Appeals court overturns Memphis murder conviction

Errors by Judge Lammey cited in ruling

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The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the 2013 murder conviction of Eric Will ia ms t his week, citi ng multiple errors by Criminal Court Judge Ja mes Lammey i n its written ruling.

Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2009 slaying of William Yancey, who prosecutors say had been arguing with the defendant in the hours before the killing on Dec. 19.

After a series of heated confrontations, Yancey decided to leave Williams’ house with a friend, and got into the back of an SUV parked in the driveway.

Williams, armed with a shotgun, opened the door and jabbed Yancey in the abdomen and then fired a single shot, according to prosecutors.

Yancey’s friends drove him to the hospital but he died of his injuries.

At the time of the shooting, Williams was out on $150,000 bond on seconddegree murder charges.

The appeals court ruled that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support Williams’ conviction, but that Lammey erred in judgment on several decisions which, taken together, were cause to overturn the conviction.

Among the most contentious issues included in Williams’ appeal was the testimony of TBI Special Agent Cervinia Braswell, a forensic scientist and ballistics expert who was permitted to demonstrate trigger pulls to the jury using a different type of shotgun than the one used in the killing. The jury also was allowed to handle a shotgun not used in the killing.

The defense argued at trial that Williams did not intend to fire the gun.

“Obviously, the trigger pull of (Williams’) shotgun was highly relevant,” the appeals court wrote. “The trigger pull of any other shotgun, t hough, was not relevant and the trial court’s decision to allow the jurors to experience the trigger pull on a shotgun that was not the murder weapon was clearly error.”

After the shooting, the defendant was heard by a witnesses saying, “I didn’t mean to do that,” but Lammey ruled that statement was inadmissible at trial.

The appeals court disagreed, saying t he witnesses should have been allowed to present t hat information to the jury.

Williams’ murder conviction has been reversed, and he will be given a new trial.