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Man resentenced to life in prison in Alton teens' deaths

Posted May 25, 2016 7:00 am

The Associated Press

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A 35-year-old man has been resentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting two unarmed teenagers in southwestern Illinois in 1997.

Terril Williams initially was convicted and given two life sentences in 1998 in the shooting deaths of 17-year-old James Patterson and 15-year-old Darryl Womack at an apartment complex in Alton.

Williams' case was sent back to circuit court level because of a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 against mandatory life sentences for juveniles. He was resentenced Tuesday in Madison County to two concurrent life sentences.

Williams was 15 at the time of the shootings. Police said he shot the other teens because he was angry that one of his victims made disparaging remarks about a female cousin.

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