The updated AP filing is, "Clemency bid rejected for condemned Pa. killer," by Peter Jackson. It's via the York Daily Record.
A death-row killer who could become the first person since 1999 to be executed in Pennsylvania lost a bid for clemency Monday before Pennsylvania's Pardons Board.
Terrance "Terry" Williams now says he was sexually abused for years by the middle-aged man he beat to death in 1984 at 18 years old.
A unanimous vote was needed to recommend that Gov. Tom Corbett commute Williams' sentence to life imprisonment, but two of the five board members voted no.
None of the board members, who include state Attorney General Linda Kelly and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, commented following the vote. Kelly favored clemency and Cawley opposed it.
During two hours of often-emotional arguments and testimony in the state Supreme Court chamber at the Capitol, witnesses drew comparisons to Jerry Sandusky's victims in the Penn State child sex scandal to explain Williams' reluctance to publicly disclose the abuse.
And:
Although Williams has exhausted his appeals, he could win a reprieve if his lawyers can prove that prosecutors at his 1986 trial withheld evidence or interfered with his defense. A Philadelphia judge has scheduled a Thursday hearing to hear testimony from Draper and the prosecutor at Williams' trial.
The Philadelphia Inquirer updates its report for today's paper, "Killer loses bid for clemency." It's by Joseph A. Slobodzian.
Condemned Philadelphia killer Terrance Williams lost his bid for clemency Monday when a divided state Board of Pardons failed to unanimously recommend his case for consideration by Gov. Corbett.Nevertheless, advocates for Williams - scheduled for execution on Oct. 3 for the 1984 murder of Mount Airy churchman Amos Norwood - cited the fact that three of the five-member board voted to spare Williams' life and some suggested Corbett might still not be barred from commuting his sentence to life in prison without parole.
Monday's session was the first clemency hearing in a death penalty case in 50 years. Pennsylvania voters in 1997 amended the state constitution to require the board's vote for clemency be unanimous instead of a majority. But advocates suggested after the hearing that because the 1997 amendment was spurred by the commutation of a life sentence, the change might not apply to a death-penalty case.
The board granted the Williams case three times its usual 30 minutes to enable defense attorneys and two lawyers for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office to argue their positions.
The board then deliberated in private for about 35 minutes before returning to the ornate state Supreme Court chamber in the Capitol to vote.
Voting for clemency were state Attorney General Linda L. Kelly; Louise B. Williams, the board's victim representative; and board psychologist Russell A. Walsh.
Voting against clemency was Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, who chairs the board, and Harris Gubernick, the board's corrections expert.
None of the five members discussed the reasons for their vote.
"Pardons board rejects clemency for Terrance Williams," by Mensah M. Dean for the Philadelphia Daily News.
TERRANCE WILLIAMS on Monday moved another step closer to becoming the first person executed by Pennsylvania in 13 years.
The state Board of Pardons rejected his petition for clemency, removing one of Williams' last opportunities to be spared the death penalty. The panel voted 3-2 in favor of recommending that Gov. Corbett commute Williams' sentence to life in prison without parole, but a unanimous vote was needed to move the petition forward.
"Death row inmate loses bid for clemency," by Karen Langley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau.
WHYY-FM NewsWorks posts, "Condemned to die Oct. 3, Terrance Williams is denied clemency," by Mary Wilson.
"Penn. board rejects clemency in murder case, execution still planned," by Vignesh Ramachandran for NBC News.
"Pa. Board Denies Clemency For Death Row Inmate Allegedly Abused by Victim," by Jim Malewitz for Stateline - Pew Center on the States.
"Clemency Denied For Pennsylvania Inmate Who Killed His Alleged Sexual Abuser," by Ashley Portero for International Business Times.
The Financial Channel posts, "US death row inmate loses appeal for clemency."
Earlier coverage of Terry Williams' case begins with a statement from his attorney, Shawn Nolan.
Advocates for Terry Williams have posted an online petition calling for clemency.
Related posts are in the clemency and victims' issues index
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