Malik Z. Shabazz, president of the Washington-D.C.-based Black Lawyers for Justice, speaks with the media prior to a rally in support of Megan Williams Tuesday, Dec. 18 at First Baptist Church in Charleston. Both Shabazz, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, the rally's keynote speaker, called on hate-crime charges to be filed against the six white suspects accused of kidnapping, raping and tourting Williams at a Logan County trailer in Septmber. (Photo by Lawrence Smith)

The Rev. Al Sharpton addresses those attending a rally Tuesday, Dec. 18 at First Baptist Church in Charleston in support of Megan Williams. Sharpton, the rally's keynote speaker, called upon hate-crime charges to be filed against the six white suspects accused and kidnapping, raping and torturing Williams at a Logan County trailer in September, and later present her mother, Carmen, right, with $1,000 to aid in Megan's recovery. (Photo by Lawrence Smith)

CHARLESTON - West Virginia's attorney general is remaining silent on an interest he recently expressed to take over prosecution of a high-profile civil rights case in Logan County.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Darrell McGraw expressed an interest in prosecuting the six suspects in the Megan Williams case. Williams is the 20-year old black woman from Charleston who police allege in September was kidnapped, raped and tortured by Bobby Brewster, 24; Frankie Brewster, 49; Danny J. Combs, 20; George A. Messer, 27; Karen Burton, 46; and Alisha Burton, 23 at a trailer near Big Creek.

The case has garnered international attention, and has prompted many civil rights leaders to call upon state and federal prosecutors to charge the suspects with a hate crime. Those calls were renewed Dec. 18 by Malik Z. Shabazz, president of the Washington-D.C.-based Black Lawyers for Justice, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, during a rally at First Baptist Church in Charleston.

During the rally, Shabazz told the nearly 200 people in attendance that enhancing the charges against the suspects to include hate crimes is "non-negotiable."

"We're not backing down until hate crimes are charged in this case," Shabazz said.

Likewise, Sharpton, who was limited on the time he could speak due to the need to catch a private flight out of Charleston, said "the best way to keep us out of town is for those in town to take care of business."

Last month after Shabazz, along with Williams and her family, led an estimated 1,000 people through Charleston calling for hate-crime charges to be filed, Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said he requested an opinion from the attorney general's office on the matter. However, Fran Hughes, chief deputy attorney general, in a letter to Abraham said he could expect no such opinion.

Shortly after Hughes sent her letter to Abraham, the Charleston Gazette reported McGraw offered to take over prosecution of the case. The case, McGraw told the Gazette, may be better handled in Charleston if it became "problematic, even inflammatory ..."

However, citing the lack of prosecutorial powers the Attorney General's Office has in criminal matters, Abraham declined McGraw's offer.

"I do not want him to prosecute it," Abraham told the Gazette. "I don't need it. I'm perfectly capable of prosecuting it."

West Virginia appears to be in the minority of states where the attorney general lacks criminal prosecution powers. According to the National Association of Attorneys General "in a majority of states, [the attorneys general] handle criminal appeals and serious state-wide criminal prosecutions."

The West Virginia Record attempted to confirm from NAAG in addition to West Virginia how many other state attorneys general lack criminal prosecutorial powers. Both telephone calls and e-mail messages were not returned.

Nevertheless, state law allows the attorney general to prosecute criminal cases in certain circumstances. However, according to state law, doing so requires appointment by a circuit judge or the state Supreme Court.

Efforts have been made to broaden the prosecutorial powers of the Attorney General's Office. In each of the legislative sessions from 1993 to 1996, a bill was introduced in the House of Delegates allowing the attorney general discretion to attend to criminal business in any court in the state.

Each year the bills died in the House Judiciary Committee where it was referred.

In 1997, then-Speaker Robert Kiss (D-Raleigh) re-introduced the bill. In a voice-message he left with The Record, Kiss, who opted not to run for re-election in 2006, and now works with the Charleston law firm of Bowles, Rice, McDavid, Graff and Love, said he introduced the bill in his first year as Speaker as a courtesy to McGraw at his request.

"I think he had some valid points at the time," Kiss said. "Then, there was some turf battle over conflict in jurisdiction with prosecuting attorneys and other offices, and the other argument was that prosecuting attorneys simply didn't have the resources to pursue certain types of crimes."

However, the bill again died in committee.

Likewise, bills introduced in later sessions have met similar fates. In 2002, two bills in the House would give the attorney general power to prosecute all offenders of interstate or intercounty felony crimes, and the power to investigate and prosecute crimes occurring in more than one jurisdiction.

In 2006, Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin (D-Mingo) and Sen. William Sharpe (D-Harrison) introduced a bill allowing for the appointment of the attorney general or one of his assistants as a special prosecuting attorney. Despite being introduced in the Senate, the bill's fate fared no better as it, too, died in both the Senate Judiciary and Finance committees.

The Record attempted to get a comment from McGraw, who is already actively campaigning for a fifth term as attorney general, as to not only his sudden desire in the Williams case, but also if he intends to seek broader prosecutorial powers from the Legislature during the upcoming 2008 session. He did not return repeated telephone calls by presstime.