Contact: Scheree' Lipscomb at 404-656-9772 (lipscs00@dcor.state.ga.us)

For Immediate Release: Mobley Execution Media Advisory - Inmate requests last meal

Atlanta - Condemned murderer Stephen A. Mobley is scheduled for execution by lethal injection at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, 2005, at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. Mobley was sentenced to death for the February, 1991 murder of John Copeland Collins in Hall County.

Media witnesses for the execution are Harry Weber, Associated Press; Carlos Campos, Atlanta Journal Constitution; Nicole Young, The Gainesville Times; and Ken Stanford, WDUN AM Radio in Gainesville.

Mobley has requested as his last meal a steak, french fries, 1-quart butter-pecan ice cream, 1-quart chocolate-chip ice cream; and 2 soft drinks.

There have been 37 men executed in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1973. If executed, Mobley will be the 15th inmate put to death by lethal injection. There are presently 112 men and one female on death row in Georgia

The Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison is located 45 minutes south of Atlanta off Interstate 75. From Atlanta, take exit 201 (Ga. Hwy. 36), turn left over the bridge and go approximately ¼ mile. The entrance to the prison is on the left. Media covering the execution will be allowed into the prison's media staging area beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

Georgia Attorney General

Attorney General Baker Announces Execution Date for Stephen Anthony Mobley (February 11, 2005)

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker offers the following information in the case against Stephen Anthony Mobley, who is currently scheduled to be executed at 7:00 p.m., on March 1, 2005.

On February 10, 2005, the Superior Court of Hall County filed an order, setting the seven-day window in which the execution of Stephen Anthony Mobley may occur to begin at noon, March 1, 2005, and ending seven days later at noon on March 8, 2005. The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections has set the specific date and time for the execution as 7:00 p.m., March 1, 2005, pursuant to the discretion given the Commissioner under state law. Mobley has concluded his direct appeal, as well as state and federal habeas corpus proceedings.

Mobley’s Crimes

Shortly after midnight on February 17, 1991, Mobley robbed a Hall County Domino’s pizza store and shot John C. Collins, the store manager, in the back of the head with a semi-automatic pistol. The physical evidence from the scene was consistent with a statement Mobley later made to a cellblock inmate that Collins was on his knees when Mobley shot him. Over the next three weeks, Mobley committed six additional armed robberies of restaurants and dry-cleaning shops. Approximately three weeks after the crimes in issue, Mobley used the pistol while robbing a dry cleaning store, and tried to dispose of it by tossing it out his car window onto the side of a road when he realized he was being followed by an unmarked police car. The pistol was later recovered and Mobley arrested, after a high-speed chase. Mobley made statements to the police confessing to the murder of Collins and the robbery of the pizza store.

Following his incarceration, Mobley had: the word “Domino” tattooed on his back, placed a Domino’s pizza box in his cell on the wall, carried a domino piece in his pocket with the same dot configuration as that used by Domino’s Pizza, told a guard that he wished the guard had been up at Domino’s instead of that other boy, in referring to the victim stated that “If that fat son-of-a-bitch had not started crying, I would never have shot him,” told another guard that he “going to apply for the night manger’s job at Domino’s because he knew they needed one,” told another guard that the guard was “beginning to look more and more like a Domino’s pizza boy everyday,” told another guard that “anywhere Mobley was put [in jail] he’d kill anybody he came in contact with” and forcibly sodomized his cellmate on two separate occasions. See Mobley v. State, 265 Ga. 292 (1995).

The Trial (1991-1994) The Hall County Grand Jury indicted Mobley on March 19, 1991. A jury found Mobley guilty of malice murder, felony murder based on five separate underlying felonies, and guilty of those five underlying felonies (armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime) on February 16, 1994. The jury’s recommendation of a death sentence was returned on February 20, 1994. The trial court imposed sentence on February 28, 1994 nunc pro tunc February 20, 1994.

The Direct Appeal (1995)

The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Mobley’s convictions and sentences on March 17, 1995. Mobley v. State, 265 Ga. 292, 455 S.E.2d 61 (1995). Mobley filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on October 30, 1995. Mobley v. Georgia, 516 U.S. 942 (1995).

State Habeas Corpus Petition (1996-1998)

Mobley was represented by retained counsel, August “Bud” Siemon. Mobley filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court of Butts County, Georgia on or about March 12, 1996. An evidentiary hearing was held February 24-25, 1997. On October 13, 1997, the state habeas corpus court granted relief as to sentence on the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing phase. The State appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, which reversed the habeas corpus court’s order and reinstated Mobley’s death sentence on July 15, 1998. Head v. Mobley, 269 Ga. 635, 502 S.E.2d 458 (1998).

