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Anthony Battle Federal Death Row

Anthony Battle was a prisoner at the Atlanta Federal Prison when he murdered a prison guard. According to court documents Anthony Battle who at the time was serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife became upset with the prison guard. Anthony would grab a ball peen hammer from a prison maintenance worker and would strike the guard several times in the head causing his death. Anthony Battle would be convicted and sent to Federal Death Row

Federal Death Row Inmate List

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In 1987, Anthony Battle entered the Marine base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and sexually assaulted and murdered his wife, a serving Marine. He was convicted of first-degree felony murder in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1111(a), aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241(a), and second-degree murder in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1111. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Anthony Battle was moved around some and eventually transferred to the United States Penitentiary-Atlanta (“USP-A”) in 1993. On 21 December 1994, a correctional officer at USP-A, D’Antonio Washington, was found lying on the floor in Cellhouse C with blood spurting out of his head. When prison employees rushed to the scene, they found Battle standing next to a nearby vending machine. His clothing was splattered with blood. A hammer with fresh blood, which was later determined to be Officer Washington’s blood, was found behind the vending machine. Richard Boone, an inmate allowed to carry tools, had loaned the hammer to Anthony Battle to fix something in his cell. (Medical examiners later testified that Officer Washington was felled by three great blows to the head with a hammer.)

On the day of Washington’s death, Anthony Battle made an incriminating statement, which was eventually suppressed; but he later confessed again to a correctional officer. Later, federal agents interrogated Battle; and he told them he was “frustrated” at USP-A and that he was “tired of being bossed around.” Battle said that he took the hammer and decided to attack the first correctional officer he saw. Battle was charged with Officer Washington’s murder.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1211786.html

Kelly Gissendaner Execution

Kelly Gissendaner was executed by the State of Georgia for the murder of her husband Douglas Gissendaner on September 30, 2015.

Kelly Gissendaner whose maiden name was Brookshire was born to a poor family in Georgia. According to family members Kelly was molested by several men and family mothers. During high school Kelly claimed she was raped and would give birth to a son nine months later. Kelly first marriage to Jeff Banks would only last for six months.

In 1989 Kelly Gissendaner would marry Douglas for the first time. Soon after they were married they would have a baby, lose their jobs and have to move in with Kelly’ mother.

Douglas Gissendaner would join the Army and would be sent to Germany. While her husband was abroad Kelly would get pregnant by another man who would later die from cancer. Kelly and Douglas would get divorced in 1993

Two years later Douglas and Kelly would get remarried and the couple would purchase a home together in 1995.

In 1997 Kelly Gissendaner would approach Gregory Owen to murder her husband. Kelly figured the only way she could keep her home and improve her finances would be for her husband to die so she could collect the insurance money.

On February 7, 1997 Gregory Owen would carjack Douglas Gissendaner and force him to a wooded area where he would be murdered. Kelly Gissendaner would arrive at the crime scene and the two would set Douglas’s vehicle on fire and hid the body in the woods.

It did not take long for police to crack the case and Kelly Gissendaner and Gregory Owen would be arrested and charged with capital murder. Gregory and Kelly were both offered life sentences before the trials. Owen would agree to testify against Gissendaner who would be convicted an sentenced to death

On September 30, 2015 Kelly Gissendaner would be executed by lethal injection.

Kelly Gissendaner Videos

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A Georgia woman who was executed despite a plea for mercy from Pope Francis sang “Amazing Grace” until she was given a lethal injection, witnesses said.

Kelly Renee Gissendaner, who graduated from a theology program in prison, was put to death at 12:21 a.m. Wednesday after a flurry of last-minute appeals failed.

Gissendaner, who was sentenced to death for the 1997 stabbing murder of her husband at the hands of her lover, sobbed as she called the victim an “amazing man who died because of me.”

She was the first woman executed in Georgia in 70 years and one of a handful of death-row inmates who were executed even though they did not physically partake in a murder.

The mother of three was nearly executed in February, but the lethal injection was abruptly called off because the chemicals appeared cloudy.

After a new execution date was set, Gissendaner, 47, convinced the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider her application for clemency.

In an extraordinary turn, Pope Francis — who called for a global ban on the death penalty during his U.S. visit last week — urged the board to spare her life.

“While not wishing to minimize the gravity of the crime for which Ms. Gissendander has been convicted, and while sympathizing with the victims, I nonetheless implore you, in consideration of the reasons that have been expressed to your board, to commute the sentence to one that would better express both justice and mercy,” Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote on the pontiff’s behalf.

Shortly thereafter, the board announced that it would not stop the execution.

