A year ago in August, Vermonters were horrified at the public murder of a social worker, Lara Sobel, in downtown Barre. Among the witnesses who intervened that day was Scott Williams, the Washington County state's attorney, who knew both Sobel and the woman accused in her murder. Williams was one of several people who intervened after Jody Herring allegedly shot Sobel outside of the offices of the Department for Children and Families. Herring pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and is awaiting trial; she is also charged with three counts of aggravated murder that she allegedly committed in a separate shooting earlier that day.
Williams joins us to reflect on what unfolded outside of the DCF offices at Barre City Place on August 7, 2015, the impact it's had on him personally, and the reverberations around the community. Our conversation will focus on security questions for state employees who work on volatile issues, and how individuals and communities recover from trauma.
Also in the program, Bernie Sanders' speech. Anticipation was intense among Democrats as Sanders prepared to speak on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. VPR reporters at the DNC tell us how Vermont's delegation responded to his address.
Broadcast live on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