Federal Habeas Corpus Petition (1999-2000)

Mobley, represented by Bud Siemon and Brian Steele, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on February 19, 1999. Following an evidentiary hearing, the District Court denied relief on May 25, 2000. The District Court granted Mobley a certificate of appealability on August 4, 2000.

11th Circuit Court of Appeals (2001)

The case was orally argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on April 4, 2001. On October 4, 2001, the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion which denied relief. Mobley v. Head, 267 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir. 2001). Mobley filed a petition for panel rehearing on October 29, 2001, which was denied on December 14, 2001.

United States Supreme Court (2002)

Mobley filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court on May 10, 2002, which was denied on June 28, 2002.

Extraordinary Motion for New Trial (2002)

Mobley filed an Extraordinary Motion for New Trial on July, 16, 2002, which was denied by the trial court on July 19, 2002. On July 19, 2002, the Superior Court of Hall County filed an order, setting the seven-day window in which the execution of Stephen Anthony Mobley may occur to begin at noon, August 2, 2002, and ending seven days later at noon on August 9, 2002. Mobley then filed an Application for Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution in the Georgia Supreme Court on July 29, 2002, which was denied August 1, 2002.

Federal District Court (2002)

Mobley filed a federal motion for a new habeas hearing on August 2, 2002, which was denied on August 3, 2002.

11th Circuit Court of Appeals (2002-2004)

On August 5, 2002, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted Mobley a stay of execution pending the decision of a United States Supreme Court case. The United States Supreme Court subsequently dismissed the case as procedurally unripe. On April 1, 2003, the Eleventh Circuit granted an en banc oral argument. Following extensive briefing, an oral argument was held June 17, 2003. On April 26, 2004, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of his motion for new habeas hearing.

United States Supreme Court (2004-2005)

Mobley filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on August 16, 2004, which was denied January 18, 2005.

AccessNorthGeorgia.Com

"Georgia executes man who killed pizza shop manager." (AP March 1, 2005)

JACKSON, Ga. - Georgia executed a man Tuesday who killed a pizza shop manager during a three-week robbery spree 14 years ago. Stephen A. Mobley, 39, was given a lethal injection at the state prison in Jackson for the Feb. 17, 1991 murder of 24-year-old John Collins. He was pronounced dead at 8 p.m.

A federal court issued a brief stay Tuesday evening, then withdrew it. Last-minute appeals failed, leading to the state's second execution this year.

Mobley issued a lengthy final statement just before he was executed. "I would be remiss not to also acknowledge and make amends to my family and my friends," he said. "They know who they are. There are those that say I am a bigger person than I used to be, and I appreciate that. "The opportunity I have been given, I atone for what sins I committed." He was asked if he wanted a last prayer. "Absolutely," he said. After the prayer, the fatal chemicals were injected and Mobley died.

Mobley was convicted of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and firearm possession in the death of Collins at a Domino's Pizza in Oakwood, 45 miles northeast of Atlanta. After emptying the cash register and shooting Collins in the head, Mobley committed six additional armed robberies at restaurants and dry cleaners over a three-week period, court records say. He was arrested following a high-speed chase as he fled the scene of an attempted armed robbery, and the gun used in the murder was found along the roadway, court records say.

Prior to the murder, Mobley had been convicted of at least seven other crimes, including credit card theft and burglary, that were committed between 1983 and 1986, prison records show.

In recent days, Mobley's lawyers filed a flurry of motions in several courts seeking a stay of execution. A clemency petition filed before the state parole board was denied Friday. Mobley's lawyers argued that the parole board in its decision to deny clemency relied on claims that while in jail Mobley tattooed his back with the word "Domino," hung a Domino's Pizza box in his cell and sexually assaulted another inmate.

The lawyers say there is no evidence of such a tattoo, the pizza box was hung only to cover a vent and no charges have ever been filed regarding the alleged assault. They also say that suggestions Mobley has since covered up the tattoo with another tattoo amount to "wild speculation." Court records say evidence presented during Mobley's sentencing hearing included testimony that he did tattoo the word "Domino" on his shoulder, sexually assaulted another inmate on two occasions while in pretrial detention, and threatened a guard by saying he "looked more and more like a Domino's delivery boy every day." Mobley's attorneys on Monday night secured an affidavit from the alleged assault victim, who said he was not raped by Mobley. Prosecutors, however, cited previous testimony in which the victim said that he was raped. The lawyers argued that the "consideration of and reliance on untruthful and physically unsupported rumors" by the parole board violated Mobley's due process rights.

There was no one in the witness room from the victim's family, which largely supported his bid for clemency. In his statement issued through the prison earlier Tuesday, Mobley thanked his relatives for their support through his "seemingly unending struggle."

About a half hour before the execution, six guards led Mobley into the chamber and strapped him down. He was animated, smiling and laughing and talking with the warden. He chatted also as two nurses inserted the needles into his arm, and followed the procedure very closely. One of two friends who were among the witnesses waved to Mobley, and he smiled. He mouthed the words "thank you."

