Robert Wayne Williams
Robert Wayne Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 6, 1952 Louisiana |
| Died | December 14, 1983 (aged 31) Angola, Louisiana |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death by electric chair |
Robert Wayne Williams (c. 1951 – December 14, 1983) was convicted of the January 5, 1979 murder of Willie Kelly, a 67-year-old security guard. He was executed in 1983 by the State of Louisiana by electric chair.[1] He became the first person to be executed in Louisiana since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated.
Overview
On January 5, 1979, Williams and Ralph Holmes entered the A & P Supermarket located at 3525 Perkins Road in Baton Rouge. Both men placed ski masks over their faces and Williams pulled out a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun. They then approached the security guard, Willie Kelly, age 67, who was bagging groceries. Ralph Holmes tried to remove Kelly's pistol from his holster. As Kelly made a move with his hand toward his pistol, Williams yelled “Don't try it”, and immediately shot Kelly in the face at point blank range. Williams and Holmes then proceeded to complete the robbery. During this process, Holmes pistol-whipped one of the customers, and Williams accidentally shot two people in their feet. The police received a telephone call from an informant implicating Holmes, Williams and Williams' wife. Following their arrest, both Williams and his wife gave confessions which implicated themselves in the crime.
See also
References
- ^ "The Telegraph: Robert Wayne Williams". Retrieved 25 July 2012.
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Sources
- U.S. Executions Since 1976. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- Wendell Smith. Cruel and Unusual?. Columbia Journalism Review (September/October 1991). Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- Jason DeParle. Executions aren't news - why they should be. Washington Monthly (March 1986). Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- Maggio v. Williams, 464 U.S. 46 (1983). Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- State v. Williams 383 So.2d 369 (La., 1980).
| Preceded by Robert Sullivan |
People executed in US | Succeeded by John Eldon Smith |
 | This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1951 births
- 1983 deaths
- People executed for murder
- 20th-century executions by Louisiana
- People executed by Louisiana by electric chair
- 20th-century executions of American people
- American people convicted of murder
- People convicted of murder by Louisiana
- Executed people from Louisiana
- American crime biography stubs