J.W. Ledford Jr.

A clemency hearing for a Murray County man whose execution is set for Tuesday evening is underway. 

The five-member state Board of Pardons and Paroles convened this morning to hear arguments for converting J.W. “Boy” Ledford Jr.’s death sentence into a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

His mother, Mattie Ledford, sisters and others are scheduled to speak this morning. 

Board members will then hear arguments this afternoon for why they shouldn’t reduce Ledford’s sentence. They could make a decision as soon as this evening. 

If Ledford’s request for clemency is denied, he will be the first person to be executed in Georgia this year. 

Ledford was convicted in 1992 of killing his neighbor, 73-year-old Dr. Harry Johnston. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials have described the murder as being especially brutal, with the doctor’s head nearly severed in the attack. 

Five jurors, though, have since said that they would have preferred to send Ledford to prison for the rest of his life had it been an option at the time, according to Ledford’s application for clemency. 

Ledford’s attorneys, led Monday by John Cline of San Francisco, have also asked the board to consider Ledford’s remorse as well as his young age at the time of the murder and his intellectual disability.

The 45-year-old has also unsuccessfully sought to be executed by a firing squad rather than lethal injection. 

His attorneys argued that death by lethal injection is unconstitutional because it would he would “suffer an excruciating death” due to Ledford’s long-term use of prescription medications for “severe and chronic nerve pain,” according to court documents. 

“His long-term exposure to this medication has changed the chemistry of his brain so that (Ledford’s) lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, will not reliably render him unconscious and insensate,” attorneys argued in court documents. 

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.