Kenneth Dewayne Williams (February 23, 1979 – April 27, 2017) was an American

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who killed four people in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Originally sentenced to life without parole in Arkansas for killing a University of Arkansas pre-med student and cheerleader in 1998, Williams escaped from prison in a 500-gallon barrel of pig slop in 1999. He then shot and killed another man and stole his truck several miles away from the prison, before unintentionally killing another man in a police chase in Missouri. Williams was convicted of the murder he committed shortly after escaping prison and was sentenced to death. In 2005, he confessed to committing another murder in 1998. Williams became the last of four inmates executed in Arkansas in April 2017.

Early life

Williams' parents both had learning difficulties, and his mother was a drug addict who smoked while she was pregnant. Williams' father abused his wife and his children. According to Williams, he would frequently beat him, his mother, and his brothers. At one point, his father kidnapped his mother, holding her at gunpoint for several days. Rarely supervised, Williams started smoking marijuana at the age of 6, and joined the

Gangster Disciples The Gangster Disciple Nation (often abbreviated as the GD's; formally, GDN or simply Gangster Disciples), also known as Growth & Development, is an African American street and prison gang founded by former rivals David Barksdale and Larry H ...

and started drinking beer at the age of 9. He moved in and out of several foster homes and juvenile reform schools. After being molested when he was 8, Williams said he started raping other children. "I grew bitter and angry; I was guilt-ridden, too ashamed to speak out, and so I suffered in silence and in loneliness, out of which came forth a vengeance and a vow: never again to be a victimized prey—to be the one on the offense, not the defense; to be the predator, not the prey. In order to survive, in my adolescent mind, I thought it better this way." Williams stopped in his pre-teen years, saying "I reached the conclusion that being the offender doesn't give you any more advantage than being a victim." In 1996, Williams was sentenced to five years in prison for first degree escape and second degree battery. He was released from prison on April 2, 1998.

Initial murders and incarceration

On December 13, 1998, Williams, then 19, abducted

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

pre-med student Dominique "Nikki" Hurd, 19, and her boyfriend, Peter Robertson, from a parking lot in

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

. Robertson later said he and Hurd had been taking photos with each other when Williams showed up and offered to take a photo of them together. Williams pulled out a

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

and ordered the couple into their car, before robbing them of their money, jewelry, and credit cards. He then forced Robertson to drive him to an ATM and withdraw additional cash. Williams had Robertson drive through several dead-end streets around this time. As they drove, Williams repeatedly told the couple he would not hurt them. At one of the dead-ends, Williams had the two get out. He then had Robertson take a picture of Hurd with her dress lifted up and her underwear pulled down. Afterward, Williams had the couple get back in the car and drive to another dead-end. After they got out, Williams had them climb a fence and kneel down behind a nearby shed, and then got back into the car. After taking Hurd's purse, he asked the two where they were from. Hurd said she was from

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and Robertson said he was from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Williams then replied "I don't like the niggers from Dallas anyway," and started shooting the couple, emptying his revolver before driving off. He later abandoned and burned the car. Hurd died from a gunshot wound to the head, while Robertson survived, got picked up by a passing car, and went home to call the police. On December 18, 1998, Williams was charged with one count of capital murder, one count of attempted capital murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of theft of property, and one count of arson. He was convicted of all of the charges. Prosecutors sought a death sentence for Williams, but the jury gave him a life sentence. After learning that he had been spared execution, Williams taunted Hurd's family, saying "You thought I was going to die, didn't you?" Williams was sent to the

Cummins Unit The Cummins Unit (formerly known as Cummins State Farm) is an Arkansas Department of Corrections prison in unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta region. It is located along U.S. Route 65, near Grady, ...

to serve out his life sentence.

Prison escape, additional killings, and execution

On October 3, 1999, less than a month after he was sentenced to life in prison, Williams escaped by going into the kitchen and hiding inside a 500-gallon barrel of pig slop that was taken out by a truck. After the truck drove out of the prison, Williams jumped out and hid in a ditch. After hiding there for some time, he got out and ran to the highway, heading northwest. He eventually came across the home of 57-year-old Cecil Boren, a farmer and retired prison warden. Cecil was in his yard while his wife, Genie Boren, was at church. Williams stole one of Cecil's guns, a .22 caliber Ruger pistol. As Cecil walked inside, Williams shot him in the chest, then shot him six more times as he tried to flee, including once in the head. Williams then dragged his body inside, stole his wallet, some of his jewelry, several more of his guns, and other valuables. He then dressed himself in some of Cecil's clothes before taking his truck and driving north to

. The next day, Williams was spotted by an officer in

Lebanon, Missouri Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Laclede County, Missouri, Laclede County in Missouri. The population was estimated at 15,013 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Laclede County. The Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical ...