The victim’s family was split on whether Gissendaner should live or die: Her children appeared before the parole board to ask that their mom be spared the death chamber, but her husband’s relatives said she did not deserve clemency.

Kelly planned and executed Doug’s murder. She targeted him and his death was intentional,” Douglas Gissendaner’s loved ones said in a written statement

“In the last 18 years, our mission has been to seek justice for Doug’s murder and to keep his memory alive. We have faith in our legal system and do believe that Kelly has been afforded every right that our legal system affords.

“As the murderer, she’s been given more rights and opportunity over the last 18 years than she ever afforded to Doug who, again, is the victim here. She had no mercy, gave him no rights, no choices, nor the opportunity to live his life. His life was not hers to take.

In the hours before her death, Gissendaner pressed a number of appeals, arguing that it was not fair she got death while the lover who killed her husband got a life sentence. She also said the execution drugs might be defective, and that she had turned her life around and found religion while in prison.

She requested her final meal last week: cheese dip with chips, Texas fajita nachos and a diet frosted lemonade.

Jeff Hullinger, a journalist with NBC station WXIA who witnessed the execution, later told reporters that Gissendaner appeared “very, very emotional, I was struck by that.”

He added: “She was crying and then she was sobbing and then broke into song as well as into a number of apologies … When she was not singing, she was praying.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/lethal-injection/pope-urges-halt-execution-georgia-woman-kelly-gissendaner-n435566

Frequently Asked Questions

Kelly Gissendaner FAQ

Why Was Kelly Gissendaner Executed

Kelly Gissendaner was executed for the murder of her husband

When Was Kelly Gissendaner Executed

Kelly Gissendaner was executed on September 30, 2015.

Otis Daniels Teen Killer Murders Woman During Robbery

Otis Daniels was a fifteen year old from Georgia when he murdered a woman during a robbery. According to court documents Otis Daniels broke into the home of Valene McGourk and demanded money. When Valene McGourk hesitated Otis Daniels would shoot her and her daughter who was sixteen years old at the time of the shooting. Valene McGourk would die in hospital a few weeks later her daughter would survive. This teen killer would be sentenced to life in prison.

Otis Daniels 2023 Information

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: WARE STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE

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A second chance at freedom could come to an Albany man after spending more than 20 years in jail after his murder conviction in 1998.

Otis Daniels was 16 at the time and sentenced to life without parole.

A supreme court ruling finds sentencing a minor to life without the chance of parole is unconstitutional. They said that is what happened in Daniel’s case.

The A&E Network did a documentary on the story as part of its “Kids Behind Bars” series.

Now his re-sentencing could change his fate, but there are still other factors to be considered.

While in chains, words like possible or hope can mean the world for inmates. But at what cost?

“Every human being deserves to be forgiven and deserves a second chance,” said Phil Cannon, who was the defense attorney for the then 16-year-old Daniels.

Daniels was sentenced to life without parole on multiple charges.

“The first time I laid eyes on Otis, he was just a boy, he was a child. I have to accept that Otis killed a lady and I have to accept that he left a lady disfigured permanently,” Cannon explained.

Cannon said this was a death penalty case, that the state was pushing for.

“That was not about getting Otis out of it, that was about saving Otis’ life,” Cannon said.

When the US Supreme Court in 2012 ruled it unconstitutional to sentence minors to life without parole, Daniels’ chances at freedom grew.

District Attorney Greg Edwards said the state was required to review his case

Edwards said Daniels will get credit for the time he’s served.

“Forty-five years is what we are looking at in terms of his eligibility for three consecutive life sentences,” said Edwards.

The parole board will consider many factors in their evaluation.

“I was glad that people like Otis, in general, would at least have the opportunity to come back and ask,” said Cannon.

Cannon also said Daniels and others at least deserve that chance.

Edwards said just because there is a possibility of parole doesn’t mean he will be paroled.

The parole board will consider factors like an inmates behavior behind bars as well.

https://www.walb.com/2019/06/20/every-human-being-deserves-be-forgiven-deserves-second-chance-parole-possible-albany-man-re-sentencing/

Otis Daniels Appeal

Pursuant to his guilty plea, Daniels admitted that he broke into the home where Valene McGourk lived with her daughter, Valerie. Both women were home at the time, and Daniels demanded money from them, assaulted them, and when they did not comply with his demands, shot them both. Valene McGourk died several weeks later as a result of Daniels’s attack. Valerie McGourk suffered gunshot injuries to her face and neck, but survived.¹ Otis Daniels was indicted on 22 criminal charges stemming from the attack, and he subsequently pled guilty to malice murder, kidnaping, armed robbery, aggravated battery, theft, and illegal firearm possession. The trial court, noting that Otis Daniels had previously been adjudicated a felon on charges of armed robbery, sentenced him as a repeat offender to consecutive life sentences under the mandatory provisions of OCGA § 17-10-7(b)(2).

