Laura Jamison saw the man police allege killed her only son during a courtroom proceeding on Wednesday.

“Like I tell everybody, I can’t hate. I can’t hate right now,” Jamison said. “But I can’t forgive. Maybe one day. I might be able to understand and forgive him. But right now, I can’t.”

Jamison was given a chance to express her feelings before Orangeburg County Chief Magistrate Sam Daily during an arraignment for 34-year-old Anthony Holman. Holman is charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Holman’s defense attorneys, Orangeburg County deputy public defender Peggy Hinds and Jason Turnblad, declined to comment.

The High Point Circle man is charged in Monday’s fatal shooting of Samuel Jamison III, known to family members as “Cass.”

“I asked him did he have brother, because Sam was my only son,” Laura Jamison said after the hearing. “He took my all in all. He was a friend, a brother, my son.”

Hear mother's comments here.

During the hearing, Daily informed Holman of his rights, including the right to a preliminary hearing and a trial by jury. Daily said that any bond would have to be set by a circuit court judge at a later date.

Around 4:20 p.m. Monday, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a shooting on Jamison Ave. When deputies arrived at the 600 block, they discovered Samuel Jamison in the passenger’s seat of a Chevrolet Tahoe. The 23-year-old had been shot once in the head.

Police are still trying to determine the motive behind the shooting. A semi-automatic handgun has been sent to the State Law Enforcement Division for ballistics testing.

Laura Jamison said she last saw her son early Monday morning after he’d apparently gotten up to make a snack around 3 a.m. She didn’t speak but, assured it wasn’t a burglar, went back to bed.

“He called me that day,” she said. “He asked me about a car dealership his sister got a car from. He works at Sara Lee Bakery.”

That was the last time she spoke to her son, she said. She meant to call him back and ask him if buying a car was what he really wanted to do.

But she didn’t make that call. Instead, a call came to her.

“I wept a little,” Laura Jamison said. “The lady I work with, she wanted to drive me home. (I said) ‘God’ll look after me.’”

Laura then made the never-ending drive to the hospital where she hoped her son still held on to life, even if by a thread. Once there, however, all hope vanished.

“I just feel, I guess, in a way, he’s going to come back,” Jamison said. “I guess when I see him laid out in (the funeral service), I will see then.”

The funeral is tentatively planned for Saturday.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516.

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