William James "Flip" Williams Jr. (November 9, 1956 – October 25, 2005) was an American

mass murderer Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...

and suspected

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

. He was convicted of the September 2, 1991, murders of three rival

drug dealers The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

and a visitor to their

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

home. Williams was previously acquitted of a 1981 murder. Williams had returned to the neighborhood after a long absence to find that several people including Alfonda R. Madison, William L. Dent, and Eric Howard had taken over his drug dealing in the area. He decided to regain control by murdering the three. He enlisted the help of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Jessica M. Cherry; her brother, Dominic M. Cherry; and Dominic Cherry's seventeen-year-old "cousin", Broderick Boone. On the night of September 1, after Jessica Cherry had previously gone to the house of Madison to discuss a drug deal, Williams arrived with the three accomplices. All but Williams went into the house, where they drew guns on Madison. Using

walkie-talkie A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver (HT), is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, ...

s they signaled for Williams to enter the house. Madison was

handcuffed ''Handcuffed'' is a 1929 American silent mystery film directed by Duke Worne and starring Virginia Brown Faire, Wheeler Oakman and Dean Jagger.Munden p.322 Synopsis Gerald Morely's father is ruined in a stock fraud and commits suicide. When shor ...

and his mouth taped with

duct tape Duct tape (also called duck tape, from the cotton duck cloth it was originally made of) is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesi ...

. Theodore Wynn Jr. then arrived at the house, looking for Madison and Howard. Jessica answered the door and told Wynn the two weren't home. Williams realized that Wynn could identify them, so he got Jessica to call him back into the house. Wynn was then handcuffed and gagged. Jessica was then instructed by Williams to use a

payphone A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic outdoor areas, with prepayment by inserting money (usually coins) or by billing a credit or debit ...

to call Dent and get him to come to the house. He arrived with Howard and the two were ambushed by Williams and the other three, and forced into the bathroom. Williams then proceeded to strangle Madison and Wynn, and then shot the four victims in the head with a gun owned by Madison. Dominic Cherry turned himself in to police on September 24. Police then arrested Jessica Cherry and Broderick. The three were held at

Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center Mahoning may refer to: Communities * Mahoning, Ohio, an unincorporated community in Portage County * Mahoning County, Ohio * Mahoning Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania * Mahoning Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania * Mahoning Township, Law ...

. Williams was then arrested but escaped on October 15 and while a

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

on four counts of aggravated murder, four counts of

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

, and one count of aggravated

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

. His next action was on January 12, 1992, when he and two other men went to the Juvenile Justice Center and tricked the receptionist into letting them enter. He then held the receptionist and deputy sheriff hostage while demanding to see Jessica, Dominic and Broderick. He would later testify that he planned to kill the three to stop them being witnesses at his trial. He later surrendered and was re-indicted on twelve counts of aggravated murder, four counts of kidnapping, and one count of aggravated burglary. The three juveniles pleaded guilty to

delinquency Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fa ...

by reason of complicity to aggravated murder, complicity to aggravated burglary, and complicity to kidnapping. Williams pleaded not guilty but was convicted on all counts and was sentenced to death on the four aggravated murder convictions. Police think that Williams may have killed up to ten other people during his criminal career. He had previously done five years in a

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

prison for

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

and

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

. He had also once walked into a police station in Youngstown and asked for information on rival drug dealers in the area. The

Ohio Parole Board Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

recommended that

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bob Taft Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 as a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Taft political dynasty, Taft served first i ...

not give clemency in this case, which he withheld on October 24. He was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m. EDT on October 25, 2005, after the lethal injection at the

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (commonly referred to as Lucasville) is a maximum security prison located just outside Lucasville in Scioto County, Ohio. The prison was constructed in 1972. As of 2022, the warden is Donald Redwood. The ...

Lucasville, Ohio Lucasville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,757 at the 2010 census. Lucasville is the location of the Scioto County Fairgrounds. The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Ohio's one of ...

. He did not have a

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...

request, though did have a cup of coffee. In his final statement he said:

I'm not going to waste no time talking about my lifestyle, my case, my punishment. Mom, you've been there for me from the beginning. I love you. To my nieces, nephew and uncle I love you very much. Ya'll stick together. Don't worry about me. I'm OK. This all ain't nothing. That's it." .

References

Report
from the

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) is a large organization dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty in the United States. Founded in 1976 (the same year the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court of the Un ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Willie 1956 births 2005 deaths 21st-century African-American people 21st-century executions by Ohio 21st-century executions of American people American kidnappers American people convicted of burglary Executed African-American people Executed American mass murderers Executed people from Ohio Mass murder in 1991 Mass murder in the United States People convicted of murder by Ohio People executed by Ohio by lethal injection People from Youngstown, Ohio Executed suspected serial killers

See also

References