Episode 29 - Rushed Execution Series Part VII - Kenneth Williams

Episode 29 - Rushed Execution Series Part VII - Kenneth Williams

Part VII of the rushed execution series covers the case of Kenneth Williams.


Promos from
Murder and Such
Somethings Not Right
Writing About Crime

Sources https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10403878/dominique-nicole-hurd
2/11/2020 FROZEN IN TIME: Family, friends recall 'Nicky' Hurd's life
https://www.pbcommercial.com/news/20170422/frozen-in-time-family-friends-recall-nicky-hurds-life
From appeal records: https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/10/07/091062P.pdf

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2017/11/13/death-in-arkansas-the-botched-execution-of-kenneth-williams-and-the-fallout-or-lack-of-it


https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2017/04/27/eve-execution-ozarks-family-meets-killers-daughter/100970828/
https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2017/04/27/eve-execution-ozarks-family-meets-killers-daughter/100970828/



https://abc7chicago.com/kenneth-williams-found-guilty-in-hadiya-pendleton-murder-trial;-ward-trial-continues/4027730/
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/795818/united-states-v-kenneth-williams/ https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2017/04/27/death-watch-includes-a-family-reunion-arranged-by-a-victims-family

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, y'all, welcome back toStrictly Homicide podcast. I'm your host,
Nicki t and we'll be going backto the rushed execution series for part six,
the Case of Kenneth Williams. Ifthis is your first time listening to
the podcast, I recommend starting onepisode eighteen, Part one. I want

(00:23):
to take a moment to make acorrection on episode twenty three and twenty four
Jack Jones, there was information Iread during my research that said his middle
name was Henry, which is incorrect. Jack's middle name was Harold. I
apologize for that. Before we getinto the case, please take a small

(00:46):
moment to hear a promo from oneof my favorite shows, Murder and Such.
I will be referencing an episode,so I want to share the promo
first. My name is Hunter,and I welcome you to Murder and Such,

(01:06):
a podcast about murders, the macabre, true crime, serial killers,
and other dark subject matter. Joinme for the first fifty episodes, where
my co hosts and I discussed someof the most well known cases and some
you've probably never heard of. Orjoin me after episode fifty one for a
much more serious approach to true crime. You can find murdering Such on Apple

(01:30):
Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, and all of your podcast or services.
You can also find me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at murdering
Such. I hope to hear fromyou soon. On death penalty info dot

(01:53):
org, they posted the results ofa Gallup poll from October twenty nineteen that
says sixty percent of Americans prefer lifesentences to capital punishment. Some people are
against it for policy reasons and somefor moral reasons, regarding it as inhumane.
They fill it discriminates against minorities andencourages a culture of violence. Activists

(02:15):
see their work as an effort tosave inmates from botched executions. In the
United States federal system, the finaldecision to seek capital punishment comes from the
US Attorney General. On the stateslevel, local prosecutors have the final say,
with no involvement from the state attorneygeneral. A jury must unanimously decide

(02:38):
on the death penalty, and ifthe results in with a hung jury,
the sentence of life is automatically handeddown. The offenses that may result in
the death penalty mainly result in adeath. It can also be a sentence
for treason, espionage, and largescale drug trafficking. There are some other
countries where death can be the ofa non violent crime, and some that

(03:01):
aren't even crimes. In the UnitedStates, the worst country appears to be
Saudi Arabia, where you can beexecuted for political protests, adultery, and
apostasy, converting to another non Islamreligion, also witchcraft. In Iran,
you can be executed for drinking alcohol. Advocates for capital punishment feel like it

(03:24):
to tears crime and gives the policeand prosecutors a tool to plea bargain with.
Some individuals are on the fence aboutthe subject. They may be opposed
unless certain circumstances are involved, ormaybe they just don't discuss it because no
matter which opinion you have, you'llsomehow be made out to be a monster.

