Williams v. State

The defendant failed to prove her ineffective assistance of counsel claim, since she could not show that the alleged deficiencies prejudiced her defense and that there was a substantial likelihood that the outcome of the trial would have differed absent the deficiencies.

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After a jury trial, Lisa Michelle Williams was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,1 two counts of cruelty to children,2 and one count of possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.3 She appeals the denial of her second amended motion for a new trial, contending that she received ineffective assistance of counsel. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Viewed appropriately,4 the evidence, which includes Williams’ testimony and a video recording filmed with the victim’s cell phone, shows Williams twice shot Zekkenya Johnson, who was unarmed. Johnson, who was shot in the stomach, leg, and hand, has undergone eight surgeries, and has experienced other medical problems related to the shooting. Two of Johnson’s three minor children were in the home during the shooting. One of the children, who saw Williams with the gun, said, “You shot my mom.” Williams admitted that she was carrying a gun and that she shot Johnson. She argued that she acted in self-defense because she believed that Johnson had asked an adult friend, who also was present, to retrieve her shotgun. The friend testified that no one in the house touched the shotgun, and Johnson testified that she never received it. The jury acquitted Williams of nine charges in a fourteen-count indictment, including an acquittal on one charge of attempted murder.

Williams v. State

The defendant failed to prove her ineffective assistance of counsel claim, since she could not show that the alleged deficiencies prejudiced her defense and that there was a substantial likelihood that the outcome of the trial would have differed absent the deficiencies.

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