Murder convict in Pa. awaits execution verdict
- Terrance Williams was convicted of murder in 1984
- Claims he was molested by the man he murdered
- State judge believes prosecutors 'hid evidence'
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A condemned Pennsylvania inmate who says the man he was convicted of murdering molested him is awaiting word on whether the state's high court will rule he should be executed by midnight.
Terrance Williams would be the first person executed in Pennsylvania in more than a decade. His lawyers say the state Supreme Court shouldn't decide "on the fly" whether he lives or dies by Wednesday's deadline.
A state judge believes prosecutors hid evidence at Williams' 1986 murder trial and last week stayed the execution. Williams says the church deacon he beat to death had been sexually abusing him.
Prosecutors have appealed the stay and want the 46-year-old Williams executed before his death warrant expires.
Williams' lawyers say they're prepared to file an eleventh-hour plea to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Associated Press writer Peter Jackson contributed to this report from Harrisburg, Pa.