Howard Willis, a prisoner who was sentenced to death in Tennessee. Photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Corrections (Tennessee Department of Corrections via Associated Press)
Howard Willis, a prisoner who was sentenced to death in Tennessee. Photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Corrections (Tennessee Department of Corrections via Associated Press)
Nashville, Tenn. ( Associated Press) — A Tennessee man sentenced to death and forced to serve his own attorney is seeking a new trial, claiming his constitutional rights were violated.
Howard Willis was convicted of murdering Adam Chrismer, 17, and Samantha Leming Chrismer, 16, both of Chickamauga, Georgia, in 2010. The boy’s head and hands were found by fishermen in Boone Lake in northern Tennessee in October 2012. The bodies of both teenagers were found a few days later in a warehouse owned by Willis’ mother in Johnson City.
Willis went through nine lawyers until the judge said he would represent himself, accusing him of attacking the lawyers with his defense in an attempt to avoid a trial. Willis’ current attorneys argue that the charge is unfair.
Appearing in court, Willis claimed he was falsely accused and had no evidence linking him to the gunmen in the murders. The judges disagreed and sentenced him to death.
In his request for a new trial, Willis claims that the original trial was unfair because his attorney was under duress and did not have sufficient resources to defend himself, among other allegations.
Many lawyers dropped the case for reasons that had nothing to do with Willis, such as a conflict of interest or the need to care for a seriously ill family member.
Willis’ other attorneys had legitimate complaints about his work, the petition says. One lawyer spent only nine hours reading case material between the time he was assigned in May 2005 and left three months later.
“When it is a disadvantage to replace a lawyer, if there are legitimate complaints about that lawyer’s work, a citizen should have the right to call those things and have their own lawyer, especially if they are facing the potential death penalty.” The book says.
In response, state attorneys said many of the complaints against Willis had already been heard and dismissed by other courts.
“The records clearly indicate that the petitioner is abusing the dignity of the court by attempting to manipulate the trial by delaying or disrupting the trial,” reads the official response. “If the applicant suffered prejudice … the State claims that this was done directly of his own volition.”
