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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2003 18:54:09 GMT -6
Ohio murderer Lewis Williams has apparently run out of lies, loopholes and maneuvers after mental health experts agreed that anyone who can work the system for over 20 years is not retarded. Ironically, his last, best shot is to claim that his legal representation (which has kept him alive for about 80% longer than the average stay on death row) is “inadequate”. The victim’s stepdaughter said it all: to wait over 20 years from sentencing to justice is outrageous.
You've got to love Lewis' complaint though, the mental health examiner "degraded him"? How do you "degrade" someone who robs and murders a 76 year old woman?
Cleveland Plain Dealer - June 24, 2003
Court upholds death sentence for condemned killer
Damian Guevara
Plain Dealer Reporter
Condemned killer Lewis Williams Jr. failed to convince a Cleveland judge yesterday that he is mentally retarded, moving him closer to execution.
But Williams, who was to be put to death today, will live a few more days.
The 44-year-old Cleveland man received a stay of execution last week so he could attend yesterday's hearing in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
A new execution date has not been set.
Williams also has asked for a new trial, asserting in court that he is innocent and that he has not had adequate legal representation.
Lewis was condemned for killing 76-year-old Leoma Chmielewski during a robbery in 1983.
The Ohio Supreme Court ordered that Williams' mental-retardation claim be considered, helping him avert an April execution date.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that it was unconstitutional to execute people who are mentally retarded.
A mental-health expert concluded that Williams was not mentally retarded, Williams' lawyer and prosecutors said during the hearing yesterday.
Williams told Judge Janet Burnside that the expert made derogatory and sarcastic statements during a cursory evaluation. He said he wanted an "impartial" expert.
"He degraded me," Williams said. A second mental-health expert considered evaluating Williams but chose not to after reading the 1st report, said Stephen Ferrell, Williams' public defender.
Burnside concluded that there was no evidence to bolster the mental-retardation claim, and she dismissed the request.
Williams, unhappy with the expert whom Ferrell chose, said he wished to fire the public defender. Burnside denied his request.
Williams expressed distrust for his lawyers. "I've been fighting lawyers since the beginning," he said.
After the hearing, Ferrell declined to discuss Williams' attempt to fire him.
Williams - handcuffed, shackled and carrying a stack of court papers - looked back and smiled at three relatives in the audience.
Chmielewski's stepdaughter, Dorothy Beverly, also attended the hearing. Afterward, she expressed frustration with Williams' legal efforts.
"I'm outraged that it takes 20½ years to get justice in this state," Beverly said. "The day he was pronounced guilty, he should have been done away with."
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Post by Kirk on Jun 24, 2003 19:26:28 GMT -6
Interesting enough in the Middle East..... "I'm outraged that it takes 20½ years to get justice in this state," Beverly said. "The day he was pronounced guilty, he should have been done away with." that is what typically happens, sentenced to death then get one appeal, and if it is denied you are done away with. Lets hope this pile of trash gets executed soon. |
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