United States v. Williams

KING, Circuit Judge:

In May 2003, Tyrone Mapletoft Williams, a commercial truck driver, transported 74 unlawful aliens from Harlingen, Texas, to Victoria, Texas. During the trip, he left the aliens locked in the trailer of his tractor-trailer without activating the trailer’s air conditioning unit; as a result, 19 aliens died of dehydration, hyperthermia, suffocation, and mechanical asphyxia. Williams was convicted of 39 separate counts arising out of that trip. For the 20 counts that were capital charges, the Federal Death Penalty Act contemplated that the jury would determine the appropriate…