"Hudson executed for three murders; Halifax man pleaded guilty, resisted appeals and gave no last words," by Frank Green. (Aug 19, 2004)

JARRATT - James Bryant Hudson was executed by injection last night for the shotgun murders of three people two years ago in Halifax County. Hudson, 57, was pronounced dead at the Greensville Correctional Center at 9:07 p.m., said Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections. Asked if he wished to make a last statement, Hudson told Warden George Hinkle, "No, sir."

"He seemed very calm, very quiet. He seemed pretty resigned to his fate," Traylor said. Hudson never challenged his death sentence and refused to let his lawyers file appeals. During his last days, Hudson did not schedule any visits with family, clergy or lawyers, Traylor said.

In a statement yesterday, Gov. Mark R. Warner said, "I have not been asked by Mr. Hudson to intervene and there are no legal challenges to this scheduled execution. Accordingly, I expect the court-ordered sentence to be carried out." Hudson pleaded guilty to capital murder in the deaths of brothers Walter Stanley Cole, 56, and Thomas Wesley Cole, 64. Hudson also pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Patsy Ayers Cole, 64, the wife of Wesley Cole.

The three slayings occurred July 3, 2002, in southern Halifax County. Hudson and the Cole brothers were distant relatives and neighbors on state Route 658. The Cole brothers were shot with Hudson's 12-gauge shotgun in a driveway that Stanley Cole shared with Hudson and over which the men had a long-standing dispute. Wesley Cole was driving a pickup also occupied by his brother when they encountered Hudson's truck on the driveway. After the men exchanged words, Hudson went to his pickup and returned with a shotgun. Hudson shot both brothers in the head. He found Patsy Cole working in her vegetable garden and shot her before driving off. He was arrested the next day.

Virginia for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said Hudson was the second death-row inmate to be executed this year after deciding not to appeal. Brian Lee Cherrix was executed on March 18. Traylor said members of the victims' families witnessed the execution. However, citing department policy, Traylor would not identify them.

A half-dozen protesters held a vigil in a field just outside the prison grounds. Hudson was the fourth person executed in Virginia this year and the 93rd in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to resume in 1976.

Washington Times

"Killer of three neighbors executed," by Justin Bergman. (AP August 19, 2004)

JARRATT, Va. — A Virginia man who gave up his final appeals and refused to ask Gov. Mark Warner for clemency was executed last night for killing three neighbors after a long-running dispute over a driveway. James Bryant Hudson, 57, died after receiving a lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Centerat 9:07 p.m. Hudson shuffled to the gurney with the help of two guards, who supported him under his arms. He was wearing a light blue button-down shirt and dark blue pants. His gray hair was neatly combed.

When asked whether he had any final words, Hudson said in a clear voice, "No sir." He did not meet with any family or his attorneys yesterday.

Hudson pleaded guilty to shooting brothers Walter Stanley Cole, 56, and Thomas Wesley Cole, 64, and the latter's wife, Patsy Ayers Cole, 64, outside their Halifax County home in July 2002. Mr. Warner said earlier yesterday that he would not intervene in the execution because Hudson did not petition him for clemency and there are no legal challenges pending.

The dispute over the driveway shared by Hudson and the Cole brothers began after Hudson's father sold a parcel of land to the Coles five miles from the North Carolina border, Hudson's attorney, Buddy Ward, said. Mr. Ward said Hudson maintained the right to use a road that ran through the Coles' property to get to his home, but he frequently complained that the Coles were not taking care of it.

Former Halifax Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker, who prosecuted the case, said the Coles were driving along the road on July 3, 2002, when they encountered Hudson's truck blocking the way. A farm worker testified that Hudson and Thomas Cole exchanged words, then Hudson grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun out of his truck and shot Walter Cole, who was sitting in the front seat. Thomas Cole tried to flee, but tripped and fell in a ditch. Hudson shot him in the back of the head. Mr. Greenbacker said Hudson then drove to Thomas Cole's house next door and found his wife, Patsy, working in the garden. A neighbor testified that Mrs. Cole called out to Hudson and Hudson opened fire. He drove off and was arrested after a 23-hour manhunt.

Hudson refused to allow Mr. Ward to call any witnesses at his trial. He was convicted of two counts of capital murder for killing the Cole brothers, and one count of first-degree murder for killing Mrs. Cole. Walter Cole owned the South Boston Livestock Market for more than 20 years and was president of the Percheron Horse Association of Virginia. He also was a cattle and tobacco farmer.

