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Earl McGahee Alabama Death Row

Earl McGahee was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of two women. According to court documents Earl McGahee would storm into a classroom at a nursing school where he would murder his ex wife and a fellow student. Earl McGahee would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Earl McGahee 2021 Information

Inmate:	MCGAHEE, EARL JEROME
AIS:	0000Z466

Institution:	HOLMAN PRISON

Earl McGahee More News

“On September 11, 1985, Connie Brown (the appellant’s ex-wife), Cassandra Lee and Dee Ann Duncan were all nursing students at George C. Wallace Junior College in Selma, Alabama. That morning, Brown, Lee and Duncan were in a class of thirty-four students in a classroom in the Science Building at the junior college. At approximately 10:00 that morning, the appellant came to this classroom and asked to see Brown. The instructor, Shelia Guidry, told Brown that she could leave the classroom. Brown left the room with the appellant and she went to the office of Joyce Howell, a secretary at the college, and asked to use the telephone. Brown appeared nervous and Howell helped Brown dial the phone numbers. Brown made calls to an elementary school and to her mother. The appellant came into the office while Brown was making the phone calls. As a result of her conversation with Brown, Howell called campus security to remove the appellant from the campus. Howell then walked Brown back to her classroom.

“While Brown was out of the classroom, Guidry had recessed the class for a short break. Brown returned to the class at the end of the break and took her seat. Many of the students were in the classroom at this time because they had remained in the room during break or they had returned from the break.

“Brown sat directly in front of Lee and to the right of Duncan. Shortly after Brown returned to the classroom, the appellant Earl McGahee appeared at the door and asked Brown to come outside. Brown refused.

“At this point, the appellant entered the classroom and shut the door. He pulled a pistol from his pants and aimed it at Brown. A shot was fired and the appellant began walking towards Brown. All of the students began fleeing the classroom. Lee was unable to leave the classroom because Brown fell across her desk and then she (Lee) was shot by the appellant. Duncan fell as she was leaving the classroom and remained on the floor and acted hurt.

“Brown struggled to the front of the classroom and fell to the floor. Earl McGahee then began kicking and stomping Brown.

“Dana Andrews was walking down a hallway in the Science Building that morning when she saw the students running out of Guidry’s classroom and heard gunshots. She went to the room to see if she could help and pushed open the classroom door. Andrews saw the appellant ‘leaning over and he had her [Brown’s] legs lifted up with his left arm and he had his right arm, he was pulling her panties off.’ (R-474).

“Ferrin Eiland, an instructor at the college, went to Guidry’s classroom when he heard the students screaming. He looked through the door window and saw Brown lying on the floor naked. Brown’s legs were propped up and parted and the appellant was kneeling between her legs. Eiland saw the appellant strike Brown twice on the chest with his fists.

“Charles Duckett, also an instructor at the college, went to Guidry’s classroom when he heard there had been a shooting. Duckett looked in the door window and saw the appellant block the door with a chair. When Duckett heard several shots, he went downstairs and told Eiland to call an ambulance. When he returned to the classroom door, he saw the appellant with a gun in his hands and his hands were bloody. Duckett asked the appellant if he could help the people who were hurt and the appellant replied that no one was hurt and then waved the gun at Duckett.

“While Dee Ann Duncan was lying on the floor pretending to be hurt, she heard Earl McGahee say to Brown, ‘Get up, Bitch’ (R. 780). He told Brown that nothing was wrong with her and he began kicking her. He then said several times, ‘give it to me like you had used to” and “you make my d_ hard’ (R-781). Duncan noticed that Brown did not have her jeans on.

“At some point, the appellant came over to Duncan and put his hands between her legs and began rubbing them. He then jerked her head up and asked her what was wrong. The appellant began striking Duncan’s head with the pistol and Duncan blacked out.

“Truett McGee testified that he went to 1410 Philpott in Selma on the morning in question to investigate an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was told by a Mrs. Redd that the appellant had taken her car. Mrs. Redd was a relative of the appellant. While McGee was investigating this incident, he received a call that there had been a shooting at the college.

