|
|
|
Philly DA, once lauded as progressive, denigrates bid to save Terry Williams' life
The killing that DA Seth Williams is set to carry out is of a different sort, a slow and official machinery of death, articulated in legal briefs, press conferences and election campaigns.
Philly DA, once lauded as progressive, denigrates bid to save Terry Williams' life
Follow on Twitter @DanielDenvir
District Attorney Seth Williams was lauded as a progressive after his 2009 election. Today, he is pushing hard to ensure that Terrance “Terry” Williams, a man who, according to his lawyers, murdered two men who had sexually abused him, is executed on Oct. 3. It will be Pennsylvania's first execution in 13 years, and the first contested execution since 1962. This is something even Seth Williams' conservative predecessor Lynne Abraham never did (though she surely would have).
The Pennsylvania Board of Pardons voted to deny Williams clemency yesterday, with only three of five members voting in favor. A unanimous decision was necessary to make a recommendation for clemency to Gov. Tom Corbett. Notably, Republican Attorney General Linda Kelly was amongst the majority who voted to save Terry's life.
In response, DA Williams released a statement deriding the bid for a pardon, accusing Terry Williams of a “record of manipulative and malevolent behavior which eventually led to the deaths of two men.” The DA says that Williams has never testified under oath about his abuse, and that the current reports are “hearsay ... double hearsay, even triple hearsay.”
"Hearsay" is an odd way to characterize the fact that Terry has told experts, including Dr. David Lisak, about his abuse. Lisak, according to Williams' lawyers, “explained for the Board of Pardons how this disclosure pattern is completely consistent and typical of male sex-abuse survivors. Indeed, Dr. Lisak specifically told the Board that the details of the rape [of the night before the] murder were so humiliating to Terry (details I will not repeat here but can if needed) that it was not surprising Terry did not recount that incident sooner.”
Further, Terry Williams' lawyers hope to prove that this sexual abuse was known to the prosecution from the beginning. Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina will hold a hearing this Thursday to consider whether the DA's office withheld evidence that Terry Williams had been sexually abused from his defense lawyers during the 1986 trial. This is the last chance to save Williams' life.
“In light of the fact that the Commonwealth’s top prosecutor has voted for clemency, we are deeply troubled that District Attorney Seth Williams continues to push for Terry’s execution,” according to a statement from Terry Williams' attorneys. “Seth Williams, who considers himself an advocate and defender of victims of abuse, has allowed prosecutors to argue that evidence that Terry was abused by the man he killed since the age of 13 should not matter in deciding whether he lives or dies.”
A bipartisan state legislative task force evaluating the death penalty has also asked Governor Corbett to suspend executions until they complete their work in December 2013.
Terrance Williams' murders were horrendous crimes, allegedly carried out in the heat of passion. The killing that DA Seth Williams is set to carry out is of a different sort, a slow and official machinery of death, articulated in legal briefs, press conferences and election campaigns.
- ActiVman
- adventures
- Arts
- Ask A Man-About-Town
- Award Tour
- Awards
- Bad Idea Factory
- Beer
- Below the Curve
- Bikes
- Booze
- Brian Hickey
- BRT
- Budget
- Budget Fuss
- Business
- Casinos
- City Council
- City Hall
- CouncilMANIC
- CP Abroad
- CP in the Community
- Criminal Justice System
- Day Tripper
- Death and Taxes
- Delaware River
- Design
- DROP
- Drugs
- Dubious Distinction
- Elections
- End of Days
- Environment
- Fashion
- Film Fest
- Financial Meltdown
- FrackTrack
- Free Library
- Gambling
- Gay Stuff
- Get Lit
- Greenstorming
- guns
- Hall Monitor
- Health
- Health Care
- Hello, Kitty
- Holidays
- Ice Cubes
- Iggles
- Immigration
- In Memoriam
- Labor
- Lawsuits
- Letters
- LGBTQ
- Maps
- Marcellus Shale
- Media
- MMA
- Mummers
- Music
- MUST READ
- Mysterious Mysteries
- Nation
- News
- Non Sequitur
- Opinion
- PA politics 2010
- Parking Wars
- Parks and Recreation
- People Send Us This Stuff
- Philadelphia Police
- Philadelphia Union
- Philaphemera
- Philly From Scratch
- philly madness
- Photos
- Poverty
- PPA
- President Obama
- Print Edition
- Prisons
- Protest
- Readers Write
- Real Estate
- Rock Bottom
- Schools
- Science
- Screwing Philly
- SEPTA
- snow
- So Lush
- Soccer
- Sporting Life
- Sports Complex
- State Politicians
- State Politics
- Street Art
- Strike
- Stuff We Like
- Taxes
- Taxi Drivers
- Tech Fetish
- television
- The Budget Crisis
- The City Paper
- The CLOG
- The Human Condition
- The Mayor
- The Phightin Phils
- The World
- Things that make you go hm
- Tinfoil Hats Off
- Under the Table
- Under the Tables
- Urban Development
- Urban Planning
- urban wildlife
- Video Poker
- We Call Shenanigans
- Weather
- Web Junk
- Weekend Omnibus
- White House
- What We've Found
- Women's Issues
- Flyered Up!
- How 'Bout That Weather?
- it's always sunny in philadelphia
- Stu!
- Shopping
- get out
- 10-track mind
- ArtsFlash
- Bloggity
- Bruce Being Bruce
- Colleges
- Comedy
- Gigantic Surprises
- Hello Canary
- Hello Puppy
- errata
- get lost
- Inside The Fishbowl
- Library Closings
- Local Support
- Movies
- Murder
- Night Moves
- Recycling
- radio
- Scientology
- Sex
- Sixers
- Skeeze Police
- State Politicians Screwing Philly
- That's a cool stencil!
- Theater
- Things We See
- This Week
- This Week in Oates
- University City
- WIN
- What we don't heart
- trailer!
- what we heart
- Feeling Guilty
- Askadelphia.
- Broke in Philly
- Contest
- Dance
- Dear Paper Doll
- Do A Good Thing
- Education
- Film Fest Schism
- G20-20 Vision
- Goodbye
- Gossip
- Great American Heroes
- PATCO
- Pearl Jam Week
- Puppy
- Stars of the Photostream
- sustainability
- Lower Merion Webcam-Gate
- The Cycle
- Equality Forum
- Bureaucrat of the Week
- Animals
- ElectionEar
- Photostream