Thomas Cole was a retired plant manager for Burlington Industries, and Mrs. Cole was a retired medical lab technologist. Hudson's execution was the fourth in Virginia this year and the 93rd since the state resumed executions in 1982 after a 20-year hiatus.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

A single driveway connected James Hudson's home and the home of Linda and Walter Stanley Cole to State Route 658, known as Virgie Cole Road. On the day of the murders, Cole and his brother were preparing for the Scottsburg July Fourth parade, where he had long participated with his horse-drawn wagon, when the shootings occurred.

On July 3, 2002, Stanley, 56 and his brother, Thomas Wesley Cole, 64, were riding in a truck on the driveway towards Hudson's home when they encountered Hudson's vehicle stopped in the middle of the driveway facing them. Wesley, the driver, stopped the truck and got out. Hudson and Wesley stood at the driver's side of the truck and talked for a few minutes. Wesley then got back into the truck and began driving down the road, when according to an eyewitness, Hudson took a 12-gauge shotgun from his vehicle. Then, the eyewitness heard Wesley ask "Why do you shoot . . . why do you shoot us," as Hudson fired the shotgun through the front windshield of Wesley's truck. The eyewitness heard more shots as he ran to get help.

A neighbor then saw Hudson drive around the front of the Coles' home and stop in the driveway beside the garden where Patsy Ayers Cole, 64, Wesley's wife, was working. The neighbor saw Hudson get out of his truck, take a shotgun from the back of his truck, and raise the gun. Patsy Cole, seeing Hudson, asked "What are you doing?" Hudson shot her, climbed back into his truck, and drove away.

After the shootings, Hudson returned to his home where he parked the truck, got more ammunition, and left in another truck. Hudson telephoned his sister-in-law and stated that "he had done some shooting." When police officers arrived in response to a call from the Coles' neighbor, they found Patsy Cole's body and subsequently discovered the bodies of Stanley and Wesley Cole. Patsy died from a hemorrhage caused by a shot that penetrated the vital organs of her chest and abdomen. Stanley Cole's body was found in the passenger's side of the truck slumped over towards the middle of the cab. Stanley had sustained multiple pellet wounds to his head and neck and a fatal shotgun wound behind the left ear measuring approximately two and one half inches wide. Two expended 12-gauge shotgun shells were found on the driveway near the driver's side door of Wesley Cole's truck. There were shotgun blasts to the center, front windshield, rear windshield, and passenger door of the truck. Wesley's body was found lying in a ditch approximately five yards from the rear of the truck. He apparently suffered a nonfatal gunshot wound to his right arm inside the truck before fleeing the truck in an attempt to escape. Wesley sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

The Halifax County Sheriff's office obtained warrants for Hudson's arrest that afternoon and apprehended Hudson the next day without incident. At the time of the arrest, Hudson had a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun and a pistol in his truck. Subsequent analysis determined that Hudson had used that shotgun and "Number 00 Buck" pellets to kill the Coles.

Proceedings In September 2002, a grand jury indicted Hudson for the capital murder of Stanley Cole and Wesley Cole, the capital murder of Wesley Cole and Patsy Cole, and the capital murder of Stanley Cole and Patsy Cole in the "willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction". Hudson was also indicted for the first-degree murders of Stanley Cole, Wesley Cole, and Patsy Cole, and six counts of unlawfully and feloniously using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Hudson pled guilty to the capital murder of Stanley Cole and Wesley Cole, the first-degree murder of Patsy Cole, and two counts of unlawfully and feloniously using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and the Commonwealth agreed to decline to prosecute the remaining charges. After determining that Hudson's pleas of guilty were freely, intelligently, and voluntarily made, the trial court accepted the guilty pleas.

At the sentencing hearing, the Commonwealth sought the death penalty based on the aggravating factors of vileness and future dangerousness. The Commonwealth presented the pre-sentencing report, victim impact statements, the testimony of Hudson's brother, and the testimony of various persons affected by the loss of the Coles. Hudson refused to present mitigating evidence and instructed his attorney not to do so. The trial court found that the evidence in this case supported a finding of both vileness and future dangerousness. Based upon this finding, the trial court imposed the penalty of death because Hudson had a history of "significant criminal activity;" showed no evidence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance, lack of mental capacity, or history of mental retardation; and had engaged in deliberate, execution-style murders that were "cold-blooded, pitiless, [and] senseless slayings." The trial court also commented that Hudson showed no remorse, justification, or motive for killing innocent people.

