Williams spared from execution

On the day of his scheduled execution, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has denied an emergency appeal in the Terrance Williams case.

The move means Williams will not be executed Wednesday night.

Last week, Philadelphia Judge M. Teresa Sarmina ruled to halt the execution, and the decision by the state Supreme Court refuses prosecutors’ bid to overturn her decision.

Gov. Tom Corbett says since Judge Sarmina ordered Williams to be resentenced, the question of whether the convicted murderer should still be put to death has become more complicated.

“Based on the status of the case prior to her action, the answer has to be yes. Now let’s take a look and see what happens as a result of her decision,” Corbett said.

Corbett made his remarks on the Radio Pennsylvania show, “Ask the Governor.”

Williams was sentenced to death for the 1984 murder of a Philadelphia man.

Sarmina last week blasted prosecutors in the 46-year-old’s first trial for suppressing evidence that Williams had been sexually abused repeatedly by the man he killed.

She said jurors would have opted for a lesser sentence, had the evidence been admitted.