Former judge who killed a prosecutor in front of courthouse wants a new trial: report

A former Texas judge serving time on death row for gunning down a prosecutor in front of a courthouse and also slaying a district attorney and wife months later is seeking a new capital punishment trial.

Nearly a decade after the one-time Kaufman County justice of the peace Eric Williams was convicted of going on a killing spree that killed Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, his wife Cynthia, and Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse — he wants another crack in the court, according to WFAA.

In his 169-page filing, Williams claims his defense was hastily prepared for the state's case, argued that the judge was biased, and that moving the trial venue from Kaufman County to Rockwall County was insufficient in toning down the trial's high media profile.

On Jan. 31, 2013, Williams, wearing a Halloween mask and a bulletproof vest, gunned down assistant prosecutor Hasse, according to The Texan.

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Hasse had been the prosecutor who helped convict Williams of a 2011 theft of computer monitors from a local county building.

Cops initially suspected the assassination was the handiwork of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang but then centered on Williams, who had been disbarred and let go from his position as justice of the peace after his being found guilty in 2012 of theft.

He struck again on the early morning of March 30, 2013.

Williams broke into the home of Mike and Cynthia McLelland and emptied at least 20 .223 caliber rounds from his AR-15 before bolting away in a white Crown Victoria driven by his wife Kim Williams, according to a court papers.

Less than a month into the manhunt, Eric and his wife were arrested for the murders of Michael McLelland, Cynthia Woodward McLelland, and Mark Hasse.

Eric was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection. Meanwhile his wife took a plea deal and testified against her husband at trial before being sentenced to 40 years.

She confirmed that she was a willing accomplice for all three murders and revealed that Eric kept a hit list.

The couple divorced behind bars in 2018.

According to multiple news outlets, Williams has attempted to appeal his sentencing in the past but so far has been unsuccessful.