Judge in smuggling death case says order ignored.(Capital Region)

HOUSTON - A judge in the nation's deadliest human-smuggling attempt said she will tell jurors that prosecutors ignored her order to show why they are seeking the death penalty for a Schenectady man accused of driving and abandoning the tractor-trailer.

In a ruling made public Thursday, U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore said she will let Tyrone Williams' attorneys use the government's refusal of her order as evidence during the penalty phase if he is convicted on a death penalty charge.

The defense says Williams was singled out for the death penalty because he is black, a charge denied by the government. Prosecutors say the information about why they want an …