United States v. Williams

836 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

D was stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base. He was discharged for medical reasons in May 2005 but remained a dependent of his wife, Octavia, who was also an Airman. Williams was the leader, or 'governor,' of a group that went by various names: 'BOS,' 'Brothers of the Struggle,' or 'Gangster Disciples.' The BOS was made up of members of the U.S. Army and Air Force at Ramstein but was not affiliated with the military. The BOS was connected to the Gangster Disciples, an American gang with roots in Chicago and individual 'sets,' or local groups, around the world. This chapter of the BOS did not engage in any other criminal activity. The BOS regularly initiated new members by beating them up in a ritual known as a 'jump-in.' Six members of the BOS would hit the initiate for about six minutes. Blows were to be landed only between the neck and the waist, and the initiate was forbidden from defending himself in any way. During the jump-in, the initiates were asked repeatedly if they wanted to proceed. If they said no, the initiation ended. After a jump-in, the new member would be hugged, kissed on the cheek, shown the BOS handshake, and taken out to celebrate. The BOS had performed around fifteen to eighteen jump-ins and no one had been hospitalized or killed. Nine people participated in Johnson's jump-in. D asked Johnson whether he wanted to begin. Johnson responded: 'Hell yeah.' D asked him again, and he again replied: 'Hell yeah.' Then D punched Johnson in the face. Johnson fell immediately but stood again. Asked if he wanted to continue, he repeated: 'Hell yeah.' D again punched him in the face. The group then began hitting him below the neck and above the waist. After two or three minutes, the group stopped while D and Sims, as the top-ranking members of the BOS, continued to pummel Johnson for the next minute. The other members then joined in again on the beating. At some point, Johnson was held up as members continued to hit him repeatedly. At another point, members kicked Johnson while he was on the ground. No kicking had occurred at prior jump-ins. When the six minutes were up, the timekeeper had to yell 'time' three times before the beating stopped. As a result, the jump-in lasted longer than usual. Johnson never lost consciousness but his mouth was bleeding. Johnson showed no other visible sign of serious injury but was walking 'like a drunk person, but by himself.' D directed BOS members to take Johnson home and charged Florentino Charris with watching him overnight. Charris testified that around midnight, Johnson was slurring his speech and having trouble walking. Sometime later, Johnson asked to go to the hospital. Instead of taking him to the hospital, Charris relayed Johnson's request to another BOS member, who called D. Williams said not to take him. Charris followed Williams's direction but told Johnson to let him know if he needed anything. Charris fell asleep in the room with Johnson. When he woke up in the morning, Johnson was dead. The 'blunt force injuries' inflicted during the initiation caused Johnson's death. D's medical expert opined that the underlying cause of death was a sickle-cell trait, a typically asymptomatic genetic condition, and that 'superficial blunt impact injuries' were merely a 'contributing' cause. D was arrested in Virginia and charged with second-degree murder in part. A jury found D guilty of second-degree murder. D moved for judgment of acquittal in that the evidence was insufficient. The court denied the motion. D appealed.