Williams was one of five charged in the plot to rob Slaven of marijuana and money. The incident turned violent when Slaven was shot and killed by one of the co-conspirators. Prosecutors say Williams was complicit in the course of criminal conduct that resulted in Slaven’s death.
The case was heard by the late Judge Patricia Oney. While standard appeals were exhausted, a team of attorneys filed a motion in 2021 to permit her to withdraw her guilty plea based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The case was assigned to Judge Keith Spaeth.
Attorneys for the Ohio Justice & Policy Center Beyond Guilt project were looking at Williams’ case as part of a quest to free prisoners who had admitted guilt, had served a significant sentence and can demonstrate rehabilitation.
Williams, a Fairfield High School graduate and former cheerleader, was drug-addicted at the time of the crime.
Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
While looking at the case, they got little cooperation from Williams’ attorney at the time of conviction, Ched Peck, according to court documents filed by attorney David Singleton of the Ohio Justice & Policy Center.
Singleton said Peck did not release Williams’ file to them, even after several tries and a waiver from Williams.
To support the motion to withdraw the plea, Singleton said Peck advised his client to plead guilty to all charges to avoid the death penalty, a punishment Williams did not face because the indictment lacked the death specification.
“Had her lawyer not misinformed her about the applicability of the death penalty, Ms. Williams in all probability would not have pled guilty and would have elected to go to trial,” Singleton wrote.
He also cited Peck’s failure to seek suppression of her confession due to a violation of her remaining silent.
In an affidavit, Williams said: “two days before my trial Mr. Peck told me because the case was so high profile, and the State was saying I was the mastermind, I would face the death penalty if I went to trial. Until that point, I had planned on going to trial even though I knew it would be difficult for me to be acquitted of all charges. Still, I hoped I might beat the murder charge because I was not the one who pulled the trigger.”
Also part of the record at Friday’s hearing was the stipulation that Peck refused to submit to a polygraph test regarding the statements made to his client.
Spaeth granted Williams’ motion to withdraw her plea and set the case for a March 10 pretrial hearing. Spaeth set bond at $80,000 with a 10% rule and ordered her to be on GPS monitoring if released.
Bond was posted Friday and Williams is awaiting the GPS system to be set up. She is incarcerated in the Dayton Correctional Institution and likely will be released Monday.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said the decision to permit a defendant to withdraw a plea is one for a judge to make.
“This is something that is up to a judge to decide if someone got a fair trial,” Gmoser said. “She will get a retrial. She was involved in the set up of a crime that resulted in a death. The fact that she didn’t get a fair shake doesn’t mitigate the facts of her involvement.”
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