Anthony Tyson Alabama Death Row

anthony tyson alabama

Anthony Tyson was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murders of two men during a robbery. According to court documents Anthony Tyson would shoot and kill the two men during a robbery. Anthony Tyson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Anthony Tyson 2022 Information

Inmate: TYSON, ANTHONY
AIS: 0000Z641
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Anthony Tyson More News

The State’s evidence tended to show that on January 4, 1997, Porter Key, an employee of Henry Trucking Company, was driving on Franklin Road in Macon County when he discovered the body of Derek Cowan in the middle of the road.   Key saw a green Acura automobile roll off the road and strike a fence.   The car then backed up onto the road and sped off in the direction of Tuskegee.   He thought that the driver of this car had been involved in a hit-and-run accident so he followed the car.   He was unable to keep up, and he lost the car somewhere in Tuskegee.   Cowan had not been the victim of an accident, but had been shot twice in the back of the head.   Within minutes after Key discovered Cowan’s body, the body of Damien Thompson was discovered slumped forward in the passenger side of an Acura automobile that was in the bushes at the intersection of Bull Avenue and Anona Street in Tuskegee.   Thompson had been shot twice in the head.

Alphonso Cardwell testified that he and Cowan were scheduled to meet for a drug exchange on a dirt road off County Road 36 on January 4, 1997.   He testified that as he was driving to the designated location he saw Cowan, Thompson, and a third male, whom he identified at trial as Tyson, drive by in a green Acura.   The Acura was being followed by another vehicle driven by Cornelius Drisker.   Cardwell arrived at the location and Cowan and Cardwell made the exchange.   Cardwell testified that he gave Cowan $300 in exchange for cocaine.   Minutes after the drug exchange, Cowan’s body was discovered.   Witnesses testified that one of his pockets was turned inside out.   The $300 was missing.

Police connected Tyson to the murders while investigating a shooting in Union Springs that occurred 10 days after the double murder in Macon County.   Nicholas Martin testified that Tyson and three other people shot at him from a car as he was walking his dog.   He testified that he recognized Tyson and that he went to the police station and signed a warrant for his arrest.1  The gun identified as the gun used in the Union Springs shooting was the murder weapon in the double murder.

Numerous forensic evidence connected Tyson to the double murder.   After executing a search warrant on Tyson’s apartment, based on evidence obtained in the investigation of the Union Springs shooting, police recovered a Lorcin chrome .380 pistol and bloodstained Nike brand sneakers.   A DNA analysis of the blood on the sneakers revealed that the blood matched Thompson’s blood.   Tyson’s fingerprints were also recovered from the green Acura.   Spent shell casings recovered from the Acura, near Cowan’s body, and from the Union Springs shooting were identified as having been fired by the same gun, a Lorcin .380, which was identified as being Tyson’s.

Tyson’s defense at trial was that he did not kill Cowan and Thompson.   He attempted to connect a third person to the killings-the man who had been seen in a car with the victims earlier on the day of the murders.   Tyson attempted to show that this other person could have committed the murders.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1096229.html

Why Is Anthony Tyson On Death Row

Anthony Tyson was sentenced to death for two murders

When Is Anthony Tyson Execution

Anthony Tyson Execution has yet to be scheduled

Jarrod Taylor Alabama Death Row

jarrod taylor alabama

Jarrod Taylor was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a triple murder that occurred during a robbery. According to court documents Jarrod Taylor would fatally shoot three people during a robbery at a car dealership. Jarrod Taylor would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Jarrod Taylor 2022 Information

Inmate: TAYLOR, JARROD
AIS: 0000Z638
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Jarrod Taylor More News

The state of Alabama’s plans to execute a man convicted in a triple-murder more than two decades ago are on hold after the belated discovery that he had opted for a new method of execution that has not been developed.

On July 29, the attorney general’s office filed a motion asking the Alabama Supreme Court to set an execution date for Jarrod Taylor, who killed three people during a robbery of a car dealership in Mobile in 1997.

Taylor has been on death row since 1998 and had no pending appeals, the motion said. It said Taylor had not opted for nitrogen hypoxia, a method of execution that inmates could choose instead of lethal injection under a bill passed by the Legislature last year.

But Taylor’s lawyer, Joshua Myrick, responded with a motion saying that Taylor had opted for nitrogen hypoxia before the June 30, 2018 deadline and had documentation to back that up..

On Aug. 2, the attorney general’s office asked the Supreme Court to withdraw the request for an execution date.

That motion says Taylor’s lawyer sent a copy of Taylor’s signed form electing nitrogen hypoxia dated June 28, 2018, as well as contemporaneous emails about Taylor’s decision.

