Select by gender or name

Lisa Ann Coleman’s Background

Lisa Ann Coleman was born on October 6th, 1975, in Tarrant County, Texas. She was conceived when Coleman’s step-grandfather violated her mother.

As a youth, Coleman was beaten by an uncle. Later, she spent time in foster care. She was also stabbed by one relative and introduced to drugs and alcohol by another relative.

By the time she was 16 years old, she was a high school dropout with a young child.

Soon, she turned to a life of crime. On one occasion, she was locked up for two years for burglary. On another occasion, she was jailed for five years for possession with the intent to deliver.

Abuse and Murder of Davontae Marcel Williams

In 1995, 14-year-old Marcella Williams was reported to Child Protective Services for neglecting her two-month-old son, Davontae Marcel Williams. Caseworkers kept an eye on the home for six months, but nothing changed, and five years later, he was still in danger

Marcella, Davontae, and his one-year-old sister were living with Coleman, and CPS took the two kids away and put them in foster care after they saw signs of abuse on Davontae. They determined that Coleman was abusing him.

After a year, Marcella agreed to stay away from Coleman to get her kids back, although Marcella didn’t stick to the agreement.

In October 2002, CPS received more reports that Davontae was showing signs of abuse and neglect. Marcella and Coleman started hiding him. They took him out of school, stopped taking him to the doctor, and were able to avoid CPS whenever they stopped by for a home visit.

On July 26th, 2004, Marcella called 911 and told them Davontae wasn’t breathing. Medical personnel arrived at her Arlington, Texas, home and determined that Davontae had been dead for several hours.

The nine-year-old was malnourished and had bruises all over his body. An autopsy later determined he weighed 35 pounds, had 250 scars on his body, and his wrist and legs had infections from being tied up with plastic cords. His cause of death was determined to be starvation.

Coleman and Marcella were arrested and charged with capital murder.

Legal Proceedings

Marcella decided not to risk a trial, and she pleaded guilty to murder. She was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

Coleman was offered a plea deal, but she turned it down. She was convicted of Capital Murder at trial. At her sentencing, her lawyer brought up her traumatic childhood in an effort to spare her from a death sentence, but it didn’t work, and the jury felt she deserved to die.

On September 17th, 2014, Coleman was served a last meal of fried pork chops, macaroni and cheese, carrots, green beans, navy beans, sliced bread, pineapple orange cake, and a drink.

She was given the same meal as all the other inmates, as Texas no longer provides a special meal to inmates before their execution.

An hour later, the 38-year-old was marched to the death chamber and strapped to a gurney. As a syringe full of poison flooded her body, she stated, “I’m all right. Tell them I finished strong. God is good.”