The faces of Georgia's Death Row

Crime & Public Safety

The faces of Georgia's Death Row

An updated guide to Georgia prisoners who are held at the Georgia prison near Jackson, Ga and have been sentenced to death, including a photo and biographical information for each inmate. Created and maintained by the AJC.

BRIAN DUANE BROOKINS -- Born: 1971. Convicted of: Brian Duane Brookins was sentenced to die for murdering his wife, Suzanne McDade Brookins, and her 15-year-old daughter, Samantha Giles. On Death Row since: Oct. 2007. County of conviction: Baldwin.

LEONARD DRANE -- Born: 1959. Convicted of: Leonard Drane was sentenced to die for murdering a woman he and another man picked up at an Elberton Huddle House. Renee Blackmon was taken to a secluded area where she was sexually assaulted and then shot in the head with a shotgun. Her throat was cut six times before Drane tied her body to a brake drum and dumped in a lake. On Death Row since: Nov. 1990. County of conviction: Elbert.

DAVID HOMER EDENFIELD -- Born: 1948. Convicted of: David Homer Edenfield was sentenced to die for molesting and then strangling a 6-year-old boy. Christopher Michael Barrios’ body was found wrapped in a trash bag and dumped beside the road a week after he disappeared from a Brunswick trailer park. Edenfield’s wife, Peggy, was convicted of child molestation and sentenced to 60 years in prison. His son, George, was charged in the boy’s death but was found to be incompetent to stand trial. On Death Row since: July 2010. County of conviction: Glynn.

JOHN ANTHONY ESPOSITO -- Born: 1975. Convicted of: John Anthony Esposito was sentenced to die for kidnapping a 90-year-old retired librarian, Lola Davis, from a North Carolina Winn-Dixie supermarket parking lot, and driving her to Georgia, where he used a five-foot tree limb to beat her to death in a Madison hayfield. His then-girlfriend, Alicia Woodward, is serving a life sentence for Davis’ murder, The couple also was convicted of kidnapping and murdering an Oklahoma couple 10 days after killing Davis. Lawrence Snider, 90, and Marguerite Snider, 86, were taken to the Texas panhandle and beaten to death. On Death Row since: Oct. 1998. County of conviction: Baldwin.

DAVID SCOTT FRANKS -- Born: 1961. Convicted of: David Scott Franks was sentenced to die for stabbing to death Debbie Wilson on Aug. 5, 1994, after demanding she open a safe in the bedroom of their Hall County home. Franks believed her husband had stored $100,000 there. Franks then attacked and wounded her two children with a knife. He also was accused of shooting, execution style, Wilson’s husband, Clinton, and a business associate, David Martin, earlier that day at his Haralson County pawn shop when they allegedly did not produce a promised $100,000 to buy drugs. On Death Row since: Feb. 1998. County of conviction: Hall.

ADRIAN HARGROVE -- Born: 1977. Convicted of: Adrian Hargrove was sentenced to die for the 2008 stabbing to death a pregnant 18-year-old woman and her parents. Allyson Pederson, supposedly five months pregnant with Hargrove’s child, was stabbed 21 times with a butcher knife. Hargrove dumped her body near her parents' house and set her body on fire. Her mother, Sharon Hartley, was cut or stabbed 12 times in her own bedroom and her father, Andrew, was cut and stabbed 20 times and struck 17 times with an ax handle. On Death Row since: March 2014. County of conviction: Richmond.

JERRY SCOTT HEIDLER -- Born: 1977. Convicted of: Jerry Scott Heidler was sentenced to die for murdering Kim and Danny Daniels and two of their nine children on Dec. 4, 1997, at their home in Santa Claus. The Daniels had taken in Heidler as a troubled youth but banned him from their home when he took an interest in one of their daughters. Heidler, 20 at the time, also shot and killed 16-year-old Jessica, and 8-year-old Bryant before kidnapping the couple’s girls – ages 8, 9 and 10. He sexually assaulted one of them. Two younger children were left behind with the bodies of their parents and siblings. On Death Row since: Sept. 1999. County of conviction: Toombs.

STACEY IAN HUMPHREYS -- Born: 1973. Convicted of: Stacey Ian Humphreys was sentenced to die for murdering two real estate agents working in a model home in a newly built subdivision. Humphreys, on parole at the time, first forced Cindy Williams to give him her personal identification number for her automated teller machine card and then he tried to strangle her with her underwear before shooting her in the back of the head. Moments after Williams was killed, Lori Brown came into the office. Humphreys forced her to give up her PIN and then shot her in the head. On Death Row since: Oct. 2007. County of conviction: Cobb.

