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Thread: Shawn McClain Sentenced to Life for 2012 AL Slaying of Dorothy Leatherwood

  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Shawn McClain Sentenced to Life for 2012 AL Slaying of Dorothy Leatherwood




    Hearing To Determine Death Penalty Eligibility For Georgiana Man

    Shawn McClain is charged with murdering his neighbor, Dorothy Leatherwood.

    His attorneys say he was mentally ill the night Leatherwood was killed and they hope to prove it at a hearing this week to determine whether McClain is mentally competent to stand trial and be eligible for the death penalty if he's convicted.

    Will Shawn McClain be eligible for the death penalty if he's convicted? It's a question a judge could answer later this week.

    The District Attorney's office and some family members of 72-year-old, Dorothy Leatherwood, want to see him executed.

    "Just go ahead and take him out and be over with it and everybody would be satisfied. Kill him. Let him go," Said the victim's brother, James Rudolph.

    "He knows right from wrong and that's the part that gets me. He knew that what he did was wrong when he come in here the way he did," Said the victim's niece, Pam Lewis.

    Butler County deputies and Georgiana Police found Leatherwood dead inside her Georgiana home last November. Investigators say McClain was her neighbor and handy-man. He pleaded not guilty in April.

    Leatherwood's family still asks why this horrible crime had to happen.

    "She was murdered, then you find out the way she was murdered, then you find out who did it because it was that 'who done it' thing and now we know who did it. And now they're trying to say he's trying to do a whole other mental case thing here, so it's challenging for everybody," Said Lewis. 

    The D.A.'s office tells Alabama News Network if the judge does not find McClain competent enough to stand trial, they will still be able to seek a sentence of life without parole if he's convicted.

    The D.A.'s office also says a mental evaluation of McClain will be presented at the hearing Thursday.

    http://www.wncftv.com/localnews/Hear...218596721.html
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  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Previous coverage

    Georgiana Church Community Remembers Dorothy Leatherwood

    From Butler County -- Police continue to search for the suspect responsible for killing a 72-year old Georgiana woman, who was found dead in her home last Wednesday. CBS-8 has been following this story all week. We visited Dorothy Leatherwood's church to see how she will be remembered.

    The Georgiana community is shaken by the death of Dorothy Leatherwood. People are praying for the best, but family and friends tell me Leatherwood is really remembered in the way she made a difference in her church community.

    An empty corner seat in Friendship Missionary Baptist Church reminds members of their dear friend, 72-year old Dorothy Leatherwood. Leana Bogan says she'll never forget Wednesday morning, when she drove to pick up her friend to go to Bible study.

    "She didn't respond so I called her. I blew the horn. She usually comes out the door and says, 'I'll be there in a minute,' but she didn't respond. So I go in the house and found her body... and that was horrific because Dorothy had been a friend to me for years," Said Bogan.

    And even though Bogan and the community are devastated, they're turning to God for strength. Sunday, church members said a special prayer for Leatherwood -- singing, sharing stories and grieving the loss of one of their own.

    "She just was really an inspiration to this church and to all of us and we will miss that smiling face," Said church member, Evelyn Sally, as she reminsced about Leatherwood.

    Members say they looked up to Leatherwood. She was a Sunday school teacher and the President of their Gospel Chorus Choir -- but most importantly a mother, wife and friend.

    "She had that voice that would ring out and touch you. And she'll look at you and you sort of took heat to what she said," Said church deacon, Herman Cooke.

    So now, the community is telling everyone they know about what happened to Dorothy Leatherwood in hope of finding the person who ended her life -- and they're not stopping until justice is served.

    "I'm going to miss you Dorothy. God loves you best," Said another church member recalling the good times.

    There will be a candlelight vigil for Dorothy Leatherwood on Monday at 5 p.m. outside of her home on Wise Street. Her funeral will be Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in downtown Georgiana.

    If you have any information about Dorothy Leatherwood's death, contact the Butler County Sheriff's Office at 334-382-6521.

    http://www.waka.com/home/top-stories...179892611.html

    Arrest made in Leatherwood murder

    The Butler County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in the murder of a 72-year-old Georgiana woman.

    Shawn McClain, 27, was arrested Thursday night and charged with the murder of Dorothy Leatherwood.

    Leatherwood was murdered inside her home on Wise Street in Georgiana on Nov. 14.

    “This is a good day,” Butler County Sheriff Kenny Harden said. “The citizens of Georgiana can feel safer now that we have him in custody. I’d like to commend my staff, the District Attorney’s Office, the Georgiana Police Department and the Department of Forensic Science for their work on this case.”