(03:45):
One of my favorite shows, Murderand Such, did a great two
parter that involved some really good informationabout the death penalty, and I highly
recommend it. Check out episodes fiftyone and fifty two and two. Nineteen,
The Innocence Project documented three hundred andsixty five DNA exoneration cases in the
US. Included in that number ourtwenty death penalty cases. It can make

(04:11):
you wonder is it really worth itto risk executing an innocent person. I
guess it depends on who you're asking. One of the most common answers you
get when asking why a person agreeswith it is that it costs taxpayers less.
This is such a common misconception.Every prisoner is entitled to a series
of appeals, and nearly every inmatesentence to death is going to use those

(04:33):
appeals. This will prolong the timeuntil they enter the chambers guilty or not.
Death row inmates are also placed insolitary confinement, which requires special facilities
and extra security. But the appealprocess is what costs the taxpayers nearly four
times as much as a non deathpenalty case. Statistics show that most inmates

(04:55):
cannot afford their own attorney, sothe state assigns a public defender or appointed
lawyer to represent the inmate, sometimeseven two. This is just the beginning
of the appeals cost the prosecution,forensics, mental health, background checks,
the wages for all court employees,juror selection, and since these cases are

(05:15):
much more complicated, the process takesway longer than normal. Once the inmate
runs out of appeal options, thecost continues with the lethal injection drugs.
Since the shortage, the cost ofthe drugs are rising higher than ever.
In two thousand and eleven, theaverage cost was eighty three dollars and fifty
five cents, But in two thousandand thirteen, Texas paid fifteen hundred dollars

(05:41):
and Missouri paid eight thousand dollars twoyears ago. In two seventeen, Virginia
agreed to pay sixteen thousand, fivehundred dollars. Why are the prices skyrocketing
so high? Well, Once theother customers of the suppliers found out that
their drugs were being used for executions, they are upset, so the suppliers
stop manufacturing sodium theopental. In Januarytwenty eleven, the main US supplier announced

(06:10):
that they would no longer manufacture thedrug to prevent it from being used to
put prisoners to death, and thenthe others followed behind them. The states
were left scrambling to find replacement manufacturers. Some used companies overseas until they stop
manufacturing to the US. Many willblame the activists. During a US Supreme

(06:31):
Court debate in twenty thirteen, ajudge accused the activists of pursuing a guerrilla
war, causing suppliers to cut offthe prisons. During this year, Arkansas
rewrites its execution protocols and passes anew law that gives the suppliers of the
drugs privacy, not requiring Arkansas toshare any information. In twenty fifteen,

(06:56):
Arkansas Attorney General made an announcement thatnow they had the drugs that they needed
to carry out executions. At thistime, thirty five men sat on Arkansas
death row my dazz lamb. It'snormally used to ease anxieties before anesthetics before
a minor medical procedure. Doctors donot recommend the drug to be used for

(07:17):
major surgeries or execution because it doesnot work as effectively, but the low
cost makes it a popular choice.With the use of my dazz Lamb came
botched executions. Some inmates gasped forair, sat up, spoke, and
even moved around for more than tenminutes. The drug is not balanced against

(07:39):
the conditions, so if someone ishyperacute and hyperaware, the drug will not
complete anesthetics not on its own.Governor Hutchinson set an execution date for eight
inmates between October twenty fifteen. InJanuary twenty sixteen, Death Row a turn

(08:00):
Jeff Rosenweig, filed a lawsuit challengingthe twenty thirteenth supplier privacy law. The
Arkansas Supreme Court imposed to stay onexecutions while they evaluated the law. In
two sixteen, they would uphold thatlaw. During this time, two pharmaceutical
companies went to a federal judge askingto prevent Arkansas from using their drugs during

(08:22):
the execution. They think that Arkansasobtained their drugs from a supplier not on
the approved list. In February twentyseventeen, Arkansas would reach a few bumps
in the road when they first realizedthat the one drug that they did have
was about to expire, So thegovernor announced that eight inmates are scheduled to
be executed in April. The eightinmates that were scheduled are Bruce Ward and