On May 12, 2003, Hudson signed a waiver of his right to appeal his death sentence. On that same date, the trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Hudson's waiver of his right to appeal was proper. The court entered an order on May 19, 2003 based upon a finding that Hudson knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his right to appeal.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

James Hudson, VA

EXECUTED -- OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THOSE WHO SURVIVE HIM

August 18, 2004 9 p.m. EST

The state of Virginia is scheduled to execute James Hudson, a white man, Aug. 18 for the 2002 deaths of Walker Cole, Thomas Cole and his wife Patsy Ayers Cole, in Halifax County. James Hudson plead guilty, presented no evidence at trial, and has declined to pursue his state and federal appeals. Apparently the murders were the result of an ongoing family feud.

Since 1976, when executions were reinstated, 919 people (primarily male) have been executed. 104 have resigned themselves to be executed, which is approximately one out of every nine executions.

“State-assisted suicide,” “suicide by governor,” and “a smart move” are how these volunteer executions have been described. There are several reasons why a person might effectively ask to be executed. The desperation of mental illness underscores many of these decisions, as does guilt, the sub-human conditions of death row, and an exhaustion with the criminal justice system.

Eleven percent of all executions are voluntary. That is not justice. How much evidence is needed before the United States of America decides to join the majority of global citizens and abolish the death penalty. We have a broken system, full of broken people. Killing them, bringing more violence into this world, can not be the answer.

Please demand justice. James Hudson will be executed at 9 p.m. EST. Please keep him, his family, and the families of Walker, Thomas, and Patsy Cole in your thoughts.

Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

James Hudson plead guilty to one count of capital murder one first-degree murder charge in the deaths of brothers Walter Stanley Cole and Thomas Wesley Cole, and his wife Patsy Ayers Cole. All three were killed on July 3, 2002 from shotgun blasts at close range. The murders were attributed to long standing animosity between Hudson and the Cole family who were his neighbors.

Hudson was found guilty, and after refusing to present mitigating evidence, he was sentenced to death. On May 12, 2003, Hudson signed a waiver of his right to appeal his death sentence. Virginia law, however, requires that the Virginia Supreme Court review the sentence. Hudson's death sentence was affirmed by the Virginia Supreme Court on January 16, 2004. Hudson has been on Virginia’s death row since April 17, 2003.

Hudson is scheduled to be executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia on August 18, 2004.

James Hudson
DOB: 3-10-48
W
Halifax County
murder, 3 counts
319561
4-17-03

Virginians United Against Crime

Victims: Walter Cole, Thomas Cole, Patsy Cole
Murderer: James Hudson
Date and Location of Murders: July 3, 2002, Halifax County
Aggravating Factor: Multiple homicides
Execution Date: August 18, 2004

PRichmond Times-Dispatch - April 18, 2003 (Page B2)

"SLAYINGS BRING DEATH PENALTY; 3 VICTIMS' FAMILIES CHEERED SENTENCE," by JAMIE C. RUFF.

A Halifax County circuit judge yesterday sentenced James Bryant Hudson to death for the shotgun slayings of three people. In imposing the sentence, Judge Leslie Osborn said, "The killings were cold-blooded, pitiless, senseless slayings."

Onlookers and family members cheered as the judge issued the sentence. Linda Cole, wife of Stanley Cole, said family members had hoped for the death sentence. "This is what we wanted. ... I'm happy, and it restores my faith in the judicial system that he could do that," she said.

In early February, Hudson, 55, pleaded guilty to capital murder in the deaths of brothers Walter Stanley Cole, 56, Thomas Wesley Cole, 64, and his wife, Patsy Ayers Cole, 64. The shootings took place on July 3 in a driveway that Stanley Cole shared with Hudson and over which the men were constantly in dispute. Cole apparently was preparing for the Scottsburg July Fourth parade, where he had long participated with his horse-drawn wagon, when the shootings occurred.

Stanley Cole owned the South Boston Livestock Market for more than 20 years and was president of the Percheron Horse Association of Virginia, as well as being a cattle and tobacco farmer for more than 30 years. Wesley Cole had retired from Burlington Industries as its Clarksville plant manager and was president of the Hyco Road Ruritan Club. Patsy, his wife of 46 years, was retired from Halifax Regional Hospital, where she was a medical lab technologist.

