There’s no such thing as a “relaxed” sentencing hearing when the defendant is a convicted killer. But some court appearances are more fraught than others. Two men were arrested Thursday in an Ohio courtroom for attacking defendant Dale Williams. They were identified as relatives of his murder victim, ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Pledger-Stewart.
You can watch the video above. Words can’t do it justice, but as you’ll see, an individual in a black shirt pulls Williams (wearing an orange jumpshirt) out of a chair. He drags him off as law enforcement officers intervene. A man in a red shirt rushes in. They apparently both begin to pummel Williams.
Officers eventually tear them off. A taser is apparently used on the man in a red shirt. The situation is resolved, for lack of a better term. Williams is led out of the courtroom.
As seen on the footage, the man on the red shirt lays face down on the ground as law enforcement put handcuffs on him.
“You killed my mother, man,” he said.
Family members had been set to deliver victim impact statements when the attack occurred.
Williams pleaded guilty in May to aggravated murder for lying in wait for Pledger-Stewart, ran her off the road when she was driving during the morning rush hour, and killed her, according to WKBN. He emptied his gun.
Cops said that Pledger-Stewart contacted them the night before she died, saying that he was mad, and threatened to find her on the streets, according to WFMJ.
Sentencing is set to be rescheduled because of the outburst. Williams faces a possible life sentence over the 2017 murder.
[Screengrab via WKBN]
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