State v. Williams

{¶ 1} Appellant, Shawn C. Williams, was convicted of the rape and aggravated murder of his girlfriend, Catrise Gregory, and of a rape-murder capital specification. After a penalty hearing, the trial court sentenced Williams to death. He appeals from his convictions and death sentence. Although we affirm his convictions, we find that the penalty phase of Williams’s trial was affected by reversible error. We therefore reverse the death sentence imposed in this case and remand the cause to the. Lucas County Court of Common Pleas for resentencing.

{¶ 2} In 1995, 17-year-old Catrise Gregory was a…