“McGee proceeded to the college and went to the classroom in the Science Building. When he looked through the door window, Earl McGahee pointed a pistol at him. McGee then heard a shot. McGee told the appellant to throw out his pistol and come out of the classroom. The appellant complied and was arrested and taken into custody.

“Officer Jerry Ward of the Selma Police Department then took the appellant to a patrol car and read him his Miranda [v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966),] rights. While he was being transported to the police station, the appellant began talking. He stated, ‘Well, if the son of a bitch lives, it ain’t my fault cause I gave her a free ticket to heaven. If the son of a bitch lives it’s a miracle. It’s only because Jesus must want her to.’ (R-761, 763). The appellant further stated that things didn’t work out like he wanted them to so he ‘started busting caps’ (R. 763). He told the police that, if he had taken all the shells in the classroom that he had in the car, the police would not have taken him alive.

“When the police entered the classroom after Earl McGahee had been taken into custody, they discovered Lee, Brown and Duncan in the classroom. Brown was already dead and Lee and Duncan were injured and were transported to Selma Medical Center.

“Lee arrived at the hospital with multiple (five) gunshot wounds to her body. When she arrived at the hospital, Lee had no palpable blood pressure, she had suffered some blood loss and she was paralyzed from the waist down. Lee was resuscitated with fluids and given two pints of blood. Surgery was performed on Lee to repair an injury to her spleen. One of the gunshots caused an air leak in Lee’s lungs but surgery could not be performed on the lungs because Lee’s condition was not stabilized. After surgery, Lee’s family requested that Lee not receive any more blood transfusions because she was a Jehovah’s Witness.

“Lee died on September 21, 1985[,] as a result of complications from the gunshot wounds, i.e., meningitis and adult respiratory distress syndrome. Medical experts testified that the fact that Lee did not receive any more blood transfusions after her family’s request did not contribute to her death because they were able to compensate for any blood loss by other means.

“Duncan suffered a depressed skull fracture but survived. As a result of her injury, she lost the ability to taste and smell.

“An autopsy performed on Brown revealed that she died as a result of repeated blows to the face and head which resulted in multiple fractures to the skull and subsequent injury to the brain. Dr. Allen Stillwell, a forensic pathologist, testified that these injuries would be consistent with Brown’s being hit with the butt handle of the gun and being stomped with a foot. He further stated that Brown had been strangled. Brown also received blunt trauma injuries to her upper abdomen area as well as two gunshot wounds to her left arm. However, these injuries were of a non-fatal nature. Stillwell found no evidence in Brown’s body of recent sexual activity.

“Lonnie Ray Hardin, a firearms and toolmarks expert with the Department of Forensic Sciences, testified that the bullets removed from Lee’s and Brown’s bodies by Dr. Stillwell were fired through the same .357 Magnum gun which the appellant threw out of the classroom. The hammer of this gun was found on the floor in the classroom. Hardin testified that it would take a considerable amount of force to dislodge the hammer from the gun. The State then rested its case.

“The appellant’s first three witnesses were the psychiatrists who examined him at the Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility and who served on the Lunacy Commission.

“Drs. Omar Mohabbott, Marino S. Tulao and Kamal Nagi all testified that, based on their examinations of this appellant McGahee, they found him competent to stand trial. Drs. Tulao and Nagi stated that they also found the appellant to be sane at the time these offenses were committed. Dr. Mohabbott testified that he did not examine the appellant concerning his sanity at the time of these offenses.

“Elizabeth Marie Sapala, a private psychiatrist appointed to assist the defense, testified that, although she found the appellant to be competent to stand trial, she believed the appellant lacked the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of law at the time of this offense. She stated that Earl McGahee was unable to resist the rage inside of him due to several stress factors, i.e., the appellant’s unemployment, his financial situation, his divorce from Brown and subsequent custody disputes over their child, his problems with his mother and his substance abuse.

