A lawyer representing a Jackson, Miss., YMCA being sued by a drowning victim's parents admitted Wednesday that the youth organization was at fault — partially, at least.

During opening statements in the civil trial stemming from the death of 9-year-old Perrize Washington, defense lawyer Monte Barton acknowledged that the Metropolitan YMCA had inadequate supervision of the pool area at the time of the June 13, 2001, drowning. 

YMCA lawyer Monte Barton

"As to our portion of that, we accept responsibility," Barton said.

"This is a supervision issue. What we do not agree with is that we had an unsafe pool. We believe our pool was safe," Barton said. "Our operation was safe. On this day a bad thing happened."

Perrize Washington was enrolled in a summer program at the Bethlehem Center, a local daycare facility, and was one of 30 children brought to the pool on a field trip.

The boy did not know how to swim, and his parents were never informed of the trip as required by law, said plaintiffs' attorney Dennis Sweet.

"For Perrize that day, that permission had not been obtained. He didn't even have swim trunks," said Sweet, a renowned civil lawyer who has won nine-figure awards against the manufacturer of diet pill FenPhen and corporate giants like Ford Motor Co.

In an emotional statement free of legal jargon, Sweet tried to strike a chord with jurors with a narrative about his clients, Oscar and Vickie Washington, a truck driver and nurse's assistant who enrolled their two children in summer daycare while they went to work.

Plaintiffs Oscar and Vickie Washington listen as lawyers deliver opening statements.

"They made an important decision to take their two children and entrust their well being to the persons at the Bethlehem Center," he said.

But no staff member of the daycare program nor the YMCA noticed when Perrize apparently went down a water slide and landed in water 12-feet deep and crowded with up to 175 other children, Sweet said.

"When Perrize drowned, no one knew where he was, no one," he said. "He lay on the bottom of the pool drowning, and no one knew he was there."

In addition to lack of supervision, Sweet charged, part of the reason Perrize wasn't spotted immediately at the bottom of the outdoor pool was because of cloudy water. 

After the boy was finally located, no CPR was performed because the supervising adults were not trained in the life-saving procedure, even though state law governing children's daycare requires it, Sweet told the jury.

Among the other defendants is Frank Melton, a leader in the Jackson community respected for his numerous volunteer endeavors. He is named in the suit because he served as CEO of a local television station, which started a charitable foundation that donated money to the YMCA's pool program. The TV-3 Inc. Foundation cut checks to lifeguards, and the plaintiffs claim Melton played an integral role in running the pool and hiring staff.

But lawyers for Melton and other defendants involved in that aspect of the case say the foundation was merely a donor, and therefore not responsible for accident.

Melton did not appear in court Wednesday, after his lawyer said several threats were sent to his client.

The issue was brought to the state Supreme Court for review Tuesday, during the Veterans' Day holiday when the trial was not in session. Melton's lawyers said that the sheriff's office failed to heighten security and asked to postpone the case.

Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green, who is presiding over the trial, was clearly irate when she learned that two motions had been filed in the higher court without her knowledge.

The other motion dealt with a last-minute request for a hearing regarding a news report that aired the night before jury selection began.

"This case is about the truth," said Green, who charged the timing of the defense's actions indicates an attempt to stall the trial. "It's not about games and doing things behind the court's back," Green said.

As its first "witness," a videotaped deposition of defendant Martin Epps was played for the jury. Epps, the aquatics director of the YMCA, explained his role at the organization. He also explained that he saved Melton from drowning when Melton was only 6 years old.