Jerry White was executed by the State of Florida for the murder of James Melson
According to court documents Jerry White would rob a grocery store and in the process of the armed robbery would shoot and kill James Melson who was in the store shopping
Jerry White would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Jerry White would be executed via the electric chair on December 4 1995
Jerry White Photos
Jerry White Case
Florida executed convicted killer Jerry White Monday, but a second execution scheduled for the same day was postponed. White, 47, was pronounced dead in Florida’s electric chair at 12:19 p.m. EST Monday. He was sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of an Orlando area man during a grocery store robbery attempt.
Phillip Atkins, 40, was scheduled to be electrocuted Monday night for the 1981 rape and beating death of a 6-year-old Lakeland boy. But the execution was rescheduled for 10 a.m. EST Tuesday, two hours before his death warrant expires. Had the electrocution of Atkins been carried out, it would have been the first time in more than 30 years that Florida executed two people on the same day. It last happened May 12, 1964. Florida has executed as many as four prisoners in a single day at least three times in the past, but not recently. The last time was March 23, 1942.
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday morning turned down without comment a death stay for White, clearing the way for his execution. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied a stay of execution Sunday. White had been scheduled for execution Wednesday, but the Florida Supreme Court stayed his death until it could hear oral arguments on his appeal. He contended his attorney provided an inadequate defense and the state withheld important evidence that could have helped his case. The justices later rejected his arguments and federal courts subsequently agreed.
White showed little emotion while being strapped into the electric chair, but his eyes were tightly closed as officials lowered the hood. ‘I wish that all the people who can hear my voice will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ as I have,’ White said in his final statement. After making that comment to those in the witness and execution chambers, White’s body jerked as 2,000 volts surged through his body. The condemned man made a muffled sound before the current was shut off. Once the attending physicians confirmed White’s death, the prison superintendent announced, ‘The sentence of death upon Jerry White was carried out at 12:19 p.m.’
A sound that resembled a drummed death march could be heard through the prison walls shortly after execution. Prison officials could not identify the sound’s source. White was convicted and sentenced to die for the murder of James Melson, an Orange County equipment operator, during a robbery. White had forced grocer Alex Alexander into a grocery store freezer during a robbery attempt before shooting both in the head. Melson died the same day, while Alexander, who was paralyzed by his wound, died four years later.
Prior to his walk to the death chamber, White ate a last meal of grilled steak with A-1 sauce and ketchup, French fries, cole slaw, several pieces of toast and three glasses of orange juice. Prison officials said White ate most of the meal. Atkins was sentenced to die for the slaying of a 6-year-old boy, who was beaten to death after Atkins lured the youngster into his car in full view of neighbors. Authorities have said Atkins killed the boy to prevent him from telling others that Atkins had sexually molested him. His execution had been scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, but was delayed until 11 p.m. to allow for a last-minute appeal. It was postponed again.
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/12/04/Florida-inmate-executed-another-pending/3415818053200/