(08:46):
Don Davis. They were scheduled tobe executed on April seventeenth, twenty seventeen.
Their cases were discussed in episode eighteenand nineteen. Next up is Ladell
Lee and Stacy Johnson, who werescheduled to be executed on April twentieth,
twenty seventeen. Their cases were discussedin episode twenty and twenty two. Marcel
Williams and Jack Jones were scheduled tobe executed on April twenty fourth, twenty

(09:11):
seventeen. Their cases were discussed inepisode twenty three, twenty four and twenty
five. The final two inmates thatwere scheduled to be executed on April twenty
seventh, twenty seventeen is today's caseKenneth Williams and the next episodes case Jason
me Yes. That was two inmatesa day on four separate days, all

(09:33):
within an eleven day period. DeathRow attorney Rosenwig and Arkansas Death Row prisoners
Liddell Lee, Jason McGee, StacyJohnson, Bruce Ward, Marcell Williams,
and Kenneth william filed another lawsuit againstthe state, claiming that the execution schedule
violates the eighth and fourteenth Amendment.They claimed the compressed schedule of the execution

(09:54):
has caused the state to break awayfrom its own procedures for clemency view this
gives the inmate less opportunity for ameaningful consideration. The attorney was quoted saying,
our lawsuit is over being entitled toknow where the drugs are from.
They're declining to say where they gotit from. Of course, the issue
there is that first, we areconstitutionally entitled to have that information to determine

(10:18):
whether it's from a reputable place orsome fly by night dealer. And the
second thing is that it's part ofthe settlement agreement from the lawsuit from two
years ago. The state is assertingthat their obligation has expired, and we're
saying, no, it has not. The news of the reshed execution spread
nationwide. Even Arkansas native John Grishamcalled the plan a spectacular train rep The

(10:43):
state requested that he dismissed the lawsuit, but he declined, and Arkansas was
not happy about that this would causea halt on the scheduled executions. The
lawsuit was dismissed on March twenty eighth, when Arkansas Supreme Court lifted the and
on the death penalty. An inventorysheet was released from the prison spokesperson and

(11:07):
it proved that Arkansas had all threedrugs needed. Also, why redacting the
supplier's information. The state makes astatement that after years of delay, it's
time for the inmates to face theirpunishment. So Justice can be brought to
the families of the victims. BeforeI get into this case of the seventh

(11:28):
inmate, please take a moment tohear a word from our sponsors. Dominique
Kurd was known as Nikki to friendsand family. She was described as a

(11:50):
beautiful, darling angel. She wasvery love She was born in Fort Worth,
Texas, in nineteen seventy nine.Growing up, she was heavily involved
with local churches. She graduated withhonors from Eastern Hills High School in nineteen
ninety seven. She stayed busy duringthose years. She was homecoming queen,
a cheerleader, founder of an organizationcalled High Steppers, a member of the

(12:13):
Science club, and even made iton the Who Whose List. She excelled
in many other activities during her life. Nicki's dad always told her that the
world was her oyster and she coulddo whatever she wanted, and she clearly
listened to him. After graduating,she attended college at the University of Pine

(12:33):
Bluff, where she also stayed verybusy. She majored in mass communications with
a minor in biology. She wasa member of the cheerleading squad and elected
most Spirited Cheerleader. She also becamevery heavily involved with the college's gospel choir.
Her schooling was the most important thingto her at this time. Her

(12:54):
plans were to transfer to medical school, so she didn't have time to focus
on boys or parties. Nikki wasan only child for her dad and they
were extremely close. During the summerbefore school started, one of the cheerleaders
who lived in Little Row was askedto meet with the two new recruits by
Karen, the cheerleading coach. Hiwanawas currently taking some time off from college.

