James Johnson was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents James Johnson would enter a gas station and in the process of robbery would shoot and kill the clerk. James Johnson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
James Johnson 2021 Information
Inmate:
JOHNSON, JAMES ALLEN
AIS:
0000Z657
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
James Johnson More News
The State’s evidence tended to show that on August 5, 1995, Rodney Earley discovered Lawson’s body slumped behind the counter in the BP gasoline station on Old Highway 78 in Jasper-unconscious from gunshot wounds to her head. Earley testified that he telephoned the emergency 911 number and that Lawson died before the ambulance could arrive.
Ira Morris,1 Johnson’s codefendant, testified that several weeks before the robbery/murder he met with James Johnson and discussed plans to rob and kill the attendant at the BP station in Jasper. The two agreed that Morris would be the lookout and that Johnson would commit the robbery/murder. On the designated day the two went to the BP station. Morris testified that James Johnson approached the counter purportedly to purchase a drink, and he threw his crumpled money down so the clerk would have to pick it up. Lawson stooped to pick up the money; when she straightened, Johnson was pointing a .38 caliber revolver at her head. He demanded money. After Lawson gave him the money in the register Johnson shot at the clerk four times. Morris said that Morris wiped the door clean of fingerprints and left during the shooting. The two met the next day to split the $447 that had been taken in the robbery/murder. Morris testified that he refused to take any of the money because he felt remorse for what he had done.
There was also evidence presented indicating that James Johnson confessed to two fellow inmates that he had committed the BP robbery/murder. There was also testimony that approximately two weeks before the robbery/murder Johnson had approached two children, had showed them a map of the area surrounding the BP station, had showed them a gun that he had hidden in his front yard, and had told them he was going to rob the BP station. The State also presented evidence indicating that Johnson, six months after the robbery/murder at the BP station, had robbed another attendant at a package store located one mile from the BP station.
Geoffrey West was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents Geoffrey West and his girlfriend would rob a convenience store and in the process shoot and kill a worker. Geoffrey West would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.
Geoffrey West 2021 Information
Inmate:
WEST, GEOFFREY TODD
AIS:
0000Z658
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
Geoffrey West More News
“In the late hours of March 27, 1997, or early morning of March 28, 1997, Geoffrey Todd West and his girlfriend drove to Harold’s Chevron located at 2920 Noccalula Parkway. The Defendant had previously been employed at this convenience store. The Defendant previously had expressed to others his intention to rob the Chevron Store and to ‘leave no witnesses,’ ‘kill the person up there.’
“West entered the store armed with a .45 caliber handgun and the circumstances indicate that he held the attendant Berry at gunpoint and took $250.00 from a cookie can where the store money was kept. The medical evidence indicates that Berry was shot in the back of the head while lying prone on the floor behind the counter of the store. According to the medical examiner, the ‘wound would cause rapid incapacitation and a very rapid death.’ ”
Melvin Hodges was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents Melvin Hodges would rob a restaurant and would kidnap two of the workers who were later beaten to death in the woods. Melvin Hodges would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Melvin Hodges 2021 Information
Inmate:
HODGES, MELVIN GENE
AIS:
0000Z659
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
Melvin Hodges More News
“The State’s evidence tended to show the following. On January 5, 1998, two hunters discovered the nude body of Beth Seaton on the side of County Road 26 in Macon County. The coroner testified that Seaton died as a result of a combination of blunt-force injuries to her head, neck, chest, and abdomen, the most significant being the crushing injuries to her chest and abdomen, which resulted from having been run over by a vehicle. Tire marks ran vertically up and down Seaton’s back. A name tag from the Golden Corral Restaurant with Hodges’s name on it was found near Seaton’s body.
“Hodges and Seaton were coworkers at the Golden Corral Restaurant in Opelika. Seaton was a supervisor, and one of her duties was to close the restaurant. Hodges was a crew leader at the restaurant. On January 5, 1998, Trina Eady, another employee at Golden Corral, and Hodges arrived to open the restaurant. The alarm system was deactivated and the safe was open. There was no evidence of a forced entry. They telephoned police.
“An investigation led police to Marlo Murph. Murph testified at trial that Hodges suggested robbing the Golden Corral. He said that Hodges told him that Sunday night was the best time because there would be a lot of money in the safe. Murph said that Hodges got the pistol used to murder Seaton from Greg Holstick. The two planned to get to the restaurant while Seaton was closing up. According to Murph, their plans went awry. When they arrived at the restaurant they saw Seaton driving away in her van. They followed the van and were able to get Seaton to pull over. While Hodges was talking to her, Murph said, he entered the van and pointed a gun at her. The two then forced her to drive back to the Golden Corral and open the safe. Murph and Hodges then forced Seaton to drive her van around the area. Murph testified that Seaton sensed that something was going to happen; he stated that she started taking off her clothes and saying that she would have sex with them if they did not hurt her. They eventually made her pull the vehicle over. Murph testified that Hodges said that Seaton knew too much. Hodges then pulled Seaton out of the van and began hitting and choking her. Murph said that while Hodges was holding her, he hit Seaton with a pistol. Murph testified that when he realized what Hodges was going to do he walked away. He said that Hodges got into the driver’s seat in Seaton’s van and ran over Seaton about four times, back and forth. The two then left in Seaton’s van. Murph said that they drove around for several minutes and Hodges realized that his Golden Corral name tag was missing. The two tried to return to where they had left the body, but they were lost and running out of gas. Murph said that he threw Seaton’s purse out of the window near the rest area in Tuskegee and that they parked Seaton’s van at Mount Olive Baptist Church. Hodges’s clothes were covered in blood so he gave them to Murph to dispose of. Murph led police to where he had disposed of Hodges’s clothes. Murph testified that Hodges gave him $2,500 for his part in the robbery/murder. (Murph had $1,427 in his possession at the time of his arrest.)
