Parole board denies clemency to condemned killer

The state parole board on Friday denied clemency to Melbert Ray Ford Jr., who is scheduled to be executed next week for the 1986 killings of a his former girlfriend and her 11-year-old niece.

Ford is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic Classification Prison in Jackson. He was sentenced to death for the murders of his former companion, Martha Matich, and her niece, Lisa Chapman, during a grocery store robbery in Newton County.

About the Author

Atlanta plans to clear homeless camp where man was killed in earlier sweep

Stay hydrated: Heat ramping up across metro Atlanta this week

Atlanta crypto biz owner caught up in fraud says it’s ‘like living in a James Bond movie’

Featured

Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC

Unemployment in Georgia is down, but so is the labor force. Why?

Georgia’s labor force has declined by nearly 30,000 compared to May last year. Here are some reasons why.

Georgia appeals court rules election boards must certify results

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that election board members are required to certify election results even when they have concerns about fraud or errors.

Atlanta crypto biz owner caught up in fraud says it’s ‘like living in a James Bond movie’

Prosecutors say North Korean IT specialists are 'infiltrating' tech companies in the U.S. as remote workers to steal money from businesses and funnel it back to North Korea.