He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1979 and was subsequently executed in 1996 at San Quentin State Prison by lethal injection.

The family moved frequently and lived in houses, motels, tents, and even a converted chicken coop.

Family members say the accidents altered his memory, in addition to giving him headaches, blackouts, and seizures.

Williams dropped out of high school to work as a ranch hand and began taking drugs and drinking heavily.

He spent time in the California Youth Authority for juvenile offenders, which allegedly increased his mental problems due to the violence around him.

After he tried to commit suicide, he checked into the Clairmont Community Hospital in San Diego, but his reckless behavior continued.

The pair pawned some of the stolen goods but kept several items back for a yard sale organized by Tyson's wife.

[5][6][7] On October 6, 31-year-old Miguel Vargas, accompanied by his girlfriend, 25-year-old Lourdes Meza, met Williams and Tyson at the yard sale.

He came up with a plan to rob and kill Vargas and take his property, speaking of how easy it would be to carry out the crime.

[5][6][7] Tyson held Vargas at gunpoint downstairs while Williams headed upstairs to deal with Macias and Meza, who were the only people left in the house.

Williams then took Meza from the car and fatally shot her four times, leaving her naked body abandoned in a field.

[2] On May 16, 1983, Williams filed the first of a series of appeals in federal and state courts claiming there were problems with his case and that his trial lawyer had been incompetent.

[9] On February 21, 1989, Williams filed a new petition and requested a stay of execution in a United States district court.

On February 9, 1993, a United States district court denied Williams' petition and removed the stay of execution.

[9] On March 11, 1996, a Merced County Superior Court Judge set an execution date for Williams for May 3, 1996.

On April 22, friends and relatives of Williams spoke at the clemency hearing while lawyers filed new appeals in federal and state court.

On April 24, Governor Pete Wilson denied clemency to Williams, allowing the execution to proceed.

Williams was executed via lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 12:08 a.m.[10] His last meal consisted of fried pork chops, a baked potato with butter, asparagus, salad with blue cheese dressing, apple pie, and whole milk.