StMU Research Scholars

Featuring Scholarly Research, Writing, and Media at St. Mary’s University

May 10, 2018

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Story of Dobie Williams

Throughout the history of the United States, there have been tens of thousands of murders, rapes, and other heinous crimes. For over two-hundred years, the United States government intended to establish a fair and judicial system of justice. However, as countless cases of accused criminals have shown, our judicial system is not all that equal. As cases from the past prove, there have been instances where errors in the judicial system occur, resulting in unfair trials. Even worse, some of those inmates who have had unfair trials were convicted and in some cases, even sentenced to death row. So, is our judicial system all that just for all? In many cases it is just; however, in too many cases throughout our history, the system has been unfair to a number of accused individuals. An example of this is the trial of Dobie Williams, a young black man accused of the murder of a middle-aged white woman, Sonja Knippers on July 8, 1984. Dobie Williams had an unfair trial due to his race, few accommodations for his mental health, and an inept court-appointed attorney that he was provided.  

Image of Dobbie Williams with Sister Helen Prejean | Courtesy of Murderpedia

Geography and race had a role to play in the unfair trial of Dobie Williams. Knippers was a white woman in her early forties, who was brutally killed in the bathroom of her southern home, located in Many, a small town in Lousiana, which was not a good place for Dobie, an African American, to be accused of murdering a white woman. Sister Hellen Prejean, a writer and a spirtual adviser for death row inmates, who accompanied Dobie throughout his trials and execution dates, explains that Dobie never had a fair trial due to being assigned an all-white jury during his hearing for the murder of Knippers; in addition, all of the judges, district attorneys, and the local media during the time were all white, further explaining possible prejudices that could stacked the odds against him. Many is a small town located in north central Louisiana, and it was not a city. It was a small, quiet, and mostly white town, where murder, or basically any other crime, was erratically unusual, especially in 1984, meaning that when crimes did happen, it was a huge deal. Consequentially, being a black individual accused of murdering a middle-aged white woman in a small town in the south was a bad situation to be in. We will never know for sure whether an all-white jury had anything to do with the conviction of Dobie Williams. But it still was not looking good for him, due to where the murder had taken place and the significance of the crime. In her book, Prejean, realizing the social injustices in Louisiana during the 1980’s, exclaimed that Dobie was, “in big trouble.”1 Prejean understood how geography had a role to play in the conviction of Dobie. Innocent or guilty, being a black minority during the time of Dobie’s trial in a small town located in the heart of the south was no easy thing to endure.

Image of the year Edward Lee Elmore was convicted and the year he was released | Courtesy of Gregg-Graniteville Library

There are similar cases to Dobie’s in which a fair trial was not given because of such geography. In 1982 in Greenwood South Carolina, race played a significant role in the conviction of twenty-three-year-old Edward Lee Elmore, who was accused of the rape and murder of seventy-five-year-old Dorothy Edwards. According to Bishop Emmanuel Spearman, who was pastor to Edward, race played a major role in the trial.2 Spearman made a plausible statement about the trial because Edward, the African American, was accused of the murder of an elderly white woman in 1982, which was a severe offense. This could have given him an unfair trial due to the murder taking place in a small town in Greenwood, South Carolina, where just like Many, murder was rare. Something as significant as both murder and rape of an elderly white woman in a small, southern town would be considered heinous.

Dobie Williams did not have well-suited accommodations. In the 1980’s, individuals such as Dobie who had an IQ below 70, did not yet have the defense based on the Supreme Court case, Atkins v. Virginia, which ruled that capital punishment is unconstitutional for defendants with mental retardation.3 This meant that below average IQ could not be used in defense of Dobie Williams until the Supreme Court case was actually ruled. This can be related to Edward Lee Elmore, who had an IQ below 70, which made it difficult for him to understand the questions that were being asked while defending himself in a courtroom, when he was asked questions by district attorney, William T. Jones, who said, “You want this courtroom to believe you’re this quiet don’t you?”4 Edward lacked the competence to understand how to effectively defend himself while being asked harsh questions, due to being mentally handicapped. Furthermore, according to Celia B. Fisher, studies have demonstrated that “contribution to legal decisions concerning competency and predictions of future violence places the defendant at the mercy of an imperfect and unjust system.”5 The study shows that a defendant’s mental status is critical in the fate of that individual who is being accused of a heinous crime. Dobie Williams was a mentally-handicapped individual on trial for a severe act, and who was unable to properly defend himself, thus resulting in him to be at the mercy of a flawed judicial system.