(13:20):
When she met Ira and Nikki.It was like an immediate bond from
the mall and talked like they kneweach other for years. They just clicked
and soon they all three became inseparable. Ira came from the foster care system
and Karen made an agreement with ArkansasDHS to house him. During the summer
before school started, Nikki and hermother came to visit the school on a

(13:43):
recruiting trip, and she expressed toher mother that she wanted to attend a
historically black college where she could cheer. When she met with the coach,
Karen, she offered Nikki a cheerleadingscholarship, so Nikki came to Pine Bluff
early to attend the cheerleading camp.Karen offered to let Nikki stay there,
so Ira Nikki became like siblings.They bonded right away. He referred to

(14:05):
her as the perfect sister. Shewas always smiling at everyone and she had
a smile that no one could forget. Karen and Nikki became so close that
she was like a daughter to her, and Karen didn't have any children of
her own. Soon, Karen wouldbecome very protective of Nikki, and once
Nicky started to move into her dormroom, Karen was heartbroken. Not long

(14:28):
after, Nicky broke her arm ina cheerleading accident, so she would actually
need to stay with Karen for help. One of her favorite things about Nikki
was she would make these sugar cookiesthat Karen loved. Karen, Ira,
Nikki, and Shewanna always had suchfun together. They would be at the
house dancing around and lip singing andalways giggling. They were all so close

(14:52):
that during her first Christmas break,Nikki even brought Ira home to Fort Worth.
Eventually, Nikki he would have tomove back to the dorms and Karen
was heartbroken again. Since the bondbetween the three college students was so close
Karen made them promise to always lookout for each other. Nikki was very

(15:13):
popular and very pretty, but shewas oblivious to the fact that so many
guys wanted to date her. Shejust didn't care. She also turned everyone
down when they did ask her outbecause she was so busy. Ira was
a singer, and he and Nikkiwould watch the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff
Gospel choir together. Eventually they bothjoined, even though Ira said that she

(15:37):
can't sing, but she insisted.Karen was not happy about it. She
wanted Nikki to just stick with cheerleadingand the close knit cheer family. In
the fall of Nicki's sophomore year,a basketball player begged Karen to allow him
to ask Nikki to a carnival.She finally agreed. When Nikki returned that

(15:58):
night, she was carrying an armfull of stuffed animals. She told Karen.
He claimed he won all these,but I don't know if he just
bought them. She was not impressed. She just wasn't interested in dating.
Do you. Wanted to focus onschool and cheerleading. She planned to become
a med student and wanted to workin the Neo Natal. While inquire,

(16:21):
Nikki also became close to someone namedPete. He thought Nikki was the sweetest
person and so beautiful. He finallygot the courage to ask her out.
He offered to take her to dinnerafter their winter performance coming up, and
she agreed. Please take a momentto hear a word from our sponsors.

(16:45):
On December fifth, Nicki and Karenwere out Christmas shopping when Karen got a
call from her dad letting her knowthat her cousin Sharon was carjacked. A
man came up from behind while Sharonwas at an atm and grabbed her at
gunpoint. He took her money andjewelry and told her to get in the
car and drive up to a deadend road. He would then leave her

(17:06):
there and take off with her car. The criminal was not found, but
the car was found burning on HazelStreet. Everyone in the area was shook.
About a week later, it wastime for the Winner Choir performances and
Pete and Nikki's date. The performancewent so well, so Nikki and Pete
were in such a great mood,laughing and giggling. They just enjoyed the

(17:29):
company of each other. They haddinner, and then they were walking to
their car because Pete was going todrop Nikki off. Nikki pulled out a
disposable camera and kept taking pictures ofPete. He would return the favor as
well. While they were doing this, a man walked up to them and
asked if they were college students.They answered. He then asked if they
wanted him to take a picture ofthem together. They did not get a

(17:52):
good feeling about the guy, butPete didn't want to start anything, so
they let him take the picture andhope that he would leave. As Pete
and Nikki were getting back into hiscar, that same man came back.
This time he held them at gunpointand told them to get in the car.
He made Pete drive to the ATMand withdraw money, but he only
had seventy dollars. Nikky couldn't rememberher pen. Both of them offered to

(18:18):
give him their wallets, their car, and anything else. They promised that
they would not call the cops.He told them to shut up and drive,
heading out to a rural area westof Pine Bluff, going towards Sheridan.
Once he found a wooded area,he made them walk into it and
kneel at gunpoint he would torment them, and then he made them close their

