Harold McQueen Executed For Rebecca O’Hearn Murder

Harold McQueen was executed by the State of Kentucky for the murder of Rebecca O’Hearn

According to court documents Harold McQueen would rob a store and in the process of the armed robbery would shoot and kill the clerk Rebecca O’Hearn

Harold McQueen would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Harold McQueen would be executed by way of the electric chair on July 1 1997

Harold McQueen Photos

harold mcqueen kentucky

Harold McQueen Case

Condemned killer Harold McQueen Jr., has become the first person to be executed in Kentucky since 1962.

The 44-year-old death row inmate, convicted of killing a clerk during a convenience store robbery in 1980, died in the electric chair early today. The execution began at 12:05 a.m. CDT with a 2,100-volt charge and McQueen was pronounced dead at 12:07 a.m.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to issue a stay of execution. McQueen had raised new technical grounds in multiple applications for a stay. In a final statement released to the media, McQueen said, ‘I want to apologize once again to the victim’s family and I want to apologize to my family because they’re victims, too. I want to thank those who sent me cards, letters and prayers, and I ask them to keep fighting against the death penalty.’

Just after midnight, McQueen’s religious advisor, Paul Stevens, said a prayer. McQueen smiled towards the witnesses as guards placed headgear and leg gear on him. A veil was placed over his head and the switch releasing the voltage was pulled. McQueen enjoyed a final meal of two cheesecakes, which he shared with Stevens, prior to the execution. In documents filed with the Supreme Court, his lawyers said in part, ‘McQueen has genuinely changed from the drug-addicted, reckless person that he was in 1980, to a spiritual, remorseful, law-abiding inmate.’ He was and sentenced to death in Richmond, Ky., in April 1981

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/07/01/Ky-inmate-executed/1940867729600/

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Edward Harper Executed For 2 Kentucky Murders

Edward Harper was executed by the State of Kentucky for the murders of his adoptive parents

According to court documents Edward Harper would shoot and kill Edward Lee and Alice Harper in 1982 in order to collect his inheritance

Edward Harper would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Edward Harper would be executed by lethal injection on May 25 1999

Harper was the first person executed by lethal injection in Kentucky

Edward Harper Photos

Edward Harper - Kentucky

Edward Harper Case

A summary of the evidence introduced at trial shows that about a month before the murders Harper had asked a girl friend if she would have her brother procure an untraceable and unregistered gun for him. Nothing came of this request. Later, Harper asked an acquaintance to purchase a .38 special or a .357, without serial numbers. Harper called several times inquiring about progress in procuring the gun and then, two days before the murders, advised that he was getting the gun from someone else.

On the same day, Harper called a Vernon Priddy who had advertised that he had a .38 special for sale. Harper told Priddy *667 that he wanted to buy the gun for his wife and that his name was Johnson. Harper met with Priddy at about 6 p.m. on the day of the murders and purchased the gun and six bullets. Earlier that day, Harper had purchased some .38 special bullets from a hardware store. After the purchase from Priddy, he returned the bullets purchased from the hardware store and insisted that his name be removed from the log book.

Harper then went to a park where he loaded the gun and test fired it. After watching his son play ball for a while, Harper then went to a bar. He left the bar about 11 p.m., went home, and shot and killed both of his parents. He then attempted to make it appear as if a burglary had occurred by throwing articles of clothing around and removing some items from the house. He threw the gun into a lake and disposed of other items in a ditch and the river. After this, he went home and called the police.

When asked by the police, Harper told them his father kept a .38 special in a bedroom closet. This was false. He added that he had purchased bullets at a hardware store and then returned them because they were not the type his father wanted. The police later found some of the items disposed of by Harper. The individual from whom Harper had wanted to purchase a .38 special or .357 notified the police of this fact. When Harper set up an appointment with this individual, the police put a tape recorder on him and taped the conversation with Harper. Nothing incriminating was on the tape.

While tracing guns sold through a publication, Bargain Mart, the police contacted Vernon Priddy who described the person who purchased the gun from him. This description fit Harper, and subsequently at a lineup, Priddy identified Harper as the purchaser. Harper was then advised of his constitutional rights and was placed under arrest for two counts of murder. At first, he maintained he was not involved and had not purchased a gun. A few minutes later, he said he would make a statement and did so. He confessed to purchasing the gun and killing his parents. He also showed the police where he had disposed of the gun, which was recovered by divers.