On Tuesday, about 150 people filled the courtroom expecting to see Hudson sentenced and to hear friends and family recall relationships with the Coles and how their deaths have affected them. But Osborn put off deciding between life in prison or death - the only choices for someone convicted of capital murder - until yesterday so he could "review some additional material concerning this very important matter."

Besides being sentenced to death for the slayings of the Cole brothers, Hudson also was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Patsy Cole, and five years on each of two firearm charges. Commonwealth's Attorney John E. Greenbacker Jr. asked for the death sentence, noting the "unmitigated, unjustified, unreasonable meanness" Hudson showed. Wesley was driving a pickup truck with his brother as a passenger and pulled over as they encountered Hudson's truck on the driveway, Greenbacker said. After the men exchanged words, Hudson went to his pickup and returned with a shotgun. Hudson shot Stanley Cole in the head as he sat in the truck. Wesley tried to flee, but he fell in a ditch and was shot in the head. His last words, Greenbacker said, were, "Why are you shooting at us?" Then Hudson drove around the house where he found Patsy Cole working in her vegetable garden. She asked Hudson, "What are you doing?" and he shot her, a neighbor testified. Hudson drove off and was arrested after a 23-hour manhunt.

Hudson and Stanley Cole had a strained relationship. Shortly after the slayings, neighbors described Hudson as a difficult man who disliked Cole and anyone who liked him. Linda Cole, Stanley's wife of 30 years, said her husband had tried to stem the friction by telling Hudson, "That driveway would be there after they were dead and gone" and there was no reason to argue over it. Stanley loved farming and looking after his prized Percheron horses. His wife testified that they both had worked hard, but had started planning for their retirement.

But Linda Cole said that since her husband's death she has had to sell the tools he had acquired over the years and his beloved horses. "My life has changed, and not because I wanted it to," she said. "Every day my life is different. ... My life is nothing like it used to be. Nothing."

GazetteVirginian.Com

"Hudson Executed; Convicted Triple Murderer Pronounced Dead At 9:07 P.M. Wednesday," by Keith Strange.

Maintaining his silence until the very end, James Bryant Hudson declined to make a final statement before he was put to death Wednesday night. Hudson was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va.

Led by guards from a holding cell just a few feet from the Death Chamber where he had been kept for the last four days, Hudson looked toward the ground as he shuffled to a stainless steel table where the injection would be administered. He entered the Death Chamber at 8:56 p.m. Although guards were on each side of him with hands under his arms, Hudson appeared to walk on his own toward the table. Wearing a light blue button-down shirt, prison-issued blue jeans and brown slippers, Hudson's grey hair appeared neatly trimmed and combed.

With 16 officials in the execution chamber, Hudson was placed on the gurney and immediately surrounded by six members of the Execution Team, who strapped him to the table. Two other members of the Execution Team watched Hudson intently as he was shackled to the table with leather straps binding both ankles, his thighs, chest, waist and wrists. Hudson was not accompanied by his attorney or any spiritual advisor. According to prison officials, no family members were present during his final hours.

Hudson's final meal was a cheeseburger, french fries with ketchup, a tossed salad and saltines. It was served at 4:45 p.m.

David Bass, regional manager for the Department of Corrections, said Hudson had declined any spiritual advisors or legal representation prior to his execution. "Mr. Hudson had no visitors," he said. "He didn't wish to see anyone."

A blue curtain was drawn blocking the view of the witnesses while IV tubes were placed in each of Hudson's outstretched arms. As the curtain was opened, Hudson's hands were bound flat to the table with ace bandages and medical tape and tubes ran from each arm. Following these preparations, Warden Gene M. Johnson asked Hudson if he had any last words to which Hudson said clearly, "No sir."

Hudson, 57, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death for the shotgun deaths of brothers Walter Stanley Cole, 56, and Thomas Wesley Cole, 64, and Wesley's wife, Patsy Ayers Cole, 64, outside their Virgie Cole Road home on July 3, 2002. The murders were allegedly the culmination of a long and acrimonious dispute over a shared driveway, according to court testimony. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Hudson was found guilty of the capital murders of Stanley and Wesley Cole and the first degree murder of Patsy Cole. Characterizing the execution-style murders as "cold-blooded, pitiless (and) senseless," Judge Leslie M. Osborn sentenced Hudson to death on April 17, 2003. Hudson signed a waiver refusing to allow his attorneys to appeal his death sentence on May 12, 2003.

