After watching the man who was convicted of killing his mother and sister die in Alabama's electric chair, Wayne Griffith said he found peace and forgiveness, nearly 17 years after the slayings. "It's finished," said Griffith, holding pictures of 74-year-old Willie C. Griffith and 42-year-old Linda Gail Griffith. "I do forgive him. I hope he's gone to heaven." Pernell Ford, 35, who was convicted of stabbing the two women to death at their Jacksonville home during a 1983 burglary, died at Holman Prison near Atmore. He had sought execution since 1997, when he dismissed his attorney and dropped his court appeals amid questions about his mental stability. In his last statement, Ford told Warden Charlie Jones he wanted to apologize to the Griffiths' family for the pain and suffering he had caused, and asked Jones to tell them to "be safe." As officers made final preparations, Ford recited the 23rd Psalm and other biblical passages, said Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Mike Haley. Ford spent the day Thursday with his mother and a prison chaplain. Awaiting execution, he took deep breaths and alternately stared at the ceiling and closed his eyes, resting his head at times on the back of the electric chair. "He was quite anxious to proceed ... and get it over with," Haley said.

Questions about Ford's sanity were first raised during his trial, when, while acting as his own defense attorney, he wrapped himself in a sheet during his penalty phase and demanded his victims be brought into the courtroom so God could resurrect them. Ford initially was set for execution in July 1999, but a federal appeals court delayed his death after his former attorney questioned his mental state. At a court hearing, Ford testified he could leave death row through "translation," and had visited heaven and other spots worldwide while in prison. He said he had millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account, which would support his children and his 400,000 wives after he was executed and became a part of the Holy Trinity. The court ruled in November that Ford was competent to fire attorney LaJuana Davis and drop his appeals. Gov. Don Siegelman on Wednesday set aside a clemency request filed by Davis, who cited Ford's history of mental problems. Siegelman's press secretary, Carrie Kurlander, said the governor felt the request was inappropriate, given the court ruling.

Wayne Griffith and his wife, Margaret, traveled from their Gadsden home to witness the execution, along with former Calhoun County Sheriff Roy Snead. "You always hear the bleeding-heart liberals say the death penalty's not a deterrent," Snead said. "It may not be, but it sure as hell cuts down on the repeaters." Willie Griffith, who suffered from arthritis and used a walker, was a former school dietitian who often prepared large meals and invited neighbors to eat. "There was never a stranger in the house," her son said. Of Ford's apology, "I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt," Wayne Griffith said. "I believe it was sincere. I really believe he meant it . . . I feel good about it."

APBNews Online

"Killer of Disabled Alabama Woman Executed; Reads Bible, Apologizes to Victims."

(June 2, 2000) ATMORE, Ala. (AP) -- A man convicted in the 1983 stabbing deaths of a disabled woman and her daughter was executed by electrocution early today. Pernell Ford, 35, was pronounced dead at 12:12 a.m. In a lengthy final statement, Ford told Warden Charlie Jones he wanted to apologize to the family of his victims for the pain and suffering he had caused. Awaiting execution, Ford recited biblical passages, took deep breaths and at times closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the electric chair, said Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Mike Haley.

Murdered during burglary

Ford was condemned for the murder of Willie C. Griffith, a 74-year-old disabled woman, and her daughter, 42-year-old Linda Gail Griffith, during a burglary at their home in Jacksonville, in northeast Alabama. Both were stabbed multiple times. Ford, then 18, was found in Illinois driving Gail Griffith's car and wearing bloody clothes. Prosecutors said he confessed.

Wore sheet during trial

During his trial, he wore a sheet during the penalty phase and said he wanted the victims' bodies brought to court so God could resurrect them. Calhoun County District Attorney Joe Hubbard, the prosecutor in the case, has said he believes Ford acted mentally ill in an attempt to avoid execution. Ford dropped his appeals and fired defense attorney LaJuana Davis in 1997. Davis won a stay of execution for Ford last July after raising questions about his sanity. But a federal appeals court ruled last November that Ford was competent to drop his appeals and fire his attorney.

