Georgia clemency decision delayed as Thursday execution looms
> UPDATE: Georgia parole board spares life of condemned prisoner
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is still considering Jimmy Meders’ bid for clemency following a full day of testimony.
Board spokesman Steve Hayes said a decision on whether to commute Meders’ sentence from death to life in prison will come Thursday — the same day the 58-year-old son of sharecroppers is scheduled to be executed.
MORE: A history of the death penalty in Georgia
Lawyers for Meders, convicted in 1989 of killing Glynn County convenience store clerk Don Anderson, argued in a clemency petition that the murder was not representative of their client’s character. Wednesday’s clemency hearing was closed to the public.
“Meders’ actions that night were inconsistent with the manner in which Meders ordinarily treated people in his community,” his attorneys wrote. “As letters of support from family, friends, and community members alike indicate, Meders was known to be a peaceful, self-effacing, kind person.”
They pointed to his service in the Georgia National Guard and the lack of any prior criminal history as evidence he was not, as his petition states, among “the worst of the worst.”
Every living juror agrees with that assessment, according to Meders’ legal team, and all of those jurors said they would have sentenced Meders to life in prison without parole if given the choice. But Georgia had yet to authorize that sentencing option when Meders was on trial, and it wouldn’t until 1993.
Lawyers for the state stood firm, saying in court documents that Meders’ crimes, “including the execution of an unarmed man during the commission of an armed robbery, are squarely within the type of crimes for which the death penalty is sought.”
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Precedent doesn’t favor Meders’ bid. Only 11 death sentences have been commuted by the board since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. During that time, 76 prisoners have been executed.
Meders’ attorneys have appealed two recent rulings upholding the constitutionality of the death sentence and prohibiting DNA testing of the murder weapon. They've asked the Georgia Supreme Court for a stay of execution to give the justices time to fully consider the appeals.
Meders is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. He has requested a final meal of 10 chicken strips, two bacon cheeseburgers, french fries and a pint of vanilla ice cream.
About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