Three injections were administered manually Wednesday night by Execution Technicians behind a second blue curtain, the first injection rendered Hudson unconscious. During a briefing prior to the execution, Bass said the second injection would stop Hudson's breathing. As this injection was administered, Hudson appeared to gasp for breath and his bound hands moved as he seemed to attempt to clench his fists. It was 9:03 p.m. The final injection was administered to stop his heart. He was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m. Hudson spent 490 days on Virginia's Death Row. He was the fourth person to be executed by the state this year.

Linda Cole's Statement:

Linda Cole, wife of murder victim Stanley Cole, issued the following statement on Wednesday's execution of James Bryant Hudson to The Gazette-Virginian: "On July 3, 2002, James Bryant Hudson murdered my husband Stanley, my brother-in-law Wesley, and my sister-in-law Patsy Cole. On that day, our lives changed forever. On that day, the man I had spent 30 years with was gone. He was the love of my life, my friend, my partner, my advisor. We talked about each day at dinner and when I enter my house now, it is silent and empty. Bryant (Hudson) also took the guide through life for my children and the teacher from my grandchildren. Wesley and Patsy were wonderful people. We were a close family and were really enjoying each other since they had built a new home and moved next door to Stanley and me. They had worked hard all their lives, retired, and were enjoying their new home and their retirement when their life was ended. Patsy and Wesley played a big part in their children's and grandchildren's lives. Their lives will always have a gap that cannot be filled by anyone else. "I have always believed in capital punishment. I never thought that my family and I would be in the situation to witness it first-hand, but how much can one man be allowed to do to one family without paying the ultimate price, his life? I regret that he has only one life to give for the three he took."

Mecklenburg Sun

"Hudson Gets Death Penalty For Killing Cole Family."

HALIFAX — James Bryant Hudson, who in February pled guilty to the murder of brothers, Stanley and Wesley Cole and Wesley Cole's wife, Patsy, was sentenced to death on Thursday morning as a packed courtroom awaited the sentencing verdict from Halifax County Circuit Court Judge Leslie Osborn.

Osborn had announced at the close of testimony in the sentencing phase of the trial on Tuesday that he wanted more time to study any mitigating evidence he might have heard that day before sentencing Hudson. Noting that Hudson would not allow his attorney, Public Defender Buddy Ward to offer any witnesses or testimony to rebut what the court heard on Tuesday and furthermore that Hudson himself, when asked if he wanted to make any statement to the court, refused to do so, Osborn explained that he wanted to study the case further.

On Thursday morning Osborn cited a number of cases in which the death penalty had been given, and said he found none more “outrageous, inhumane and horrible” than that involving the Coles' slayings.

He sentenced Hudson to death for the capital murder of Wesley and Stanley Cole, while adding a life in prison without parole sentence for Hudson in the murder of Patsy Cole. On three charges of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, Hudson was given three five year prison terms. He was further ordered to pay to the Cole families $23,099 for funeral expenses and $7,000 for damages to the truck owned by Wesley Cole.

Osborn set Hudson's execution date as October 28, 2003 although he noted the defendant is automatically entitled to appeal the sentence which could delay the execution date. Hudson was ordered to be sent to Greensville Correctional Center to await his execution. Osborn also appointed Ward to continue serving as Hudson's attorney throughout any appeal he might seek.

The judge explained that in setting the death penalty he had to consider two factors: depravity of mind and future dangerousness. Referring to the later, future dangerousness, Osborn pointed out that Hudson already had a criminal record. Two instances of that were borne out in Tuesday's testimony when Hudson's own brother, State Trooper Kenneth Hudson told the court that in 1991 his brother had acted in a very violent manner toward him and his father. Trooper Hudson said his brother had pulled a knife on them at the home place and was so violent that he and his father left and never returned to the family farm.

The second incidence came when Hudson attacked Linda Cole in 1992 as she tried to move a mobile home she had purchased from Hudson's father. At that time Hudson struck her in the chest so forcefully that she suffered from a spinal injury that required two years of medical and chiropractic treatment.

Citing depravity of mind, the judge said the killings were so ultimately senseless and violent and totally unprovoked. He noted that Hudson had never made any statement of remorse to officers or probation officials. “You stood mute before this court when asked if you had any statement to make,” the judge told the defendant.

