Jury selection is underway for the 1st death penalty trial in the state of Hawaii. Capital punishment was abolished in Hawaii in 1957, but the U.S. attorney's office is seeking the federal death penalty in the trial of Naeem Williams who is accused of beating his 5-year-old daughter to death in 2005. Williams, an Army specialist who was stationed in Hawaii at the time, had obtained custody of his daughter, Talia, only 7 months before her death. The 2 lived in base housing on Wheeler Army Airfield along with Williams's wife, Delilha Williams, and prosecutors claim the young girl endured months of abuse at the hands of both caregivers. In July of 2005, Talia died from blunt-force trauma to her head, and an autopsy report showed she suffered from "battered child syndrome." Court documents reveal that Talia's room had no mattress, no blankets and no furniture, and that "blood spatters could be seen throughout the Williams residence." Talia...
Striving for a World without Capital Punishment