Relatives speak out for victims

Willie Williams, who awaits execution, did not seek clemency during the hearing.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Relatives of three of the four victims slain in the 1991 "Labor Day Massacre" provided sometimes emotional testimony before the Ohio Parole Board against Willie Williams, convicted in the execution-style slayings.
"That took a lot from us," Earlina Gilford told the patrol board Monday during a clemency hearing for the 48-year-old Williams, also known as "Flip." Gilford is a sister of William Dent, one of the victims.
Williams was convicted of killing Dent, Alfonda R. Madison Sr. and Eric Howard as part of what authorities say was a drug-related dispute. Williams also was convicted of killing Theodore Wynn Jr. who authorities say was an acquaintance of one of the other victims.
Emotional speeches
Tawanna Madison, sister of Alfonda Madison, said Williams doesn't deserve mercy, because of what he did to her brother and others.
"He doesn't deserve to take another breath," Tawanna Madison said outside the hearing room. "He deserves to die."
"It has been so hard," Donna Wynn, the mother of the late Wynn, said, her voice at times filled with emotion.
"It has left a void in our lives," she said.
Wynn's mother said her son was always one to help people.
"If someone was hurt or in need, he would help them," Donna Wynn said of her son.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains appeared on behalf of the state with Assistant Ohio Attorney General Carol Ellensohn to oppose clemency for Williams, who's being held on Death Row at the Mansfield Correctional Institution.
"Mr. Williams is not salvageable," Gains told the parole board. Gains said if Williams were placed in the general prison population he would be a "clear and present danger" to other inmates.
Recommendation to come
The board will make a recommendation to Gov. Bob Taft on Friday on whether Williams should be spared the death penalty. Williams is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Oct. 25 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility outside Lucasville.
Joe Wilhelm, Williams' attorney, attended Williams' clemency hearing but, at his client's direction, didn't make any presentation.
"My client has decided to not formally pursue clemency," said Wilhelm, chief of the death penalty section for the Ohio Public Defender's Office.
Wilhelm said that he has met with Williams three times and that he doesn't plan to pursue further legal action to block Williams' scheduled execution.
Mark Rickel, a spokesman for the governor, has said Taft will consider all of the information provided by prison officials and others before deciding on clemency.
The governor could reject clemency or commute the sentence to life in prison without parole, life in prison with eligibility for parole or an outright release from prison, Rickel has said.
Drug territory
Williams, who authorities say used to control a major drug trafficking operation on Youngstown's North and East sides, was convicted of the four homicides in an East Side Youngstown home in September 1991 in what became known as the "Labor Day Massacre."
Authorities said Williams was attempting to resume control of the area drug trade. Each victim was killed execution-style, with gunshots to the head, according to investigators.
After Williams' capture, Williams and other prisoners broke out of the Mahoning County jail, court records show. After months on the run, Williams surrendered to authorities in early 1992 after he and other accomplices armed with guns and explosives invaded the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center, court records say.
At the time, the juvenile justice center held three teen accomplices who were to testify against Williams in connection with the four slayings, investigators and court records say.
In August 1993, a jury convicted Williams on multiple charges including aggravated murder in connection with the killings and sentenced him to death.
State and federal courts have upheld Williams' conviction and death sentences.