Harper relied upon a defense of insanity. He testified in his own defense. His testimony was that his mother was becoming increasingly violent towards his father, that his father was depressed, and asked Harper to kill him. After repeated requests by his father, Harper testified, he decided to kill him. He then told the jury how he purchased the gun and how he killed his father and mother.

https://murderpedia.org/male.H/h1/harper-edward-lee.htm

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Robert Woodall Murders Sarah Hansen In Kentucky

Robert Woodall would be sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for the murder of Sarah Hansen

According to court documents Robert Woodall would abduct Sarah Hansen from a parking lot and brought to a remote location where she would be sexually assaulted. Woodall would drown Sarah Hansen

Robert Woodall would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Robert Woodall Photos

robert woodall

Robert Woodall Now

Name:WOODALL, ROBERT KEITH
Active Inmate
DEATH ROW
PID # / DOC #:228815 / 127513
Institution Start Date:9/04/1998
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:DEATH SENTENCE
Location:Kentucky State Penitentiary

Robert Woodall Case

Robert Keith Woodall appeals from a sentence of death for murder and life imprisonment for the rape and kidnapping of Sarah Hansen.   Woodall entered a plea of guilty to capital murder, capital kidnapping, and first-degree rape.   A jury sentencing trial was conducted July 14 through July 20, 1998.   The prosecution called eleven witnesses, and the defense presented fourteen witnesses in mitigation of the crimes.   Woodall did not testify at the penalty proceedings.   The jury fixed a sentence of death for the capital murder and a sentence of two concurrent life terms for the kidnapping and rape.

The victim was a 16-year-old high school cheerleader, an honor student, a musician, a member of the National Honor Society and the Beta Club and a medalist in swimming and diving.   On January 25, 1997, she had planned to watch a video with her boyfriend.   She went to the local mini-mart to rent a movie, leaving her home between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., never to be seen alive again by her family.   At 10:42 p.m., two police officers were dispatched to search for the victim.   Thereafter, they found the minivan that she had been driving in a ditch at Luzerne Lake, approximately 1.5 miles from the mini-mart.   The officers followed a four to five hundred foot trail of blood on a gravel roadway from the van.   The unclothed body of the victim was found floating in the water.   Her throat had been slashed twice with each cut approximately 3.5 to 4 inches long.   Her windpipe was totally severed.   She actually died of drowning.

The police questioned Woodall when they learned that he had been in the mini-mart on Saturday night.   He gave two conflicting statements about his activities on the night of the murder after he left work.   The police observed that Woodall was wearing a brand of tennis shoe similar to the imprint on the pier next to where the body of the victim had been found.   His fingerprints were on the van the victim was driving.   Blood was found on his front door and muddy and wet clothing under his bed.   Blood on his clothing and sweatshirt were consistent with the blood of the victim.   The DNA on the vaginal swabs was consistent with his.   His fingerprints were identified on the glass and door of the van as well as the interior doorjamb and handle.   On March 18, 1997, the Muhlenberg County Grand Jury indicted him for murder, kidnapping and rape.   One week later, the Commonwealth announced its intention to seek the death penalty.   Venue for the prosecution was changed from Muhlenberg to Caldwell County because of massive publicity.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1126472.html

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Shawn Windsor Murders 2 In Kentucky

Shawn Windsor was sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for a double murder

According to court documents Shawn Windsor was suppose to stay away from his wife due to a restraining order however he would violate the order and stab to death Betty Jean Windsor, and 8-year old son, Corey Windsor

Shawn Windsor would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Shawn Windsor Photos

shawn windsor

Shawn Windsor Now

Name:WINDSOR, SHAWN
Active Inmate
DEATH ROW
PID # / DOC #:122076 / 182955
Institution Start Date:10/06/2006
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:DEATH SENTENCE
Location:Kentucky State Penitentiary

Shawn Windsor Case

A Kentucky death row inmate who admitted killing his estranged wife and son and asked for a death sentence is now fighting to stay alive.

Shawn Windsor, 45, asked the Kentucky Supreme Court in court papers released Wednesday to reverse his case and halt his execution, which has not been scheduled. The high court has scheduled oral arguments for Sept. 23 in Frankfort.

Windsor was sentenced to death in November 2006 to killing Betty Jean Windsor and their 8-year-old son, Corey, in December 2003, then fleeing to Shelby, N.C., where he was arrested seven months later at a junk yard where he worked.

Windsor declined an interview request from The Associated Press. His attorney, public defender Dan Goyette, did not immediately return messages.

Another of his attorneys, David Niehaus, wrote in Windsor’s briefs to the high court that he no longer wants to die.