(18:38):
eyes. He paused for a bitwhile the two were scared that they were
about to be shot. He thensaid, if you tell anyone I know
where to find y'all, and Iwill kill you. The two states silent,
but remained kneeling with their eyes closed, careful not to annoy the gunmen.
A few moments later, they heara door slam, a car start

(19:00):
and drive off. They immediately felta huge sigh of relief and thought that
they were going to be okay.They both started walking towards the road through
the woods to escape. Once onthe road, they started walking, hoping
that a car will drive through,but this was not a busy road,
not many people drove it. Momentslater, they spotted headlights. They started

(19:26):
yelling and waving and jumping up anddown until Peter stops and grabs Nikky.
He looks at her and says it'shim, and they take off running in
the woods. The gunman stopped thecar and ran after them. Once he
caught up, he asked them,did you really think that I was just
going to let you go? Theypled with him and promised not to tell

(19:49):
a soul. The gunman was calm. It seemed like it was all a
game to him. He looked atPete and asked where y'all from. Pete
said, New Jersey. Nikki saidFort Worth. The gunman asked if that
was near Dallas. When she saidyes, he told her he didn't like
people from Dallas, and that's whenhe began shooting. He pulled the trigger

(20:12):
of that gun until there was nomore ammunition. During this time, Karen
was waiting for Nikki to come overfor her husband's birthday. It wasn't like
Nikki to forget or blow her off, but she thought maybe she just got
busy with the date and it wentreally well. But something in the back

(20:33):
of her head also made her fear. After all, she was extremely protective
over Nikki. Back in the woods, Peter gathered enough energy to get up
and run to the road again inhopes of seeing a car. Two people
drove up in a truck and sawPeter waving them down. These were the
only two people who ever really droveon this road, so it's a good

(20:57):
thing that they were there. Whenthey stopped, Pete was telling them,
my friend is shot and she's inthe woods. We were both shot.
You have to save her. Oneof the guy's looks and tells him to
sit in the truck while he goesto look for this young man's friend.
Once they located Nikki, he carriedher to the truck and rushed them to

(21:18):
the closest hospital. Nikki was shotin her head, her side, and
her knee. She was still hangingon, but not by much. She
was not able to breathe on herown. Pete was in serious condition and
I see you, but stable enoughto be interviewed by detectives. When Nikki's
dad was contacted, he took thevery first flight into Little Rock. As

(21:41):
the word traveled, students began showingup, lots of students. Karen remembers
seeing so many students in the hall. During the questioning, Pete was able
to describe the man well enough thata composite was drawn. The police put
out an alert for a man resemblingthe composit and Peter's car. Nikki's father

(22:03):
arrived and went to sit by herside. Once he spoke with doctors,
he realized that he was about tohave to make the hardest decision of his
life. He said it would beselfish of him to make her live on
life's support. He let Nikki's momknow that it was time for them to
say goodbye and let her go.She agreed. Nikki's father was able to

(22:26):
hold her as his only baby girlleft this world. I want to take
a moment to hear a word fromour sponsors before digging into the investigation.
Everyone was devastated, especially Pete.Once he was well enough to take the

(22:49):
police to the crime scene, hedid. He went over everything he could
with them. The car was stillmissing, though they had no leads from
the composit and there was no physicalevidence found. People were not happy.
The community was scared, and thosewho loved Nikki wanted justice. Not long

(23:11):
after, the police received a callabout a car on fire in a ditch.
They arrived to find Peter's car.They began knocking on the doors of
the homes and apartments near by.One of the residents said she came home
from work Sunday morning and everyone waswatching the fire. She said she noticed
one of the residents was not there, so she knocked on his door and
told him. She let him knowthat there was a car on fire,

(23:33):
and they didn't know who it belongedto. She said he didn't seem to
care at all and told her toleave. The police asked which apartment he
lived in and if she knew hisname. She told them that his name
was Kinney and pointed to his apartment. Police showed her the composite drawing and
asked if he looked like that.She said yes, there was a resemblance.