Although the judge had cautioned members of the audience, mostly family and friends of the Coles to remain quiet and to show no emotion when the verdict was announced, a loud cheer went up inside the courtroom when he announced the death penalty for Hudson. Just as he had done throughout the various hearings, Hudson showed no emotion whatsoever when the sentence was announced. He was quickly escorted from the courtroom by several members of the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.

Hudson v. Commonwealth, 590 S.E.2d 362 (Va. 2004) (Direct Appeal).

Background: Defendant pled guilty in the Circuit Court, Halifax County, Leslie M. Osborn, J., to two capital murders, first-degree murder, and two counts of unlawfully and feloniously using a firearm in the commission of a felony and was sentenced to death.

Holding: On review of the death sentence imposed the Supreme Court, Elizabeth B. Lacy, J., held that trial court imposition of a sentence of death was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor and was not excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases. Affirmed.

James Bryant Hudson received a death sentence upon pleading guilty to a charge of capital murder for the "willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction." Code § 18.2-31(7). Although Hudson waived his right to appeal, Code § 17.1-313 requires that we review the imposition of the death sentence to determine whether the death sentence "was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor" and whether the death sentence is "excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant."

Background

Pursuant to established principles of appellate review, we recite the facts in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the party prevailing below. Commonwealth v. Bower, 264 Va. 41, 43, 563 S.E.2d 736, 737 (2002).

A single driveway connected Hudson's home and the home of Linda and Walter Stanley Cole to State Route 658, known as Virgie Cole Road. On July 3, 2002, Stanley and his brother, Thomas Wesley Cole, were riding in a truck on the driveway towards Hudson's home when they encountered Hudson's vehicle stopped in the middle of the driveway facing them. Wesley, the driver, stopped the truck and got out. Hudson and Wesley stood at the driver's side of the truck and talked for a few minutes. Wesley then got back into the truck and began driving down the road, when according to an eyewitness, Hudson took a 12- gauge shotgun from his vehicle. Then, the eyewitness heard Wesley ask "Why do you shoot ... why do you shoot us," as Hudson fired the shotgun through the front windshield of Wesley's truck. The eyewitness heard more shots as he ran to get help. A neighbor then saw Hudson drive around the front of the Coles' home and stop in the driveway beside the garden where Patsy A. Cole, Wesley's wife, was working. The neighbor saw Hudson get out of his truck, take a shotgun from the back of his truck, and raise the gun. Patsy Cole, seeing Hudson, asked "What are you doing?" Hudson shot her, climbed back into his truck, and drove away.

After the shootings, Hudson returned to his home where he parked the truck, got more ammunition, and left in another truck. Hudson telephoned his sister-in-law and stated that "he had done some shooting." When police officers arrived in response to a call from the Coles' neighbor, they found Patsy Cole's body and subsequently discovered the bodies of Stanley and Wesley Cole. Patsy died from a hemorrhage caused by a shot that penetrated the vital organs of her chest and abdomen.

Stanley Cole's body was found in the passenger's side of the truck slumped over towards the middle of the cab. Stanley had sustained multiple pellet wounds to his head and neck and a fatal shotgun wound behind the left ear measuring approximately two and one half inches wide. Two expended 12-gauge shotgun shells were found on the driveway near the driver's side door of Wesley Cole's truck. There were shotgun blasts to the center, front windshield, rear windshield, and passenger door of the truck.

Wesley's body was found lying in a ditch approximately five yards from the rear of the truck. He apparently suffered a nonfatal gunshot wound to his right arm inside the truck before fleeing the truck in an attempt to escape. Wesley sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. The Halifax County Sheriff's office obtained warrants for Hudson's arrest that afternoon and apprehended Hudson the next day without incident. At the time of the arrest, Hudson had a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun and a pistol in his truck. Subsequent analysis determined that Hudson had used that shotgun and "Number 00 Buck" pellets to kill the Coles.

Proceedings

In September 2002, a grand jury indicted Hudson for the capital murder of Stanley Cole and Wesley Cole, the capital murder of Wesley Cole and Patsy Cole, and the capital murder of Stanley Cole and Patsy Cole in violation of Code § 18.2-31(7) (the "willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction"). Hudson was also indicted for the first-degree murders of Stanley Cole, Wesley Cole, and Patsy Cole, Code § 18.2-32, and six counts of unlawfully and feloniously using a firearm in the commission of a felony, Code § 18.2-53.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Hudson pled guilty to the capital murder of Stanley Cole and Wesley Cole, the first-degree murder of Patsy Cole, and two counts of unlawfully and feloniously using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and the Commonwealth agreed to nolle prosequi the remaining charges. After determining that Hudson's pleas of guilty were freely, intelligently, and voluntarily made, the trial court accepted the guilty pleas.

