Ricky Blackwell was sentenced to death by the State of South Carolina for the murder of an eight year old girl
According to court documents Ricky Blackwell was upset that his ex-girlfriend was dating someone knew. Blackwell would go over to their home where he would grab eight year old Heather Brooke Center in a headlock and shot the child in the head. Blackwell would shoot the child three more times
Ricky Blackwell would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Where Is Ricky Blackwell Now
Ricky Blackwell is incarcerated at Broad River Correctional Institution
Ricky Blackwell Case
After twenty-six years of marriage, Blackwell’s wife, Angela, entered into an adulterous relationship with Bobby Center in 2008. By all accounts, Blackwell was devastated when Angela left him. Following the breakup, Blackwell attempted suicide, suffered financial problems, and was forced to turn to his parents for support.
According to Angela, on July 8, 2009, Blackwell came to her parents’ house to discuss insurance matters. While there, Blackwell chastised her about not visiting their grandsons and urged her to go see them that day. Angela testified she was going to take Brooke swimming at Center’s house that day and intended to pick up her grandsons to take them along. When she arrived at her daughter’s home, she did not see her daughter’s car. Assuming that her daughter was not home, Angela began to drive away. As she was leaving, Blackwell flagged her down and informed her that their daughter went to the store but that their son-in-law had the children. Angela testified she got out of the car to secure a dog in order that it would not bite Brooke. When Angela turned around, she saw that Blackwell had grabbed Brooke and was holding a gun to the child. Blackwell ignored Angela’s pleas for him to release Brooke. Instead, Blackwell stated that Angela had “pushed this too far,” that she “did this,” and that she could let him know “what Bobby thinks of this.” Blackwell then fatally shot Brooke. Following the shooting, Blackwell fled into the woods behind his daughter’s home. When law enforcement surrounded him, Blackwell shot himself in the stomach and was taken to the hospital. While being transported to the hospital and waiting for treatment, Blackwell gave inculpatory statements to the law enforcement officers who questioned him.
After a Spartanburg County grand jury indicted Blackwell for kidnapping and murder, the State served Blackwell with notice that it intended to seek the death penalty. Blackwell was evaluated, at the request of defense counsel, and deemed competent to stand trial. Approximately three years later, defense counsel claimed that Blackwell is mentally retarded and, thus, ineligible to receive the death penalty pursuant to Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002).4 As a result, the trial court conducted a hearing pursuant to Franklin v. Maynard, 356 S.C. 276, 588 S.E.2d 604 (2003).5 The court ruled that Blackwell failed to prove he is mentally retarded and the case proceeded as a capital jury trial.
The jury found Blackwell guilty of kidnapping and murder. At the conclusion of the penalty phase of the trial, the jury specifically found, via a special verdict form, that Blackwell is not mentally retarded. The jury recommended a sentence of death, finding the State proved the aggravating circumstances that the murder involved a child under the age of eleven and was committed while in the commission of kidnapping.6 The trial court sentenced Blackwell to death for murder, noting the kidnapping sentence was subsumed into the sentence for murder.7
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/sc-supreme-court/1862495.html