ASHLEY LYNDOL JONES -- Born: 1973. Convicted of: Ashley Lyndol Jones was sentenced to die for murdering Carlton Keith Holland. Jones and another man had been drinking when their stolen car broke down. They stopped at the Holland house to ask for help. While Holland was bent over looking at the engine, Jones struck him in the head with a wrench and then a sledgehammer. On Death Row since: June 1995. County of conviction: Coffee.

JERRY WILLIAM JONES -- Born: 1972. Convicted of: Jerry William Jones was sentenced to die for strangling his 10-month-old daughter, Jerri, with a cord and then shooting three of his ex-girlfriend’s family members dead -- her parents Tom and Nola Blaylock, and her sister Georgia May Bradley. He then kidnapped two of his other children and a third child, driving to the last exit before Interstate 75 crosses into Tennessee, where he shot himself in the face. The three children in the car were not harmed during his failed suicide attempt. On Death Row since: Jan. 2004. County of conviction: Gordon.

WARREN KING -- Born: 1976. Convicted of: Warren King was sentenced to die for murdering a convenience store clerk, Karen Crosby, in the parking lot moments after she locked up for the night car. Crosby recognized King and called him by name when he and his cousin, Walter Smith, approached her. King held Crosby at gunpoint while Smith, who is serving a life sentence, used her keys to get inside to the register. The surveillance recorded the sound of Crosby being shot. On Death Row since: Oct. 1998. County of conviction: Appling.

JAMES ALLYSON LEE -- Born: 1974. Convicted of: James Allyson Lee was sentenced to die for murdering his father's live-in girlfriend, Sharon Chancey. Lee had planned to kill his father and steal his Toyota Silverado, but when he learned the older man was not home, Lee had his girlfriend call Chancey to lure her. Lee shot Chancey in the face and while she was still alive, drove her to a secluded area in Charlton County, where he shot her twice more to kill her. Lee took the truck, her purse and two rings she was wearing, before he and his girlfriend drove to Florida, where he was eventually arrested. On Death Row since: June 1997. County of conviction: Charlton.

PABLO FERNANDO MALDONADO -- Born: 1986. Convicted of: Pablo Fernando Maldnado was sentenced to die for murdering his boss, Conyers landscaper Timothy Clements. Maldnado, who was 23 at the time, along with three teenagers, kidnapped Clements, robbed him, stole his truck and killed him. They dumped his body in Snapping Shoals Creek. On Death Row since: Sept. 2012. County of conviction: Newton.

DEKELVIN RAFAEL MARTIN -- Born: 1972. Convicted of: DeKelvin Rafael Martin was sentenced to die for killing Travis and Ila Ivery, who were the grandparents of Martin's girlfriend, and for killing her 12-year-old son, Savion Wright, in 2002. The girlfriend, who was stabbed, survived the attack. Initially Martin pleaded guilty to 16 charges, including murder. He was expecting the Fulton County judge to give him life without parole, but instead she sentenced him to death. Almost two years later, at the end of 2006, he withdrew his plea and was tried before a jury. He was convicted of three murders and again sentenced to death. On Death Row since: Feb. 2005. County of conviction: Fulton.

JEREMY LEE MOODY -- Born: 1977. Convicted of: Jeremy Lee Moody was sentenced to die for murdering 15-year-old Delarlnova “Del” Mattox, and raping and murdering 13-year-old Chrisondra Sierra Kimble when he caught them walking home from an Old National Highway convenience store after buying snacks in April 2007. Moody stabbed them with a screwdriver after robbing them. On Death Row since: April 2013. County of conviction: Fulton.

TIFFANY NICOLE MOSS -- Born: 1983. Convicted of: Tiffany Moss was sentenced to die for intentionally starving her 10-year-old stepdaughter Emani to death in 2013 and disposing of her body. Moss's husband Eman pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison without parole. Tiffany Moss's trial was notable for the fact that Moss represented herself and offered no defense throughout. Hers was the first death sentence in Georgia in more than five years and she would be the third woman to be put to death in the state. On Death Row since: April 2019. County of conviction: Gwinnett.

