Summary of Offense:
Ernest Downs was involved in a murder-for-hire scheme and was paid $5,000 to kill Forrest Harris.
Ron Garelick, a general life insurance agent and business associate of Forrest Harris, obtained a $400,000 insurance policy on Harris' life, naming as beneficiary a jointly-owned Garelick-Harris corporation. Garelick knew John Barfield as a business acquaintance and solicited his help in obtaining individuals to kill Harris for the insurance money. Garelick offered Barfield $125,000 from the insurance proceeds as compensation for arranging the murder. In April 1976, Barfield contacted Gerry Sapp and Huey Palmer, two of his former employees, and offered them $10,000 and $25,000, respectively, to kill Harris. They each testified that they refused this offer. In April 1977, Barfield approached Ernest Downs with an offer of $5,000 to kill Harris. Downs accepted the offer and enlisted the aid of Larry Johnson to carry out the murder. On April 23, 1977, Downs and Johnson lured Harris to a remote location with a fictitious drug deal. When Harris arrived, Downs shot Harris four times in the head with a .25 caliber automatic pistol. After Downs and Johnson dragged the body off into the bushes, Downs fired another shot into Harris’ chest to make sure he was dead.
Downs was sentenced to death in Duval County on February 17, 1989.
Co-defendant information:
The contract killing was part of a conspiracy that involved four other men, who all had previously failed to kill Harris. Larry Johnson and Huey Palmer, in exchange for testimony, received complete immunity from prosecution or had their charges dropped. Gerry Sapp accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Ron Garelick died in a plane crash two days after Harris’ body was discovered. The originator of the murder conspiracy, John Barfield, was originally sentenced to death; however, his sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
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