Wichita man’s retrial in stabbing death nearly doubles his prison term

A Wichita man who won a new murder trial after appealing his conviction in the 2010 stabbing death of his adult stepson was convicted a second time and sentenced Friday to 36 1/2 years in prison – nearly twice the length of his original punishment.

The Kansas Court of Appeals sided with Charles E. Williams in 2013 when he argued a Sedgwick County District Court judge erred in not instructing jurors to consider claims that he acted in self-defense in the killing of Donald Carter.

Williams stabbed Carter, 27, during an Aug. 2, 2010, fight over Williams allegedly leaving his stepgrandchildren unattended at a swimming pool earlier in the day.

Carter died because the knife punctured a blood vessel to the heart, said Dan Dillon, spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. Williams was convicted in 2011 of second-degree murder.

At his new trial in April, a Sedgwick County jury found Williams, now 59, guilty of the same crime.

After the first trial, Williams was ordered to serve 20 years in prison – significantly less than he normally would have received under Kansas sentencing guidelines. The judge agreed to impose a shorter sentence for Williams, who had a past criminal record, because his other felony convictions were 30 years old and because second-degree murder can draw a longer sentence than some more serious crimes, according to court records.

Friday, District Judge David Kaufman handed down a much heftier sentence – 438 months’ imprisonment – than his colleague District Judge Eric Commer did nearly four years ago.

Wichita defense attorney Steven Mank, who represented Williams at trial, said the decision came after Williams told the judge he wanted to proceed through his sentencing hearing without a lawyer.

After reviewing Williams’ rights and the risks of doing so, Kaufman granted the request, Mank said. Defendants in criminal cases have a constitutional right to represent themselves, but it isn’t usually recommended.

“So Mr. Williams, representing himself, ended up getting 438 months,” the expected penalty for second-degree murder with his prior criminal history factored in, Mank said.

Williams has the option to appeal the decision, as he did after his initial conviction, if he’s unhappy with the ruling.

“That’s the risk of winning an appeal,” Mank said, noting that a new trial also means a new sentence – and sometimes a new judge issuing it – upon conviction. “If something good happened to you earlier, it may not happen to you later.”

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Wichita man’s retrial in stabbing death nearly doubles his prison term."