For Delco man, 2 life terms for 2 murders
That Jamir Williams would receive two life sentences for two murders was a certainty. The only question Jamir Williams was whether the Chester man would have to serve them concurrently or consecutively, and Judge John P. Capuzzi on Friday ended that suspense right away.
That Jamir Williams would receive two life sentences for two murders was a certainty.
The only question Jamir Williams was whether the Chester man would have to serve them concurrently or consecutively, and Judge John P. Capuzzi on Friday ended that suspense right away.
He ordered Williams, 29, to serve them consecutively, and, in addition, Williams was sentenced to 25 to 30 years for related crimes in the murders of two 21-year-old Chester men, Rahim Hicks and Emerson Price III.
"In your case I only see darkness, I don't see a shred of light," Capuzzi said. He noted that only a Supreme Court ruling that prohibited executions of the mentally disabled -- William has an IQ of under 60 -- prevented him imposing the death penalty.
State law mandated the two life sentences.
In December, Williams was found guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2010 shooting death of Hicks, outside a Chester restaurant after the two argued. It was 18 months before police had enough evidence to make an arrest.
In March, he was found guilty of first-degree murder for the October 2010 shooting death of Price, as he walked outside a bar.
Absent in court Friday was Williams' family and friends who during the two trials filled the benches behind him often staring at witnesses.
During victim-impact statements, Williams kept his eye fixed on Tammy Fitzgerald, the mother of Rahim Hicks, as she "asked God to have mercy on his soul."
When Emerson Price, II, the father of thes second victim, became emotional and moved his motorized scooter closer to the defense table and then was surrounded by sheriff deputies, Williams's expression was unchanged.
Assistant District Attorney Sandra Urban, who prosecuted the Hicks case, said Williams has "lived a life of crime" since he was young and has been involved in multiple fights in prison and to and from court.
"I've never seen a more hardened soul than Jamir Williams," said Assistant District Attorney Matthew DeNucci, who prosecuted the Price case.
At sentencing Williams, dressed in red prison scrubs with a long-sleeved white T-shirt, slouched in his chair between his two defense attorneys, Michael Wiseman and Brian Malloy.
But when Judge Capuzzi told Williams he had 10 days to file appeals in his cases, he didn't hesitate to speak up.
"I want to do it all today," he said.
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@MariSchaefer