    Harden said McClain was arrested at approximately 6 p.m. Thursday night at his father’s house on Slim Lane just outside Georgiana.

    Authorities have not yet released a motive for the murder.

    “We can’t comment on that at this time,” Harden said. “We’re still working on a few things.”

    On Friday, McClain appeared before District Court Judge McDonald Russell for a bond hearing.

    District Attorney Charlotte Tesmer petitioned Russell for, and was granted, a $500,000 bond rather than the customary $100,000 bond.

    “This was a home-invasion murder, and was brutal,” Tesmer said. “Georgiana is a small community and since the murder most of the people in that community have been sleeping with a gun beside their bed. There’s a strong possibility that we could be looking at capital charges.”

    Russell set a preliminary hearing in the case for Feb. 27 at 9 a.m.

    “The hearing will not deal with guilt or innocence, but whether or not there was probable cause for the arrest,” Russell said.

    Pamela Lewis, Leatherwood’s niece, thanked the members of the BCSO, Georgiana Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office for their efforts in apprehending McClain.

    “I’m thankful for everyone’s hard work on the case and for making sure that (McClain) gets what he deserves for what he has done,” she said.

    Georgiana Mayor Jerome Antone said he hopes that McClain’s arrest will offer some closure to the community, which was rocked by Leatherwood’s murder.

    “Maybe now the citizens of Georgiana can relax and go on with their ordinary lives,” he said. “I’m thankful for the work of the Sheriff’s Office and the Georgiana Police Department that led to an arrest for this heinous crime.”

    http://www.greenvilleadvocate.com/20...erwood-murder/
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  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    September 5, 2013

    EXCLUSIVE: Forensic Evidence Shows Georgiana Murder Victim Was Raped, Death Penalty Eligibility Hearing Underway


    New information in a capital murder case in Butler County -- prosecutors say a man charged with stabbing a 72-year-old woman to death in Georgiana also raped her. This information is being released to us as a hearing begins on whether he is eligible for the death penalty if he's convicted.

    The District Attorney's office says they're pushing for at least death penalty eligibilty for Shawn McClain because of the manner in which Dorothy Leatherwood was killed -- but it's option that will be decided by a judge in the coming weeks.

    It's the way Dorothy Leatherwood was murdered that has family members traumatized.

    "You don't expect for somebody to walk into your home and snuff your life the way he did!" Said the victim's sister, Judy Pugh.

    District Attorney, Charlotte Tesmer, says on the morning Leatherwood's body was found in her bedroom last November, she was barely clothed.

    "The medical examiner in his report indicated there were contusions and abrasions," Said Tesmer.

    A hearing for Shawn McClain is underway to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial and be eligible for the death penalty if he's found guilty. McClain's attorney, Brandon Sellers, says after a mental examination on McClain, he believes he won't be able to stand trial.

    "He's severely limited as far as his I.Q. is... he's mentally retarded either moderate or mildly mentally retarded and his functioning and daily living skills puts him about the same as a first or second grader," Said Sellers.

    "He had sense enough to do what he did. He had sense enough to work in the community and work and you know, he lived everyday just like normal people. Now, all of a sudden he doesn't have any sense? He's 'mentally retarded.' And I don't like that!" Said Pugh.

    McClains attorney says he received an I.Q. of 46, and in order to be eligible for the death penalty, you have to score at least a 70.

    On the prosecution's side, there were many questions about how McClain adapted to daily life. Currently, the decision on whether he'll be eligible for the death penalty is at a standstill until the judge reviews McClain's school records.

    The judge will rule on McClain's eligibility in the coming weeks.

    Alabama News Network will keep you updated on the outcome of this hearing.

    http://www.waka.com/home/top-stories...222600781.html
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  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    March 15, 2016

    Convictions upheld against Alabama man who raped, killed neighbor

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday upheld the murder and first-degree rape convictions of a Georgiana man convicted in August 2015.

    Shawn McClain, 31, of Georgiana, was convicted in the Butler County Circuit Court in the rape and murder of his neighbor, Dorothy Leatherwood.

    McClain earned money by performing a variety of odd jobs and yard work for Leatherwood in 2012.

    While at Leatherwood's home to collect payment, McClain raped and stabbed her in the neck on Nov. 12, 2012, according to evidence presented at trial.

    McClain pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment for each conviction. He subsequently sought to have his guilty plea convictions reversed on appeal.

    The case was prosecuted at trial by Butler County District Attorney Charlotte Tesmer.

    The Attorney General's Criminal Appeals Section handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the convictions.

    http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/201...ns_upheld.html
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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