“As the Court has certainly inferred by now, (Windsor) no longer desires to be put to death,” Niehaus wrote.

Shelley Catherine Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Attorney General’s office, declined to comment on Windsor’s case.

There are no solid statistics on the number of people who have volunteered, then changed their minds. However, 133 inmates have waived appeals and asked to die, said Richard Dieter, director of the Death Penalty Information Center, an anti-capital punishment group that compiles statistics on executions. That accounts for about 12 percent of all executions.

Windsor’s attorneys cite multiple reasons the plea and sentence should be thrown out, including Windsor’s suicide attempt days before his plea. They also say Windsor should have had a second mental evaluation before he was sentenced because he said he wanted to die.

Assistant Attorney General Hays Lawson said in briefs there’s no evidence Windsor was incompetent at the time of his plea or sentencing.

“He demonstrated clear understanding of his rights and the rights he would be giving up by pleading guilty,” Lawson said.

Windsor became the second man in Kentucky in a three-year span to ask for a death sentence. Marco Allen Chapman pleaded guilty in December 2004 to killing two children and seriously wounding another along with their mother in an attack in northern Kentucky.

Chapman was executed in November 2008 and did not fight the sentence.

That case looms large over Windsor’s efforts. Prosecutors cited the Kentucky Supreme Court ruling in 2007 allowing Chapman to pursue his own execution, saying the opinion makes it clear that asking for a death sentence doesn’t show someone is incompetent.

Niehaus also addressed Chapman’s case, noting that unlike Chapman, Windsor has sought to regain appellate rights and has not repeatedly sought to fire his attorneys, as Chapman did.

Windsor’s journey to asking for a death sentence started when his wife and son were found beaten and stabbed in the apartment they shared. Windsor was nowhere to be found for the next seven months, with the disappearance drawing the attention of the television show “America’s Most Wanted.”

At one point during his November 2006 sentencing, Windsor asked Jefferson Circuit Judge Martin McDonald to stop his attorneys from trying to spare his life.

“I do not wish and I do not want this to go any further,” Windsor said. “It’s a waste of the court’s time.”

Along with Chapman, Kentucky has executed two inmates since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. Harold McQueen of Madison County was put to death in the electric chair in 1997, and Eddie Lee Harper of Louisville became the first inmate to be executed by lethal injection in 1999.

https://www.dailyindependent.com/news/inmate-who-wanted-death-penalty-now-asks-to-live/article_b7e29165-5684-5fa9-909b-a92f8dc0ffd8.html

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Mitchell Willoughby Murders 3 In Kentucky

Mitchell Willoughby and Leif Halvorsen were sentenced to death by the State of Kentucky for a triple murder

According to court documents Mitchell Willoughby and Leif Halvorsen would murder Jacqueline Greene, Joe Norman, and Joey Durham in Lexington, Kentucky. The two killers attempted to dispose of the bodies by throwing them off of a bridge

Mitchell Willoughby and Leif Halvorsen would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Leif Halvorsen sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole in 2019

Mitchell Willoughby Photos

Mitchell Willoughby

Mitchell Willoughby Now

Name:WILLOUGHBY, MITCHELL
Active Inmate
DEATH ROW
PID # / DOC #:201752 / 082148
Institution Start Date:10/16/1979
Expected Time To Serve (TTS):DEATH SENTENCE
Classification:Maximum
Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date (Good Time Release Date): ?DEATH SENTENCE
Parole Eligibility Date:DEATH SENTENCE
Maximum Expiration of Sentence Date:DEATH SENTENCE
Location:Kentucky State Penitentiary

Mitchell Willoughby Case

he bodies of Joe Norman and Joey Durrum were found on the side of the Brooklyn Bridge on the Jessamine-Mercer County line. The body of Jacqueline Greene was found in the Kentucky River below the bridge. Each of the victims had been shot to death. David Warner, who lived on the Jessamine County side of the Brooklyn Bridge, became suspicious when he noticed a light blue Ford van and a dark pickup truck lurking at various points around the bridge. At one point, the pickup truck parked on the bridge, a person got out of the passenger side, and Warner heard a big splash. Forty-five minutes later, Warner heard a noise that sounded like a car hitting a guardrail or a sign. He looked out to see the blue van and the pickup truck speeding off across the bridge toward Lexington. Warner called the police.

