Kenneth D. Williams v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the denial of Kenneth Williams's Rule 37.5 petition for post-conviction relief from his capital-felony murder conviction and death sentence for killing Cecil Boren. The court held trial counsel were not ineffective in failing to object contemporaneously to the victim's sister's penalty-phase testimony, in declining to challenge a pro-death-penalty juror for cause, in relying on expert testimony rather than underlying mitigation records, and in not objecting to the jury's mitigation findings, the last barred as relitigation of a direct-appeal issue. It further held the trial court adequately justified shackling under Deck v. Missouri and did not abuse its discretion in denying funds to retain a post-conviction investigator absent any showing of need. The Rule 37 denial was reviewed for clear error, except the funding ruling, reviewed for abuse of discretion. No separate opinions were filed; Imber, J., did not participate.