Image of Dobie and Sister Helen Preagean | Courtesy of Twitter

Dobie Williams grew up in an impoverished childhood, giving him no other choice but to be assigned Michael Bonnette, his overworked public defender for his case, who had limited experience in death penalty cases, giving him an unfair trial. Sister Helen Prejean exclaims, “They know the difference in treatment given the O.J’s of the world in contrast with the NoJ.’s, forced to accept overworked, underfunded, or inept attorneys to defend them.” The fact of an incompetent, overworked, and underpaid attorney being assigned to Dobie, resulted in him making mistakes that affected the whole trial. During his trial, Dobie’s overworked public defender failed to successfully acquire any independent forensic testing, resulting in him being unable to provide a proper counter to the prosecutor’s claim against him. This mistake allowed for the argument against Dobie to be uncontested for thirteen years. Furthermore, it was Dobie’s financial situation that not only affected his opportunity to be assigned a more effective private attorney, but it also prevented him from having certain tests performed that could have aided him during his trial.6

There are other cases that explain the error of our judicial system. The trial of Dobie Williams is just one case out of too many that has been unfair. According to Sister Helen Prejean, there have been numerous cases of inaccuracy by the state and federal courts, thus compelling them to free 117 innocent death row inmates since 1973.7 Prejean presents the dramatic statistic in her book, The Death of Innocents, which was published in 2004. Imagine what the number has been now since the book was published. In addition, in 2000, Illinois’s governor, George Ryan, proclaimed a moratorium for the death penalty of the state, confirming that 13 death row inmates have been exonerated in the past 23 years.8 The appalling statistics illustrate the probable flaw in the judicial system of the United States, making it more likely to believe that Dobie Williams had an unfair trial. 

Minorities in southern areas who are accused and convicted of a crime are more highly exposed to unfair trials compared to other individuals. Even though the right to a public attorney is granted with the intention of an equal judicial system, in reality, that is just not the case. Dobie Williams could not afford a private attorney who had experience with the death penalty, resulting in him being unable to receive the proper defense that he deserved due to the inept, overworked, and underpaid public defender that he received. Dobie was unable to defend himself due to his below 70 IQ. With all of the facts in place, was the judicial system in the case of Dobie Williams all that just when there have been numerous accounts of accused inmates being exonerated due to a flaw in the system? 

  1. Sister Helen Prejean, The Death of Innocents (New York: Random House, 2005), 19.
  2. Life on Death Row, “Death Row Stories-Edward Lee Elmore,” 1:47-3:33, March 27, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSCJkTPft5g&t=2s.
  3. Celia Fisher, “Human Rights and Psychologists’ Involvement in Assessments Related to Death Penalty Cases,” Ethics and Behavior 23 no.1 (2013): 58.
  4. Life on Death Row, “Death Row Stories-Edward Lee Elmore,”16:22 , March 27, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSCJkTPft5g&t=2s.
  5. Celia Fisher, “Human Rights and Psychologists’ Involvement in Assessments Related to Death Penalty Cases,” Ethics and Behavior 23 no.1 (2013): 60.
  6. Sister Helen Prejean, The Death of Innocents (New York: Random House, 2005), 13-17.
  7. Sister Helen Prejean, The Death of Innocents (New York: Random House, 2005), 17.
  8. Robert Sigel,  “Profile: Illinois Governor George Ryan has placed a moratorium on death penalty executions, citing the state’s shameful record of putting innocent people on death row,” NPR, January 31, 2000.

Tags from the story

Dobie Williams

Recent Comments

Mariah Cavanaugh

Your article was both interesting and infuriating! Injustice in America is a tale as old as time, especially for people of color and those living in poverty. You stated that in your article that 117 death row inmates have been freed since 1973 due to inaccuracies by state and federal courts. That statistic along with many others should be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not we should allow the death penalty. You did a great job of giving a voice to someone who can no longer speak for themselves.

reply

17/08/2018

10:21 am

Alexandra Rodriguez

While I focus my studies in the Criminal Justice area, as well as focus in on the unjust ways of the laws. This article is a prime example of what I want to prevent. Unjust trials create an unfair punishing systems. While Dobie Williams is a good example of a section of unjust in America’s justice system, how many people abuse the extra things given to those who qualify? How many of individuals are abused by predators due to their ability to have an altered trial? While I agree completely with the article and the idea that the unjust parts of our Justice System should be fixed. What are the statistics of abuse in the winding tunnels of our Justice System?

