David Wilson was sentenced to death and remains on Alabama Death Row for a robbery murder. According to court documents David Wilson broke into the home of Dewey Walker and proceeded to beat the man to death during the course of a burglary. David Wilson was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
A 23-year-old Dothan man has been sentenced to death for killing a 64-year-old resident by beating and choking him, all part of a burglary to steal the victim’s valuables.
David Phillip Wilson was sentenced to death by Circuit Judge Edward Jackson shortly after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
He was convicted last month of killing Dewey Walker inside his home in April 2004. Wilson beat Walker with an aluminum baseball bat, then choked him with a computer mouse cord along with an extension cord during the burglary.
Three others were also charged with capital murder in Walker’s death, including Matthew Marsh, Catherine Corley and Michael Ray Jackson, all 24. Marsh, Corley, and Jackson all previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the murder.
Mario Woodward was sentenced to death and remains on Alabama Death Row for the murder of Police Officer Keith Houts. According to court documents Mario Woodward was pulled over by Police Officer Keith Houts for a traffic violation and would shoot and kill the Officer. Mario Woodward would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
The Alabama Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a man sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of a Montgomery police officer.
Mario Dion Woodward was convicted in 2008 on two counts of capital murder for fatally shooting MPD Officer Keith Houts.
Woodward’s petition for a rehearing argued that biometric examination of dashcam footage of the shooting confirmed Woodward’s innocence, and “neither the state nor defense counsel presented any evidence to prove or disprove that Mr. Woodward was the shooter,” according to court documents.
The Alabama Supreme Court’s denial of Woodward’s appeal was announced Friday.
Woodward’s conviction and subsequent appeals became a national referendum on the death penalty and whether or not a judge should have the right to overrule a jury’s sentencing decision.
Woodward was convicted of shooting Houts, 30, during a routine traffic stop on North Decatur Street on Sept. 28, 2006. The two capital murder charges stem from shooting an officer and shooting from a vehicle. Houts was shot in the head, fell to the ground and was shot four more times, according to Montgomery Advertiser coverage of the shooting. He died two days later.
After the shooting, Woodward fled to Georgia, where he was caught and returned to Montgomery.
A Montgomery jury voted 8-4 against the death penalty, instead sentencing Woodward to life in prison in 2008, according to a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision denying Woodward’s first appeal of his conviction.
Donald Whatley was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of Pete Patel. According to court documents Donald Whatley met Pete Patel at a bar and the two would leave together. After leaving Donald Whatley would beat Pete Patel to death. Donald Whatley would flee to Texas and would murder a woman Shelia Overstreet who was trying to help him. Donald Whatley would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
A Mobile judge Thursday ordered the execution of Donald Whatley for the December 2003 slaying of downtown motel owner Pete Patel.
Circuit Judge Joseph “Rusty” Johnston read aloud from an 11-page order, announcing he was following the “advisory verdict” handed down by a jury in November.
After finding Whatley guilty of capital murder, the jury voted 10-2 in favor of capital punishment.
No one spoke Thursday but Johnston.
In a previous hearing, Patel’s relatives and prosecutors asked for the death penalty and a sister of Whatley’s asked that his life be spared.
Whatley, 34, who watched the proceedings through a pair of thick glasses, declined to say anything Thursday.
As Johnston announced his decision, it appeared to take Whatley a moment to absorb what the judge was saying.
Slowly, as he sat deathly still, Whatley’s jailhouse pallor flushed into red.
Some members of Patel’s family bore nearly imperceptible smiles as the death sentence was announced.
On his way back to a holding cell afterward and with his back to the gallery, Whatley waved his cuffed hands above his head as some members of his family quietly wiped tears from their eyes.
With half a dozen security officers dispersed around the courtroom, Johnston carefully took everyone through the course of Whatley’s life and crimes.
Johnston noted that during the trial a pathologist described “19 pages of injuries” inflicted on the diminutive, 43-year-old victim, including beating, choking and being run over by his own car.
