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Judge, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · Born 1948
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Commonwealth, Aplt v. Williams, T.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2017-08-22
The case involves Terrance Williams' fourth PCRA petition challenging his 1986 death sentence for the first-degree murder of Amos Norwood. The petition alleged that the Commonwealth willfully suppressed evidence from its files, including notes showing Norwood had sexually abused young adolescents possibly including Williams, which the prosecution knew when it portrayed Norwood as kind and innocent during the penalty phase. The PCRA court found a Brady violation because the evidence was material and could have been used to impeach witnesses and argue for mitigation, and it granted a new penalty phase trial. The Supreme Court affirmed, concluding that an objective review showed capable defense counsel could have used the suppressed evidence to seek a different result in sentencing.
criminal lawprocedure
Commonwealth, Aplt v. Williams, T.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2017-08-22
In this case, the Commonwealth appealed a lower court's decision granting Terrance Williams post-conviction relief under the PCRA, which vacated his death sentence for first-degree murder, robbery, and conspiracy and ordered a new penalty phase trial. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the order, holding that the prosecution had willfully suppressed material exculpatory evidence about the victim's sexual abuse of adolescents, including possibly Williams himself, in violation of Brady v. Maryland. This evidence, which was known to prosecutors at the time of trial but not disclosed to the defense, could have been used to impeach witnesses who portrayed the victim as kind and innocent and to argue for mitigating circumstances in the penalty phase. The court reasoned that the suppression prejudiced Williams by affecting defense preparation and trial strategy, as an objective analysis showed capable counsel could have used the information to seek a different sentencing outcome.
criminal lawprocedure
Commonwealth, Aplt v. Williams, T.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2017-08-22
This case involves Terrance Williams' PCRA petition seeking to vacate his death sentence for the 1984 murder of Amos Norwood, based on a claim that the Commonwealth withheld evidence of the victim's alleged homosexual ephebophilia, which Williams argued could have supported a different penalty phase strategy. The PCRA court granted a stay of execution and ordered a new penalty hearing, but this opinion supports reversal of that order. The core reasoning is that Williams failed to meet the governmental interference exception to the PCRA's one-year time bar because he had long known about and previously asserted facts regarding the victim's sexual conduct with teenage boys, including at trial and in a 1998 PCRA hearing, and thus could not show that government action prevented timely discovery of the claim despite due diligence.
criminal lawprocedure
Commonwealth, Aplt v. Williams, T.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2017-08-22
This case involves an appeal by the Commonwealth from a Philadelphia County PCRA court order that stayed the execution of Terrance Williams, who had been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, and granted him a new penalty-phase trial. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, sitting with only four participating justices after three recused themselves, was evenly divided on the merits of the appeal. As a result of the tie, the Court affirmed the PCRA court's order granting the stay and ordering a new sentencing hearing, and remanded the matter for that purpose. The affirmance preserves the lower court's determination that Williams was entitled to additional proceedings on his sentence without resolving the underlying legal questions.
criminal lawprocedure
Commonwealth, Aplt v. Williams, T.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2017-08-22
This case involves a Post-Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) petition filed by Terrance Williams, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Philadelphia County. The PCRA court granted a stay of execution and ordered a new penalty phase trial based on claims of error in the original sentencing proceedings. The Commonwealth appealed that order to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Because the Court was equally divided, with three justices supporting affirmance and two supporting reversal, the lower court's order is affirmed by operation of law, and the matter is remanded for a new penalty phase trial.
criminal lawprocedure
Commonwealth, Aplt v. Williams, T.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2017-08-22 · cited 18×
This case involves Terrance Williams' 1984 murder conviction and death sentence for killing Amos Norwood, where Williams filed a PCRA petition seeking a new penalty hearing based on a claim of governmental interference under the Brady doctrine. The PCRA court granted relief, but this opinion supports reversal, concluding that the petition was untimely and that the lower court lacked jurisdiction. The core reasoning is that Williams failed to satisfy the governmental interference exception to the PCRA's time bar because he already knew of and had previously asserted facts about Norwood's alleged homosexual ephebophilia at trial and in earlier proceedings, rather than being prevented from discovering the claim by any government action. As a result, the opinion would vacate the stay of execution and reinstate the death sentence.
criminal lawprocedure