“The appellant testified that he first met Brown when she was pregnant with her first child, Anwon, whom the appellant later adopted after he and Brown were married. Brown and the appellant became friends and later married on September 12, 1980. The appellant testified that the marriage took place because Brown told him she was pregnant but the appellant later learned that she was not pregnant. Brown then became pregnant and had a child by the appellant, named Earl Jerome McGahee, Jr. The appellant and Brown lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, because the appellant was in the Coast Guard and was stationed there. While there, the appellant pleaded guilty to a child abuse charge and received counseling. He testified that Brown treated him badly when they lived in New Orleans. She would invite relatives to stay with them for long periods of time without his permission. He found his wife at home one day dressed in a nightgown and a man was in the house. One day the appellant came home and Anwon ran up to him and called him “Daddy.” Brown told Anwon to get away from the appellant because he wasn’t Anwon’s father. The appellant stated he got mad and accidentally hit Anwon. Brown left the house with the two children and had the appellant arrested for cruelty to a juvenile. The appellant pleaded guilty to that charge and served twelve months and twelve days in jail.

“Brown returned to Selma after the appellant was arrested. She divorced the appellant and took back her maiden name, Brown.

“When Earl McGahee was released from jail, he returned to Selma and lived with his mother while attending George C. Wallace Junior College. In July of 1985, the appellant’s mother ‘kicked him out of the house’ and filed reckless endangerment charges against him.

“On the day in question, the appellant went to his mother’s house to talk to his sister. As he was leaving, he noticed the keys to his mother’s car. He took the keys and drove the car to the college. He then went to Brown’s classroom and asked her to get Earl, Jr., out of school so that he, the appellant, could see him. Brown called the school and then told the appellant he couldn’t take Earl, Jr., from the school.

“The appellant then went back to his mother’s car and got her gun. He went to the classroom to see Brown but she would not talk to him. He pulled the pistol from his pants and said, ‘What about now?’ (R. 968). Brown jumped up and the appellant pulled the trigger. The appellant then ‘went upside her head’ with the pistol and kicked her in the head. He stated he removed Brown’s clothes because she had disgraced his name and he wanted to disgrace her. He denied making sexual advances toward her.

“The appellant testified that he didn’t mean to shoot Lee and he hit Duncan because he panicked.

“The State presented several witnesses on rebuttal, including a clinical psychologist, to refute the appellant’s allegations that he was insane at the time these offenses were committed.”

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1401668.html

Harry Nicks Alabama Death Row

Harry Nicks was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of a man during a robbery. According to court documents Harry Nicks would force two employees of a pawn shop to lie on the floor after robbing the store. Harry Nicks would shoot both of the employees in the back of the head. The man, Robert Back, would die from his injuries however the woman would survive. Harry Nicks would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Harry Nicks 2021 Information

Inmate:	NICKS, HARRY
AIS:	0000Z444

Institution:	HOLMAN PRISON

Harry Nicks More News

This case arises out of an incident which occurred on March 5, 1983, in the Bessemer Pawn Shop at 315 N. 19th Street, Bessemer, Alabama. The pawn shop was owned and operated by Robert and Isadore Back. At approximately 2:30 p.m., a black male entered the shop. He was wearing a red vinyl jacket, blue jeans, and a clear plastic shower cap on his head. He had acne scars on the right side of his face. He was carrying a red canvas tote bag which had a white shoulder strap. Robert Back and an employee, Debra Lynn Love, were in the shop at the time. The man approached Back and said, “Man, I need some money. I got to get out of town quick.” He then pulled a pistol from the tote bag, pointed it at Back, and told Love not to move. Back took money from a cash drawer and put it in the tote bag. The robber demanded more money. He demanded “big bucks,” and continuously called Back a “god damned old man” and “mother fucking old man.” He threatened to kill Back and pulled a second pistol from the bag. Back took money from a second cash drawer and put it in the bag. The robber demanded more money. He wanted “big bucks” and “big bills.” He ordered Love to lie on the floor and she complied. Back opened the cash drawer in the safe and handed more money to the robber and told him, “This is all I have.” The robber ordered Back to lie next to Love on the floor. As Back and Love lay face down on the floor, the robber fired three shots. One shot entered the back of Love’s head; one entered the back of Back’s head, penetrating his brain; and one went into a rubber mat on the floor. Back either died instantly or in a matter of minutes from the bullet wound to his head; however, the bullet fired into Love’s head lodged in her skull and she survived. As soon as Love heard the robber leave the shop, she telephoned the police, giving them a detailed description of the robber. *1021 Subsequently, Love identified appellant, in two lineups conducted by the police, as the person who robbed the pawn shop and shot Back and her. She also made a positive in-court identification of appellant.