The motion says that Taylor indicated he signed two election forms, gave one to his lawyer and the other to an Alabama Department of Corrections employee to give to the warden. The motion says the attorney general’s office never received a copy of the form and that the ADOC did not have the form in its files.

“Nevertheless, the documentation provided by Taylor’s counsel supports the assertion that he made a timely election of nitrogen hypoxia,” the AG’s motion says. “The State intends to honor that election.

“As the ADOC is not yet prepared to proceed with an execution by nitrogen hypoxia, the state requests that it be allowed to withdraw its previous motion.” The Supreme Court granted the request on Aug. 6.

Today, the attorney general’s office declined to comment beyond what was stated in the motion. The ADOC also declined comment.

Fifty-one Alabama death row inmates opted for nitrogen hypoxia before last year’s deadline, the Associated Press reported last year.

No state has done executions by nitrogen hypoxia. Mississippi and Oklahoma have also passed laws for nitrogen executions but have not announced a protocol.

The attorney general’s office has not released any information about the state’s efforts to develop the nitrogen method of execution.

The AG’s office has hired an industrial safety expert under a contract related to nitrogen executions but has declined to explain the purpose and declined AL.com’s request for a copy of the contract under the state’s public records law.

Court records describe Taylor’s crimes as methodical and heartless. He fatally shot Sherry Gaston, a salesperson at the car dealership, her husband Bruce Gaston, and Steve Dyas, the co-owner of the dealership. The victims were begging for their lives when Taylor shot them, according to testimony from Taylor’s accomplice, who entered a plea deal.

https://www.al.com/news/2019/08/mistake-forces-state-to-call-off-plans-to-execute-triple-murderer.html

Why Is Jarrod Taylor On Death Row

Jarrod Taylor was sentenced to death for a triple murder

When Is Jarrod Taylor Execution

Jarrod Taylor execution has yet to be scheduled

Calvin Stallworth Alabama Death Row

calvin stallworth alabama

Calvin Stallworth was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the deaths of two store clerks in two incidents. According to court documents Calvin Stallworth would shoot and kill a store clerk at one store and then would shoot and kill a store clerk at another store ten days apart. Calvin Stallworth would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Calvin Stallworth 2022 Information

Inmate: STALLWORTH, CALVIN L
AIS: 0000Z649
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Calvin Stallworth More News

On December 4, 1997, John Gregory entered the Dukes Parkway Shell gasoline service station in Foley and discovered Nancy Dukes behind the counter on her knees with her arms and face in a chair. She had been stabbed numerous times, but she was still breathing. Gregory called for help, but Dukes died before the paramedics arrived. The coroner testified that Dukes had been stabbed approximately 40 times and that she died as a result of those injuries. There was testimony that between $400 and $600 was missing from the cash register.

“On December 14, 1997, Van Gardener discovered Linda Morton’s body lying face down on the floor behind the counter at the Diamond Gas Station and Convenience Store in Foley. The coroner testified that Morton had been stabbed six times and that she died as a result of those injuries. An audit of the cash register revealed that it was $934.00 short.

“While investigating Morton’s murder, police used a bloodhound at the Diamond store. The bloodhound went to a trail behind the store that went through a small wooded area and led to the Aaronville community. On the trail, police discovered a broken VCR, identified as the VCR from the Diamond store, and a bag of receipts that contained checks and credit card receipts. An eyewitness, Olivia Woodyard, testified that around the time of Morton’s murder she saw Stallworth leaving the trail behind the Diamond store. Woodyard testified that Stallworth was acting strangely and was nervous. She also testified that Stallworth had told her a few days before the robbery/murder that he was under a lot of stress because Christmas was near and he had no job. Another eyewitness testified that he saw a male wearing a dark, hooded jacket run from the Diamond store around the time of Morton’s murder.

“Numerous witnesses testified that Calvin Stallworth was spending a lot of money between December 4 and December 16, although he was not employed. Christina Lorraine Waters, a former employee of Riviera Utilities, testified that on December 4, 1997, just hours after Dukes was robbed and killed, Calvin Stallworth paid a delinquent electric power bill for his fiancée in the amount of $167.12. (Stallworth’s fiancée, Deborah Pickens, told him that the electric power had been cut off on the morning of December 4.) Waters also testified that when she was taking Stallworth’s payment, another employee was on the telephone and you could overhear her talking about Nancy Dukes’s murder. Waters said that when Stallworth heard the statement about Dukes’s murder he reacted by saying ‘Oh, man’ and hanging his head. (R. 268.) Glenn Manning, the owner of Manning Jewelry in Foley, testified that on December 4, 1997, Stallworth paid him $100 for jewelry repairs that he had completed. Calvin Stallworth was also reported to have made several cash purchases at a Wal–Mart discount store.

