Appeal of man convicted of 1988 lawmaker slaying rejected

• By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Harrisburg) — A state appeals court has ruled that a man who was a teenager when he beat a Pennsylvania state lawmaker to death with a hammer three decades ago is still too dangerous to be released from prison.

Now-49-year-old Bernard Williams was re-sentenced in 2018 to the same life prison term imposed originally.

Williams was 17 when authorities said he attacked state Representative William Telek in the state Capitol’s underground parking garage in 1988, then robbed him and stole his car.

Prosecutors said a forensic psychiatrist concluded that Williams is “permanently incorrigible,” and PennLive.com reports that the Superior Court panel agreed.