ATLANTA - The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has scheduled a meeting for Monday, May 15, 2017, to consider clemency for condemned inmate J.W. Ledford, Jr. The sole purpose of this meeting is to receive information for or against clemency for Ledford. The Board’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

The Murray County Superior Court has ordered the execution of Ledford. The Georgia Department of Corrections has scheduled the execution to take place by lethal injection on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, at 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

Ledford was sentenced to death for the January 1992 murder of 73-year old Harry Buchanan Johnston, Jr., in Murray County. Ledford was convicted of malice murder, as well as two counts of armed robbery, one count of burglary and one count of kidnapping. The United States Supreme Court denied Ledford’s request to appeal on April 3, 2017. 

In Georgia, the Parole Board has the sole constitutional authority to grant clemency and commute, or reduce a death sentence to life with the possibility of parole or to life without the possibility of parole. Following the meeting, the Board may commute the sentence, issue a stay of up to 90-days, or deny clemency.

The Board maintains a comprehensive file on each inmate on death row. The file contains the history of the life of the condemned inmate, including the inmate’s criminal history and the circumstances of the crime that was committed resulting in the death sentence.

It is anticipated that the meeting will be closed as authorized by O.C.G.A. § 50-14-3 (a)(2). No public comment will be taken at this meeting and no other business will be conducted. Media will be afforded the opportunity to take photographs prior to the meeting. Media should check in with credentials by 8:30 a.m. in the Board’s public reception office at 2 Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, S.E., East Tower, 4th Floor, room 458. Media should first be cleared for entry by building security on the Plaza Level. Members of the media will be given an opportunity to interview people appearing before the Board, if they choose to grant interviews.

To view a photo of J.W. Ledford, Jr., go to www.gdc.ga.gov, click on Find an Offender, agree to the terms on the disclaimer page and search by the offender’s EF number, 306429.

For more information please contact Steve Hayes at 404-657-9450 or [email protected] or visit our website at www.pap.georgia.gov.

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