CCADP - Pernell Ford Homepage

Pernell Ford - Executed In Alabama June 1, 2000

[Pernell Ford was an Alabama death row prisoner. He was executed in June, 2000. This page includes a news report filed after the execution and the original penpal request he sent to the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty.]

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) -- After watching the man who was convicted of killing his mother and sister die in Alabama's electric chair, Wayne Griffith said he found peace and forgiveness, nearly 17 years after the slayings. "It's finished," said Griffith, holding pictures of 74-year-old Willie C. Griffith and 42-year-old Linda Gail Griffith. "I do forgive him. I hope he's gone to heaven."

Pernell Ford, 35, who was convicted of stabbing the two women to death at their Jacksonville home during a 1983 burglary, died at 12:12 a.m. today at Holman Prison near Atmore. He had sought execution since 1997, when he dismissed his attorney and dropped his court appeals amid questions about his mental stability. In his last statement, Ford told Warden Charlie Jones he wanted to apologize to the Griffiths' family for the pain and suffering he had caused, and asked Jones to tell them to "be safe." As officers made final preparations, Ford recited the 23rd Psalm and other biblical passages, said Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Mike Haley. Ford spent the day Thursday with his mother and a prison chaplain. He ate barbecued ribs, ham, English peas, turnip greens, potato salad, cornbread and cheesecake for his last meal. Awaiting execution, he took deep breaths and alternately stared at the ceiling and closed his eyes, resting his head at times on the back of the electric chair. "He was quite anxious to proceed ... and get it over with," Haley said.

Questions about Ford's sanity were first raised during his trial, when, while acting as his own defense attorney, he wrapped himself in a sheet during his penalty phase and demanded his victims be brought into the courtroom so God could resurrect them. Ford initially was set for execution in July 1999, but a federal appeals court delayed his death after his former attorney questioned his mental state. At a court hearing, Ford testified he could leave death row through "translation," and had visited heaven and other spots worldwide while in prison. He said he had millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account, which would support his children and his 400,000 wives after he was executed and became a part of the Holy Trinity.

The court ruled in November that Ford was competent to fire attorney LaJuana Davis and drop his appeals. Gov. Don Siegelman on Wednesday set aside a clemency request filed by Davis, who cited Ford's history of mental problems. Siegelman's press secretary, Carrie Kurlander, said the governor felt the request was inappropriate, given the court ruling. Wayne Griffith and his wife, Margaret, traveled from their Gadsden home to witness the execution, along with former Calhoun County Sheriff Roy Snead. "You always hear the bleeding-heart liberals say the death penalty's not a deterrent," Snead said. "It may not be, but it sure as hell cuts down on the repeaters." Willie Griffith, who suffered from arthritis and used a walker, was a former school dietitian who often prepared large meals and invited neighbors to eat. "There was never a stranger in the house," her son said. Of Ford's apology, "I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt," Wayne Griffith said. "I believe it was sincere. I really believe he meant it ... I feel good about it." (Source: Birmingham News)

This was his penpal request :

I write with the hopes you are well and I hope your day be full of peace. I am an inmate on death row for the past 16 years I have been in this hard condition. I would like female pen pals because I am very lonely and will be grateful for your concern. I like to write and never get any mail to understand if others care. Want to find ladies who can stand by me. I am interested in writing any race, over the age 30 to 55 and mature. - Pernell La'sha Ford -

Amnesty International

Pernell Ford Alabama.

