The People v. Williams

Defendant, Freeman R. Williams, was convicted by a jury in the circuit court of Vermilion County for the double murder of his wife, Vivian Williams, and his sister, Maxine Schultz. He was sentenced to the penitentiary on each conviction for a term of 30 to 50 years, to be served concurrently.

He appeals, alleging violations of his constitutional rights to due process, to freedom from self-incrimination, and to trial by jury. More specifically, he charges that indicting him after his request for a competency hearing violated due process, that permitting the psychiatrists who examined him at his…