Eric Williams — a former justice of the peace who killed the Kaufman County district attorney, his wife and a top prosecutor more than a decade ago — is asking a federal judge for a new death penalty trial, according to a lengthy court document.
The 169-page filing alleges Williams’ defense attorneys didn’t have enough time to prepare for trial or review overwhelming amounts of evidence. The court document also says Williams was tried before a biased judge and that moving the high-profile case to Rockwall County didn’t stifle media attention or afford him a fair trial.
Dressed in a tactical vest and a black mask, Williams gunned down prosecutor Mark Hasse, 57, a block from the Kaufman County courthouse in January 2013. Two months later, Williams killed District Attorney Mike McLelland, 63, and his wife, Cynthia, 65, inside their home. A jury convicted Williams of capital murder and sent him to death row in 2014.
A lawyer for Williams listed in court records could not be immediately reached for comment.
Williams had repeatedly tried to appeal his death sentence, once arguing that he was entitled to a new trial because his brain was “broken.”
A hearing before a federal judge for the Northern District of Texas is scheduled Tuesday, according to court records.
The district attorney and Hasse prosecuted Williams in 2012 for stealing county computer equipment, costing Williams his spot as an elected justice of the peace, his law license and his livelihood, prosecutors argued at trial. The killings created a panic within the Kaufman County legal community.
In an earlier, unsuccessful appeal, Williams said he only wanted revenge against “a few politicians who ruined his life.”
Williams was planning to kill two other judges at the time of his arrest. Court records show he also threatened to kill his now-estranged wife, Kim Williams.
Kim Williams helped plan the murders and pleaded guilty two weeks after testifying against her husband. She was given a 40-year sentence.
Williams’ execution date has not yet been set.