He was sentenced to death in 1984 for the 1983 murder of Linda Gail Griffith and her mother Willie Griffith when he was 18 years old. From the age of six, Pernell Ford spent extended periods in mental health institutions, and by 13 was being prescribed powerful anti-psychotic and anti-depressant drugs. During his adolescence he attempted suicide several times, by methods including overdose, hanging and poisoning. He is also reported to have attempted suicide on death row. Pernell Ford, black, was tried in 1984 by an all-white jury (the Griffiths were white). Shortly before the trial, he dismissed his lawyers. He was found competent to act as his own lawyer despite his youth, his limited formal education, an IQ measured at 80, and his history of mental problems. The only ''defence'' he offered was that God would intervene at the trial and bring the victims back to life. For most of the proceedings, Pernell Ford remained silent and withdrawn. There was no opening statement on his behalf, no objections, and no cross-examination of any witnesses. At his sentencing, Pernell Ford dressed himself in a white bed sheet, worn toga-style with a belt and shoulder strap made from a white towel. In a long speech, he asked the judge to have the coffins of the Griffiths brought into the courtroom so that God could raise them from the dead in front of the jurors. On death row, he periodically gave up his appeals, but resumed them when his mental health stabilized. He was diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and depression and treated with a range of drugs. Pernell Ford claimed that he was able to transport himself anywhere on earth, by a method he called ''translation''. He stated that one of his first ''translations'' from his cell was to India, where he now had a number of wives. He claimed to have hundreds of thousands of wives in other countries, including the Philippines, Colombia, Ecuador and Spain, and to have millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account, which would support his wives and children after his execution. He said that when he died he would become the Holy Spirit and sit on the left hand of God, and that he had already visited heaven in an earlier ''translation''.

ABOLISH Archives (Associated Press & Rick Halperin)

USA (ALABAMA) Pernell FORD, aged 34

Pernell Ford is scheduled to die in Alabama?s electric chair on 9 July 1999. He was sentenced to death in 1984 for the 1983 murder of Linda Gail Griffith, 42, and her mother Willie Griffith, 74, when he was 18 years old. Ford, who has suffered from serious mental health problems and suicidal tendencies since he was a child, has given up his appeals.

From the age of six, Pernell Ford spent extended periods in mental health institutions, and by 13 was being prescribed powerful anti-psychotic and anti-depressant drugs. During his adolescence he attempted suicide several times, including by overdose, hanging and poisoning. He last attempted to kill himself in March 1998. Following a psychotic episode, he was removed to a "strip" (isolation) cell, where he reportedly found a knife, with which he gave himself a deep neck wound, and cut his wrists.

Pernell Ford, who is black, was tried in 1984 by an all-white jury (the Griffiths were white). Shortly before the trial, he dismissed his lawyers. He was found competent to act as his own lawyer despite his youth, his limited formal education, an IQ measured at 80, and his history of mental problems. The only "defense" he offered was that God would intervene at the trial and bring the victims back to life. For most of the proceedings, Pernell Ford remained silent and withdrawn. There was no opening statement on his behalf, no objections, and no cross-examination of any witnesses.

At his sentencing, Pernell Ford dressed himself in a white bed sheet, worn toga-style with a belt and shoulder strap made from a white towel. In a long speech, he asked the judge to have the coffins of the Griffiths brought into the courtroom so that God could raise them from the dead in front of the jurors. After sentencing him to death, the judge told Ford that by law he would receive an automatic appeal. Pernell Ford responded that he did not want one. As he was led from the court he reportedly waved to the prosecutor and said "see you at the electric chair."

He has periodically given up his appeals, but has resumed them when his mental health has stabilized. Since being on death row, he has been diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and depression and treated with a range of drugs.

At a recent federal hearing on his decision to waive his appeals, Pernell Ford told the court that since 1994 he has been able to transport himself anywhere on earth, by a method he calls "translation". He stated that one of his first "translations" from his cell was to India, where he now has a number of wives. He claimed that he has many wives in other countries, including the Philippines, Colombia, Ecuador and Spain. He said that he has millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account, which will support his wives and children after his execution. He said that when he dies he will become the Holy Spirit and sit on the left hand of God, and that he has already visited heaven in an earlier "translation". He stated his belief that he alone has been given such supernatural powers.

Pernell Ford acknowledged that others believe he is mentally ill, but stated that they have misinterpreted what was in fact spiritual conflict. He said that he has never been mentally ill: "I had a lot of problems when I was little, but nothing that can classify me as insane".

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A growing number of condemned US prisoners are giving up their appeals and consenting to their execution. The decision to waive appeals may be related to any number of factors, including mental illness, the severity of living under a death sentence, or an overwhelming sense of remorse. Whatever the reason, none can excuse the state's involvement in a premeditated human rights violation. Under any circumstances, an execution is an affront to human dignity and serve only to deepen a culture of violence.

