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Thread: Antonio Lee Williams - Texas

  1. #1
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    Antonio Lee Williams - Texas


    Antonio Lee Williams

    williamsantonio2.jpg


    Facts of the Crime:

    On August 5, 2006, in Hoston, Williams fatally shot Vincent Williams, 18, and his cousin, Yolanda Styles, 22, after an argument. Witnesses positively identified Williams as the shooter.

    Williams was sentenced to death in Harris County in December 2007.

  2. #2
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    December 11, 2007

    A 27-year-old Houston man was sentenced today to death after jurors convicted him of going on a killing spree in a turf war in northwest Houston last year.

    Antonio Lee Williams said nothing and shook his head as state District Judge Caprice Cosper read the jury's verdict.

    Williams fired about 30 rounds from a high-powered assault rifle on Aug. 5, 2006, at Vincent Williams, 18, and his cousin, Yolanda Styles, 22, killing both Katrina evacuees who had settled in Dallas.

    Testimony during the nine-day trial accused Williams of killing three others, including former New Orleans residents Dion Barnes, 33, and Christopher Harris, 15.

    In addition, prosecutors said Williams is connected to the shooting death of his friend, Terrell "T-Rock" Ball, 26, who was found Sept. 1, 2006, in an apartment complex parking lot.

    (Source: The Houston Chromice)

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    December 16, 2009

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has denied Williams' direct appeal.

    Opinion is here:

    http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/OP...=AP-75,811.PDF

  4. #4
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    IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
    OF TEXAS

    NO. WR-78,136-01
    EX PARTE ANTONIO LEE WILLIAMS

    ON APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
    CAUSE NO. 1088181 IN THE 339TH DISTRICT COURT
    HARRIS COUNTY
    Per Curiam.

    O R D E R

    In December 2007, a jury found applicant guilty of the offense of capital murder. The jury answered the statutory punishment questions in such a way that the trial court set applicant's punishment at death. On May 1, 2009, the State filed in this Court its brief on applicant's direct appeal. Pursuant to Article 11.071 §§ 4(a) and (b) (1), applicant's initial application for a writ of habeas corpus was due to be filed in the trial court on or before September 14, 2009, assuming a motion for extension was timely filed and granted. It has been more than two years since the application was due in the trial court. Accordingly, we order the trial court to resolve any remaining issues within 90 days from the date of this order. The clerk shall then transmit the complete writ record to this Court within 120 days from the date of this order. Any extensions of time shall be obtained from this Court.

    IT IS SO ORDERED THIS THE 1ST DAY OF AUGUST, 2012.

    http://law.justia.com/cases/texas/co...78-136-01.html

  5. #5
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    Two witnesses recant in death penalty case

    Two witnesses whose testimony helped send a Harris County man to death row in 2007 have recanted their statements, saying they were pressured to lie by prosecutors and investigators, the man's attorney said.

    In a flurry of court records filed over the past two weeks appealing the capital murder conviction, attorneys for Antonio Williams say two women who saw the shooting were told to identify Williams despite their claims that the killer was a man named Keith who had dreadlocks with blond tips.

    "The prosecutors' case is built on sand," said Pat McCann, who is arguing Williams is innocent. "And this man named 'Keith' is still out there."

    In a sworn affidavit signed earlier this month, Sharonda Cooper, a neighbor who fingered Williams in front of a jury said her testimony was "not correct."

    "I was scared to tell the truth," she said in the statement. "The reason I was scared was because I had a pending injury to a child case and I was scared my children would be taken away if I did not help the State."

    Cooper said she sought out police officers on HPD's cold case squad to tell them Williams was not the shooter because her testimony has weighed on her since the 2007 trial.

    "It's been on my conscience and it's not right," Cooper said Wednesday. "I know he didn't do it."

    Earlier this month, she spoke with Williams' attorneys, who had her make a sworn affidavit.

    She got the minimum

    In her affidavit, she singled out the lead prosecutor, Assistant Harris County District Attorney Lance Long.

    "Mr. Long and the investigators pressured me to testify that Antonio was at the scene and was the shooter. They stated to me that if I helped them out, they would help out," she said.

    Cooper was facing a maximum of 20 years in prison for the felony case. After testifying, she received the minimum of two years behind bars.

    "I was afraid that if I did not testify as Mr. Long wanted me to, I would receive more time and my children would be taken away," she said.

    Long, a well-respected prosecutor at the office who has made a career of trying difficult cases, especially death row re-trials, did not return calls for comment.

    The appeal is being handled by prosecutor Joshua Reiss, who said the district attorney's office takes every similar appeal, a writ of habeas corpus, seriously.

    "In every writ of habeas corpus, we examine all of the facts and draft an appropriate response," Reiss said. "Mr. Williams' writ of habeas corpus is going to be no different than any other writ of habeas corpus that we handle."

    Denies he was killer

    It was after dark on Aug. 5, 2006, when the shooting broke out in the 5600 block of De Soto.

    A gunman with an assault rifle fired about 30 rounds at Vincent Williams, 18, and Yolanda Styles, 22, killing both in what would later be a killing spree to consolidate a drug empire in northwest Houston.

    Cooper and her cousin, Miesha Morris, were on the second floor porch of Cooper's home.

    "I saw everything from my patio, which was not more than a few yards away," Cooper said. "It still haunts me."

    Court records show that Cooper, 41, appeared to stay out of trouble after 2007, but was arrested in August for misdemeanor theft. That case is pending. Her attorney in that case refused to comment on that case or his client's revelations.

