Bio 

Willard Jimerson Jr. was born in 1980 and grew up in Seattle, Washington. Public records and later reporting describe him as a child who experienced instability before his murder conviction. He was raised primarily by his grandmother, Florene, and had a difficult family background. His mother had criminal convictions, and his father also had a criminal record.

Before the killing of Jamie Lynn Wilson, Jimerson had already been involved with the juvenile justice system. By age 13, he had prior juvenile dispositions for theft and assault. Court records also noted additional referrals to juvenile court before the murder case. Prosecutors later used this background to argue that his behavior was escalating.

At the time of the murder, Jimerson was only 13 years old and had not yet completed seventh grade. Because of his age, his case first went through juvenile court. However, the juvenile court declined jurisdiction, meaning he was transferred to adult court. The court ruled that the seriousness of the crime and the need to protect the public outweighed keeping the case in the juvenile system.

Jimerson became one of the youngest people in Washington State history to be tried as an adult for murder. After his conviction, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He spent much of his adolescence and early adulthood behind bars.

While incarcerated, Jimerson earned educational and vocational certificates and later became interested in Islam, reading, and self-development. Later reports described him as someone who wanted to work with at-risk youth after release. He was released after serving about 20.5 years in prison, from 1994 to 2014.

After his release, Jimerson became publicly connected to community violence-prevention and juvenile justice reform work in King County, Washington.

Murder Story

Just after midnight on March 11, 1994, 14-year-old Jamie Lynn Wilson was shot and killed near Garfield High School in King County, Washington. Earlier that night, a group of young people, including 13-year-old Willard Jimerson Jr. and Kaai Joseph Williams, had gathered at an arcade on Yesler Street before moving to Spruce Park.

The group had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. At some point, the group encountered Jamie Wilson. A girl in the group had a previous school-related dispute with Wilson, and the confrontation escalated into violence. Wilson tried to get away from the group and ran down the street. After a chase, the group caught up with her and began beating and kicking her. Nearby residents heard the attack and shouted for the group to stop. Wilson was on the ground and asking for help when the shooting occurred.

According to the Washington Court of Appeals, Jimerson walked up behind Wilson and fired two shots at close range. The same gun was then handed to Williams, who fired another shot. Wilson suffered three gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The medical examiner determined that the fatal wound was the gunshot that entered from behind and struck her chest, damaging several organs. Witness testimony supported the prosecution’s argument that Jimerson fired the shots from behind.

Jimerson and Williams were charged with first-degree murder. Because Jimerson was 13, the juvenile court first had to decide whether he would remain in juvenile court or be transferred to adult court. On June 2, 1994, the juvenile court declined jurisdiction and sent his case to adult court. At trial, prosecutors argued that the killing was intentional and premeditated. Jimerson challenged the evidence of premeditation and accomplice liability, but the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

In September 1994, Jimerson was sentenced to 23 years in prison. The court ordered that he be held by the Department of Youth Services until his 18th birthday before continuing his sentence in the adult correctional system. Jimerson appealed his conviction, arguing that the juvenile court had wrongly transferred his case to adult court and that there was not enough evidence to support first-degree murder. In 1997, the Washington Court of Appeals rejected those arguments and affirmed the conviction.

Jimerson spent more than 20 years in custody and was released in 2014. His case remains one of Washington’s notable examples of a very young juvenile offender being tried and sentenced as an adult for murder.