Alabama has put 18 prisoners to death since it resumed executions in 1983. Most recently, Brian Baldwin was executed on 18 June 1999, despite widespread concern that he was the victim of racism and police misconduct (EXTRA 71/99, AMR 51/96/99, 15 June, and update, AMR 51/99/99). In 1995 Varnall Weeks was executed in Alabama despite his long history of mental illness, including schizophrenia.

He believed that his execution would transform him into a tortoise, after which he would rule over the universe. A judge ruled that the execution could proceed, despite Weeks being "what the average person on the street would regard to be insane", because his ability to answer a few limited questions about his execution proved that he was legally "competent". A psychiatrist recently found Wernell Ford to be competent to waive his appeals because he could make decisions about everyday transactions such as ordering sweets from the prison store. Since the USA resumed executions in 1977, 553 people have been executed nationwide, most recently Robert Walls in Missouri on 30 June 1999.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please telephone or send telegrams/faxes/express/ airmail letters in English or your own language: - expressing deep concern that the State of Alabama is intending to execute Pernell Ford, despite powerful evidence of his long-term mental illness, including schizophrenia; - noting that the US National Alliance for the Mentally Ill believes that the death penalty is "never appropriate for a defendant suffering from schizophrenia or other serious brain disorders"; - noting that in May 1999 Governor Gilmore of Virginia commuted, on humanitarian grounds, the death sentence of Calvin Swann, who had suffered from schizophrenia from the age of 19; - urging the Governor to stop this execution and to commute Pernell Ford's sentence to a humane alternative; - expressing sympathy for the victims of violent crime and their families.

APPEALS TO: The Honorable Don Siegelman, Governor of Alabama

ABOLISH Archives (Associated Press)

ALABAMA (impending execution)

If death-row inmate Pernell Ford is put to death as scheduled at 12:01 a.m. Friday for the 1983 stabbing deaths of a Jacksonville woman and daughter, Wayne Griffith plans to be there watching. The victims were his mother and sister, and he said the execution is a fitting and overdue end for Ford, whose former defense attorney contends he is too mentally ill to be executed. But Griffith doesn't buy it. He describes Ford as "crazy like a fox."

Witnessing the execution is something Griffith, 60, says he has to do to carry out a personal vow, made when he accidentally saw crime-scene photographs of his mother's and sister's bodies during Ford's 1984 trial. He can still recall the bloody images vividly. "I made a promise to myself right there, that I'm going to be there, I'm going to see him suffer," Griffith said. "You have to forgive me -- I want to see him suffer a little. I made myself a promise that if I was on this earth I would see it."

Ford, now 33, gave up appealing his conviction and death sentence last year and dismissed his attorney, LaJuana Davis. The U.S. District Court in Birmingham found him competent to make the decision, but Miss Davis contends schizophrenia and severe depression have led Ford to quit fighting prematurely. The federal court gave her permission to appeal its competency ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, despite Ford having fired her. The motion was filed Tuesday, but the 11th Circuit had not ruled on it as of late Wednesday, spokeswoman Joyce Pope said.

Miss Davis cannot make any other appeals on Ford's behalf without his permission. She went to Holman Prison near Atmore Wednesday to meet with her former client and was not immediately available for comment. Ford's family can ask Gov. Don Siegelman for clemency, but that is rarely granted.

Griffith, a golf pro in Gadsden, was present at Ford's 1984 trial and has followed the appeals process closely. He said he has no doubt that the convicted killer knew what he was doing when he entered the home of his disabled mother, 74-year-old Willie "Bill" Griffith, and sister, Linda Gail Griffith, 42, to rob them. Prosecutors said Ford beat and stabbed Gail Griffith when she surprised him after he entered an unlocked side door, then stabbed her mother to stop her screaming. He was arrested the next day in Illinois, driving Gail Griffith's car and wearing blood-spattered clothes. "It was a very vicious attack on them, my mother being an invalid," Griffith said. "He could have walked out the door but he chose not to walk out the door."

Griffith's mother, a widow, was retired from the Jacksonville city school system, where she was an elementary school dietician for many years. Gail Griffith had worked as one of several secretaries to German rocket scientist Wernher Von Braun, who led the Saturn team at Redstone Arsenal, for years, her brother said. But when their father died and their arthritic mother underwent knee replacement surgery, Gail moved back to Jacksonville to take care of her and took a job at the Social Security Administration in Anniston, Griffith said. Both women were amateur athletes who delighted in following Jacksonville State University and local high school football and basketball, he said.

