Dobie Gillis Williams

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Dobie Gillis Williams (1961 – January 8, 1999) was an American criminal in Louisiana who was convicted of the murder of Sonja Knippers in 1984, and sentenced to death. He was executed in 1999. His case has been controversial.

Police contended that he confessed, although they had no recording. He was evaluated as intellectually disabled, according to one standard, but his defense attorney failed to discuss this or mitigating factors from his childhood. Williams' execution was twice stayed and his sentence was overturned by a federal district court judge. But Williams was executed because the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mitigating information was introduced to the jury too late in the case. It ruled that the execution had to proceed, under the 1996

In 2005, Williams was one of two subjects of a book by Sister Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun and anti-death penalty activist. She contended that Williams could not have possibly committed the murder and was wrongfully convicted and executed. She believed that he had ineffective legal counsel; his lawyer was later disbarred for incompetence.^[1] She also notes that poor and minority people are disproportionately sentenced to death and executed in the United States criminal justice system.

Overview

An intruder entered the rural home of Herbert and Sonja Knippers in the early morning hours of July 8, 1984. He appeared to gain entry by stacking two milk crates outside the Knippers' bathroom window and cutting the screen. After Sonja entered the bathroom some time later, the attacker tried to rape her and began stabbing her with a knife.

Her husband Herbert unsuccessfully tried to break down the bathroom door during the attack. The intruder fled the scene through the bathroom window. Sonja opened the door on her own and was helped to a couch. She bled to death in their home. Herbert told investigators later that his wife was yelling that a black man was killing her.

Suspect and arrest

At the time of the murder, Dobie Gillis Williams was on a five-day

Williams had been seen approximately an hour prior to the murder, walking away from his grandfather's house. As investigating detectives were aware of Williams' criminal record, they picked the man up for questioning. They allegedly told him they would be there until they "got what they wanted."^{[citation needed]}

Trial

Williams was indicted for

The defendant's

The prosecution said that a

The prosecution said that the autopsy showed that the stab wounds in the victim's body were consistent with the type of wounds that would have been made by the knife found in the Knippers' yard.

Forensic analysis of the crime scene confirmed that the blood found on the Knippers' bathroom window curtain matched Williams' blood type, one that is very rare among blacks. The analysis confirmed that the blood could not have come from either of the Knippers. Hair taken from the window was found to have characteristics consistent with Williams' hair.

Since the first trial, both of these types of evidence have been generally superseded by newer tests, particularly for DNA, that yield much more accurate results.

After a four-day jury trial, Williams was found guilty. At the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, which the judge imposed.

Appeals

Williams' case was appealed by Nick Trentacosta of the Louisiana Center for Equal Justice. He contends that Williams' execution was in error.^[1] During the appeals, a defense expert strongly criticized the prosecution's contention that Williams had gotten in and out through the bathroom window, as he would have had great difficulty getting through its 18" width.

The execution was twice stayed, once by the United States Supreme Court and once by the Louisiana governor. During the last appeal, the defense asked for DNA analysis of forensic evidence, as this was more accurate than previous tests. The state's lab said that DNA from blood on the curtain matched Williams'. The state refused to allow the defense to have their own tests conducted. But a defense team of forensic DNA analysts criticized the state's set of tests for the following reasons: sloppy technique, poor quality controls, and subjective interpretation. In one test, one in four controls failed, but the lab used the faulty results for its conclusions anyway.

A federal court judge overturned Williams' sentence, but the

On January 8, 1999, Williams was executed by lethal injection at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He ate twelve candy bars and some ice cream for his last meal. In his final statement, he said, "I just want to say, I don't have any hard feelings against anybody. God bless y'all. God bless."

Controversy

In 2005, Williams was one of the subjects of Sister Prejean's book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions. She noted that the defense had been weak, failing to discuss his low

The United States Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia (2002) that it was unconstitutional for the death penalty to be imposed on persons with intellectual disability, but allowed states to set the standard by which condition would be determined.^[2]

In her book, Prejean noted that poor people and minorities were sentenced to death at a disproportionate rate, much higher than wealthier whites.^[1]

See also

• Capital punishment in Louisiana
• Capital punishment in the United States
• List of people executed in Louisiana

References

Further reading

• ISBN 0-679-44056-9
  .

• State v. Williams
• Halperin, Rick. "Report of Williams' execution". LOUISIANA. Archived from the original on 2000-09-20. Retrieved 5 June 2010. posted on "Rick Halperin's DEATH PENALTY NEWS". Archived from the original on 1999-02-20. Retrieved 5 June 2010.