Dobie Gillis Williams

Dobie Gillis Williams (December 14, 1960 – January 8, 1999) was an American from Louisiana who was convicted of the murder of Sonja Knippers in 1984, and sentenced to death. He was executed in 1999. Williams was originally scheduled to be executed in November 1998, but the governor granted him a reprieve to conduct DNA tests, which were unavailable at the time of his conviction. After the tests reaffirmed his guilt , Williams was executed a month later.

Police testified that Williams had confessed to the murder after they found fresh scratches and bruises on his arms and legs. The confession was not recorded, albeit a failed attempt to mechanically record the confession was made. Williams was evaluated as intellectually disabled, according to one standard. However, an expert for the defense later determined that Williams was of dull normal intelligence, suggesting that he was a malingerer.

Williams' execution was twice stayed and his sentence was overturned by a federal district court judge. Williams was executed, however, because the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mitigating information was introduced to the jury too late in the case. It ruled that the execution had to proceed, under the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA).

Overview An intruder entered the rural home of Herbert and Sonja Knippers in the early morning hours of July 8, 1984. He appeared to gain entry by stacking two milk crates outside the Knippers' bathroom window and cutting the screen. After Sonja entered the bathroom some time later, the attacker tried to rape her and began stabbing her with a knife. Her husband Herbert unsuccessfully tried to break down the bathroom door during the attack. The intruder fled the scene through the bathroom window. Sonja opened the door on her own and was helped to a couch. She bled to death in their home. Herbert told investigators later that his wife was yelling that a black man was killing her. In his final statement, he said, “I just want to say I don’t have any hard feelings toward anyone. God bless everyone. God bless.”

Controversy In 2005, Williams was one of two subjects of a book by Sister Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun and anti-death penalty activist. She contended that Williams could not have possibly committed the murder and was wrongfully convicted and executed. She believed that he had ineffective legal counsel; in fact, his lawyer was later disbarred for incompetence. She also notes that poor and minority people are disproportionately sentenced to death and executed in the United States criminal justice system. In 2005, Williams was one of the subjects of Sister Prejean's book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.

Although Williams's lawyer, Michael Bonnette, was disbarred for incompetence in other cases, it was found that he had performed an adequate job defending Williams. Bonnette did not put any witnesses on the stand to prevent the state from presenting any rebuttal evidence. As a federal appellate court later noted, had Bonnette presented any witnesses, this would've allowed the prosecution to have the victim of Williams's prior "simple burglary" to testify about how he had continued to try to break into her home after realizing that she and her children were inside.