MICHAEL WAYNE NANCE -- Born: 1961. Convicted of: Michael Wayne Nance was sentenced to die for murdering Gabor Balogh, who he tried to carjack while escaping from a Gwinnett County bank that he robbed. Tellers at Tucker Federal Bank in Lilburn had put a dye pack and a tear gas canister in the bag of money that they had handed over at gunpoint. Both exploded after he got into his car to get way. Leaving the money in his car, he tried to take Balough’s in the parking lot of a nearby liquor store. Nance shot Balough when he yelled for help. Nance then ran to a gas station where he held off police for an hour. On Death Row since: Oct. 1997. County of conviction: Gwinnett.

DORIAN FRANK O'KELLEY -- Born: 1981. Convicted of: Dorian Frank O’Kelley was sentenced to die for murdering Susan Pitman and her 13-year-old daughter, Kimberly, after finding them asleep in their Savannah home. He and Darryl Scott Stinski, also on Death Row for murder, killed the Pittmans during a crime spree in April 2002. The 41-year-old mother was beaten and stabbed to death. O’Kelley raped the teenager and then he slit her throat and hit her with a brick. Kimberly died of smoke inhalation after the two men set the Pittman house on fire. On Death Row since: Nov. 2005. County of conviction: Chatham.

LYNDON FITZGERALD PACE -- Born: 1964. Convicted of: Lyndon Fitzgerald Pace was sentenced to die for raping and murdering four women, three of them elderly. Pace entered each woman’s Atlanta home through windows. Lula Bell McAfee, 86, was found face-down on her bed, raped and strangled, on Aug. 28, 1988. Mattie Mae McLendon, 78, was found Sept. 10, 1988, also raped and strangled. Police found 79-year-old Johnnie Mae Martin on Feb. 4, 1989, lying on her bed, sexually assaulted and strangled with a shoelace. His fourth victim was 42-year-old Annie Kate Britt, discovered March 4, 1989 with a sock knotted around her neck. On Death Row since: April 1996. County of conviction: Fulton.

VIRGIL DELANO PRESNELL, JR. -- Born: 1953. Convicted of: Virgil D. Presnell Jr. was sentenced to die for drowning 8-year-old Lori Ann Smith when she tried to escape after he raped her friend. The girl and a 10-year-old friend were walking home from school on a wooded trail home when Presnell, lying in wait, kidnapped them. He drove them to a secluded forest in Cobb County where he raped and sodomized the older girl. He killed Lori Ann when she tried to run away but he freed her friend after he had a flat tire. On Death Row since: Oct. 1976. County of conviction: Cobb.

MUSTAFA ASKIA RAHEEM -- Born: 1979. Convicted of: Mustafa Askia Raheem was sentenced to die for murdering a Henry County woman and her son in 1999. Raheem and two others had gone to a remote area so Raheem could shoot his .380-caliber handgun; he wanted to be sure the weapon wouldn’t jam. As the three walked back to the car, Raheem, 20 at the time, shot and killed Brandon Hollis and then told the other man, Michael Jenkins, it was good that he didn’t run. Raheem then went to Hollis’ mother’s house, ordered her to her hands and knees and shot her in the head. Raheem later said he had given her money to buy a Lexus but she wouldn’t give him the car. After driving around with her body in the trunk, Raheem eventually decided to dispose of it by covering her body with planks and tires and set it on fire. Jenkins is serving life in prison for murder. On Death Row since: Feb. 2001. County of conviction: Henry.

BILLY DANIEL RAULERSON -- Born: 1969. Convicted of: Billy Daniel Raulerson was sentenced to die for murdering three people, two of them teenagers, on a Memorial Day killing spree in 1993. Raulerson came up on Jason Hampton, 19, and Charlye Dixon,18, parked at a Ware County lakeside "lovers' lane." He shot Hampton several times while standing at the bed of the pickup the teens were in and then shot Dixon when she tried to run. He dragged Hampton’s body from inside the truck and left his body there, and drove off with Dixon in the bed of the pickup. He drove several miles to a wooded area where he shot her again and sodomized her; he also was convicted of necrophilia. The next day he tried to return to where he had left Dixon’s body but he instead broke into a nearby house because of police in the area. Gail Taylor came home as he was loading meat from her freezer into his car. He shot her multiple times after struggling with her over a kitchen knife. On Death Row since: March 1996. County of conviction: Chatham.