“Kitt Porter, Hodges’s aunt, testified that, on January 5, 1998, she drove Hodges to Tuskegee. She said that he told her that police had discovered his Golden Corral name tag at the murder scene. Porter testified that Hodges admitted to her that he had robbed and killed Seaton. He told her about the murder-an account that corroborated Murph’s account in almost all respects. Porter testified that Hodges told her that he gave $5,000 to Murph for his part in the robbery/murder.
“Several witnesses also testified that the day after the robbery/murder Hodges had a large quantity of money. Hodges himself testified that he gave his girlfriend $600. Forensic evidence connected Hodges to the robbery/murder. A cigarette butt recovered from Seaton’s van contained saliva, the DNA of which matched Hodges’s. Also, at the time of Hodges’s arrest he had blood on his watch and ring. Furthermore, blood found on the clothes that Murph had discarded for Hodges matched Seaton’s DNA.
“Hodges testified in his own defense and offered his own version of the facts surrounding Seaton’s murder. Hodges testified that he orchestrated the robbery and enlisted the help of Craig Hicks, Greg Holstick, and Marlo Murph. Hodges testified that, on the night of the intended robbery, Hicks did not show up and they had to revise their plans. He said that he planned to be at his apartment so that he would not be implicated in the robbery. He said that he wondered what was taking so long and went across the street from the Golden Corral to see what was happening. Hodges further testified that after about one hour Greg Holstick returned and said that they had to get rid of Seaton because she knew them. (Hodges had previously introduced Holstick to Seaton.) Hodges said that Holstick gave him $600. Hodges said that he was not present at the time of the robbery or the murder and that he knew nothing about the murder. He said that the State’s witnesses were all lying.”
Bobby Waldrop was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murders of his grandparents. According to court documents Bobby Waldrop would stab to death his grandparents after they caught him robbing their home. Bobby Waldrop would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Bobby Waldrop 2021 Information
Inmate:
WALDROP, BOBBY WAYNE
AIS:
0000Z661
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
Bobby Waldrop More News
Bobby Waldrop was born to a 14-year-old mother who often left him for days and weeks at a time. He spent much of his childhood with his maternal grandparents, Sherrell and Irene Prestridge. By all accounts, Bobby Waldrop loved the Prestridges and they loved him. When Mr. Waldrop was 19, he and his wife Clara lived in the Prestridges’ home. By then, both Sherrell and Irene had become ill and disabled. Sherrell had heart issues, hip problems, and difficulty walking. Irene was blind and bedridden. Because of their infirmities, the Prestridges had converted the living room of their home into a bedroom equipped with two hospital beds.
On April 5, 1998, Bobby Waldrop and Clara left the Prestridges’ home and checked into a hotel, where Mr. Waldrop smoked an undetermined amount of crack cocaine. Later that evening, the couple returned to the Prestridges’ home, planning to steal money to buy more drugs. Soon after the couple arrived, Mr. Waldrop and his grandfather Sherrell began arguing about money. Bobby Waldrop then retrieved a knife and stabbed Sherrell 43 times, killing him, while his grandmother Irene begged him to stop. As Sherrell died, Irene told her husband that she loved him and would see him in heaven. After Bobby Waldrop killed Sherrell, he went outside and removed gloves from the trunk of his car. He returned to the house and instructed Clara to kill Irene. Clara cut and stabbed Irene twice, but she could not finish what she started. Mr. Waldrop then took the knife from Clara and stabbed his grandmother 38 times. Before she died, Irene told Mr. Waldrop that she loved him.
After the murders, Waldrop went into the bathroom and cleaned off the blood. He instructed Clara to take Sherrell’s wallet, and she did so. Mr. Waldrop changed out of his clothes and put them, along with the knife, in a plastic bag which he threw into a river. Then, Mr. Waldrop and Clara used the money in Sherrell’s wallet to buy more crack cocaine. They were arrested later that day, and both of them confessed to killing Sherrell and Irene.
Keith Gavin was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of a man during a robbery. According to court documents Keith Gavin was just released from prison after serving time for a murder when he would shoot and kill a man during a robbery. Keith Gavin would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Keith Gavin 2021 Information
Inmate:
GAVIN, KEITH EDMUND
AIS:
0000Z665
Institution:
HOLMAN PRISON
Keith Gavin More News
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Alabama Death Row inmate Keith Gavin. He had filed a request for a review of the case in February of last year (2016).
Gavin was convicted of the 1998 murder and robbery of William Clinton Clayton, Jr. in front of the Regions Bank in downtown Centre, Alabama.
Clayton, who worked as a contract courier for Corporate Express Delivery Systems Inc. was shot and killed while sitting in a company van outside the bank after finishing his deliveries for the day. He had reportedly stopped to get money from the ATM in order to take his wife to dinner.
Two separate eyewitnesses identified Gavin as the shooter – including his cousin, DeWayne Meeks – who was an employee with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Gavin also fired shots at an investigator as he fled the scene.
The Murder charge was a Capital offense because the crime was actually committed during the course of a robbery in the first degree – and because he’d been convicted of murder less than 20 years earlier.
An Attempted Murder charge was added for firing at law enforcement while running away.
The murder in Centre took place less than three months after Gavin had been released from prison after serving 16 years for the shooting death of an unarmed man in Chicago.
A Cherokee County jury recommended by a vote of 10 to 2 that Keith Gavin be sentenced to death and according to court records the judge accepted the jury’s recommendation.
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