“On December 16, 1997, the investigation focused on Calvin Stallworth, and police discovered that Stallworth was wanted for a probation violation. Police picked Stallworth up for the probation violation, questioned him about the two murders, and obtained a search warrant to search his fiancée’s home, where he was living. Police seized a hooded jacket that had blood on the inside of one of the sleeves. DNA testing revealed that the blood on the jacket matched Dukes’s DNA. The search of Stallworth’s fiancée’s house also revealed a serrated kitchen knife under the mattress. Experts testified that the knife was the same type of knife used to kill both Dukes and Morton.

“Calvin Stallworth gave several statements to police—each of which varied in some detail. Stallworth admitted that he was at the scene of both robbery/murders, but he denied killing either Dukes or Morton. Stallworth also admitted that he had removed the VCR from the Diamond store because, he said, he knew the videotape would show him in the store. Stallworth said that he took the VCR to a trail behind the Diamond store and he used a hammer to open it and destroy the tape. Stallworth also told police that he found a bag of money on the trail and that he took the money and left.

“Stallworth testified in his own defense at trial. He said that he had not been at either scene and that his statements to police were coerced. He said that he had an alibi for the time of both murders. (Defense witnesses also testified that he had an alibi.) Stallworth also testified that he paid his bills in December 1997 with his ‘cousin’s help, shooting dice, and selling a little marijuana.’ (R. 3950.) He said that police coerced him to confess that he had been present at the Dukes station and the Diamond store after police threatened his daughter, his wife, his mother, and his brother. He further testified that Woodyard lied about seeing him near the Morton murder scene because, he said, he ‘wouldn’t give her no drugs, no free drugs.’ (R. 3989.) He also said that somebody in the police department planted Dukes’s blood on his jacket. (R. 4006.)”

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1649311.html

Why Is Calvin Stallworth On Death Row

Calvin Stallworth was sentenced to death for two murders

When Is Calvin Stallworth Execution

Calvin Stallworth execution has yet to be scheduled

Joseph Smith Alabama Death Row

joseph smith alabama

Joseph Smith was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder that took place during a robbery. According to court documents Joseph Smith would rob the man then proceeded to beat the man to death. Joseph Smith would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Joseph Smith 2022 Information

Inmate: SMITH, JOSEPH CLIFTON
AIS: 0000Z646
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Joseph Smith More News

On November 25, 1997, police discovered the badly beaten body of Durk Van Dam in his mud-bound Ford Ranger truck in a wooded area near Shipyard Road in Mobile County.   Dr. Julia Goodin, a forensic pathologist for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified that Van Dam died as a result of 35 different blunt-force injuries to his body.   Van Dam had marks consistent with marks made by a saw on his neck, shoulder, and back;  he also had a large hemorrhage beneath his scalp, brain swelling, multiple rib fractures, a collapsed lung, multiple abrasions to his head and knees, and defensive wounds on his hands.   Dr. Goodin testified that the multiple rib fractures that caused one lung to collapse were probably the most immediate cause of death.

Smith gave two statements to the police.   In the first statement he denied any involvement in the robbery-murder but said that he was with Larry Reid when Reid beat and robbed Van Dam. Smith denied taking anything from the victim.   When police were questioning Reid, Smith repeatedly knocked on the interrogation room door and requested to talk to the officer who had taken his first statement.   In his second statement Smith admitted that he and Reid had planned to rob Van Dam because they had been told that Van Dam was carrying $1,500 in cash.   Smith said that he, Reid, and Van Dam left the Highway Host motel in Van Dam’s red truck on November 23, 1997.   Van Dam was driving.   Reid directed Van Dam, who had been drinking, to an isolated location.   Once there, Reid began hitting Van Dam. He said that when Reid kicked Van Dam in the face he thought Van Dam was dead.   Smith said that Van Dam then got up and Smith hit him on the head with his fist, kicked him in the ribs several times, threw a handsaw at him, and may have hit him with a hammer but he wasn’t entirely sure because he suffers from blackouts.   Reid then got a power saw from the back of Van Dam’s truck, Smith said, and ran the saw against Van Dam’s neck.   Smith held Van Dam down while Reid took the money from his pockets.   Smith and Reid then attempted to move the truck, because they had planned to steal it, but it got stuck in the mud.   Smith also admitted that he took the victim’s boots, because his shoes were wet, and that he took the victim’s tools.   The two discussed where to take Van Dam’s body and Smith suggested that they take it to a nearby lake.   However, they left the body, Smith said, under a mattress near Van Dam’s truck.   Smith said that when they divided the money he got only $40 and Reid kept the rest, approximately $100.   Smith also told police that he had just been released from custody on Friday-two days before the robbery-murder on Sunday.1

