Bio

Leonard Marvin Laws was born on August 1, 1949. By October 1980, Laws was living in a small two-room trailer with George Clifton Gilmore, Norman Gilmore, members of the Gilmore family, and several children. The Missouri Supreme Court stated that none of the adults in the trailer were employed. The household was reportedly living on public assistance payments and food stamps.

Laws had a prior criminal history before the murders of Clarence and Lottie Williams. During the penalty phase of his trial, the jury heard that he had a history of serious assaultive convictions. These included two armed robbery convictions in Arizona in 1971, an aggravated assault conviction in Mississippi in 1974, and two capital murder convictions in Missouri from 1981 and 1982.

In October 1980, George Gilmore suggested that the group could make money by robbing elderly people. According to the Missouri Supreme Court, George said older people did not trust banks and might keep large amounts of money at home. He also suggested that the victims could be killed so they would not identify the robbers. Laws and Norman Gilmore did not object and showed willingness to take part in the plan.

Before the Williams robbery, the three men bought shotguns and a rifle on October 8, 1980. The shotguns were later sawed off. These weapons were later used or carried during the plan to rob Clarence and Lottie Williams.

Murder Story

Late on October 28, 1980, Leonard Marvin Laws, George Clifton Gilmore, and Norman Gilmore decided to rob Clarence and Lottie Williams. The Williamses were an elderly couple living in St. Louis County, Missouri. The Gilmores knew of them through an uncle. The plan was not only to rob the couple, but also to kill them so they could not identify the attackers.

Very early on October 29, 1980, the three men went to the Williams home. Laws carried a rifle, while the Gilmore brothers carried shotguns. Before entering the home, Laws cut the telephone line. The men then knocked on the door and got Clarence Williams to come out. They forced the couple back inside the house.

Inside the home, Laws helped tie Clarence and Lottie Williams to chairs. He threatened to cut off their fingers if they did not reveal where their money was hidden. The couple complied, and the three men ransacked the house for money and property.

After the robbery, the Williamses were moved to the bedroom. Laws suggested hitting them in the head with a baseball bat, but George Gilmore told him to go outside and check whether gunshots could be heard. George then shot Lottie Williams once and Clarence Williams twice, killing both victims.

After the killings, Laws, George Gilmore, and Norman Gilmore carried stolen property from the house and loaded it into vehicles. They used both Laws’s car and the victims’ car. The men then poured oil on the floor, and Laws set the oil on fire. The fire caused serious damage to the Williams home.

The men returned to the trailer with the stolen property. Some of the stolen items were later found and identified at trial. Afterward, George Gilmore and Laws spoke about the crime to friends and relatives. The Missouri Supreme Court stated that George did most of the talking, while Laws was present and showed agreement through words and gestures.

Two relatives, Robert Gilmore and Bobby DeClue, later reported the crime to police and helped authorities set up the arrests. On January 1, 1981, police arrested Laws and George Gilmore after an ambush and chase. Norman Gilmore was also arrested.

Norman Gilmore later testified against Laws and George Gilmore. He received a 15-year sentence in exchange for his testimony. The Missouri Supreme Court described Norman as a participant in the crime and noted that his testimony was supported by admissions made by George Gilmore in Laws’s presence and by the discovery of stolen property.

A jury convicted Leonard Marvin Laws of two counts of capital murder. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death sentence on November 22, 1983. The court found that the evidence supported several aggravating circumstances, including Laws’s serious prior assaultive convictions, the fact that each murder occurred during the commission of the other, and that both murders were committed for money or property.

Laws later challenged his conviction and sentence through postconviction and federal habeas proceedings. The Missouri Court of Appeals stated that he had been convicted of two counts of capital murder in connection with the deaths of Clarence and Lottie Williams, and that the evidence showed he and his companions killed the elderly couple to avoid being identified after the robbery.

Missouri capital punishment records list Leonard Marvin Laws with a birthdate of August 1, 1949, a sentence date of September 21, 1982, and execution by lethal injection at Potosi Correctional Center on May 17, 1990.