Venita Bishop was working as a cashier in a nearby store on the date of the incident. She observed a black male, fitting the description of the robber, in her store around 12:30 to 12:45 p.m. Subsequently, she identified appellant, in a lineup, as the person she observed in the store where she worked on the day of the incident. She also made a positive in-court identification of appellant.

A firearms expert determined that two of the bullets fired by the robber were .22 caliber and fired from the same gun. The two pistols displayed by the robber were never found. The autopsy performed on Back’s body disclosed stippling, or powder burns, around the wound to the back of his head, indicating that the pistol from which the shot was fired was very close to his head, probably within two inches.

Harry Nicks did not testify in his own behalf during the guilt phase of the trial. He called only two witnesses: Dr. Clifford B. Hardin, a psychiatrist, and Gordon Burkhead, his landlord, in support of his insanity plea.

https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/court-of-appeals-criminal/1987/521-so-2d-1018-0.html

William Bush Alabama Death Row

William Bush was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents William Bush and Edward Pringle would enter a convenience store to commit a robbery. Once inside of the store William Bush would shoot two men who were working in the store. One of the men would die from his injuries. William Bush and Edward Pringle would go to another store where another clerk was shot and killed. William Bush would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

William Bush 2021 Information

Inmate:	BUSH, WILLIAM
AIS:	0000Z412

Institution:	HOLMAN PRISON

William Bush More News

The state presented evidence showing that around 3:00 a.m., on July 26, 1981, William Bush and a companion, Edward Lewis Pringle,[2] entered a Majik Market convenience store on Carter Hill Road in Montgomery, Alabama. When they entered, two people were in the store: Larry Dominguez, the store clerk, and his friend, Tony Holmes. Dominguez was in the restroom. Appellant pointed a pistol at Holmes and forced him toward the restroom at the rear of the store. When Dominguez opened the restroom door, appellant shot both Dominguez and Holmes with the pistol. Appellant then returned to the front of the store and attempted to open the cash register. Dominguez stumbled out of the restroom, and appellant shot him again. Appellant took two bags of “zodiac sign tags” from the store and departed. The first shot striking Dominguez passed through his chin, lodging in his neck and severing a large artery. The second shot striking Dominguez entered his right shoulder and passed through his lungs and heart. He died from the injuries caused by the second shot; however, the injuries sustained as a result of the first shot were potentially fatal. Holmes was shot in the neck and, although seriously injured, survived. He was able to give a description of his assailant and of the getaway automobile. He described the automobile as a 1973 whiteover-green Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

After leaving the Majik Market, appellant and Pringle drove to a Seven-Eleven convenience store on Narrow Lane Road in Montgomery, arriving there sometime prior to 4:00 a.m. Appellant entered the store and purchased a package of cigarettes from the clerk, Thomas Adams. After Adams opened the cash register, appellant forced him into an office area behind the counter and shot him in the head with the same pistol he had used to shoot Dominguez and Holmes. The shot to Adams’s head apparently killed him instantly. Appellant took from $20.00 to $30.00 from the cash register.

