Alexander Williams the Death Penalty

Alexander Williams THE DEATH PENALTY AND JUVENILES WITH MENTAL ILLNESS: THE CASE OF ALEXANDER WILLIAMS Alexander Williams was 17 years old when he abducted, robbed, raped, and shot 16-year-old Aleta Bunch. Mr. Williams was also mentally ill at that time. In his trial for the crime, his history and background was never brought up and therefore the jury never knew about his severe mental illness and chronic childhood abuse. It also appeared that the lawyer that was hired to represent Mr.

Williams was generally unconcerned about the welfare and well-being of his client. This was naturally a concern for those that cared about Mr. Williams, and for those that simply wanted to see justice done correctly. However, the problems that Mr. Williams faced during his trial were compounded by several factors that were beyond his control. Those factors will be discussed here. THE LACK OF A BACKGROUND EXAMINATION The background of anyone that is accused of a crime can be very important when the case goes to trial.

Often, things about the individual can be brought to light that could sway the jury in one direction or another. In the case of Mr. Williams, none of his background was ever discussed at trial. That background included a history of mental illness and a diagnosis of schizophrenia (Georgia, n.d.). He believed that Sigourney Weaver talked to him and was God, he talked to imaginary frogs on the floor of the prison, and believed that insects replaced one of his eyes with a shell (Georgia, n.d.).

Williams was also severely abused as a child, which was something that none of the jurors knew about during the trial (Georgia, n.d.). Many of his family members abused him repeatedly, and he was sexually abused by his father (Georgia, n.d.). At one point, his mother also hammered a screwdriver into his toes (Georgia, n.d.).

Out of the original jurors from his trial, eight of them are still living and five of them have signed affidavits stating that they would not have sentenced Williams to death if they had known about his past history of mental problems (Georgia, n.d.). Because a background examination into William's past was never performed, however, those that sat on the jury for that trial did not have the necessary information to make a decision as to whether he should live or die.

They went off of the information that they had available, which was not the whole story, and sentenced Williams to death. THE COMPETENCE OF THE ATTORNEY In the state of Georgia, where this took place, the attorney that was assigned to Mr. Williams was known by many to be incompetent (Georgia, n.d.). The attorney failed to mention that there were problems with abuse and mental illness, and simply appeared to be unconcerned as to whether his client would live or die (Executing, 2002). The attorney, O.L.

Collins, spent only 15 minutes talking to the jury, during which he instructed them to do what they would with his client (Mr. Williams) and did not make any effort to see that Williams was actually defended in any way (Executing, 2002). Every bit of information viewed regarding this case indicates that the attorney had a history of incompetence and that those in the legal community in that area were aware that the attorney was not competent.

This would beg the question as to why this attorney was even allowed to represent Williams, but indigents that get court-appointed lawyers often get individuals that are not as competent or not as interested in their client's welfare as other attorneys that work for larger firms and take on cases for higher fees. There are many good court-appointed attorneys, however, and it was unfortunate that Alexander Williams did not receive one of them.

The outcome of his life may have been quite different if this had been the case for him. THE PROSECUTION'S LACK OF INFORMATION Little information has been provided in literature on the case as to whether the prosecution had knowledge of William's mental illness.

It appears that they were not aware of the situation with Williams when it came to the mental illness and the child abuse, but it is also possible that they kept silent about the issue against an attorney that they knew to be incompetent in order to get a conviction.

Speculation is all that is available on that issue where the prosecution is concerned since accounts of what happened to Alexander Williams do not indicate whether the prosecution had knowledge of the mental health problems that Williams had and/or the abusive home that he came from. THE ATTORNEY'S INVESTIGATION Perhaps this section should be more appropriately called 'the attorney's lack of investigation,' as that is largely what took place.

There were many mitigating circumstances that surrounded Alexander Williams and the murder that he committed, but the incompetent attorney that was assigned to him failed to investigate any of them (Juvenile, 2002). It is unfortunate that the attorney that was available to him thought so little of Alexander Williams that he chose not to even bother to investigate the boy's background in order to determine whether there was some reason that his client should be spared.

While no literature really discusses it and it cannot be proven, it almost appears as though the attorney for Alexander Williams wanted Williams to receive the death penalty. THE LACK OF APPEAL The attorney that was supposed to meet with Alexander Williams for a re-trial never appeared (Georgia, n.d.). Because of this, Williams simply remained on death row -- just another condemned murderer receiving no treatment for his mental health problems other than to be forcefully medicated so that he could be considered sane enough to be executed (Executing, 2002).

Even though there are regulations in many states that prohibit the execution of mentally retarded individuals, these laws do not protect against the mentally ill and so they offered no protection for Alexander Williams. It was only two days before his scheduled execution that the Georgia Supreme Court ordered a stay (Death, 2005). This came about not from an appeals process but because the media and other advocacy groups had finally discovered the truth about Alexander Williams, his incompetent attorney, and the problems that were seen in the.