At the sentencing hearing, the Commonwealth sought the death penalty based on the aggravating factors of vileness and future dangerousness. The Commonwealth presented the presentence report, victim impact statements, the testimony of Hudson's brother, and the testimony of various persons affected by the loss of the Coles. Hudson refused to present mitigating evidence and instructed his attorney not to do so. The trial court found that the evidence in this case supported a finding of both vileness and future dangerousness. Based upon this finding, the trial court imposed the penalty of death because Hudson had a history of "significant criminal activity;" showed no evidence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance, lack of mental capacity, or history of mental retardation; and had engaged in deliberate, execution-style murders that were "cold-blooded, pitiless, [and] senseless slayings." The trial court also commented that Hudson showed no remorse, justification, or motive for killing innocent people.

On May 12, 2003, Hudson signed a waiver of his right to appeal his death sentence. On that same date, the trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Hudson's waiver of his right to appeal was proper. The court entered an order on May 19, 2003 based upon a finding that Hudson knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his right to appeal.

Discussion

A defendant may voluntarily waive his right to appeal a sentence of death and instruct his attorney to refrain from seeking a commutation of that sentence. A defendant cannot, however, waive a review of the death sentence pursuant to Code § 17.1-313(A) and (C) because "the purpose of the review process is to assure the fair and proper application of the death penalty statutes in this Commonwealth and to instill public confidence in the administration of justice." Akers v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 358, 364, 535 S.E.2d 674, 677 (2000).Accordingly, we review Hudson's death sentence to determine whether the trial court imposed that sentence "under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor" and whether the sentence "is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant." Code § 17.1-313(C)(1)(2).

First, we address whether the trial court imposed Hudson's death sentence "under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor." Code § 17.1-313(C)(1). We find no evidence in the record indicating that the trial court ruled under such influences. We further observe that the trial court, although not mandated to do so, offered Hudson more than one opportunity to present mitigating evidence at the sentencing hearing. Hudson refused to present any such evidence. Next, we consider whether the sentence is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant. Code § 17.1-313(C)(2). This Court has accumulated the records of all capital murder cases where a defendant received a death sentence as well as those where a defendant received a life sentence. Code § 17.1-313(E).

We have reviewed the capital murder cases where a defendant killed more than one person as part of the same act or transaction and where the Commonwealth sought the death penalty based upon the aggravating factors of vileness and future dangerousness. After such review, we find that the defendant's sentence was not excessive or disproportionate to the sentences imposed in capital murder cases comparable to this case. See Zirkle v. Commonwealth, 262 Va. 631, 553 S.E.2d 520 (2001). (defendant stabbed to death his daughter and his ex-girlfriend's daughter); Goins v. Commonwealth, 251 Va. 442, 470 S.E.2d 114 (1996) (defendant killed five people by shooting them multiple times with a pistol); Stewart v. Commonwealth, 245 Va. 222, 427 S.E.2d 394 (1993) (defendant shot his estranged wife and infant son in the head).

Hudson's counsel argues that the death penalty is disproportionate in this case because there is no evidence of prolonged suffering and, therefore, that the acts of murder were less heinous than other acts for which the death penalty was imposed. We disagree. Hudson committed unprovoked offenses using "Number 00 Buck" pellets to inflict the maximum damage on the three defenseless victims, showing his disregard for human life. See Chichester v. Commonwealth, 248 Va. 311, 332, 448 S.E.2d 638, 652 (1994); see also Dubois v. Commonwealth, 246 Va. 260, 267, 435 S.E.2d 636, 640 (1993). As the trial court noted in this case, Hudson committed three deliberate, execution-style murders that were "cold-blooded, pitiless, [and] senseless slayings." In conducting the proportionality review, we strive "to reach a reasoned judgment regarding what cases justify the imposition of the death penalty. Orbe v. Commonwealth, 258 Va. 390, 405, 519 S.E.2d 808, 817 (1999). We do not 'insure complete symmetry.' Id. For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the trial court. Affirmed.