reply

17/08/2018

10:21 am

Enrique Segovia

Dobie Williams’ case is an example of an unfair trial in the American judicial system. Back in the 1980s, racism was still predominant in New Orleans, Louisiana, and African Americans were still treated as minorities by white people. Unfortunately for Williams, the jury did not grant him any right to have a public attorney nor was he treated as a retarded person, even though he had an IQ below 70- the standard for what is considered a retarded person. Thanks to this rights from which he was deprived of, Williams was unfairly treated; plus, he was discriminated for the color of his skin. Hence, he was falsely accused of the brutal murder of a white woman and his inexperienced lawyer was not able to save him, providing just another example of the miscarried judicial American process in previous years.

reply

18/08/2018

10:21 am

Esperanza Rojas

Having never heard of this case, I have been aware of the unjust system in America, where the majority (Caucasian) rules an unfair ruling for the majority (African Americans). The use of the connection between Dobie Williams and Edward Lee Elmore, who shared an IQ score below 70 and for that case, was given an unfair trial. On a personal note, this angered me for more reasons than I already had, especially the part where Dobie Williams was given an unqualified lawyer, who made several mistakes that were not taken into consideration. Also the fact that they used the low IQ score for their advantage, and the judge and jury found nothing wrong with it.

reply

19/08/2018

10:21 am

Jose Fernandez

It is really sad to read about cases where people’s lives are ruined thanks to errors in the judicial system. Minorities have always been treated different when it comes to the law, and this story is an example of how extreme the injustice was in past decades. It is evident that the system failed Dobie Williams. The article is very well written and does a great job showing the magnitude of the injustice Dobie Williams received. I can tell a lot of research was done before writing it.

reply

19/08/2018

10:21 am

Sienna Guerra

This story of Dobie Williams is not only one of many cases that have been suited as an unfair trial, it is a story and case that many are unaware of. This case is the stereotype situation in which the outcome of being sentenced death row is to be expected because of the many that took place before like the Edward Elmore. It is sad to notice that how unjust of the judicial court system to have all Caucasian jury, attorneys, and judges, no one to vouch for Mr. Williams except Sister Jean.

reply

19/08/2018

10:21 am

Daniela Cardona

Right off the bat, we learn that Dobie’s case was biased to his race. Everything from the city he was in to the reporters he had to deal with minimized his chances at fairness or freedom. Dobie wasn’t alone either, geography and white juries had caused many other unfair trials too. The biggest thing was the lack of accommodation for health concerns. Thankfully as of now, courts have more power and ability to accommodate for these things and we have shown progress but still have far more to go.

reply

19/08/2018

10:21 am

Caden Floyd

It’s sad to think that an innocent man can be convicted of murder just because of the color of his skin. If he would have been able to defend himself and afford a better attorney I’m not sure this case would have turned out much different. As a person living in the south I am not happy to hear how biased and racist some people are down here. This article is an eye opener that shows how the Judicial system can fail even though it’s supposed to be just and fair.

reply

23/08/2018

10:21 am

Montserrat Moreno Ramirez

It’s surprising the number of unfair trials that have led to a death row penalty, even more surprising that cases like Dobbie Williams’ are not taken care of with proper faculties given health concerns and lack diversity in the jury. Also I’m shocked about how people used to judge back then and that the race or color could affect the sentence or verdict even though they didn’t have enough proof or the accused were not able to defend themselves.

reply

23/08/2018

10:21 am

Daniela Duran

Racism and discrimination have led to many problems in our society, and this article clearly captures a truly valid example of this fact. I consider that there many different factors to take into account before claiming someone is guilty of a particular crime. Certainly, just as it is clarified in this article, mental health, race and even the economic and social backgrounds of an accused individual, should all be considered deeply before making someone responsible for a murder like this one. I agree with the author upon the fact that the trial was unfair, not only because the decision was clearly biased, but also because the jury did not even give Dobie reliable ways of defending himself. Simply assuming that someone killed a person because of their ethnic background, or because they are the only colored person in a particular region is simply unfair and unpleasant. I do consider that the juridical systems should aim to improve their perception on discrimination, and should be fair in providing EVERYONE with the right tools to prove their innocence, regardless of their economic background. Certainly, if Dobie had had an appropriate lawyer, and the right testing for his mental health, the Judge’s decision would have clearly been more asserted.

reply

24/08/2018

10:21 am

1 2 3 4

Leave a Reply