Georgia to execute man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend, her friend in 1994
(Reuters) - A 52-year-old man convicted of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and one of her friends during an argument in 1994 is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on Thursday.
Scotty Garnell Morrow is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 7 p.m. local time (2300 GMT) at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
On the morning of Dec. 29, 1994, a couple of weeks after Barbara Young ended a relationship with Morrow because of his abusive behavior, he went to her Gainesville home. An argument ensued as Young’s friends Tonya Woods and LaToya Horne and her two children looked on, according to court documents detailing testimony during the trial.
During the fight, Morrow pulled out a gun from his waistband and shot Woods in the abdomen and Horne in the arm. Young fled into a bedroom where Morrow beat her before he shot and killed her. He went into the kitchen where he shot and killed Woods, court papers showed.
Horne fled to a neighbor’s house as police responded to the shooting and the murder weapon was later found hidden in the backyard of Morrow’s house. Morrow confessed to the killings after his arrest. During the trial, he admitted he shot the victims because he “wanted [Ms. Woods] to shut up,” court documents said.
On June 26, 1999, a jury found Morrow guilty on several charges including two counts of felony murder. Three days later, the jury recommended the death sentence.
Since 2001, several state and federal courts have denied Morrow’s appeals based on various grounds. The United States Supreme Court denied Morrow’s request to appeal in February.
Morrow would be the fifth inmate to be executed in the United States and the first to be executed in Georgia in 2019. Georgia executed two inmates in 2018, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Chris Reese
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