Ford v. State, 515 So.2d 34 (Ala.Cr.App. 1986) (Direct Appeal).

In 1984, Pernell Ford was indicted and convicted for the capital murders of Linda Gail Griffith and Willie C. Griffith, committed during the course of a burglary, a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(4), Code of Alabama 1975. Sentence was death by electrocution.

The trial court's findings of fact from the guilt phase of the trial are: "That on December 2, 1983, at approximately 7:15 p.m. the bodies of Willie C. Griffith and her daughter Linda Gail Griffith were found in their residence at 417 Goodlett Street, Jacksonville, Calhoun County, Alabama. The bodies were discovered by one Odell McGinnis, a family friend of the victims. The discovery of the victims' bodies was reported to the Jacksonville Police Department and an investigation was immediately commenced by the said Jacksonville Police Department, the Office of the District Attorney of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Forensic Sciences of the State of Alabama and the Office of the Coroner of Calhoun County, Alabama. It was determined that night that the victims each apparently died from multiple stab wounds to the head, neck and trunk, that the house showed signs of a physical struggle and that certain items of personal property belonging to the victims were missing. Among the personal property missing from the premises was one 1978 Chevrolet Caprice automobile, tan in color, bearing Alabama license plate 11B-9461 and bearing vehicle identification number 1N69V83273152.

"On the following day, Saturday, December 3, 1983, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Illinois State Troopers, Steve Gregurich and Loren Cowdrey, had the occasion to encounter the above described automobile while the same was being operated by the Defendant, Pernell Ford, on Interstate 55 at or near Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois. Said troopers' attention was directed toward said automobile as a result of the same being operated at approximately 73 miles per hour on a highway with a maximum posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour. The automobile was stopped by said troopers for speeding. "Upon investigation, it was determined that the driver of the subject automobile was unable to produce a valid driver's or operator's license. Upon further investigation it was determined that the Defendant gave the said officers a false name, namely Jessie Willie Griffith, and that he was in the possession of numerous credit cards belonging to Linda Gail Griffith, one of the victims. The investigation further produced the discovery of a loaded 38 caliber pistol being transported in said automobile by the Defendant and this, combined with the Defendant's inability to produce a valid operator's license for the vehicle he was driving, resulted in the custodial arrest of the Defendant.

"Subsequent to the Defendant being transported to the headquarters office of District 9 of the Illinois State Troopers in Springfield, Illinois, the troopers' investigation further produced the discovery of credit cards and other identification type documents issued to Linda Gail Griffith and Willie C. Griffith in the possession of the Defendant. A telephone call made at the request of the investigating officers to the residence of Linda Gail Griffith and Willie C. Griffith in Jacksonville, Alabama, disclosed that said victims had been found apparently murdered on the night before. This precipitated a full felony investigation on behalf of the Illinois State Police.

"The investigation by the Illinois State Police determined that the Defendant was in the possession of numerous items of personal property belonging to Linda Gail Griffith and Willie C. Griffith, that the automobile he was operating likewise contained numerous items of personal property belonging to said victims, that the automobile contained a cardboard box which bore what appeared to be a sharp instrument cut or stab type hole around which a reddish brown substance appeared, that a glove with a reddish brown stain on it was found, that certain articles of clothing which appeared to have been recently purchased and in new condition were also found.

"A fugitive charge was placed against the Defendant, a major felony case investigation was commenced wherein the Defendant's clothing was seized and secured, fingernail scrapings were had, the Defendant was fingerprinted and the automobile was fully processed by a crime scene technician and the items contained within it were seized and secured. "The Defendant waived extradition to the state of Alabama and Chief Paul Locke of the Jacksonville Police Department and Investigator Charles Winfrey of the Office of the District Attorney of the Seventh Judicial Circuit accepted custody of the Defendant, the victim's automobile and all items of evidence found in the possession of the Defendant at the time of his arrest. The Defendant was returned to the State of Alabama as was the evidence and property seized.