Whatley claimed he met Patel at a downtown bar and that they had gone together to a spot beneath the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge to have sex.
During the trial, prosecutors inexplicably showed jurors a photograph of a condom found near Patel’s body but later acknowledged it was not used by either Whatley or Patel.
Johnston noted Thursday that a cigarette found at the crime scene contained Whatley’s DNA.
After Whatley killed Patel and fled to Jefferson County, Texas, the judge noted, a woman named Sheila Overstreet “provided him a roof over his head” and Whatley “responded to Ms. Overstreet’s kindness by … cutting her throat” and murdering her.
The judge also noted Whatley’s claims to have “turned his life over to Christ.”
If so, Johnston said, “this is miraculous and commendable and may assure him everlasting life.”
The judge said that while incarcerated in the Mobile County Metro Jail, Whatley posed a constant physical threat to fellow inmates, whom the convicted killer looked down on.
Johnston said he believed Whatley would always pose a danger to other people.
The “possibility of future crimes,” the judge said, was “a valid factor” in determining whether Whatley should live or die.
David Wiggins was sentenced to death and remains on Alabama Death Row for a robbery murder. According to court documents David Wiggins would break into a business and in the process of robbery would shoot and kill the owner Kyle Cavins. David Wiggins would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
County Circuit Court of the 2005 capital murder of Kyle Cavins, was sentenced to death by lethal injection this morning.
“I think he got what he deserved,” said Cavins’ widow, Connie Cavins, after Judge George Greene read his decision. “And he didn’t show a bit of remorse. During the whole trial or anything, no remorse whatsoever. He got what he deserved.”
Wiggins sat quietly as the judge recounted the details of a case that occurred more than three years ago.
Greene spoke of Wiggins’ abusive childhood, his known crack cocaine habit and his long-time struggle with alcoholism. He also described how many blasts from a rifle it took to kill the 58-year-old Cavins that night at B&E Repair, 756 Alabama Highway 165 in Fort Mitchell.
The judge also mentioned the jury’s recent decision to impose the death penalty in the shooting death.
When the sentence was read, one of Wiggins’ family members, a woman, silently cried. Wiggins, wrists bound and wearing a white tunic and pants, did not appear to react.
Calvin McMillan was sentenced to death and remains on Alabama Death Row for a robbery murder. According to court documents Calvin McMillan would attempt to steal a pickup truck from a Walmart parking lot and in the process would shoot and kill the owner James Bryan Martin. Calvin McMillan would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Circuit Judge John Bush overruled the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Calvin McMillan to the death penalty on Friday for killing a man in a Millbrook Wal-Mart parking lot.
McMillan, 20, of Opelika, was convicted in June of two counts of capital murder in the shooting death of James Bryan Martin, 23, a father of two. The jury that convicted him voted 8-4 in favor of recommending the sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Martin’s family burst into tears when Bush announced that McMillan would face the death penalty.
“Of course the family is very pleased by the judge’s decision,” said District Attorney Randall Houston. “But this of course will not bring their loved one back. Bryan Martin was a loving father, husband and son. He had a full life ahead of him.”
McMillan’s defense attorneys said they were disappointed in the judge’s decision.
“We obviously felt that the judge should have accepted the jury’s recommendation of life in prison without parole.,” said Kenny James, one of McMillan’s attorneys.
Martin was gunned down the night of Aug. 29, 2007, in the Millbrook Wal-Mart parking lot. Prosecutors proved that McMillan killed Martin during the theft of Martin’s 2004 Ford F-150 pickup. Martin had stopped by the store that night on the way home from a Montgomery Biscuits game to pick up diapers and baby wipes.
McMillan shot Martin four times. The last shot was fired after McMillan pulled Martin from his pickup. McMillan got into the truck, then jumped back out and shot Martin as he lay on the asphalt. McMillan then got back into the truck and sped away.
Prosecutors pursued capital murder charges because Martin was killed during the commission of a robbery and McMillan fired into an occupied vehicle.
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