Williams loses death sentence appeal

By Cindy Landrum  

FEBRUARY 9, 2010 4:20 p.m. (0)

A man who gunned down his ex-girlfriend in the deli of a Greenville grocery store lost an appeal of his death sentence.

The South Carolina Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Charles Christopher Williams, who received the death penalty in connection with the shooting death of Maranda Williams in 2003.

Trial testimony revealed a camouflage-wearing Williams walked into the Bi-Lo grocery store on East North Street with a sawed-off shotgun under his arm and extra ammunition strapped to his leg.

Williams walked past customers and other employees before he found Maranda Williams trying to escape through a storage area.

When Maranda Williams tried to escape after being held a hostage for nearly two hours, Williams shot her in the back.

Investigators found a diagram of the store and the victim’s work schedule in Williams’ bedroom after the shooting.

In his appeal, Williams argued the trial judge should have declared a mistrial when the jury indicated during deliberations it was divided nine to three in favor of death. He also argued Circuit Judge Buddy Nicholson should have imposed a life sentence when the jury could not agree on a sentence after “reasonable deliberation.”

Williams’ appeal also said a forensic psychiatrist’s testimony impermissibly bolstered and vouched for the solicitor’s decision to seek the death penalty.

The court rejected all the arguments.

After more than five hours of deliberation, the jury revealed its division in a note to a judge and asked what procedure they should follow to resolve their deadlock. The judge decided to give an Allen charge, which tells the jury to continue deliberating in an attempt to reach a verdict.

The jury continued to deliberate and returned two hours later with their death sentence recommendation.

In its opinion, the Supreme Court found the charge the judge used did not target those in the minority.

The court also said “reasonable deliberation” is not simply an elapsed-time dependent determination.

Williams can still pursue appeals on the federal level. No execution date has been set.

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