Doyle James Williams

Case name

State of Missouri v. Doyle James Williams (652 S. W. 2D 102)

Background

Doyle James Williams was executed by lethal injection by the State of Missouri on April 10, 1996.

Williams pleaded guilty to Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Motor Vehicle in Baltimore, Maryland on 06/29/1967 and received a sentence of 2 – ½ years probation.

Williams pleaded guilty in Greensboro, North Carolina to Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Vehicle on 06/02/1970. He received suspended imposition of sentence and was placed on one year probation, to run consecutive with the sentence imposed on Jun 29, 1967.

Williams pleaded guilty to eleven counts of Interstate Transportation and Concealment of Stolen Motor Vehicles on 09/27/1976. Williams was paroled from this confinement on November 20, 1978. That parole was revoked in October of 1980.

The offence

In April 1980, Doyle Williams and John Morgan burglarized the medical offices of Dr. A. H. Domann in Auxvasse, Missouri, taking, among other items, blank prescription pads.

Kerry Brummett, who was Morgan’s roommate, saw the prescription pads that bore Dr. Domann’s name and saw defendant and Morgan discuss means of utilizing the prescription pads.

Later in the day, Williams made an effort to pass forged prescriptions in a Columbia drug store, but was caught, arrested, and charged. Williams was later convicted of attempt to obtain a controlled substance by fraud.

Williams told Morgan that he could “beat the rap” and confided that he could avoid conviction “if the doctor didn’t testify that he hadn’t signed the prescription”.

On October 6, 1980, Williams murdered Dr. A. H. Domann. Williams placed Dr. Domann’s body in a Callaway County clay pit. Dr. Domann was last seen alive on October 6, 1980, and police recovered the body on October 11, 1980 from a clay pit north of Auxvasse, Missouri.

On October 7, 1980, Williams revealed to Morgan that he had killed Dr. Domann and placed his body in a Callaway County clay pit. The conviction for this murder was affirmed on appeal in State v. Williams, 662 S.W.2d 277 (Mo.App., E.D. 1983).

On October 8, 1980, Williams suggested that Kerry Brummett should meet the same fate as Dr. Domann in retribution for having testified against Morgan in forgery charge proceedings.

On October 9, 1980, Betty Coleman arranged a date with Kerry Brummett in Jefferson City. Coleman drove the unsuspecting Brummett to a deserted area in Callaway County adjacent to the Missouri River for an early morning rendezvous with Morgan and Williams.

Brummett was dragged from the auto by Williams and Morgan. They beat and kicked Brummett about the head and body. Williams used a .357 Magnum to beat Brummett. Williams borrowed handcuffs from an Auxvasse police officer friend. With Morgan’s help, Williams bound Brummett’s hands behind his back and forced him, bleeding and dazed, into the trunk of Coleman’s auto.

Williams and Morgan then drove Brummett to a location near the river bank and pulled him from the car. Morgan obtained a bumper jack and rope to serve as a body weight. Williams continued his bodily attack on the handcuffed victim, striking him in the back and sending him stumbling down the riverbank toward the Missouri River.

Brummett continued to resist and assured the men he would not testify against them. Brummett ran directly into the river and, still handcuffed, sank beneath the surface, able to rise twice. As Brummett surfaced for the second time, Williams ordered Morgan to shoot him. Morgan responded by firing over the victim’s head.

Williams attempted to retrieve the body and remove the handcuffs which could be traced, but he failed. The body was retrieved seven days later on a sandbar. The cause of the victim’s death was drowning. His scalp had been lacerated by a blunt instrument. At the point of assault, the victim’s eye glasses and plastic name tag were found. Brummett’s gold chain, traces of blood, hair, and the brand of cigarettes smoked by him were found in the car used by defendant and Morgan.

Williams was convicted when Morgan later testified against him.

Investigation

In September 1981, a jury found Williams guilty of capital murder and sentenced him to death. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence.

Police recovered the body of Dr. A. H. Domann on October 11, 1980, who was last seen alive on October 6, 1980, from a clay pit north of Auxvasse, Missouri.

Police found three .45 caliber bullets in Domann’s body.

Police found three .45 caliber bullets in Domann’s body, and expert testimony established that five expended bullets found at a trash dump were from the same gun that killed Domann. Expert testimony excluded Betty Coleman’s .45 caliber weapon as the gun used to kill the doctor.

Police never recovered the murder weapon.

Arrest

In April 1980, Williams was arrested after he was caught attempting to pass forged prescriptions in a Columbia drug store.

Trial

Williams was tried by a jury on a change of venue in Clay County for the murder of Kerry Brummett. The jury convicted Williams and recommended a sentence of Death.

On 11/13, the trial court denied Williams’ motion for new trial and sentenced him to death.

Williams was convicted of Domann’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in Marion County, with this sentence to run consecutively with any other sentence on 01/29/1982.

