Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams, 38, was a Black man who, while held in custody, became an ordained Protestant minister and wrote a book warning people against gang life. The State of Arkansas executed him by lethal injection on April 27, 2017, at the death chamber in Varner. His lawyers had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, arguing that he was intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty, but the Court rejected the appeal. Witnesses said he convulsed and groaned during the execution, and his lawyers argued that if the sedative had failed he could have been aware and in agony. A judge ordered a post-mortem examination and the preservation of tissue samples.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. His lawyers argued he was intellectually disabled and so ineligible for the death penalty, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected their appeal to block the execution; witnesses said he convulsed and groaned, and his lawyers called the death horrifying and argued he could have been aware and in agony if the sedative failed.
Reported by: Arkansas Department of Correction (the agency that held him); witnesses; his lawyers; U.S. Supreme Court (court).