"At trial, evidence and testimony was produced to the effect, and the Court specifically finds, that the victims in this case, Willie C. Griffith and Linda Gail Griffith, were the victims of a homicide and that the death of each of said victims was caused by multiple stab wounds to the head and body. The Court further finds that the preponderance of the wounds inflicted on both victims were apparently inflicted from the back, and laboratory tests disclosed that both victims had blood types of a similar nature.

"From the evidence and the testimony presented at trial, the Court further finds that the Defendant's blood type was not consistent with the blood groupings of the victims. The Court finds further that the blood sample of the Defendant was obtained by law enforcement officers by consent, that the same was properly handled and that the same was properly analyzed by laboratory experts of the Department of Forensic Sciences.

"The Court further finds from evidence and testimony presented at trial that a fingerprint of the Defendant was found upon the glove box of the automobile discovered in his possession in Springfield, Illinois, and that the glove box contained a 38 caliber pistol which was later identified as being the property of the victim, Linda Gail Griffith. The Court further finds that numerous items of personal property discovered in said automobile, including, several credit cards, identification cards, purses, photographs, a gold necklace, a coupon file, a key ring containing keys and other items were identified as belonging to the victims and missing from their home. The cardboard box found in said automobile at the time of the Defendant's arrest was found to contain or have upon it tracings of blood compatible with the blood types and subgroupings of the victims and not compatible with the blood type and subgroupings of the Defendant's blood.

"From evidence and testimony produced at trial, the Court further finds that an examination of the Defendant's clothing produced the discovery of blood stains or residue on the shoes, socks, pants and shirt of the Defendant. The lab tests conducted by qualified experts on those blood samples disclosed that the traces of blood on the Defendant's shoes, socks and shirt were human blood of indeterminable type and that the blood stains found on the pants were human blood of a type and subgroup or subgrouping consistent with the blood of the victims and inconsistent with the blood of the Defendant. "From the evidence and testimony the Court further finds that the glove found in the automobile in the possession of the Defendant on December 3, 1983, in Springfield, Illinois, bore upon it a stain which was later determined by laboratory experts of the Department of Forensic Sciences to be human blood of a type consistent with the blood of the victims and not consistent with the blood of the Defendant. It was further shown by competent evidence and testimony, and the Court finds, that upon said glove was also found a human hair consistent with the hair of the victim, Linda Gail Griffith, and fibers consistent with fibers comprising the clothing worn by the victim, Linda Gail Griffith, at the time of her death.

"The Court further finds from the evidence and testimony that on December 10, 1983, the Defendant, after full and complete explanation of his constitutional rights and with a full and complete voluntary, intelligent and knowing waiver of the same, gave to Chief Paul Locke and Officer Kyle Sanders an inculpatory statement. From the evidence and testimony, specifically through the testimony of Chief Paul Locke, the Court finds that said statement, in substance, disclosed that the Defendant admitted entering into the residence of the victims without consent for the purpose of committing a theft therein, that he was discovered by the victims, that the victim, Linda Gail Griffith, attempted to prevent his escape and that he stabbed her, that the victim, Willie C. Griffith, was 'raising so much Cain' that he killed her and that he stole numerous items of personal property within the house, one of the items being the pistol found in the automobile, and that he fled the scene in the 1978 Caprice Chevrolet automobile in which he was stopped in Springfield, Illinois.

"The Court, based upon the evidence and testimony and the Defendant's inculpatory statement, finds that the Defendant, Pernell Ford, intentionally caused the death of the victim, Willie C. Griffith, and the death of the victim, Linda Gail Griffith, during a Burglary in the First Degree or Burglary in the Second Degree or an attempt thereof committed by the Defendant as defined in § 13A-5-40(a)(4). While the Indictment in this case charges the Defendant with a violation of § 13A-5-40(a)(4) in four separate counts, each count charges the Defendant with the commission of a capital offense charged in said section. The Court is of the opinion that the charges stated against the Defendant in each of the respective counts (namely Counts III, IV, V and VI of the Indictment) are not mutually exclusive and the Court is of the opinion that the Jury properly found, from the evidence and testimony, that the Defendant was guilty of the charge contained in each of said counts in the indictment."