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Thread: Bobby Wayne Waldrop - Alabama Death Row

  1. #1
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    Bobby Wayne Waldrop - Alabama Death Row





    Facts of the Crime:

    Bobby Waldrop was convicted of the capital murder of his grandparents at age 19 on April 5, 1998.

    The evidence at trial revealed the following. Waldrop and his wife, Clara, resided with Waldrop's grandparents, Sherrell Prestridge and Irene Prestridge. Sherrell had heart and hip problems and had difficulty walking.   Irene was bedridden, blind, and suffered from diabetes. Because of the Prestridges' numerous medical problems, the living room of their house had been converted into a bedroom with two hospital beds. Testimony at trial indicated that Waldrop knew that his grandmother and grandfather received Social Security checks before the third day of each month.

    Between 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on April 5, 1998, Waldrop and Clara left the Prestridges' house and checked into a hotel in Anniston. That same day, Waldrop and Clara pawned Sherrell's lawn mower and Waldrop smoked an undetermined amount of crack cocaine. Later that evening, Waldrop and Clara returned to the Prestridges' house. Testimony at trial indicated that Waldrop was not high on crack cocaine when he and Clara returned to the house. While Waldrop was in his grandparents' bedroom, Waldrop and Sherrell began arguing over money. In a statement Waldrop made to the police, which was introduced at trial, Waldrop stated:

    “I went into the kitchen and got the knife and [came] back. [Sherrell] pushed me and he saw the knife and that's when I [swung] the knife at his throat and he started to bleed from the throat real bad.  [Sherrell] was at the foot of the bed and I started to stab him and I had the knife in my left hand and I cut myself in the hand. I got on top of him [on] the floor and started to choke him, and he wouldn't stop breathing, so I cut a little more on both sides of his neck. It was [too] late. I stuck the knife into his back and I figured it would hit his lungs and he'd stop breathing. I just wanted to finish what I started. It looked like he was suffering.”

    Sherrell suffered 43 stab wounds to his head, neck, back, and chest;  he died as a result of his injuries.

    Waldrop's grandmother, Irene, had been lying in her bed in the same room while Waldrop attacked his grandfather. She heard Waldrop kill her husband, and she was screaming throughout the incident. After he killed Sherrell, Waldrop instructed Clara to kill Irene. Clara cut and stabbed Irene twice. Waldrop then took the knife from Clara. Testimony at trial indicated that Irene told Waldrop that she loved him before he placed a pillow over her face and stabbed her in the chest, throat, and shoulders until she died. Irene suffered a total of 38 stab and cut wounds. Waldrop and Clara took Sherrell's wallet, and they left to buy drugs, ultimately driving to Georgia where they were apprehended.

    Waldrop was sentenced to death in 1999.

  2. #2
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    November 22, 2002

    SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE DESPITE JURY OVERRIDE

    By BOB JOHNSON
    The Associated Press

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence given to a man convicted of killing his grandparents, even though the judge did not go along with the jury's recommended sentence of life in prison without parole.

    The Supreme Court also upheld the death sentence in a second case, where attorneys had argued that a Tuscaloosa County man's sentence violated a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that retarded individuals should not be executed.

    The Alabama Supreme Court in September held a hearing on the case of Bobby Wayne Waldrop. The court wanted to consider whether his death sentence should be thrown out because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned an Arizona death sentence because the sentencing decision was made by a judge and not a jury.

    Waldrop was convicted of robbing and stabbing his grandparents in Randolph County in 1998. Circuit Judge Dale Segrest sentenced Waldrop to death after the jury had recommended life in prison on a 10-2 vote.

    The state Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's law is different from Arizona's law in that it gives jurors a greater role in determining the final sentencing decision. The court also found that the death of Waldrop's grandparents, who were stabbed numerous times, was particularly "heinous, atrocious and cruel" and that Segrest made the right decision.

    In another case, the state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Roy Edward Perkins, sentenced to die for the Aug. 9, 1990, abduction and killing of Cathy Gilliam in the Tuscaloosa County community of New Lexington.

    Perkins' attorneys argued that he is mentally retarded and should not be executed because of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. But the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that after a careful review of the case there was no evidence that Perkins was retarded.

    "The record indicates that Perkins earned a GED certificate while he has been in prison and has completed community college courses there," the ruling said. The ruling also encourages the Alabama Legislature to "develop procedures for determining whether a capital defendant is mentally retarded and thus ineligible for execution."

    In a third death penalty case, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday upheld the death sentence given Phillip Wayne Tomlin for the 1977 murder-for-hire killing of two people in Mobile. Tomlin's appeal was also based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Arizona case. But the appeals court ruled that there were aggravating circumstances in Tomlin's case that justified the judge's ruling.

    Tomlin has been tried and sentenced to death four times in the 25 years since the crime occurred.

    The criminal appeals court also sent the death sentence of Darryl D. Turner, convicted of the 1995 robbery and slaying of a Limestone County woman, back to the circuit court with instructions that several factors used in determining the death sentence be reconsidered.

    The appeals court asked the trial court judge to further explain his finding that the murder was "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel as compared to other capital murders." The appeals court also said the trial court erred when it considered arrests, instead of only convictions, to determine an aggravating circumstance.

    http://www.patrickcrusade.org/SUPREM..._SENTENCE.html

    __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______


    No. 03-5412 *** CAPITAL CASE ***
    Title:
    Bobby Wayne Waldrop, Petitioner
    v.
    Alabama
    Docketed: July 21, 2003
    Linked with 03A5
    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Alabama
    Case Nos.: (1001194)
    Decision Date: November 22, 2002
    Rehearing Denied: April 11, 2003

    ~~~Date~~~ ~~~~~~~Proceedings and Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Jun 30 2003 Application (03A5) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from July 10, 2003 to July 17, 2003,
    submitted to Justice Kennedy.
    Jul 1 2003 Application (03A5) granted by Justice Kennedy extending the time to file until July 17, 2003.
    Jul 17 2003 Petition for writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due August 20,
    2003)
    Aug 21 2003 Order extending time to file response to petition to and including September 19, 2003.
    Sep 19 2003 Brief of respondent Alabama in opposition filed.
    Oct 2 2003 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of October 17, 2003.
    Oct 20 2003 Petition DENIED.

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.a...es/03-5412.htm

  3. #3
    Bobby Waldrops Sister
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    Bobby is my brother what he did was wrong. I loved my grandparents more then anything in this world and he took them from me but it isn't right for the state to kill him either. Murder is murder

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Sorry for your loss, Bobby's sister, but execution = justice, not murder!
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  5. #5
    Senior Member Member Unsub's Avatar
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    Killing is killing. Taking a live is Taking a life. Homicide is Homicide. The only difference is that it is not illegal but it still is one person taking the life of another.
    Love your enemies...they hate it

  6. #6
    Senior Member Member nmiller855's Avatar
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    We have a saying about the death penalty. "In Texas if you kill someone, the state kills you back!" They should "eventually" to that because many are on death row longer than their victims lived.

  7. #7
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On June 30, 2008, Waldrop filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/ala...cv00515/38698/

  8. #8
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On March 31, 2014, Waldrop's habeas petition was DENIED in Federal District Court.

    http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal...0138/125644/16

  9. #9
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On March 2, 2015, Waldrop filed an appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir.../ca11/15-10881

  10. #10
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    On April 21, 2016, oral argument will be heard in Waldrop's appeal before the Eleventh Circuit.

    http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/d...p%20public.pdf

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