(23:56):
The detectives began looking into the apartmentwhen they discovered that Kenneth Williams lived
there with someone else. They decidedto show up and asked to search the
home, and the other person wholived in the apartment gave them permission.
During this time, a wallet waslocated, and inside the wallet they found
Miss Sharon's information the woman who wascarjacked weeks earlier. Now that they had

(24:21):
a name, they were able topull one of Kenneth's booking photos and took
it to Miss Sharon. She knewimmediately that that was the guy who carjacked
her at gunpoint. They arrested KennethWilliams for the crime against Miss Sharon and
decided to take the most recent bookingphoto from his arrest to Pete to see
if he could identify the man.As soon as Pete got a good look

(24:42):
at the photo, he immediately freakedout. He was so afraid he began
hyperventilating, but through that he wasable to tell the detectives, Yes,
that's him. Since Kenneth was alreadybeing held for the crime against Miss Sharon
that occurred on December fifth, hewill now be facing even more charges for
the crimes against Nicki and Pete.Not only will Nicki get justice, but

(25:06):
Pete was able to make a fullrecovery and agree to testify. On August
twenty sixth, nineteen ninety nine,Kenneth was found guilty for aggravated robbery,
theft of property, kidnapping, andarson. He received a total twenty one
years in prison, and on Septemberfifteenth, nineteen ninety nine, Kenneth Williams
was found guilty for capital murder,attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping,

(25:32):
two counts of aggravated robbery, twocounts of theft of property, arson,
and was sentenced to life in prisonwithout the possibility of parole. Everyone was
happy to see him removed from society, so when he escaped from prison,
not even a month later, onOctober third, nineteen ninety nine, the
community would be in fear of KennethWilliams again. While he was incarcerated in

(25:57):
the Cummins unit, he hid behinda slop tank on a garbage truck that
contained food waste for the hogs livingon the prison grounds. He made his
way across the county to the homeof Cecil Warren. Cecil was fifty seven
years old and lived with his wife. He adored his grandchildren. Cecil was

(26:17):
a gardener and he loved working inhis garden. That's exactly what he was
doing when Kenneth Williams arrived at hishome. Cecil worked at the prison as
a warden at one time. Oncehe was retired, he lived on his
farm with his family, not farfrom the prison. Kenneth shot mister Born
and drug his body to a bayounearby. He then stole his money,

(26:41):
his clothes, guns, and histruck. The state police released the information
and they were now looking for misterBoren's truck. The following day, it
would be cited in Missouri. ButKenneth wasn't giving up that easy. He
led the police on a high speedchase, resulting in an act accident and
his arrest. Unfortunately, the accidentalso resulted in the death of a young

(27:06):
father from the Springfield, Missouri area. Twenty four year old Michael Greenway was
driving his work truck delivering water whenKenneth Williams crashed into him. Mister Greenway
was a husband and a father ofa five year old girl. His wife
was pregnant at the time with twinboys. They were so excited about the

(27:26):
twins that they had names picked outalready, Dylan and Joseph. He was
such a devoted family man who adoredhis children. He worked for Colligans for
many years, starting in his teens. A coworker remembered mister Greenway telling him
that he was afraid that if hiswife drove, she would get into an

(27:48):
accident, which made it so muchmore heartbreaking. Kenneth was brought back to
prison and on August twentieth, twothousand, was guilt of capital murder,
aggravated robbery, escape, and thistime he was sentenced to death. While
sitting on death row, Kenneth wrotea letter stating that he became a born

(28:11):
again Christian and confessed to killing thirtysix year old Darrell Jenkins on the same
date that he killed Nikki. Heasked for forgiveness for the crimes that he
committed and used the excuse that hewas robbing someone to pay his rent.
He said, when he left Nickieand Pete, a relentless voice whispered to

(28:33):
him, aren't you a bit curioushow it feels to kill someone? He
started getting paranoid because he knew thatthey saw his face, afraid that he
would get caught and go to jail. That's when he made the choice to
return to where he left them andmurder them. He said that he murdered
them when he was high as akite and beyond fillings. So before he

