Des Plaines man freed after long stay in Moroccan prison

Thirteen months later and more than 50 pounds lighter, a Des Plaines man is free from his solitary prison cell in Morocco, thanks to a king's pardon.

James Douglas Willson now is resting at his Des Plaines home under the care of this wife, Jean. The 67-year-old former commercial airline pilot now suffers from short-term memory loss, and as an effect of going without his diabetic medication, he's lost sensation in his feet and toes, his daughter said. He's scheduled for hospital visits later this week.

"He's in bad shape," Marilyn Brief said Monday evening.

Willson arrived on Friday at O'Hare International Airport and is trying to adjust from his time spent inside the tiny prison cell near the Morocco capital of Rabat, where a toilet and hard plastic lawn chair were luxuries. He spent 13 months at the Sale prison after he was tried and convicted of illegally entering the country and drug trafficking.

An avid traveler, Willson was onboard a twin-engine Cessna 337 touring Spain, when a mechanical issue forced an emergency landing on May 7, 2008, in rural northern Morocco - an area known as a smugglers' passageway to Europe. In recent years, the country's government has attempted a crackdown on its drug trade, which has been growing. Willson didn't have his passport when police arrested him. Authorities didn't believe his story and he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

His family, which waged a campaign to rally support to free him, felt neglected by the American government, wondering why it would allow one of its citizens to fester in a foreign prison for a crime he did not commit. But despite the bitterness, they are ecstatic about the reunion. Brief said she and her father haven't yet said much to each other.

"We more just look at each other, and I do a finger touch because I can't believe I'm actually touching and seeing him," she said.

The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, granted Willson a pardon on Wednesday and Willson's unexpected homecoming happened quickly, a far cry from the time it took to prepare the hundreds of e-mails and telephone calls made by the family to American and Moroccan government officials lobbying for his release. Brief said both the Bush and Obama administrations ignored her family's plight, but she singled out Congressman Mark Kirk's staff for helping to bring her father home by being in constant contact with officials in the Moroccan cities of Casablanca and Rabat. The Highland Park Republican described the ordeal as a Moroccan version of "Midnight Express," the Oliver Stone film where an American student is imprisoned in Turkey for smuggling drugs.

Kirk said it was a surprise that the king granted the pardon, as it took repeated pleas. "It makes little sense for a good, decent 67-year-old American to be locked up," Kirk said.

The family's relentless effort and positive attitude were key to Willson's release, Kirk said.

Brief said that last month she and her mother traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Aziz Mekouar, the Moroccan ambassador to the U.S. They lugged 70 pounds of documents along to support their hope for his release.

"The best credit goes out to the family because they did not give up on him," Kirk said.

He added that it didn't hurt that he sits on the Congressional committee responsible for the State Department's budget. State Department officials visited Willson in prison and checked on his health, but Moroccan officials doubted he actually had diabetes. It wasn't until February that medical staff began giving him diabetes medications, Brief said. Willson weighed 158 pounds at the start of his prison stint and reached as low as 90 pounds. State Department officials couldn't be reached Monday night for comment.

Brief and her mother recorded a video plea on YouTube and sent it to King Mohammed VI. When Mekouar heard, he chuckled.

"He said that was not possible," Brief said.

Officials including Democrats Sen. Roland Burris and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, wrote letters lobbying for Willson's release, but Brief called the process of seeking such support exhausting. During her father's imprisonment, Brief was laid off from her job at a Highland Park car dealership.

But the battle was worth it, and Brief wants her father's story to be shared with American traveling abroad so they know they're not as invincible as they think they are. For now she's lavishing praise on all her family's supporters, especially the "everyday people" who helped.

"We are so humbled and blessed," she said.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=278180">Lawmakers join efforts to free retired Des Plaines pilot in Moroccan prison <span class="date">[03/11/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=277608">Wife says innocent Des Plaines man jailed in Morocco on drug charges <span class="date">[03/09/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="flashcontent" style="float:right;margin:0 0 0 6px; padding:0;"> Flash content. </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var so = new SWFObject("http://www.youtube.com/v/RsiFmmb3e1Q&hl=en&fs=1&", "James Willson", "300", "247", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addVariable("wmode", "transparent"); so.write("flashcontent"); </script>