and trained advocates to explain to victims how the legal process works, give them updates on scheduled court hearings and sometimes to help them find counseling.

Other district attorneys across Georgia began expanding and improving their own victim-witness programs based on what Lawton was doing in Savannah, said Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council.

“Prior to the victim-witness assistance programs really getting started, victims came into a criminal justice system not of their own free will and were basically not kept apprised of developments in their cases," Skandalakis said. “The prosecutors themselves were far too busy keeping up with their daily caseload. So there wasn’t someone in a DA's office that a victim could just reach out and talk to.”

Lawton retired as district attorney at the end of 2008. Two years later, he helped lead an effort to expand crime victims' rights under state law.

The 2010 law guaranteed victims an opportunity to speak in court during sentencing hearings for offenders. It also required that victims be notified of the resolution of cases involving crimes against them, as well as anytime the perpetrators escaped or were released from prison.

“He brought professionalism to any endeavor he undertook,” Lock said. “And his special contribution to district attorneys' offices and the legal profession as a whole was his championing of victims’ rights.”