Evidence at Williams’s Domann-related trial included testimony that on October 7, 1980, Williams took John Morgan to the clay pit north of Auxvasse and told Morgan that Williams had murdered Domann the day before. Morgan testified that Williams described the murder and following events in great detail. Morgan also testified that he and Williams had discussed killing Domann on several occasions to prevent Domann from testifying on a forgery charge.

Barbara Rea testified that Williams attended a party at her trailer home late in the day on October 5, 1980, at which Williams and other party guests fired weapons at a trash dump outside the trailer. Party guests testified that Williams brought to the party a briefcase containing several guns. At least one of those guns was a .45 caliber automatic pistol, fired by Randy Clardy and by Doyle Williams. Betty Coleman possessed a .45 caliber automatic weapon which she fired at the party. Later, law enforcement officers recovered ten .45 caliber bullets and eight .45 caliber cartridge casings near the trash dump. Expert testimony linked bullets from the dump to Domann’s murder. Expert testimony excluded Betty Coleman’s .45 caliber weapon as the murder gun.

Dedra Herdeg testified that on October 5, 1980 between 10:00 and 10:30 in the morning, she worked as a clerk at a gas station convenience store, and a man asked her for directions to Domann’s house. At trial, Herdeg identified Williams as the person who sought directions from her.

Williams claimed that admission of Herdeg’s testimony violated due process because it was tainted by suggestive pretrial photo lineups and a suggestive hypnosis session.

Following trial, the jury convicted Williams of Domann’s murder and sentenced him to life in prison without possibility of parole for fifty years.

The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction (State v. Williams, 662 S.W.2d 277 (Mo.Ct.App.1983)), and subsequently denied post-conviction relief (Williams v. State, 730 S.W.2d 284 (Mo.Ct.App.1987)).

Williams defended himself at trial by arguing that Morgan committed the murder. Two defense witnesses testified at trial that Morgan, while in prison, told them that he killed Domann and was going to frame Williams for the murder.

Sentencing

In 07/16/1981, Williams was sentenced to life for Attempting to Obtain a Controlled Substance by Fraud.

On 11/13/1981, after the murder-of-Brummett proceedings, the trial court denied Williams’ motion for new trial and sentenced him to death.

On 01/29/1982, Williams received a sentence of life imprisonment in Marion County for the death of Dr. A. H. Domann, to run consecutively with any other sentence.

Williams was executed by lethal injection on April 10, 1996.

Appeals

The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Williams’ conviction and sentence on 1983 5/31 (State v. Williams, 652 S.W.2d 102 (Mo.1983)).

Williams’ initial habeas corpus petition was dismissed for failure to exhaust state remedies on 3/2/1984.

Williams filed a motion seeking relief under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 27.26 on 3/21/1984.

On 3/27/1985, the Rule 27.26 motion was denied by the Circuit Court of Clay County after an evidentiary hearing.

On 6/6/1985, the Eighth Circuit U.S. court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the first federal habeas corpus petition.

On 5/15/1986, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, affirmed the denial of the Rule 27.26 motion.

Williams filed his second federal habeas corpus petition on 7/21/1986.

On 2/9/1988, the United States district Court denied Williams’ second federal habeas corpus petition.

On 12/7/1989, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit granted the writ of habeas by a 2-1 vote.

On 8/15/1990, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc by an 8-2 vote vacated the opinion and judgment of the three-judge panel and affirmed the denial of the writ of habeas corpus by the United States District Court.

On 1/30/1991, Williams filed a state habeas corpus petition in the Circuit Court of Washington County.

On 2/15/1991, the state habeas corpus petition was transferred to the Missouri Supreme Court.

On 3/5/1991, the state habeas corpus petition was denied.

On 3/14/1991, Williams filed his third federal habeas corpus petition.

On 10/8/1991, Williams’ motion to recall the mandate in the Missouri Supreme Court was denied.

On 4/28/1995, a United States Magistrate issued a 120-page report and recommendation finding that all grounds raised were either an abuse of the writ, abusive of the writ and defaulted, successive, or not cognizable in a federal habeas corpus petition.

On 1/11/1996, the United States District denied Williams’ third federal habeas corpus petition.

On 1/19/1996, the United States District court denied the third federal habeas corpus petition.

On 2/28/1996, the Missouri Supreme Court set Williams’ execution date for April 10, 1996.

On 3/8/1996, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay based on Williams’ motion for a certificate of probable cause.

On 4/4/1996, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals en banc denied the state’s motion for a rehearing of stay and motion to vacate the stay.

On 4/9/1996, the United States Supreme Court granted the state’s motion to vacate the stay in Williams v. Missouri, 463 U.S. 1301 (1983).

On April 9, 1996, in BOWERSOX v. WILLIAMS, the Supreme Court granted the application to vacate the stay of execution.

