Courtesy Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
In this undated photo, Terrance Williams is pictured. Williams is on death row for fatally beating Amos Norwood in 1984 in Philadelphia.
By Vignesh Ramachandran
Pennsylvania's first execution in more than?a decade,?scheduled for Oct. 3,?could be stopped by a clemency hearing on Monday for a man convicted of killing?his alleged sexual abusers.
Terrance "Terry" Williams, 46, is on death row at the State Correctional Institute at Greene in Pennsylvania for killing 56-year-old Amos Norwood with a tire iron in Philadelphia in 1984. Williams was 18 years old at the time of the murder. Defense lawyer Victor J. Abreu has said Williams' crimes were mitigated by the sexual abuse he experienced in his childhood. Norwood was allegedly?one of his attackers.
Monday's clemency hearing will be heard by the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, which?will have to?unanimously agree in order to overturn William's death penalty, The New York Times reported. However, the decision is not binding on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, according to the Times.
The clemency hearing was granted after a petition filed on Sept. 6?called upon?Corbett and the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons to stop the execution. The petition?included a statement from Norwood's widow, who said,?"Several years ago, after much prayer and self-reflection, I found the strength and courage to forgive Terry Williams."
Courtesy Germantown High School
Williams is pictured here at age 17. His defense lawyers say his crimes are mitigated by a childhood of sexual abuse.
Related: Widow asks Pennsylvania governor not to execute husband's killer
"I do not wish to see Terry Williams executed,? she?said in the statement.
On Friday, a Philadelphia judge agreed to hear testimony on the defense's claim that the prosecutor at Williams' 1986 trial withheld evidence from the jury pertaining to the sexual abuse,?The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com?
Williams is also serving a life term for killing 50-year-old Herbert Hamilton when he was 17. Hamilton is another alleged abuser.
"[Williams] was a victim of horrific abuse since he was 6 years old,? Abreu told NBC News earlier this month. "The jury didn?t know that the two men who were killed were abusing him. That information was never presented to the jury."
If Williams is executed on Oct. 3, he will be the first person executed in Pennsylvania in 13 years.
More content from NBCNews.com:
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
NASA grenada grenada Sikh andy reid McKayla Maroney Sanya Richards Ross
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.