When the police arrived, they found two of the victims on the side of the bridge, each bound with a blue-and-yellow rope that was attached to a heavy rock. The third victim was found in the river below the bridge, wrapped
in a sheet that was also bound with a blue-and-yellow rope and attached to a heavy rock. A traffic sign near the bridge had been knocked over by a vehicle. It had paint smears on it and broken glass lying at its base.

Officer William Foekele testified that around 1:30 p.m., on January 13, he was on Loudon Avenue in Lexington, looking for a car involved in another investigation, when he noticed a blue Ford van stopped at 215 Loudon Avenue. He wrote down the van’s license number. On the following day, police learned that two of the victims had lived in the house at 215 Loudon Avenue. A truck belonging to the third victim was found parked at the house. When police entered, they found blood at various places in the house.

Upon learning that a blue Ford van was seen in the area where the bodies were discovered, Officer Foekele suspected that it was the same vehicle which he had seen near the house at 215 Loudon the day before. A registration check revealed that the van was registered to Halvorsen. Foekele then went to Halvorsen’s home but saw no vehicles in the driveway. A neighbor indicated that two men and a woman had just left in a blue pickup truck and would probably return shortly. Police staked out all routes to the house, located and cornered the truck, and demanded that its occupants exit. The driver, Mitchell, jumped out immediately. Halvorsen, after hesitating, slid out of the passenger side. The officers found a .38-caliber revolver where he had been sitting. As the officers approached the truck, the woman, Susan Hutchens, threw her hands up and said, “The gun’s in my purse.” A 9-millimeter pistol was found sticking out of her purse.

A ballistics expert positively identified several of the projectiles recovered from the victims’ bodies as having come from the revolver and semi-automatic pistol found in the truck. Two 9-millimeter shell casings were additionally recovered at 215 Loudon. Fingerprints from both Mitchell Willoughby and Hutchens were found on the 9-millimeter pistol. Hutchens’ fingerprints were found on the refrigerator at 215 Loudon as well.

Also recovered from 215 Loudon, by the police, was a plastic blue-and-yellow rope identical to that found tied around the victims’ bodies. Paint samples taken from Halvorsen’s van matched the paint smears found on the highway sign near the bridge. A comparison between pieces of glass taken from a broken headlight on Halvorsen’s van and pieces of broken headlight recovered from the base of the highway sign proved them to have come from the same headlight. Lastly, blood samples from Halvorsen’s van were positively identified as having come from one of the victims.

At trial, Hutchens testified that in December 1982, she and Mitchell moved into the house at 215 Loudon, and Willoughby was employed by the victim, Joe Norman, to help him remodel the house. Willoughby and
Hutchens moved out a month later when Norman refused to pay Mitchell Willoughby for the work he had done.

Hutchens testified that on January 13 Mitchell Willoughby and Halvorsen asked her to buy ammunition for their pistols. Later that day, she decided to go visit the victim, Jacqueline Greene, who lived at 215 Loudon with Joe Norman. When she arrived, Willoughby, Halvorsen, and Norman were standing in the driveway talking. Hutchens went into the house where Greene introduced her to the victim, Joey Durrum. Willoughby, Halvorsen, and Norman then came inside when “all of a sudden” the shooting began.

Hutchens put her hands over her face, covering her eyes. She heard numerous shots. When the shooting was over, she opened her eyes to see Mitchell Willoughby and Halvorsen each wielding a pistol. Norman and Durrum had fallen to the floor. Hutchens then saw Willoughby shoot Greene twice more, since she was still alive. Willoughby and Halvorsen then screamed at Hutchens to begin picking up the shell casings while they dragged the bodies of the victims through the hallway to the back door where they were placed in the van. Later, Halvorsen left in the van, and Willoughby left in the truck to get rid of the bodies.

Mitchell Willoughby testified at trial in his own behalf that on January 13 he and Halvorsen went to 215 Loudon to smoke marijuana with Joe Norman. He and Norman began arguing about a cold check that Norman had given to him, when Norman poked him in the chest and threatened him with a bayonet. Willoughby then reached for his gun and began shooting. He remembered shooting Norman two or three times but did not remember shooting the other victims.

In his statements, Mitchell Willoughby took all of the blame for the shootings. Halvorsen did not testify during the guilt phase. The jury found both Willoughby and Halvorsen guilty of the three murder charges, and Halvorsen guilty of carrying a concealed weapon. The penalty phase then proceeded, after which the jury returned verdicts sentencing Halvorsen and Willoughby to life imprisonment for the murder of Norman and to death for the murders of Greene and Durrum.

https://casetext.com/case/willoughby-v-simpson-1

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