Russell Harmon testified that on November 23, 1997, he went to the Highway Host motel and saw Reid and Smith.   He said that Smith told him that they were going to rob Van Dam and asked if he wanted to join them.   Harmon declined and left the motel.   Later that day he went back to the motel to see if the two had been successful with their plans.   He said that Smith told him that he had beaten the victim on the head and that he had cut him with a saw.   On cross-examination he admitted that he could not swear that Smith was the one who said he had cut Van Dam in the back but that it could have been Reid who made this statement.   However, on cross-examination Harmon reiterated that Smith told him that he “hit the man, beat the man-hit the man in the head and cut him.”   (R. 340.)   Harmon testified that Smith asked him to go with him to get the tools from where he had left them in the woods.   He said that he went with Smith and that they got the tools and took them to a pawnshop-Smith received $200 for the tools.   Harmon testified that he was currently in the county jail because his probation had been revoked.

M.A.2  testified that she was living at Highway Host motel with her mother and sister at the time of Van Dam’s murder.   She said that her sister, M., was dating Smith.   M.A. testified that on November 23, 1997, she saw Smith, Reid, and Van Dam drive away from the motel in a red truck.   She said that when Smith and Reid returned sometime later they were in a black car, Van Dam was not with them, and Smith had blood on his clothes.   M.A. testified that Smith told her that he had hit, cut, and stabbed Van Dam in the back.

Patty Milbeck testified that she saw Smith, Reid, and Van Dam on the day of the robbery-murder.   When they returned, she said, Van Dam was not with them and Smith appeared nervous.   Smith told her that Van Dam had become angry and left.   Milbeck stated that at the time of her trial testimony she was in jail because she failed to report to her probation officer.

Joey Warner, an employee of 24-Hour Pawn pawnshop, testified that on November 23, 1997, Smith pawned several tools including saws, drills, and a router.   He was given $200 and he showed his Alabama Department of Corrections identification card as identification to pawn the tools.  (Supp. R. 92.)

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1096178.html

Why Is Joseph Smith On Death Row

Joseph Smith was sentenced to death for the murder of a store clerk

When Is Joseph Smith Execution

Joseph Smith execution has yet to be scheduled

Jerry Smith Alabama Death Row

jerry smith alabama

Jerry Smith was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a shooting that left three people dead. According to court documents Jerry Smith would enter a drug house and open fire killing three people. Jerry Smith would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Jerry Smith 2022 Information

Inmate: SMITH, JERRY JEROME
AIS: 0000Z634
  
Institution: HOLMAN PRISON

Jerry Smith More News

In Smith VI, the Court of Criminal Appeals summarized the facts concerning the crime that was the basis of Smith’s conviction. Smith, a drug dealer, went to Flournoy’s residence in Dothan around 8:30 p.m. on October 19, 1996, to collect $1,500 Flournoy owed him for crack cocaine. Flournoy told Smith he did not have the money then, but he would have it later that night. Smith left, but later that night, Smith and his girlfriend returned to Flournoy’s residence. When they returned, Smith had a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle concealed under his shirt. Flournoy again said he did not have the money he owed Smith. Smith shot Flournoy, who was not armed, in the chest as Flournoy begged Smith not to shoot him. Smith then turned his weapon on the other occupants of the residence, none of whom was armed. He shot Helms six times in the chest as she tried to flee, and he shot Bennett in the head as he sat in a chair. Both died at the scene. Flournoy attempted to escape, but collapsed in his yard. He later died from the gunshot wound to his chest. Smith also attempted to shoot Derrick Gross, but the rifle jammed. As Smith and Gross wrestled with the rifle, Smith attempted to get a knife from his girlfriend, but Gross was able to escape. After the shootings, Smith fled the scene. He made arrangements for an acquaintance to hide the rifle, he changed clothes, and he attempted to hide from the police. He was apprehended the following morning at his father’s house. After being advised of his rights, he confessed to the murders. He also bragged to other inmates in the county jail that he would beat the capital-murder charge because of his mental condition, and he made statements that the murders were the result of a drug deal and that he intended to shoot everyone in Flournoy’s residence so there would be no witnesses to the murders.

At trial, Smith admitted shooting the three victims, but contended that he did not intend to kill them. He claimed that he was not “in his right mind” at the time of the shootings and that he just “snapped” because, he said, he had been on a binge, smoking crack cocaine and drinking alcohol; he was under duress because he owed his narcotics supplier $27,000, and the supplier had threatened to kill Smith’s mother if he did not get his money; and he was angry because Flournoy had called his girlfriend a “whore” and a “bitch.”

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-supreme-court/1542479.html

Why Is Jerry Smith On Death Row

Jerry Smith was sentenced to death for a triple murder

When Is Jerry Smith Execution

Jerry Smith execution has yet to be executed