georgia | My Crime Library

Leon Tollette Georgia Death Row

Leon Tollette was sentenced to death by the State of Georgia for the robbery and murder of a Brinks guard. According to court documents Leon Tollette came upon the Brinks guard from behind and shot him in the head. Leon Tollette would be arrested at the scene and would be later convicted and sentenced to death.

Georgia Death Row Inmate List

Leon Tollette 2021 Information

YOB: 1968
RACE: BLACK
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 5’04”
WEIGHT: 200
EYE COLOR: BROWN
HAIR COLOR: BLACK
MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: GA DIAG CLASS PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: DEATH

Leon Tollette More News

The trial evidence established that Xavier Wommack had been planning a crime in Columbus, Georgia, and he invited Leon Tollette to travel from Los Angeles, California, to join him. When Tollette arrived in Columbus, he and Wommack, along with a third man, Jakeith Robinson, finalized plans for the armed robbery of an armored truck. On December 21, 1995, the group followed a Brink’s armored truck to the SouthTrust bank. Leon Tollette sat waiting with a newspaper near the bank, Wommack stood guard across the street, and Robinson sat ready as the getaway driver. As victim John Hamilton returned from the bank to the Brink’s truck with a money bag, Tollette approached Hamilton from behind and then fired at close range into his head, back, and legs, killing him. Carl Crane, the driver of the Brink’s truck, and Cornell Christianson, the driver of a nearby Lummus Fargo truck, chased Tollette and fired shots at him as he fled with the money bag; Tollette returned fire at his pursuers. Wommack fired shots from across the street to aid in Tollette’s escape; however, Wommack and Robinson ultimately drove away without Tollette. Robert Oliver, a police technician, responded to the radio call of a detective at the scene. When confronted by Oliver, Tollette attempted to fire at him and at a cadet who accompanied him, but all of the bullets in Tollette’s revolver were already spent. Leon Tollette threw down his revolver and surrendered.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, we find that the evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the statutory aggravating circumstances in this case. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); OCGA § 17-10-35(c)(2).

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-supreme-court/1296502.html

Nicholas Tate Georgia Death Row

Nicholas Tate was sentenced to death by the State of Georgia for the murder of a woman and her three year old daughter. According to court documents Nicholas Tate forced his way into the home of the two victims, Chrissie Williams and her daughter Katelyn Williams. Chrissie Williams would be found handcuffed to a bed and shot in the head. Katelyn Williams would be found in another room nude and her throat had been slit. Nicholas Tate would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Georgia Death Row Inmate List

Nicholas Tate 2021 Information

YOB: 1980
RACE: WHITE
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 5’10”
WEIGHT: 175
EYE COLOR: BROWN
HAIR COLOR: BROWN

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: GA DIAG CLASS PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: DEATH

Nicholas Tate More News

The Georgia Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated two death penalties for a man who killed a Paulding County mother and her 3-year-old daughter.

Nicholas Cody Tate was sentenced to death for the 2001 murders of Chrissie Williams and her young daughter, Katelyn. But hours before his execution in 2012, Tate filed a state petition for habeas corpus and his motion for a stay of execution was granted. Habeas corpus allows convicted prisoners to challenge their convictions in the county where they are incarcerated.

In 2018, Tate’s death sentences were dropped by a habeas court. Georgia appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court while Tate’s attorneys appealed the habeas court’s denial of relief for Tate’s other claims, including that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated.

“We reverse and reinstate Tate’s death sentences,” Justice Robert Benham wrote in a 138-page, unanimous decision released Thursday.

On Dec. 11, 2001, Tate and his two brothers burglarized Williams’ home, planning to steal money and drugs. While in the home, Chad Tate slit the 3-year-old’s throat, killing her. Nicholas Tate shot Williams in the head. She was found dead, bound to a bed with handcuffs and duct tape.

A year after the murders, Dustin and Chad Tate each pleaded guilty in Paulding County in exchange for life prison sentences with the possibility of parole.

Nicholas Tate pleaded guilty to the murders in 2005 and waived a trial by jury. At one court hearing, Tate said he deserved the death penalty.

“I do realize that I have done wrong, and I believe that the punishment should fit the crime, life for life,” he said.

Nicholas Tate is currently housed at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson.

A new execution date for Tate has not yet been set.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/death-penalties-reinstated-for-man-who-killed-woman-3-year-old-girl/1003875921/

DeMarcus Sears Georgia Death Row

DeMarcus Sears was sentenced to death by the State of Georgia for the kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery of a woman. According to court documents DeMarcus Sears and Phillip Williams kidnapped the victim, Gloria Ann Wilbur, who was sexual assaulted, tortured, and robbed. DeMarcus Sears was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Georgia Death Row Inmate List

DeMarcus Sears 2021 Information

YOB: 1971
RACE: BLACK
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 6’03”
WEIGHT: 231
EYE COLOR: BROWN
HAIR COLOR: BLACK

MAJOR OFFENSE: KIDNAPPING
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: GA DIAG CLASS PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: DEATH

DeMarcus Sears More News

The evidence showed that on the afternoon of October 7, 1990, Demarcus Sears and Phillip Williams were walking through Atlanta because their car had broken down. Wanting to return home to Ohio, where they lived, they walked to a Waffle House in Smyrna and tried to borrow money from several patrons in the restaurant. They told the patrons that their car had broken down and they needed money to go to Cincinnati. Sears carried a black briefcase that contained brass knuckles, knives and a set of old handcuffs that was missing a key. He opened the briefcase in the restaurant and tried to sell some of the items to a customer. After receiving directions and a couple of dollars for bus fare, Sears and Williams walked to a nearby Kroger food store. A police officer observed them loitering near the Kroger parking lot and briefly spoke with them before he left in response to a radio call. Subsequently, they decided to steal a car so they could drive back to Cincinnati.

