Terry Williams (murderer)

A petition for commutation of his sentence by the Governor of Pennsylvania has been signed by nearly 150 former judges and prosecutors, child and health specialists, and former jurors at his trial. Williams, a victim of sexual abuse during his childhood, killed two of his alleged rapists. At his trials, the rapes were not mentioned. Jurors who signed the petition in September 2012 indicated that if they had been aware of the facts, they would not have requested the death penalty, but life in prison. The widow of Amos Norwood, the second person killed by Williams, also argued for a commutation of the sentence. On September 13, a bipartisan group, led by State Senator Daylin Leach, a Montgomery County Democrat, and State Senator Stewart Greenleaf, a Montgomery County Republican, asked Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Corbett, for clemency.

In January, 1984, Williams stabbed to death Herbert Hamilton, a 50-year-old resident of West Philadelphia. Williams was a 17-year-old at the time of the murder. Williams lured Hamilton to bed, then stabbed him over 20 times and beat him with a baseball bat.

After the use of Norwood's calling card led police to Rucker, who in turn implicated Williams and Draper. Draper was arrested on July 20, 1984. During questioning, he gave a full confession to the police. A search was conducted of Williams residence, and Norwood's jacket was found. Williams surrendered to the police on July 23, 1984 and although Draper was in protective custody, was able to send several letters urging Draper to change his story. Draper instead turned the letters over to the police.

Terrance "Terry" Williams (born February 27, 1966, in Pennsylvania) is a prisoner who was sentenced to death for a murder committed at the age of 18. He was also convicted and sentenced to 27 years for a third-degree murder he committed six months earlier. He was scheduled to be executed on October 3, 2012; on September 28, 2012, a Philadelphia judge, Teresa Sarmina, granted a stay of execution. His death sentence was overturned June 9, 2016 by the U.S. Supreme Court via Williams v. Pennsylvania, and he was resentenced to life imprisonment without parole.