(28:56):
kidnapped Nicki and Pete, thirty sixyear old Drell Jenkins and then shot him
twice in the chest and left himin a ditch. His five children would
now grow up without a father.Because Kenneth was high as the kite and
needed rent money. A young boydiscovered mister Jenkins' body in a ditch while

(29:17):
walking to school. Mister Jenkins bringsthe number of victims to four, four
innocent lives taken for selfish reasons.The selfishness did not stop there. He
continued to file motions and appeals foryears to follow. His defense presented family
members as witnesses to testify Kenneth's troubledupbringing. His father was abusive, his

(29:38):
mother was absent, and they bothhad a bad alcohol and drug problem.
Kenneth was committed numerous times and sawtherapists for his learning disabilities and mental health.
The victims families continued to suffer.On August ninth, two thousand and
two, he filed a ten pagepetition asserting several claims, including ineffectiveness of

(30:02):
counsel based on trial council's failure tosubmit evidence of mental retardation, and the
court granted him funds to hire anexpert. Kenneth's attorney hired doctor Weinstein.
He found that he had nineteen differentemotionally damaging factors. During his interviews with
family members, the extreme economic deprivationwas brought up. His mother spoke about

(30:26):
their home being infested with roaches andrats. The utilities were rarely on and
they struggled to find food to eat. Alcoholism and domestic violence was in the
family history for years. His fatherwas a coke addict, and he would
have Kenneth hit his joints at theage of six. He was abusive,

(30:47):
often leaving welts and bruises on hiswife and kids. He would slap their
mother around in front of them,push her, hit her with a closed
fist, and body slam her onthe ground. There were a few big
incidents that occurred in front of thekids. He cut her across the stomach,
ones and even kidnapped her a gunpoint and held her captive. They

(31:07):
presented years of low IQ results rangingfrom sixty eight to eighty four, eighty
four being the highest at age eight. His sister stated that he never talked
as a child. He was quietand got into drugs very early on.
His mother said it at the ageof four, he was hospitalized for viral

(31:27):
meningitis. It was brought up thatthis has a potential of causing brain damage.
Kenneth also stated that he was gangraped at the age of nine.
Kenneth stated that the reason he attackedNikki was because quote having been taken advantage
of in this manner, I grewup bitter and angry. I was guilt

(31:48):
ridden. During the evidentiary hearing onSeptember eighth, two thousand and five,
his attorney informed the court that afterthe testing on mister Williams was done,
they would not be pursuing either ofthe two claims based on his intellectual disability.
They continued to attempt to appeal thesentencing of the death penalty, and
in two thousand and nine, Williamsargued that it was the prisons fault for

(32:12):
him escaping because they failed to preventhis escape. He argued that it was
a mitigating factor in the penalty phaseof his trial, and that he was
improperly denied funding for a corrections expertto testify regarding the prisons negligence. The
court ruled that the testimony was nota mitigating factor and denied the requested funding.

(32:34):
First Williams was scheduled to be executedon January fourteenth, twenty sixteen,
but his execution was stayed along withseveral others by a judge with the Pulaski
County Circuit Court due to legal challengesregarding the execution drugs. The following year,
in February, his new scheduled executiondate of April twenty seventh, twenty

(32:55):
seventeen, was announced. Kenneth spentclose to ten years in prison, and
he became an ordained minister to theother death row inmates. During his clemency
hearing, he said that he wasnot afraid to die. On April fifth,
twenty seventeen, he was denied clemency, and on April twenty fourth,

(33:19):
twenty seventeen, they filed a motionfor a stay of execution, which was
also denied by the Supreme Court.Cecil Bourne's widow said that she'd been waiting
a long time for the state tofollow through. Darrell Jenkins's daughter said that
she doesn't wish death upon anyone.Nikki's mother said that she had mixed feelings
because she knows the pain of losinga family member. During Kenneth's final hours,

(33:45):
he met his daughter, whom hehadn't seen in eighteen years, and
his three year old granddaughter that hehad never met. At the time,
they lived in Washington, d C. And couldn't afford to come out to
Arkansas. When Old Greenway's daughter foundout about this, she paid for them
to travel to Arkansas. She alsotraveled here to meet with Kenneth's daughter Kai.

