A day after Georgia carried out its eighth execution this year, the state scheduled its ninth: the lethal injection of a man who shot his in-laws in in Bacon County in 1990.
William Sallie killed his father-in-law, wounded his mother-in-law, and also assaulted his estranged wife and her sister.
Sallie’s execution is set for Dec. 6.
The animosities between Sallie and his wife’s family started after she filed for divorce following an argument that turned violent. Robin Sallie said her husband struck her with a belt, whereupon she and her 2-year-old son, Ryan, moved in with her parents, her sister and her brother.
Soon after, under the pretense of visiting his son, Sallie picked up the boy at his in-laws’ house and went to Illinois, where he kept the child until a court there ruled in March 1990 the mother could take the toddler back to Georgia.
Sallie also returned to Georgia.
He rented a mobile home under a fake name in near Hinesville, northeast of Bacon County, and had a friend buy him a handgun.
In the early morning hours of March 28, 1990, Sallie, dressed in green camouflage clothing and carrying duct tape and four pairs of handcuffs, broke into the home of John and Linda Moore.
He shot John Moore six times and then turned the gun on his mother-in-law, shooting her in the thumb, the shoulder, and both thighs. He handcuffed Linda Moore and her 9-year-old son, Justin, to each other and a bed rail. He took Robin and her 17-year-old sister, April, to his mobile home in Liberty County where he assaulted them.
He released the sisters the next day after asking them not to press charges.
On Wednesday night, Georgia executed Steven Spears for murdering his ex-girlfriend in 2001 in her Dahlonega home. Spears confessed to the murder and did not appeal his death sentence.
If Sallie is put to death, he will be ninth person Georgia has executed since Jan. 1, more than any year since 1957 and more than any other state in 2016.
About the Author