    After hearing her story, investigators for Williams lawyer sought out Morris, who claimed that from the beginning, she had identified the shooter as a man named "Keith" who had dreadlocks.

    At the time, she was pregnant and had an arrest warrant for traffic violations. When investigators brought her a photo line-up that did not have a picture of "Keith," she said the shooter was not pictured.

    "The investigators pressured her into identifying (Williams) by telling her 'You know you don't want to go to jail. We don't want to take you in. Go ahead and circle (Williams picture),' " according to Williams' appeal.

    McCann said he believes the two women and is continuing to investigate.

    "These folks have no reason to lie to us," he said. "They've got zero reason to bring this grief on a themselves."

    Williams, then 26, was arrested on murder charges related to three other slayings that summer.

    He was accused of fatally shooting Dion Barnes, 33, on June 17, 2006 in the 7400 block of North Shepherd and 15-year-old Christopher Harris, of New Orleans, in the 5500 block of De Soto six weeks later. Williams also was accused in the fatal shooting of his friend Terrell "T-Rock" Ball, 25, also on De Soto, the same week.

    Antoine Forest

    Police called it a bloody war to gain control of drug trafficking in that area around the neighborhood of Antoine Forest, which had just experienced an influx of people who fled New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

    Already on death row, Williams could still face capital murder charges in Ball's death and murder charges in the other two shootings, leaving his attorney shaking his head.

    "I'm not saying my client is an angel, but he's always maintained he didn't do this," McCann said.

    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...se-5904803.php

  6. #6
    Antonio Williams.jpg


    Death row inmate found dead in Harris County jail

    A death row inmate who was back in Houston to attend hearings for his appeals was found dead in his Harris County jail cell early Thursday morning, his lawyer said.

    Antonio Williams, 34, had several appeals pending, including one in which two witnesses recanted last year.

    William's apparent suicide left his attorney asking questions about the circumstances.

    "Its a bizarre story that raises some questions for me because he somehow got ahold of some shoelaces, is what I heard," said Pat McCann. "He had no reason to commit suicide. We've been doing good on the appeals."

    Williams was sent to death row in 2007 in the shooting deaths of Vincent Williams, 18, and Yolanda Styles, 22, in northwest Houston. A gunman with an assault rifle fired about 30 rounds at both in what would later be a killing spree to consolidate a drug empire.

    Two witnesses who testified in the capital murder trial that Williams was the gunman have said they were pressured to lie by prosecutors and investigators.

    The two women who saw the shooting from a second floor patio said they were told to identify Williams despite their claims that the killer was a man named Keith who had dreadlocks with blond tips, according to court documents in Williams' defense.

    "What's truly lousy about this is that we may not get to the truth of what happened at his trial," McCann said.

    The Harris County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Williams was pronounced dead at 1:48 a.m. and said the incident is being investigated by the sheriff's homicide unit, the internal affairs unit and the Harris County District Attorney's office.

    Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Christina Garza said she did not know why Williams would have had shoelaces in his cell.

    Source
    Last edited by GregFromSanJose; 02-20-2015 at 12:55 AM.

  7. #7
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    As if it matters now anyway, but....

    ARTICLE 11.071 APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DISMISSED WITH WRITTEN ORDER:

    http://www.search.txcourts.gov/Searc...b-b98a0576cc6d

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    Family sues in jail suicide of death row inmate who hoped to overturn conviction

    Houston Chronicle
    By Gabrielle Banks

    The family of a death row inmate who died at Harris County Jail while in Houston to appeal his conviction are suing county officials for his wrongful death by suicide 2 years ago.

    Antonio Williams' mother who filed on behalf of herself and children and heirs unknown asserts that the county sheriff, county judge and an assistant district attorney involved in Williams' conviction should be liable for the cruel and unusual circumstances of his imprisonment at the county facility and for failing to protect him.

    In addition, the suit singles out former Assistant District Attorney Lance Long for conspiring "to pressure witnesses to lie about their identification of Mr. Williams as the perpetrator of the capital murder."

    The Harris County Attorney's Office plans to file a response on behalf of the sheriff, the county judge and the county itself. Officials at district attorney's office were not immediately available for comment.

    At the time of Williams' suicide in 2015, Patrick McCann, the family's attorney called it "a bizarre story" because Williams had been assigned to 23-hour-a-day isolation where he should not have had access to the shoelaces he used to hang himself.

    Williams, 34, was taking psychotropic medications for depression, but he was not supervised by mental health providers at the jail, according to the allegations.

    Williams was convicted of capital murder in 2007 in the shooting deaths of Vincent Williams, 18, and Yolanda Styles, 22, in northwest Houston. Testimony at trial revealed that a gunman with an assault rifle fired about 30 rounds at the victims in a killing spree related to a drug ring.

    2 witnesses testified that Williams was the gunman, but later recanted, saying they were pressured to lie by prosecutors and investigators. The 2 women who saw the shooting from a 2nd floor patio said they were told to identify Williams despite their claims that the killer was a man named Keith who had dreadlocks with blond tips, according to court documents in Williams' defense.

    Williams was found hanging by shoelaces from the exposed ledge of an inset grate at about 1 a.m. on Feb 19, 2015, and he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. A Sheriff's Office spokeswoman at the time said she did not know why Williams would have had shoelaces in his cell.

    http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...w-10950826.php
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