Otis Daniels claims that the trial court erred in sentencing him as a repeat offender, because his only prior felony conviction was entered on a guilty plea as a first offender, and had resulted in a probated sentence pursuant to OCGA § 42-8-60. Because a first offender’s guilty plea does not constitute a “conviction” under the Criminal Code of Georgia,² Daniels argues that at the time he pled guilty in this matter, he had no prior convictions, and should not have been sentenced as a repeat offender.

Otis Daniels’s appeal from his guilty pleas in this case is cognizable only to the extent that the issues raised can be resolved by facts appearing in the record.³ The record in this case plainly shows that Daniels’s argument is meritless. It is true that in November 1995, Otis Daniels pled guilty to charges of armed robbery, was granted first offender treatment, and was given a probated sentence of 20 years. However, roughly two months later, Otis Daniels violated the terms of his first offender probation by receiving a stolen automobile, attempting to elude police officers, and obstructing police officers in the performance of their duty. Thereafter, in April 1996, Daniels’s first offender probationary status was revoked, he was adjudicated guilty on the armed robbery charge,⁴ and ordered to serve two of his twenty-year sentence for armed robbery, with the remainder of the sentence to be probated.

Thus, due to his earlier violation of the terms of his first offender probation, Otis Daniels was a convicted felon at the time he was sentenced by the trial court for his deadly attack on the McGourks, and the trial court did not err by treating him as a repeat offender and entering the maximum sentences available for the crimes to which he pled guilty.⁵

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-supreme-court/1435438.html

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Valerie McGouirk could not have been a more devoted mum to her two girls, Felicia and Valene.

Her whole world revolved around her family and she did everything she could to surround her children and young grandchild with love.

Daughter Felicia said: “I was a young mom and my grandmother, Karen, and my mom, Valerie, they were just an amazing support system.

“My sister, who was a wonderful aunt to my daughter. And my mom was supermom.

“She helped me in every aspect. I stayed in school, I was working, I had my own little home.

Mobile home park over in Albany. We were in a good side of town. Everything seemed to be good in our lives.”

But on March 31, 1998, their whole world was blown apart when Otis Daniels Junior broke into their home in Albany, Georgia, America.

Then just 16, Otis as high on drugs when he tried to rob Valerie.

But when he met with resistance he opened fire – firing the fatal shots that would eventually lead to the 44-year-old’s death weeks later in hospital.

Realising her daughter, Valene had witnessed his brutal act he turned the gun on her, shooting her in the face.

Brave Valene managed to flee the family home and call for help but she had been left with devastating injuries.

Felicia, living with her husband and her young son, was given the chilling news that both her mother and her sister had been shot and were in the hospital.

At first, she refused to believe it, desperately praying it was a cruel April Fools’ prank.

But when she walked into her sister’s room, she realised to terrifying truth of what had happened at her former family home.

Felicia said: “We got to the hospital and I remember some doors opening and my grandmother walking out.

“She said ‘your sister’s been shot in the face’. So I go in there to see Valene and I see the worst, most horrible sight I’ve ever seen in my life.

“My baby sister was sitting on the end of a bed and when I got up to her, her face. There was just a hole.

“Her teeth and her tongue was hanging out the bottom of her throat. And I remember thinking oh my God. This isn’t real. This can’t be real.”

Detective Sean Daniel was one of the first police officers on the scene and what he saw has stayed with him in horrifying detail ever since.

He said: “A lot of blood on the floor, a lot of blood on the walls. And there was obvious blood patters leading throughout the trailer and on to the outside where the second victim had ran to call for help. I remember seeing two shell casings.

“And the younger victims teeth were scattered about the floor where the bullet had ripped through her jaw. It was just a gruesome scene.

“To this day, and it was 20 years ago, I could still walk down that hallway and see that blood and see them teeth, and see her laying on the floor.”

But Otis was still at large and police had no clue who had carried out the violent robbery.

Courageous Valene, unable to talk because of her horrifying facial injuries, managed to write a note giving a description of the teen responsible and the next morning Otis’s name was first mentioned.

The 16-year-old was arrested and had confessed to the robbery and shootings before his mother had even reached the police station.

He claimed he had seen the mother and daughter in their trailer and thought he could rob them both with no resistance after he had been taking crack cocaine.

Chillingly, he admitted he was at school with Valene.

Otis had demanded money and when Valene onyl had a few dollars to give him he dragged her down the hall of the trailer as she screamed.

