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Eddie Hatcher dies in priosn
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RALEIGH — A man who took 19 hostages at The Robesonian newspaper more than two decades ago in a supposed bid to call attention to government corruption died Friday in prison.
Eddie Hatcher, 51, died of natural causes at Central Prison in Raleigh, said Department of Correction spokesman Keith Acree.
He had been released from prison early for his role in the takeover of the newspaper — according to him because he contracted AIDS behind bars — but was sent back after he killed a man.
In 1988, Hatcher and Timothy Jacobs, both Tuscarora Indians, brandished shotguns and took hostages at The Robesonian. At the time, the paper was located in downtown Lumberton on Fifth Street, one block west of the Robeson County Courthouse. The building has since been demolished.
Mary Ann Mayers is one of the few employees who was at The Robesonian that Monday morning, Feb.1, 1988, who still work for the newspaper.
“We were afraid for our lives and it took me a long time to get over it,” Mayers said Friday. “I’m not glad that he died, though. I forgave him for that a long time ago.
“It’s a shame that his life had to end like that. I feel sorry for his family. I know they loved him.”
The pair said they were trying to call attention to government corruption in Robeson County. After a 10-hour standoff, they surrendered and released the last of their hostages unharmed when the governor agreed to appoint a task force to hear their allegations. No one was ever charged with corruption.
Both men demanded that then Gov. Jim Martin speak with them, but on advice of counsel Martin declined, saying it would have set a dangerous precedent.
“Also, you would have what would be considered the final authority by Hatcher and Jacobs,” Martin said in an interview the day after the incident. “What would happen if they made demands that couldn’t be met? What would their reaction be? You don’t know because when you’re outside you don’t know what their psychological condition is.”
Hatcher was sentenced to 18 years in prison for kidnapping, but paroled five years later. Officials said then they couldn’t discuss his medical condition, but he told The Associated Press in a 1995 interview that he was diagnosed with AIDS in prison and doctors told him he had five years to live.
Conditions of his parole prevented Hatcher from returning to Robeson County, but he returned in the late 1990s when his parole ended. In 1999, Hatcher was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder for the drive-by shooting death of Brian McMillian.
District Attorney Johnson Britt, who prosecuted the case, said Hatcher was angry because McMillian was involved in a break-in at his mobile home. Hatcher was in prison for that crime when he died Friday.
Britt said it remains to be seen how Hatcher will be remembered.
“I think I know what he was trying to do with regard to his attempt to bring attention to the racial disparity in Robeson County at that time,” Britt said. “He just didn’t go about it the right way.
“What he did probably opened some doors to help minorities gain access to the political and judicial process. Whether everything he alleged was true remains to be seen.”
Britt was less than a year out of law school at the time of the takeover and had no dealings with Hatcher until his office prosecuted Hatcher for the murder of McMillian.
Jacobs, Hatcher’s co-defendant in the newspaper hostage case, pleaded guilty to kidnapping in 1989. He was sentenced to six years in prison and released in March 1992.
Eddie Hatcher, 51, died of natural causes at Central Prison in Raleigh, said Department of Correction spokesman Keith Acree.
He had been released from prison early for his role in the takeover of the newspaper — according to him because he contracted AIDS behind bars — but was sent back after he killed a man.
In 1988, Hatcher and Timothy Jacobs, both Tuscarora Indians, brandished shotguns and took hostages at The Robesonian. At the time, the paper was located in downtown Lumberton on Fifth Street, one block west of the Robeson County Courthouse. The building has since been demolished.
Mary Ann Mayers is one of the few employees who was at The Robesonian that Monday morning, Feb.1, 1988, who still work for the newspaper.
“We were afraid for our lives and it took me a long time to get over it,” Mayers said Friday. “I’m not glad that he died, though. I forgave him for that a long time ago.
“It’s a shame that his life had to end like that. I feel sorry for his family. I know they loved him.”
The pair said they were trying to call attention to government corruption in Robeson County. After a 10-hour standoff, they surrendered and released the last of their hostages unharmed when the governor agreed to appoint a task force to hear their allegations. No one was ever charged with corruption.
Both men demanded that then Gov. Jim Martin speak with them, but on advice of counsel Martin declined, saying it would have set a dangerous precedent.
“Also, you would have what would be considered the final authority by Hatcher and Jacobs,” Martin said in an interview the day after the incident. “What would happen if they made demands that couldn’t be met? What would their reaction be? You don’t know because when you’re outside you don’t know what their psychological condition is.”
Hatcher was sentenced to 18 years in prison for kidnapping, but paroled five years later. Officials said then they couldn’t discuss his medical condition, but he told The Associated Press in a 1995 interview that he was diagnosed with AIDS in prison and doctors told him he had five years to live.
Conditions of his parole prevented Hatcher from returning to Robeson County, but he returned in the late 1990s when his parole ended. In 1999, Hatcher was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder for the drive-by shooting death of Brian McMillian.
District Attorney Johnson Britt, who prosecuted the case, said Hatcher was angry because McMillian was involved in a break-in at his mobile home. Hatcher was in prison for that crime when he died Friday.
Britt said it remains to be seen how Hatcher will be remembered.
“I think I know what he was trying to do with regard to his attempt to bring attention to the racial disparity in Robeson County at that time,” Britt said. “He just didn’t go about it the right way.
“What he did probably opened some doors to help minorities gain access to the political and judicial process. Whether everything he alleged was true remains to be seen.”
Britt was less than a year out of law school at the time of the takeover and had no dealings with Hatcher until his office prosecuted Hatcher for the murder of McMillian.
Jacobs, Hatcher’s co-defendant in the newspaper hostage case, pleaded guilty to kidnapping in 1989. He was sentenced to six years in prison and released in March 1992.
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comments (2)
« lumbeebarbie wrote on Monday, May 04 at 01:47 PM »
I Hate to say but im glad Eddie Hatcher is dead. He mudered my brother Brian Mcmillian.When he took my brothers life he tore my whole family apart,Brian left a unborn son behind on the night of muder not knowing who his daddy was. Even though it has been 10 years since my brothers death i still cant get over him i wake up everyday missing him so much.
« PercyKution wrote on Sunday, May 03 at 09:05 AM »
I don't know what to think about Eddie Hatcher. He was obviously right on track about the corruption in Robeson County. I do, however, have common sense enough to totally disregard anything Johnson Britt would say about the matter.
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