Quoted legal text and decisions (verbatim)

Justice Blackmun, Circuit Justice, issued a stay application order in WILLIAMS v. MISSOURI, 463 U.S. 1301 (1983):

“[D]irect appeal is the primary avenue for review of a conviction or sentence.” Barefoot v. Estelle, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 3391, 75 L.Ed.2d ___ (1983). If a federal question is involved, the process of direct review “includes the right to petition this Court for a writ of certiorari.” Ibid. A stay of execution obviously is essential to realization of this right if the execution otherwise would occur prior to the expiration of a defendant's time to petition this Court for direct review. The defendant must have at least one opportunity to present to the full Court his claims that [463 U.S. 1301 , 1302] his death sentence has been imposed unconstitutionally. For this reason, if a State schedules an execution to take place before filing and disposition of a petition for certiorari, I must stay that execution pending completion of direct review, as a matter of course.

Outcome

Williams was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on April 10, 1996.

In BOWERSOX v. WILLIAMS (April 9, 1996), the Supreme Court granted the application to vacate the stay of execution and ordered that Williams’s execution proceed.

Aftermath

Williams’s execution occurred on April 10, 1996.

Other details

Legal chronology and prior convictions

• 1967 06/29 — Williams pled guilty to Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Motor Vehicle and received a sentence of 2 – ½ years probation in Baltimore, Maryland.
• 1970 06/02 — Williams pled guilty in Greensboro, North Carolina to Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Vehicle; received suspended imposition of sentence and one year probation consecutive with the 1967 sentence.
• 1976 09/27 — Williams pled guilty to eleven counts of Interstate Transportation and Concealment of Stolen Motor Vehicles.
• Parole: November 20, 1978; parole revoked in October of 1980.

Habeas corpus procedural history (select)

• 3/2/1984 — Initial habeas corpus petition dismissed for failure to exhaust state remedies.
• 3/27/1985 — Rule 27.26 motion denied by Circuit Court of Clay County after an evidentiary hearing.
• 6/6/1985 — Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of first federal habeas petition.
• 7/21/1986 — Second federal habeas petition filed.
• 2/9/1988 — Second federal habeas denied by United States district Court.
• 12/7/1989 — Eighth Circuit panel granted writ by 2-1 vote.
• 8/15/1990 — En banc vacated panel decision and affirmed denial of the writ.
• 1/30/1991 — State habeas petition filed in Circuit Court of Washington County.
• 3/5/1991 — State habeas petition denied by Missouri Supreme Court.
• 4/28/1995 — Magistrate report and recommendation.
• 1/11/1996 and 1/19/1996 — Third federal habeas petition denied by United States District Court.

Witnesses, identification procedures, and trial issues (from habeas discussion)

• Police recovered Domann’s body from a clay pit north of Auxvasse, Missouri; three .45 caliber bullets were found in Domann’s body.
• John Morgan testified about Williams’s statements and the detailed murder description.
• Barbara Rea testified about the shooting party at her trailer home on October 5, 1980 and that Williams and other guests fired weapons at a trash dump.
• At trial, expert testimony linked five bullets recovered at the dump to the gun used to kill Domann and excluded Betty Coleman’s .45 caliber weapon.
• Jessie Purvis testified she saw Williams’s white car in front of her house on three separate occasions around 5:45 a.m. on October 6, 1980 and that Purvis did not see a license plate on the front of the car.
• Officer Oscar Ross testified that Williams’s car had only a rear license plate.
• Dedra Herdeg testified about providing directions to Domann’s house on October 5, 1980 and later identified Williams.
• Williams challenged the admission of Herdeg’s testimony based on suggestive photo lineups and hypnosis procedures. The state trial court granted the motion to suppress the photographic lineup but denied the motion to suppress any identification at trial.
• The Eighth Circuit determined that the in-court identification must be rejected on due process grounds but denied habeas relief, concluding the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt under Chapman v. California.

Crime scene and evidence details

• Williams used a .357 Magnum against Brummett.
• Morgan obtained a bumper jack and rope as a body weight.
• Brummett was handcuffed; Williams attempted to retrieve the body and remove handcuffs but failed.
• Brummett’s body was retrieved seven days later on a sandbar.
• Brummett’s death was caused by drowning; his scalp had been lacerated by a blunt instrument.
• Eye glasses and plastic name tag were found at the point of assault.

Execution stay litigation details (Bowersox v. Williams)

Doyle J. Williams was scheduled to be executed on April 10, 1996.

On January 11, 1996, a Federal District Court denied Williams’ third federal habeas corpus petition.

On March 8, 1996, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit entered a summary order staying Williams’ execution and scheduled oral argument for May 13, 1996; the stay remained in effect pending submission of the case and further order.

The Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing en banc.

On April 9, 1996, an order affirming the district court, vacating the certificate of probable cause, and denying a stay of execution was issued in Doyle J. Williams v. Paul K. Delo, Superintendent, No. 96-1205.

On April 9, 1996, the Supreme Court granted the application to vacate the stay of execution.