As soon as her mum screamed at him to let her daughter go, Otis show her and then shot Valene in the face.

The original prosecutor, Kenneth Hodges, said: “He told the police voluntarily what he did and referring to the victims in very derogatory ways, saying ‘I shot the b****’.”

Valerie, meanwhile was in 16 hours of surgery, while doctors tried to piece Valene’s mouth back together.

Valene survived the gunshot wounds but has since had to have 32 reconstructive surgeries on her face.

Tragically, after five weeks on a ventilator, Valerie succumbed to her injuries.

Otis pleaded guilty to three serious charges and was jailed for three life sentences without the chance of parole at just 16.

Over the last 20 years in jail, the killer insists he is a changed man, something his mother, Shirley Bradford, also firmly believes

She said: “He did not mean to shoot anyone. He cried more than I. We both cried.

“I just felt like the system failed me, my family, as well as Valerie McGouirk family.”

He insists he has remained sober during his time behind bars and seems to have been a model prisoner.

And there is now hope that he could be released after America’s Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional for a juvenile to be sentenced to life without parole.

Otis, who was just 11 when he started using cocaine with his own father, has also clung to the hope that he will one day be free durig his two decades behind bars.

He said: “As a kid coming in this thing, I mean a lot of things people would hear I didn’t want to listen to so I went through a lot of bumping my head against the wall, getting into it with people arguing with people all the time.

It’s sad to say because I didn’t know no better. Out of these 20 years that I have done now I try to apply and grow from it, you feel what I’m saying?

“I stopped a lot of things that people were telling me was negative and tried to stay focused on hope by planning things that I probably would still have the chance to do once I got out of here, if I ever got out of here, you know what I mean?”

Otis’s solicitor manages to strike a deal with the District Attorney, reducing his sentence from life without parole to life sentences with parole.

Otis will now be eligible for parole after her has served 30 years in jail – he will be just 46.https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mirror.co.uk%2Ftv%2Ftv-news%2Fi-shot-b-teen-16-17697782&cre=bottom&cip=77&view=web

But for Felicia and Valene, the nightmare of what happened on that night 21 years ago goes on.

Both believe the man who killed their mother and left Valene with terrible injuries and forced to take medication for the rest of her life should never be freed.

Valene said: “They’re willing to help this murderer and it just kills me, as much pain and suffering that I’ve gone through.

“They’re just willing to throw me out the door and say hey we’re gonna help him and not you because he’s in jail and he’s doing this or whatever.

“Even though he was a child when he did what he did, he don’t deserve remorse because he didn’t give my mom none. He didn’t give me none.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/i-shot-b-teen-16-17697782

Otis Daniels FAQ

Otis Daniels 2021

Otis Daniels is currently incarcerated at Wares State Prison

Otis Daniels Release Date

Otis Daniels was sentenced to life without parole however is going through the resentencing process for juveniles

King Von Murder Rapper Shot Dead

King Von whose real name is Dayvon Daquan Bennett was shot and killed in Atlanta Georgia on November 6, 2020. According to police two groups of people were involved in an argument outside of an Atlanta nightclub around 3:15 am when it turned violent.

According to police the two groups of people began firing at each other which would leave three people dead including King Von. King Von who was not armed would die at the scene

There has been some confusion as Atlanta police were involved in the shooting however it was confirmed by King Von manager that the police did not kill the rapper. The two police officers at the shooting were not on duty at the time and were working as nightclub security.

Atlanta police would release the following statement

“There was an incident where two groups of individuals got into a physical altercation. The physical altercation escalated into an exchange of gunfire with those groups,” Peek said earlier this morning. “Two police officers who were working at that particular club, or lounge, noticed the gunfire, the altercation, and engaged some of the people involved. There was an exchange of gunfire with police as well.”

Atlanta police would arrest Timothy Leeks the next day. Timothy Leeks whose nickname is Lul Timm and Lil Tim was shot during the incident and treated at hospital where he was kept under police custody until his release and transfer to an Atlanta jail

Timothy Leeks has been charged in the murder of King Von.

King Von Murder Videos

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A 22-year-old man has been charged in the Atlanta shooting death of an up-and-coming Chicago-born rapper.

Timothy Leeks faces a felony murder charge in the death of Dayvon Bennett, also known as King Von

Leeks is in police custody at an Atlanta hospital, where he is being treated for a gunshot wound.

Three people were killed, including King Von, after a confrontation outside an Atlanta club that ended in gunfire early Friday morning, according to police.

Two off-duty Atlanta officers were working an extra job at a local hookah lounge when they saw two groups of men arguing with each other outside the establishment around 3:20 a.m. Friday, police said.