LAWRENCE RICE -- Born: 1949. Convicted of: Lawrence Rice was sentenced to die for murdering a mother and her 14-year-old son because of a long-time grudge against the woman’s husband, the boy’s father. In the case against Rice for beating to death Connie and Ethan Mincher, prosecutors used a 138-page manifesto titled "Culture Shock" in which Rice detailed his growing hatred for Trevor Mincher. Rice had worked at Trevor’s video company but quit in a rage when he found out a new hire was making more money. On Death Row since: July 2008. County of conviction: Cobb.

REINALDO JAVIER RIVERA -- Born: 1963. Convicted of: Reinaldo Javier Rivera was sentenced to die for raping and murdering Army Sgt. Marni Glista. He also confessed to raping and stabbing a 17-year-old he kidnapped as she was walking to her telemarketing job; she survived. Rivera took credit for three other rapes-murders -- one was 18 years old and two were 17 years old. He got close to his victims claiming to be a photographer looking for models. Rivera told authorities he raped because he was addicted to sex. On Death Row since: Feb. 2004. County of conviction: Richmond.

JAMES RANDALL ROGERS -- Born: 1961. Convicted of: James Randall Rogers was sentenced to die for raping and murdering his 75-year-old neighbor Grace Perry by impaling her with the handle of a rake. He also assaulted Perry’s cousin, 63-year-old Edith Polston. Polston escaped and called police. Rogers was caught trying to climb over the back fence of the Floyd County house that the two women shared. As he was being driven to the police station he told the officer he killed Perry but “there's not anything you can do about it (because) I'm crazy and I've got papers to prove it." On Death Row since: June 1982. County of conviction: Floyd.

RICHARD SEALEY -- Born: 1964. Convicted of: Richard Sealey was sentenced to die for murdering a Clayton County couple -- his teenage girlfriend’s grandparents -- with an ax. Sealey, 33 at the time, beat Johnny Tubner, 71, leaving him in a pool of blood on the floor, and then brought his 63-year-old wife into the room. Sealey placed a hot fireplace poker on Fannie Mae’s back in an attempt to get her or her husband to tell him where they kept their money and jewelry. Sealey told Deandre Carter to bring him a hammer so he could kill her grandparents. She returned with an ax, which he used to strike each of the Tubners in the heads multiple times. Carter was acquitted of charges she murdered her grandmother but a Clayton County jury could not agree on a verdict for the charge she murdered her grandfather. Carter was convicted of theft and 5 ½ years in prison. Two other accomplices – Gregory Fahie and Wajaka Battiste pleaded to lesser charges and testified against Sealey. Fahie served seven years in prison for conspiracy. Battiste served 1 ½ years for robbery for driving the other three to the Tubners’ house. On Death Row since: Sept. 2002. County of conviction: Clayton.

DEMARCUS ALI SEARS -- Born: 1971. Convicted of: DeMarcus Ali Sears was sentenced to die for raping and murdering Gloria Ann Wilbur because he and another man wanted her car so that they could get to Ohio. Sears and Phillip Williams, stranded when their car broke down in Atlanta, spotted Wilbur putting groceries in the trunk of her 1985 Buick in a Kroger parking lot. Sears, wearing brass knuckles, knocked her out and threw her in the backseat. Sears raped Wilbur and Williams drove. Eventually, Sears took Wilber into some bushes along Interstate 75 and stabbed her to death. Police found Wilbur’s Buick abandoned in Cincinnati. Williams is serving a life sentence for kidnapping. On Death Row since: Sept. 1993. County of conviction: Cobb.

DARRYL SCOTT STINSKI -- Born: 1983. Convicted of: Darryl Scott Stinski was sentenced to die for murdering Susan Pitman and her 13-year-old daughter, Kimberly, after finding them asleep in their Savannah home. He and Dorian Frank O’Kelley, also on Death Row for murder, killed the Pittmans during a crime spree in April 2002. The 41-year-old mother was beaten and stabbed to death. O’Kelley raped the teenager while Stinski searched the house and then O’Kelley slit her throat and hit her with a brick. Kimberly died of smoke inhalation after the two men set the Pittman house on fire. On Death Row since: July 2007. County of conviction: Chatham.

