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January 25, 2005
Judge in smuggling deaths case delays trial again
Associated Press
The trial of a New York man accused of driving and abandoning a hot, airless tractor-trailer transporting illegal immigrants -- 19 of whom died -- was delayed again Monday as attorneys appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore granted the delay after a lawyer for Tyrone Williams said he would ask the high court to review his request to find out if race played a role in why his client is the only one of 14 indicted defendants facing the death penalty.
Williams, who is black, faces 58 counts of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants in the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt.
Prosecutors say Williams was hired by a smuggling ring to transport more than 70 immigrants in his tractor-trailer from South Texas to Houston in May 2003.
The trailer was abandoned at a truck stop near Victoria, about 100 miles southwest of Houston, after the immigrants began succumbing to the heat. Seventeen immigrants were found dead inside. Two died later.
Craig Washington, Williams' lead attorney, filed his motion Monday afternoon. Jury selection in the case had been set to begin on Tuesday after it had been delayed twice before. Gilmore was told it could be at least a month before any response comes from the Supreme Court.
Washington said Monday he simply wants to know whether his client's race is the only reason he is facing the death penalty.
"There won't be justice in this case if Mr. Williams is the only one who gets the death penalty," Washington said.
In his motion, Washington wrote that this "case presents deadly serious questions about the toxic insinuation of racial bias into an ongoing federal capital prosecution."
Prosecutors have said Williams was singled out because he alone had the power to release the illegal immigrants packed in his trailer. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled twice against Williams in the matter.
"They chose to seek the death penalty only against Williams and I'm entitled to know why and the public is entitled to know why," Washington said. "What makes Mr. Williams different from the other defendants?"
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Roberts said prosecutors would have to review Williams' motion to the high court before deciding if they would file a responding motion, which could delay the case longer.
Douglas McNabb, a Houston attorney who specializes in federal criminal defense and isn't connected to the case, said because the trial is pending and a jury pool is on hold, he thinks the Supreme Court will respond fairly quickly.
"It's important for the defense to explore any and all avenues that are available to try to get an answer to their question," he said. "This certainly isn't a frivolous request the defense is asking for."
Gilmore announced the trial's delay during a court hearing on whether the alleged ringleader of the smuggling operation, Karla Patricia Chavez, can withdraw her guilty plea.
That hearing was set to resume Friday, allowing time for several witnesses to be located.
Chavez's attorneys have asked to rescind her plea, more than seven months after she entered it, alleging the government didn't disclose all information in the case that would have allowed their client to make an informed decision about pleading guilty.
They also accused prosecutors of not telling them about alleged accusations by a U.S. Customs agent that other agents might have been paid off to let the trailer go through a South Texas border patrol checkpoint.
But prosecutors contend Chavez lied about her role in the smuggling operation, forfeiting her chance at a reduced sentence through the plea agreement. They also said Monday they have found no evidence to support her accusations that Customs agents might have been bribed.
"The defense runs the great risk, particularly since this period of time has passed since June, that the judge will not allow the defendant to withdraw the plea," McNabb said.
This article can also be found at KTRK and ABC 13 Texas.