Officials said the argument quickly escalated to gunfire between the two groups.

One of the off-duty officers, along with an on-duty APD officer who was patrolling nearby, confronted the shooters and shots were also fired during the encounter with police.

Three people were transported to the hospital by EMS with gunshot wounds, and three others were taken to the hospital in private vehicles. Two additional people were detained on the scene, police said.

Officials confirmed Friday afternoon that three of the people shot died from their injuries, and three others were still being treated at the hospital. The officers involved were not injured, police said.
Rumors surrounding the incident claimed Bennett was killed by police gunfire, but APD officials said their investigators believe the rapper “was shot during the initial shootout between the two groups of males, prior to police responding and attempting to stop the shooting.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations was requested to respond and investigate the officer-involved shooting aspect of the incident. APD homicide investigators also responded and are investigating the deaths.
Officials said part of the investigations will include determining which individuals were struck by gunfire from the suspects and whether any were struck by gunfire from the officers.

Charges are anticipated against the two suspects detained on-scene, and additional charges are likely as the investigation continues, police said.

The identities of the other victims are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The investigation into the incident remains open and very active, officials said

Frequently Asked Questions

Zitedrick Shelley Teen Killer Murders Woman During Robbery

Zitedrick Shelley was thirteen years old when he would murder a woman during an armed robbery. According to court documents Shelley walked up to an elderly lady demanding her money and before she could respond she would be shot in the chest and would pass away from her injuries. Zitedrick was quickly arrested and once he went to trial would be convicted of armed robbery and murder then sentenced to life in prison with parole. This teen killer had a long history with police and was suspected of other armed robberies and violent assaults.

Zitedrick Shelley 2023 Information

As of right now his current facility has not been listed. Normally this means either he is in a juvenile facility

Zitedrick Shelley Other News

Zitedrick Shelley was 13 years old when he gunned down a woman to steal a little more than $6. Mable Florence Jordan was an ill, 61-year-old woman when she died where she fell in the street after Shelley shot her in the chest.

Shelley, now 15, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a plea agreement for life in prison with the possibility of parole.

“This is a case the juvenile system failed,” said Assistant District Attorney McKenzie Gray. By the time Shelley shot Jordan, he had been in state custody 13 times – twice for armed robbery in 2016. Over and over juvenile offenses ranging from ungovernable to robbery were dismissed or set aside, Gray said.

On Aug. 14, 2016, Shelley and three other youths robbed a pregnant woman after pepper spraying her in the face. A week later a juvenile justice officer told a sheriff’s deputy to just take Shelley home after the officer stopped him and his 12-year-old cousin walking down James Brown Boulevard toting a shotgun. On Oct. 18, 2016, he was accused of robbing and stabbing a woman in the parking lot of the Gordon Highway Kmart, according to incident reports.

Although Shelley was a ward of the state with oversight by the Juvenile Justice and Division of Family and Children Services, he cut off his ankle monitor and left his aunt’s home – where he had been placed – Aug. 17, 2017.

On Oct. 5, 2017, just before 1 a.m., Shelley crossed Jordan’s path at 15th and Harper streets. Officers at AU Medical Center heard the gunshots and saw Shelley run from the scene, Gray said. Shelley was found about two hours later hiding in bushes. He had a .22-caliber gun. Jordon’s blood was on his shirt sleeve.

Defense attorney Lyndsey Hix said Shelley was bound for the criminal justice system from birth. “He didn’t have a chance.”

DFCS never got involved with Zitedrick Shelley until he started getting into trouble, although for years he was left on his own when both of his parents were incarcerated, Hix said. The school system never referred him to agencies that might have helped, although records show that he began missing school in first grade, and was getting into fights while in school, Hix said.

He was raising himself, raising himself at 13 on the streets,” Hix said.The community should look at Shelley’s case and try to determine what could have been done to prevent the tragedy, Hix said. “There are no easy answers but the community deserved better,” she said.“This is a tragedy,” Judge Sheryl B. Jolly said. “There is a societal epidemic of children carrying weapons. There are countless guns in the hands of children … children who commit adult acts and have to be held accountable as adults.”

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An Augusta, GA teen is charged in the shooting death of a 61-year-old homeless woman named Mable Florence Jordan, said WJBF on Thursday.

Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen said that Jordan’s remains have been forwarded to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) for autopsy and a homicide investigation is in process.

The 13-year-old shooter has been identified as Zitedrick Shelley. He was arrested and charged with murder and armed robbery in the wake of the incident, which took place after midnight on Wednesday night.

Suspect charged in shooting death of Georgia homeless woman is just 13 years old