Prosecutors make parole pitch for Brileys accomplice
Duncan Eric Meekins, now 45, has been in prison for nearly 30 years and now is held in an out-of-state facility under an alias for his protection.
The two prosecutors who won convictions of the Briley brothers spoke on behalf of the killers' accomplice yesterday in a closed meeting with a member of the Virginia Parole Board.
Robert J. Rice, now a criminal defense attorney, and Warren Von Schuch, still a Richmond-area prosecutor, talked with Rudolph C. McCollum Jr., a former Richmond mayor who sits on the parole board, for about 30 minutes at the board's offices in Richmond.
The two attorneys emphasized to McCollum that convicted killer Duncan Eric Meekins, by testifying against the Briley brothers, might have stopped the gang's notorious 1979 murder rampage in Richmond and Henrico County. Meekins is being considered for parole.
"Had Meekins just been quiet and not cooperated, then the city of Richmond was going to have a whole lot of problems on their hands," Rice said after yesterday's meeting.
Meekins, now 45, has been in prison for nearly 30 years and now is held in an out-of-state facility under an alias for his protection.
He is serving a term of life plus 100 years for killing Harvey W. Wilkerson and for his role in two other murders and two robberies. Rice and Von Schuch say Meekins killed another man but wasn't prosecuted for that crime.
Among the four of them, Meekins and the Briley brothers -- Linwood, James and Anthony -- were responsible for at least 11 slayings in the Richmond area in 1979.
Meekins was 16 when police arrested him and the Brileys in October 1979. Meekins' testimony led to the convictions of all three brothers. Linwood and James were executed within a year of their escape from prison in 1984, the largest successful death-row breakout in U.S. history.
Anthony Briley is serving a term of life plus 139 years. He has been denied parole 10 times and is up for consideration again this year or next year.
Without Meekins' testimony, Rice says, he and Von Schuch wouldn't have gotten the two capital-murder convictions.
They also say Meekins has maintained good behavior in prison. His only known offense, Rice said, was trying to make a three-way phone call.
From the outset, Rice and Von Schuch told Meekins that, in exchange for his truthful testimony, they would advocate for him when he came up for parole. Rice said they never guaranteed Meekins that he would be granted parole.
"I think the prosecutors did what they had promised to do in terms of advocating as promised," McCollum said after yesterday's meeting with Rice and Von Schuch. "I think they did that with great integrity and great passion and great competency."
The last killings attributed to the Briley gang took the lives of Wilkerson, Judy Diane Barton and their 5-year-old son, Harvey Wayne Barton, in their home in Richmond's Highland Park on Oct. 19, 1979.
Meekins and two of the Brileys raped Judy Barton. Meekins fatally shot Wilkerson, and James Briley killed Judy Barton and the boy.
Wilkerson's nephew, Robert Jones, recently contacted the parole board to oppose Meekins' release and voiced outrage that anyone would speak on the inmate's behalf.
Jones, a 43-year-old Texas resident, was living in New York at the time of the killings and said he frequently visited the Wilkersons. He said he had planned to visit them two days before they were murdered, and he believes that he, too, would have been killed if he hadn't stayed home with tonsillitis.
Meekins has been denied parole six times since 1993.
McCollum and the four other governor-appointed members of the parole board will be voting in the next several weeks on whether Meekins should be released. Board members vote electronically, one after another.
Four of the five members must agree to release Meekins.
"It's a case that the public is more interested in than most," McCollum said. "But for the board, the process is the same."
Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or
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Reader Reactions
I think Meekins need to stay in jail, so what he gave them evidence and /or testified, helping them prosecute the others, One of my child hood friends are still in jail to this day for a murder her committed in self defense, he was only 13 years old at the time when he shot a man that was chasing him down, which made him feel as if he had “NO” choice, the gun was given to him as he ran up and down the street asking for help. An older guy who stood back and watched thinking it was funny as everyone else was the person who gave him the gun. He was sentenced to over 60 years in prison. he was also tried as a adult sending him straight to the penitentiary where he was raped. And I never once heard of anyone trying to help him. It’s so sad how our justice system works.
to whom it may concern i am the sister of the deceased female,judy d barton.i do not live in va so i did not know meekins was uo for parole or whatever.perhaps i do have relatives that resides there.with no due respect i do not think he should be allowed to get out of prison,he not only murdered my sister boy friend,but he help do things to her.i think he should remain in there for the rest of his life.i really never got a chance to get to know my sister,because i was only 16 years old when it happen.and i do think about her and wish she was still living,she was my only sister.i do believe that iit doesnt matter how young u are u have a mind of ur own,so meekins knew what he was doing.who ever is responsible for posting the whole complete story u just open up a can of worms for my family and i.i think some things could have not been said in the article.once again meekins maybe sorry,but not as sorry as my family,and i.we can not bring them back,he needs to stay in prison.
Lairs and thieves are the lowest of the low, If the prosecutors did not follow through with their promise and keep their word, they would themselves be of no higher stature then Meekins himself (or the Brileys for that matter)
Rice and Von Schuch are now bringing hope to all criminals. Good for them. There is nothing more honorable than trying to live up to a promise made to a cold blooded murderer.
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