Appellant did not testify at the guilt phase or at the sentencing phase of his trial. It is apparent from the arguments of his counsel, cross-examination of the state’s witnesses, and questions asked defense witnesses, that his defense was based upon a theory of mistaken identity. He attempted, in every way possible, to bolster Holmes’s identification of Edward Pringle’s brother, Cornelias Pringle, as the triggerman, while at the same time trying to discredit the testimony of Patricia Pringle, the wife of Edward Lewis Pringle, who testified that appellant had told her that he had shot Dominguez, Holmes, and Adams. He endeavored to point the finger of suspicion *543 at Edward and Cornelias Pringle and away from himself. Cross-examination of the officers and arguments to the jury show an attempt to discredit appellant’s incriminating statements. Appellant attempted to make it appear that the statements had been coerced and that the words in the statements were not appellant’s but the officers’. In other words, the thrust of defense counsel’s argument is that the officers had made up the statements and forced appellant to adopt them as his own. Defense counsel attempted to explain appellant’s knowledge of the whereabouts of the murder weapon by claiming that appellant purchased it from someone on the street after the robbery-murders and prior to the time he was arrested. Counsel based this explanation on an investigator’s testimony that appellant had told him that he had purchased the pistol after the crimes had been committed.

https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/court-of-appeals-criminal/1988/523-so-2d-538-0.html

Donnie Abernathy Alabama Death Row

Donnie Abernathy was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murders of three women. According to court documents Donnie Abernathy was upset over a child custody matter would go to the home of his ex girlfriend and opened fire killing three women: Sylvia Duffy, 71, her sister Clara Edwards, 68, and Edwards’ daughter, Pamela O’Shel, 48. Donnie Abernathy would kidnap a fourth woman after shooting a man at the residence who would survive his injuries. Donnie Abernathy would be involved in a car chase with police that ended shortly after it started. Donnie would be arrested and the woman was saved. Donnie Abernathy would be convicted and sentenced to death.

Donnie Abernathy 2021 Information

Inmate:	ABERNATHY, DONNIE LEE
AIS:	0000Z818

Institution:	HOLMAN PRISON

Donnie Abernathy More News

A Cherokee County man has been convicted on two counts of capital murder, attempted murder, criminal mischief and attempting to elude following a trial held this week in Cherokee County District Court.

Donnie Lee Abernathy is charged in the killing of three women and the wounding of a man back in November of 2015 at a residence in the Round Mountain Community of Cherokee County.

Abernathy shot and killed the victims and forcefully took his ex girlfriend Jerrica Hamilton from the residence and attempted to elude officers before crashing his Ford Mustang a short time later.

Jerrica Hamiltion told investigators that Abernathy came into the house shot and killed all three victims and then kidnapped her, just prior to eluding police, Donnie Abernathy then told Hamilton to place a 911 call and tell them that everything was ok and that if she did not do so he would kill her and she would never see her child again.

Cherokee County, Alabama Man Convicted In Triple Homicide

Donnie Abernathy Other News

A Centre man has been sentenced to death, in connection with slayings that occurred back in November of 2015 here in Cherokee County.

Donnie Lee Abernathy has been sentenced to death by lethal injection with the order being handed down Monday (November 29th) by Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Andrew J. Hairston.

hat was District Attorney Mike O’Dell from a conversation WEIS Radio had with him just over a month ago following Abernathy’s conviction.

He went on to say Hamilton informed investigators that Abernathy entered the home on County Road 664 in an isolated area of the Round Mountain community, where he shot the victims before forcing her into his car and fleeing the scene.

Law Enforcement was able to take Abernathy into custody, after he lost control of the car and crashed.

The death sentence comes from the two counts of Capital Murder that Abernathy was facing. The date of execution will be set by the Alabama Supreme Court. Additionally Abernathy was given time for convictions on three other charges: Attempted Murder, Attempting to Elude and Criminal Mischief 1st Degree.

We’ll continue to follow the case and will also announce when the execution date has been set.