They spotted the victim, Gloria Wilbur, when she parked her 1985 Buick and entered the Kroger. Around 8:00 p.m., Ms. Wilbur returned to her car and placed her groceries in the trunk. Demarcus Sears approached her, struck her with the brass knuckles and forced her into the car. Williams then got behind the wheel and they drove north on I-75. Sears told Ms. Wilbur to keep quiet, pulled her into the back seat, and handcuffed her with her hands behind her back. When they stopped for gas and hamburgers, Sears wedged Ms. Wilbur down between the seats and covered her with book bags to prevent discovery. While they were driving through Tennessee, he raped her.

They crossed the border into Kentucky around 1:00 a.m. and stopped the car. Despite her pleas to remain in the car, Demarcus Sears took the victim into the bushes along I-75 and stabbed her to death. Ms. Wilbur’s body was found, still handcuffed, almost a week later. Her abandoned Buick was discovered in a Cincinnati suburb. Bloodstains in the car matched the victim and pubic hair taken from the back seat matched Sears.

Based on an identification by witnesses at the Waffle House and a tip from an Ohio informant, the police questioned Williams and Sears. Both men gave statements. Sears admitted that he had taken the Buick and kidnapped, raped and killed the victim. His statement matched Williams’ statement, except that Sears claimed that it was Williams who had struck Ms. Wilbur with the brass knuckles and Williams claimed that it was Sears. Both men stated that only Sears had raped and stabbed her. Sears also consented to a search of his mother’s house, where he lived, and was escorted by police to this residence. He took the police to his room and showed them the black briefcase and brass knuckles. Williams pled guilty in exchange for two life sentences and testified for the state at Sears’ trial.

1. After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s determination of guilt, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found Sears guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt.³

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-supreme-court/1171524.html

Richard Sealey Georgia Death Row

Richard Sealey was sentenced to death by the State of Georgia for the axe murders of an elderly couple. According to court documents Richard Sealey went to the home of the elderly couple with a number of others and proceeded to murder the victims striking each several times with an axe. Richard Sealey was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Georgia Death Row Inmate List

Richard Sealey 2021 Information

YOB: 1964
RACE: BLACK
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 6’02”
WEIGHT: 250
EYE COLOR: BROWN
HAIR COLOR: BLACK

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: GA DIAG CLASS PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: DEATH

Richard Sealey More News

The evidence at the guilt/innocence phase, construed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, showed the following. Richard Sealey contacted his friend Gregory Fahie by telephone asking for a ride. Fahie asked his friend, Wajaka Battiste, to drive to Sealey’s motel and then to drive Fahie and Fahie’s juvenile girlfriend, Deandrea Carter, to Carter’s grandparents’ house. Upon arriving at Carter’s grandparents’ house, Sealey, Carter, and Fahie went inside, while Battiste waited in the car listening to music. While he was in a downstairs bathroom, Fahie first heard a loud noise and then heard Carter knocking on the bathroom door and stating that Richard Sealey was “tripping.” Fahie exited the bathroom and observed Mr. Tubner lying in a pool of blood and Sealey holding Ms. Tubner down and wielding a handgun he had taken from Mr. Tubner. Sealey dragged Ms. Tubner, who had been bound with duct tape, to an upstairs bedroom. Richard Sealey instructed Fahie to search for money, however, when no money was discovered, Richard Sealey instructed Carter to heat a fireplace poker with which Sealey tortured Ms. Tubner in an effort to force her to reveal where she kept her money. Richard Sealey then instructed Carter to find a hammer so he could kill the victims. Carter returned with an ax. Sealey struck Ms. Tubner multiple times in the head with the ax and then went downstairs and did the same to Mr. Tubner, who had crawled a short distance across the living room. Once back in Battiste’s automobile, Sealey stated that he “had to do it” because the victims had seen their faces and further stated that the victims deserved to die because they had mistreated Carter’s mother in the past. Richard Sealey instructed Battiste never to reveal that he had seen Sealey and then added, “I will out your lights.”

The evidence presented in the guilt/innocence phase included the testimony of Fahie and Battiste, Mr. Tubner’s handgun and jewelry that had been discovered in Sealey’s motel room, and testimony about the detection of protein residue consistent with blood on the floor and sink of Sealey’s motel bathroom. Upon our review of the entire record, we conclude that the evidence presented in the guilt/innocence phase was sufficient to authorize rational jurors to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Sealey was guilty on all counts. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-supreme-court/1138791.html

James Rogers Georgia Death Row

James Rogers was sentenced to death by the State of Georgia for the murder of an elderly woman. According to court documents James Rogers would sexually assault and murder a 75 year old woman. James Rogers would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Georgia Death Row Inmate List

James Rogers 2021 Information

YOB: 1961
RACE: WHITE
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 5’07”
WEIGHT: 255
EYE COLOR: HAZEL
HAIR COLOR: BROWN

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: GA DIAG CLASS PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: DEATH

James Rogers More News

Rogers has been convicted of murdering his neighbor, Grace Perry, in Floyd County, Georgia, in 1980. Perry died when she was impaled with a rake handle. Rogers’ first conviction for this crime was overturned by Georgia’s Supreme Court. Rogers v. State, 250 Ga. 652, 300 S.E.2d 490 (1983). His second trial in June 1985 resulted in a conviction for murder of Perry and aggravated assault on another woman, Perry’s housemate. At sentencing for the murder, the jury found the second and seventh statutory aggravating circumstances,¹ O.C.G.A. Sec. 17-10-30(b) (2) & (7); and Rogers was sentenced to death.

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/13/384/632117/