(34:16):
My name is Kayla. It's niceto meet to like I'm meeting a
sister that I never knew I hadthis whole time. Somebody that knows how
I feel. I'm just so excitedand I just want to have the right

(34:40):
words to say for Jasmine, tosupport her and to help her. I
wasn't shock. She just gets tosee her dude and she gets those memories.
I think it will just show herthat people can have unconditional love for
you. You can bring a beautifulthing out of any situation. He failed

(35:10):
right here, and he's shot himsix times. We've been waiting a long
long time for these people have tobe punished for things they've done. She
said. She misses her father everysingle day, but making this connection will

(35:34):
help her fine closure. Kenneth,his daughter, and his granddaughter had their
final goodbyes the day before his scheduledexecution. She was able to read him
the email from Kayla, Michael Greenway'sdaughter, which also said that they forgave
him. She said he broke outin tears. He told her tomorrow,

(35:55):
no matter what happens, he willat least be more. Were at peace
now knowing that he was able tosee his daughter and his granddaughter. Kenneth
took communion around three pm, andhis dinner was served at three eleven pm.

(36:17):
His last meal was fried chicken witha side of sweet rice, barbecue,
pinto beans, bread, peanut buttercookie, and a sentiment role.
He left his cell at ten nineteenpm and was escorted to the execution chambers.
The guards restrained him in the gurneyand placed a cassiter and two ivys

(36:38):
into his body. The witnesses walkedinto the viewing chambers at ten twenty nine
pm, including cecil Bourne's daughter.At ten fifty pm, the curtains opened
and the witnesses saw Kenneth and thegurney. The ADC director gave him the
opportunity to speak, and he readfrom a sheet of paper. He said,

(37:00):
I'm not the person that I was, but I've been transformed when I
gave my life to Christ. Ican't undo. I only seek your forgiveness.
And then he spoke about how hisnext to last words would be a
prayer. At that time, presumablythe execution started. Mister Williams prayer continued

(37:23):
probably another twenty twenty five seconds,and then it was clear when the drug
was taking the back because his hisspeaking in tongue slowed. He reverted to
English and said the words that Ispeak, will forever, be will forever,
and then it went into it justfaded off. At ten fifty five

(37:50):
pm, witnesses heard Kenneth breathing loudly. His body jerked fifteen times for about
fifteen seconds. Then he started tomove at a slower rate. His chest
went up and down for several minuteslike he was coughing that he wasn't after
having breathed through his nose throughout theexecution. UM, his um body lurched

(38:14):
forward as though we were trying todescribe how to, how to, how
to, how to describe it waslike if you're on a bumpy road and
you had a bump in your andyour body gets thrown forward. UM.
It happened about fifteen times in quicksuccession. This is about three minutes,
four minutes into the execution. Thiswould have been only with the medaslam having
been administered. UM. And atlast took about fifteen fifteen times, pretty

(38:37):
pretty quick succession. UM, maybeno more than ten or fifteen seconds.
UH. That slowed another five timesat at at a slower rate. And
then after in my notes I wrotedown each time it happened, and it
got to twenty and then it wasover after the twentieth lurch forward. At

(38:57):
that time, mister Williams was breathingthrough his mouth, and up until this
point he had been breathing through hisnose. And so there are other times
in our notes where it appeared asthough he was striving for air that he
was I think Knowles used the termin his notes gasping. At eleven oh
four, he brought in the cornerand the corner did the same checks or

(39:20):
similar checks. At eleven oh five, the corner pronounced him dead. Thank

(39:42):
you everyone for being patient with meand downloading this episode. Next episode,
which is episode thirty, will beon Jason McGee. He is the last
inmate in the rushed execution, thefinal inmate of the Arkansas eight. I
want to thank everyone for all ofyour support and sticking with me.