Donnie Abernathy News

Michael Iervolino Alabama Death Row

Michael Iervolino was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of a man. According to court documents Michael Iervolino would fatally shoot Nicholas Sloan Harmon inside of his vehicle. The victim who was the son of St Clair County District Attorney was driving home from his girlfriends home. Michael Iervolino would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death,

Michael Iervolino 2021 Information

Inmate:	IERVOLINO, MICHAEL DALE
AIS:	0000Z817

Institution:	HOLMAN PRISON

Michael Iervolino More News

Michael Dale Iervolino has been found guilty of two counts of capital murder for the shooting death of Nicholas Sloan Harmon.

A jury found Iervolino guilty Monday after almost an hour-long deliberation after both the prosecution and defense gave their closing statements Monday morning.

Harmon, the 20-year-old son of St. Clair County District Attorney Lyle Harmon, was fatally shot while returning home from his girlfriend’s apartment in Moody on Nov 5, 2019.

Irvolino had been charged with two counts of capital murder, one stating that Iervolino fatally shot the younger Harmon from inside of a vehicle,and the other stating that he fatally shot Harmon while Harmon was in a vehicle.

Iervolino has also been charged with stealing a white Chevrolet work truck from the Best Western in Moody before the shooting, charges he pled guilty to Nov. 1.

Monday began with closing statements from the prosecution, Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christina Kilgore, who were prosecuting the case after the entire St. Clair District Attorney’s office recused themselves.

Kilgore said the case came down to two men, Harmon and Iervolino, who made very different choices in their lives and how Iervolino’s choices changed both their lives. She went through Iervolino’s actions that day including borrowing a Hi Point 9mm from a man named Jacob Wilson and stealing the truck. She also pointed to testimony from Dylon Stewart, who was with Iervolino before and after the shooting that night, saying that Iervolino said he had shot someone that night.

Kilgore also pointed to several witnesses who said they either saw Irvolino in possession of the Hi Point pistol or that he had admitted to shooting a gun while inside the truck. She also pointed to expert testimony that said four shell casings found in the truck matched the Hi Point handgun and the projectile recovered from Harmon’s vehicle had marks on it consistent with rifling Hi Point pistol even if the gun had no consistent pattern during test fires by the Alabama Department of Forensics.

Kilgore also showed video from the Sunoco in Moody which showed the work truck with Iervolino inside passing Harmon’s Mazda 3 as it turned onto Kelly Creek Road, where the prosecution argued the shooting took place.

She said while the case was about Iervolino’s choices that night, ultimately the jury had the final say in the case.

“You get to make the decisions today,” Kilgore told the jury before ending her closing.

Defense Attorney Bill Barnett said in his closing statement that no one was disputing that Iervolino stole the truck, but that he did not mean he killed Harmon. He said that the bullet could not be matched to the pistol conclusively and was a .38 caliber slug.

During his statement, Barnett proposed an alternate theory of events where another gunman had laid in wait for Harmon on Kelly Creek Road and shot Harmon after he turned, after Iervolino had been on his way. He said the state should be looking for that man not prosecuting Iervolino.

“Don’t just make a fall guy out of somebody who made bad decisions,” Barnett said.

He also pointed to a statement by the prosecution that the shooting had taken place close to Carl Jones Road, which the prosecution objected to, saying they had never said that.

Giddens said in his rebuttal that Barnett was presenting an alternate world not an alternate theory of the case.

“I wonder if he’s been watching the same trial I have,” he began, adding that he found Barnett’s theory ridiculous.

Giddens also pointed out that a 9mm is a .38 caliber round. He ended by asking the jury to see justice done in the case and give some solace to the Harmon family.

“Justice is the hope for those who suffer and it’s the dread for those who’ve done wrong,” he said.

Judge Chad Woodruff said while the guilt portion of the trial has concluded, because the case is a capital offense, it will move into a penalty phase Tuesday morning. Giddens has said previously the state is seeking the death penalty in the case.

https://www.annistonstar.com/the_st_clair_times/stclair_news/verdict-jury-finds-iervolino-guilty-of-two-counts-of-murder-in-harmon-death/article_1a783fb8-3ea8-11ec-b52b-f79a7f111a0b.html