NICHOLAS CODY TATE -- Born: 1980. Convicted of: Nicholas Tate was sentenced to die for murdering a Paulding County mother and her 3-year-old daughter. Tate pleaded guilty to the 2001 crimes and has declined to appeal his death sentence. Tate and his two brothers went to Chrissie Williams’ house because they thought they would find drugs and money. Tate raped the little girl and told one of his brothers, Chad, to kill her because the child had seen their faces; he strangled Katelyn with a telephone cord and then slit her throat. The other brother, Dustin, put a pillow over the mother’s head and shot her. The three brothers fled Georgia, driving to Mississippi where they kidnapped a 23-year-old woman for her car. The Tate brothers called their parents from Oklahoma to get help negotiating their surrenders. Chad and Dustin Tate are serving life sentences for murder. On Death Row since: Jan. 2006. County of conviction: Paulding. Execution stayed: Jan. 2012.

LEON TOLLETTE -- Born: 1968. Convicted of: Leon Tollette was sentenced to die for murdering a Brinks employee who was picking up cash at a Columbus SouthTrust bank. Tollette flew to Georgia from Los Angeles to help a friend and another man rob an armored truck. The men decided Xavier Womack would be the lookout, and Jakeith Robinson would drive the getaway car. Tollette’s job was to wait outside the bank. As John Hamilton walked back to the Brinks truck with a bag of money collected from the bank, Tollette shot him three times – in the head, the back and a leg – and killed him. Robinson and Womack drove off when the shooting started and Tollette surrendered after emptying his gun in shootouts on the street. Robinson and Womack are now serving life sentences for armed robbery. On Death Row since: Dec. 1997. County of conviction: Muscogee.

FREDERICK RAMONE WHATLEY -- Born: 1968. Convicted of: Frederick Ramone Whatley was sentenced to die for murdering the owner of Roy’s Bait Shop during an armed robbery at the Griffin business. Ed Allen gave Whatley a bag containing all the store’s cash, but Whatley still shot the businessman in the chest. He also fired at the head of an employee, Tommy Bunn, who was lying face down on the floor, but the bullet bounced off the counter instead of hitting Bunn. Whatley carjacked Ray Coursey as he was getting out of the driver’s seat to go inside the store. Allen staggered to the door of the store with a .44-caliber handgun, exchanging shots with Whatley. Allen collapsed and died, and Whatley ran away on foot, without the money, because he dropped the sack and it tore open. On Death Row since: Jan. 1997. County of conviction: Spalding.

JOSEPH WILLIAMS -- Born: 1973. Convicted of: Joseph Williams was sentenced to die for murdering former police officer Michael Deal. Deal was incarcerated at the Chatham County Jail for failing to pay child support. Williams strangled Deal and tried to make his death look like a suicide because Williams and other inmates thought the one-time cop would expose their escape plot. Before killing Deal in 2003, Williams had also been convicted of three other murders, two in Savannah in 2001, and another inmate at the Georgia State Prison at Reidsville in 2003. One of the two other inmates working with Williams to loosen a window by chiseling around it, felt guilty about Deal’s death and told his lawyer and then the authorities. On Death Row since: Feb. 2002. County of conviction: Tattnall.

DEMETRIUS GOSHEUN WILLIS -- Born: 1977. Convicted of: Demetrius Gosheun Willis was sentenced to die for murdering his former girlfriend, her boyfriend and their 3-year-old son. Willis crept into Talisa Hankins’ home on June 28, 2004, and shot 31-year-old Jerry as he slept on a couch. Willis then shot the 24-year-old Hankins as she tried to jump from a window, as well as her son, Jerry Williams Jr. Willis shot and wounded two other children in the house, his 10-year-old daughter and her 5-year-old half-sister. On Death Row since: June 2010. County of conviction: Fulton.

RODNEY RENIA YOUNG -- Born: 1961. Convicted of: Rodney Young was sentenced to die for murdering 28-year-old Gary Jones, his former fiance’s son, by beating him with a hammer and stabbing him with a butcher knife. Doris Jones moved to Covington to live with her son after ending a seven-year-long, often-tumultuous relationship with Young. Although Young took time off from his job in New Jersey to come to Georgia to kill Gary Jones, he wasn’t suspected until he called Doris Jones to tell her that her son had come to him in a dream and asked him to take care of her. On Death Row since: Mar. 2012. County of conviction: Newton.

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Credit: Ga. Dept. of Corrections

BRIAN DUANE BROOKINS -- Born: 1971. Convicted of: Brian Duane Brookins was sentenced to die for murdering his wife, Suzanne McDade Brookins, and her 15-year-old daughter, Samantha Giles. On Death Row since: Oct. 2007. County of conviction: Baldwin.

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