William Miller (criminal) William Miller (criminal) William "Billy the Killer" Miller (1906 – April 16, 1931) was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. In his brief criminal career, he committed numerous bank heists in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Oklahoma, and teamed up with George Birdwell and Pretty Boy Floyd during the early 1930s. Miller was born in Ironton, Ohio in 1906. He first earned his nickname "Billy the Killer" when, on September 18, 1925, the 19-year-old Miller killed his brother Joseph in a fight over a woman. Tried in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, he was acquitted of murder on the grounds that he
American Gangster (film) as a rock", and that it was "far too convinced of its import to be any fun." Giving "American Gangster" a two out of five stars, Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" was disappointed with Washington's acting, asserting, "He doesn't seem to relax and enjoy himself in the role, or even inhabit it very satisfyingly." He resumed: "He never has the menace of his dirty cop in "Training Day", and we don't see anything like the transformation from street-hustler to leader in "Malcolm X". That shoulder-shimmying swagger is rarely seen, and the brand-classic robes of "American Gangster" sit on him heavily."