Thread: Truck driver sentenced to life in prison

Truck driver sentenced to life in prison
By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press Writer
4 minutes ago

HOUSTON - A truck driver was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison Thursday for his role in the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt — a journey that ended in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants crammed in a sweltering tractor-trailer.

Tyrone Williams, 36, was convicted last month on 58 counts of conspiracy, harboring and transporting immigrants.

More than 70 immigrants were locked for hours inside his trailer during the 2003 trip from South Texas to Houston. Nineteen died from dehydration, overheating and suffocation. Williams abandoned the container near Victoria, about 100 miles southwest of Houston.

Williams looked down as the decision was read and gave no visible reaction. His attorney wept and wiped his eyes with a tissue.

A jury deliberated for 5 1/2 days before sentencing Williams. The sentence comes with no possibility for parole.

Defense attorneys said Williams never intended for the immigrants to die and questioned why he was the only defendant in the case facing the death penalty. But prosecutors said Williams deserved to die because he knew the immigrants were dying and did not help them.

Williams, a Jamaican citizen who lived in Schenectady, N.Y., is one of 14 people charged in the case.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070118/ap_ ... uck_bodies

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i hope the 50+ that survived were deported... oh wait that's a little cold... just wondering.

IMO they should put everyone in prison for life that is convicted of smuggling illegal aliens into this country, REGARDLESS of whether anyone died in the act.

Originally Posted by JadedBaztard

IMO they should put everyone in prison for life that is convicted of smuggling illegal aliens into this country, REGARDLESS of whether anyone died in the act.

I agree. It was either life or the death penalty. I guess he should consider himself lucky that he was spared.

Geez, you got to be kidding me. I'm a strong proponent of the death penalty when it's warranted. IMO, this case screams DEATH PENALTY!!!

Let me clarify. I think everyone convicted of smuggling illegals in to our country should AT THE VERY LEAST be sentenced to life in prison. IF that act does result in human fatalities then, YES they should get a death sentence!

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Immigrant-smuggling trucker gets added sentence
Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:42PM EDT
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A truck driver already serving life in prison for his role in the deadliest human smuggling attempt in the United States received added sentences for other counts in the case on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal sentenced Tyrone Williams to 33 years and nine months for conspiracy and 20 years for transporting illegal immigrants who survived the 2003 trip.

Defense lawyers are appealing the case.

Williams was sentenced to life in prison by a jury in January for his role in the deaths of 19 of the immigrants he was transporting north from the Texas-Mexico border.

The law provided that the trial judge sentence him on other counts not involving the deaths.

The 19 immigrants from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras and El Salvador died of heat stroke, suffocation and dehydration in the refrigeration trailer, which was sealed during the smuggling run on a hot night.

Prosecutors said there were at least 74 immigrants involved but that an exact count was difficult because some fled after Williams stopped his truck near Victoria, Texas.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty under a law providing the maximum punishment for immigrant smuggling that results in deaths. But the jury that convicted Williams chose life in prison.

After Thursday's sentencing, defense lawyer Craig Washington renewed his pledge to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to reverse Williams conviction and sentencing.

Fourteen people on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border were charged in the case. Sentences for the others ranged from 14 months to 23 years.

Illegal immigration, largely by Mexicans seeking greater opportunities north of the border, is a divisive issue in the United States that already is figuring prominently in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election in November 2008.

Legislation championed by U.S. President George W. Bush to overhaul immigration policy collapsed in Congress in June, dealing a blow to a key issue for U.S.-Mexico relations.

The Bush administration said this month it would increase scrutiny and impose larger fines on U.S. businesses that employ illegal immigrants.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domestic ... geNumber=1