WARREN - A man convicted of the 1988 murder of a Warren man and the attempted murder and rape of his wife will remain on death row after his request for relief from the death penalty was denied.

According to the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office, Judge Sean O'Brien denied the appeal for relief of Andre "Kokomo" Williams, who was convicted of the 1988 aggravated murder of George Melnick and the attempted rape and attempted aggravated murder of his wife Kathryn.

Williams filed an Atkins Claim, claiming that he has an intellectual disability, which would exonerate him from execution, per the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Atkins vs. Virginia in 2002.

In 2019, then Judge Wyatt McKay found that ruled that Williams was not intellectually disabled following nine days of testimony. This decision was reversed in 2023, and the trial court was again ordered to revaluate Williams due to a change in the law.

Ultimately, Judge O'Brien ruled that WIllaims is not intellectually disabled and is still eligible to be executed.

The Prosecutor's Office says that Judge O'Brien found that Williams was "spoiled and lazy growing up, has anger issues, has a sense of entitlement, has a prior head injury, has abused drugs and alcohol and has continuously lied."

Judge O'Brien further noted that Williams had extensive knowledge about various historical events, and that he was able to maintain a conversation with health professional expressing his wishes, desires and concerns through discussions, letters and emails.

The judge further noted that prior to the murder, Williams built scaffolding and drilled light fixtures for a grocery store in Florida, and also noted that he had sufficient enough ability to write obscene, vulgar and threatening letters to some "pen pals" while in prison.