They spent months together witnessing some of the worst in human conduct, hearing horrific descriptions of the beating and torture of a little girl at her own home, in the place she ought to feel safest.
But in the end, four of the 12 jurors in the state’s first capital murder case held out for life in prison for Naeem Williams, the 34-year-old former soldier they had found guilty of torturing and killing his daughter through child abuse.
"The hardest part for me was deciding death or life, can I do that to somebody?" said Clarence Kaone, who flew to court every week from his home in Anahola, Kauai, to serve on the jury.
In the end, Kaone felt Williams deserved the ultimate punishment: "death," he said. "No doubt in my mind."
Jurors interviewed after the verdict agreed that they all respected each other and worked well together on the federal case, despite their differences of opinion. The vote was 8-4 in favor of execution.
The death penalty requires unanimous agreement, so Williams will be sent to prison for life.
Williams was prosecuted under federal law because the crime occurred on military property. Hawaii outlawed the death penalty in 1957, before it became a state.
The jury deliberated seven days over whether to impose the death penalty after spending more than three months immersed in the dreadful details of the case. Jurors had to study grisly autopsy photos and hear how Williams beat his daughter with a belt and his fist, shoved her into walls, stomped on her, bound her head to toe with duct tape to a bedpost and deprived her of food.
Talia was 5 when she died in 2005.
"I’ll never get the images, the graphic images out of my mind," said a juror who identified herself as a homemaker. "It just made me more aware that we need to be there, if you hear something. It’s appalling how many people heard things and never did anything about it."
The juror declined to give her name but said she was part of the majority who thought Williams should be put to death.
"I abided and respect my fellow jurors," she said. "I just don’t feel, for the little girl, that justice has been served. The things that had been done to her were just atrocious. We don’t treat our terrorists like that."
Earlanne Leslie of Hilo dabbed her eyes as the verdict was read and also teared up outside the courthouse, hugging her fellow jurors before they headed off to their separate lives. She declined to say how she voted.
"I feel drained," she said. "I think we were all there knowing that we could have given him death. And I guess when we weighed out everything … it went that way."
"I don’t think we’ll ever forget it," she added.
A man who identified himself as "Juror No. 2" noted that the penalty phase required them to weigh mitigating factors offered by the defense as well as aggravating factors from the prosecution, which required careful deliberation.
"The number of factors, there were more than 150 of them," he said. "It took time to get through all those items."
"We had to keep our emotions out of it, as hard as that was, to be impartial and look at the evidence," he said, adding, "It was a lot of stress."
The jury was aware that Talia’s stepmother, Delilah Williams, had received 20 years in a plea bargain for her role in abusing the youngster. She testified at the trial against her husband and said she had also beat and stomped on the girl and pulled out clumps of her hair.
"The stepmother is going to get off with just 20 years," said one juror. "I think she was just as culpable in the crime as he is, but he’s more so. He could have stopped at any time."
Defense attorney John Philipsborn said Naeem Williams was thankful that his life had been spared.
"Both of us were relieved," he said. "I think he was very grateful for the outcome, and I’m not sure that he expected it."
"When looking back at what happened to his daughter, he was really, really mystified by his own conduct," the attorney added.
Philipsborn, who has defended 30 people accused in capital cases, said he had repeatedly sought to reach a plea agreement rather than go to trial.
"The reason it took so long to get to trial is that I tried for years to resolve this case," he said.
| AGREEMENT ON SOME FACTORS
The jury in the Naeem Williams case could not agree on what penalty to impose, but they did unanimously agree on five aggravating factors and 45 mitigating factors while weighing the death sentence. Among them were:
AGGRAVATING FACTORS:
» After committing the final act of physical abuse against Talia Williams, the defendant intentionally waited before seeking medical attention for her, with such delay reducing the possibility that she could have been medically treated and saved.
» The defendant intentionally endeavored to impede the investigation into the murder of Talia Williams by washing her blood from her bedroom wall.
» The defendant knowingly and willfully made a false material statement to law enforcement officers to conceal the true cause of Talia Williams’ death.
» The defendant endeavored to obstruct justice by instructing his wife, Delilah S. Williams, to give a false statement to law enforcement officers, that is, that Talia Williams fell in the bathtub, in order to conceal the true cause of the girl’s death.
» The defendant caused injury, harm and loss to Tarshia Williams by causing the death of her daughter, Talia Williams.
MITIGATING FACTORS:
» Naeem Williams was born to a single mother and never knew, and never received guidance from, his biological father.
» His stepfather regularly disciplined Naeem Williams using corporal punishment until Naeem Williams was a teenager.
» His stepfather treated Naeem Williams more harshly than he treated his daughters.
» Naeem Williams served overseas during ongoing military operations and re-enlisted.
» While not involved in combat operations, Naeem Williams served with distinction and was decorated for his military service.
» Naeem Williams does not have an antisocial personality disorder.
» From an early age, Naeem Williams was exposed to his parents’ drinking of alcohol.
» During the period from December 2004 through July 16, 2005, Naeem Williams was under stress from the effect his marital problems were having on his employment.
» When Naeem Williams got physical custody of Talia Williams, he was excited about having her with him and had no expectation or intent to harm her.
» Naeem Williams took custody of Talia Williams because he felt obligated to do so.
» Naeem Williams’ striking of Talia Williams was influenced and encouraged by Delilah Williams.
» Delilah Williams inflicted serious bodily injury on Talia Williams, stomped on her and verbally abused her.
» Delilah Williams has admitted, by her plea agreement, that she shares responsibility for the death of Talia Williams.
» Although Delilah Williams worked for Child and Youth Services, she failed to seek assistance for Talia Williams.
» Naeem Williams admitted both before and during trial that he committed acts of assault against Talia Williams.
» Naeem Williams is kind to his (other) daughter and son.
» Naeem Williams’ life has value to his son, to his friends and to members of his family.
» Naeem Williams continues to communicate with members of his family and continues to have a place within his family.
» Naeem Williams has no record of violent or assaultive conduct either prior to December 2004 or after July 16, 2005.
» Naeem Williams has not been previously convicted of any other offense besides driving under the influence of alcohol.
» Naeem Williams has had a calming influence with others while he has been in custody.
» Naeem Williams has been respectful to correctional officers during his incarceration.
» Naeem Williams has never been in any fights or involved in any assaults during his nine years in custody.
» If sentenced to life in prison without possibility of release, Naeem Williams’ conduct during his years of pretrial incarceration indicates that he will not be a danger to staff or to other inmates while in custody.
Star-Advertiser staff
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