. After initially pulling over, he suddenly drove off. This led to a high-speed chase that spanned roughly 60 miles. At one point, Williams was driving at 120 miles per hour. The chase was suddenly halted when Williams struck a vehicle in front of him. The driver, 24-year-old Culligan water delivery truck driver Michael Greenwood, was ejected and killed. After his truck was disabled by the crash, Williams fled on foot and was apprehended shortly afterward. He reportedly spat on Greenwood's body after the crash. Williams was not prosecuted for killing Greenwood but faced charges for killing Boren. On August 29, 2000, Williams was convicted of theft of property and capital murder, with the underlying felonies of aggravated robbery and first degree escape. He was sentenced to death the following day. In May 2005, Williams wrote a letter to the Pine Bluff Commercial, apologizing for his crimes and saying he had found God. "I hit rock bottom, and most people would say that's where I belong", Williams said. "People have always asked me, 'Why did you kill those innocent people?' I really didn't know how to answer that question, until now. When you live a sinful life away from God, anything is possible. That includes mass murder. Learn from my mistakes." Williams also confessed to another murder committed on the same day he killed Hurd. He had robbed 36-year-old Jerrell Jenkins and shot him twice in the chest with a .357 caliber handgun. His body was discovered in a ditch by a child going to school. In December 2005, Williams pleaded guilty to capital murder, aggravated robbery, and theft of property for killing Jenkins and received another life sentence. Williams said finding God got him to confess, writing "I take full responsibility for my actions and whatever consequences my peers see fit. Without God being in my life, I never would have confessed to these crimes. I would have denied them until I went to my grave. I know that the embarrassment and shame that I brought upon my community is unacceptable and intolerable. As a community, we are supposed to love one another and work together as one. What we do as individuals reflects upon our communities." While on death row, Williams became an ordained minister. Twenty days before his execution, he wrote an article for

The Marshall Project The Marshall Project is an American nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. The organization's mission is to impact the system through journalism, and states that its goal is to create and sustain a sense of nation ...

. In it, Williams expressed remorse for his crimes. He initially expressed frustration over his death sentence, saying "I thought: Have they forgotten I am human, or do they just not care?" However, Williams then blamed himself for being on death row in the first place, saying "Then I thought: Wasn't it my disregard for human life that got me in this situation to begin with?" On April 27, 2017, Williams was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

at the

. He was the last of four men executed in Arkansas that year. The others were

Ledell Lee Ledell Lee (July 31, 1965 – April 20, 2017) was an American convicted murderer, suspected serial killer, and serial rapist who was executed for the 1993 murder of his neighbor, Debra Reese. He was convicted in 1995, and the Arkansas Supreme Cou ...

, Jack Harold Jones, and Marcel Williams. Kenneth Williams'

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...

consisted of two pieces of fried chicken with a side of sweet rice, BBQ pinto beans, a slice of bread, a peanut butter cookie, and a cinnamon roll. Williams read his last words from a written statement held by a prison official:

"I humbly extend my sincerest of apologies to the families I senselessly wronged and deprived of their loved ones. The families of: Dominique Hurd, Jerrell Jenkins, Cecil Boren, Michael Greenwood. I was more than wrong. The crimes I perpetrated against you all was senseless, extremely hurtful and inexcusable. I humbly beg you your forgiveness, and pray you find the peace, healing, and closure, you all deserve. … I'm not the person I was, I've been transformed. Some things can't be undone, I seek forgiveness."

The execution drew attention after Kayla Greenwood, the daughter of Michael Greenwood, bought plane tickets for Williams' daughter, Jasmine Johnson, who he had not seen in 17 years, and his 3-year-old granddaughter, who he had never met, so they could fly from

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

to Arkansas to meet with him for the last time. Kayla said she had forgiven Williams and did not want him to die. However, the families of Boren and Hurd supported the execution. Boren's wife, daughter and their family told a newspaper that they waited for justice to be finally served with Williams's execution. In response to the queries surrounding the execution of Williams and the three others before him, Hutchinson stated that he "absolutely made the right decision" to ensure the law run its course and fulfill the ends of justice. Williams' execution was the subject of a

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

episode of ''

Life and Death Row ''Life and Death Row'' is a BBC documentary television series telling the story of capital punishment through the eyes of young people whose lives have been shaped by it. Series Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Series 3 was the first ser ...

''.

References

! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in Arkansas , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Kenneth Dewayne 1979 births 2017 deaths 21st-century executions by Arkansas 21st-century executions of American people American escapees American male criminals American people convicted of attempted murder American people convicted of robbery American people convicted of kidnapping American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Executed African-American people Executed American serial killers Escapees from American detention People convicted of murder by Arkansas People executed by Arkansas by lethal injection People from Pine Bluff, Arkansas Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Arkansas Serial killers from Arkansas Serial killers from Missouri

Early life

Initial murders and incarceration

Prison escape, additional killings, and execution

See also

References