Realising the absurdity of the situation, the court granted Williams a retrial. In the new trial Williams' defence lawyer was Irish poet Theophilus Swift, whose tactic was to accuse Porter of a scheme to collect the reward, Porter having married Coleman, who had received the reward money. Despite the fact that a number of alleged victims gave contradictory stories and that his employer and coworkers testified that he had an alibi for the most infamous attack, Williams was convicted on three counts and sentenced to two years each, for a total of six years in prison. He was released in December 1796.