Prison officials said Mobley ate a final meal of steak, fries, two quarts of ice cream and soda.

ProDeathPenalty.com

Stephen Mobley was sentenced to death for the Feb. 17, 1991, murder of a Domino's Pizza store manager, John Collins. The evidence established that shortly after midnight on February 17, 1991, Mobley robbed a Hall County pizza store and shot John C. Collins, the store manager, in the back of the head with a Walther .380 semi-automatic pistol. The physical evidence from the scene was consistent with a statement Mobley later made to a cellblock inmate that Collins was on his knees when Mobley shot him.

Approximately three weeks later, Mobley used the pistol while robbing a dry cleaning store, and tried to dispose of it by tossing it out his car window onto the side of a road when he realized he was being followed by an unmarked police car. The pistol was later recovered and Mobley arrested, after a high-speed chase. Mobley made statements to the police confessing to the murder of Collins and the robbery of the pizza store. In response to Mobley's statement to police that on the night of the crimes he was en route from his residence to a family member's home (where he was not expected) and that he robbed the pizza store because it was the only open establishment he passed, the state introduced testimony establishing that out of the three routes available to Mobley, only one passed the pizza store, and that this route exceeded by over 10 miles the next shortest route to the family member's house.

UPDATE - Time has run out for a man who was sentenced to death for killing a pizza shop manager during a three-week robbery spree 14 years ago. Stephen A. Mobley, 39, died at 8 p.m. Tuesday after being given a lethal injection at the state prison in Jackson for the Feb. 17, 1991 murder of 24-year-old John Collins. Last-minute appeals ran out. The state Supreme Court denied a stay of execution late Tuesday afternoon, but the state Department of Corrections said just before 7 p.m., when the execution had been scheduled, that a federal court had ordered a delay of up to one hour. The court ended the delay within half an hour, permitting the execution to proceed. In a recorded statement taken shortly before the execution, Mobley thanked his family "for their support and prayers through this seemingly unending struggle," said state prison spokeswoman Peggy Chapman. He also thanked the Colllins family "for their mercy and forgiveness."

Mobley was convicted of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and firearm possession in the death of Collins at a Domino's Pizza in Oakwood, 45 miles northeast of Atlanta. After emptying the cash register and shooting Collins in the head, Mobley committed six additional armed robberies at restaurants and dry cleaners over a three-week period, court records say. He was arrested following a high-speed chase as he fled the scene of an attempted armed robbery, and the gun used in the murder was found along the roadway, court records say. Prior to the murder, Mobley had been convicted of at least seven other crimes, including credit card theft and burglary, that were committed between 1983 and 1986, prison records show.

In recent days, Mobley's lawyers filed a flurry of motions in several courts seeking a stay of execution. A clemency petition filed before the state parole board was denied Friday. Mobley's lawyers have argued that the parole board in its decision to deny clemency relied on claims that while in jail Mobley tattooed his back with the word "Domino," hung a Domino's Pizza box in his cell and sexually assaulted another inmate. The lawyers say there is no evidence of such a tattoo, the pizza box was hung only to cover a vent and no charges have ever been filed regarding the alleged assault. They also say that suggestions Mobley has since covered up the tattoo with another tattoo amount to "wild speculation." Court records say evidence presented during Mobley's sentencing hearing included testimony that he did tattoo the word "Domino" on his shoulder, sexually assaulted another inmate on two occasions while in pretrial detention, and threatened a guard by saying he "looked more and more like a Domino's delivery boy every day."

Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Stop the Execution of Stephen Anthony Mobley!

The state of Georgia has scheduled Stephen 'Tony' Mobley for execution on March 1st, 2005. We ask that letters be written on his behalf, and vigils will be held at various locations across the state. Please see the sections below for details.

The Parole Board held its clemency hearing on Friday, February 25 and denied clemency. Letters are therefore not requested at this time. Please plan on joining one of the vigils around the state. We will post an update as soon as possible should we hear of a stay from any of the courts.

1. Letters

Dear Chairman Nix:

I write to express my hope that the Board of Pardons and Paroles commute the death sentence of Stephen Anthony Mobley, who is currently scheduled to be executed on March 1, 2005. I believe that Mr. Mobley’s case for clemency is compelling for several reasons.

Mr. Mobley’s long-term struggles with mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, paranoia, and anxiety disorders, which were never presented in any kind of coherent or meaningful way to the jury which sentenced him to death, strongly militates in favor of commutation of his death sentence to a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His mental illness, which was clearly evident from early childhood, was beyond his control and undoubtedly contributed to his crime. Moreover, Mr. Mobley has maintained an exemplary prison record in his eight years on death row and has demonstrated that he will not be a threat to anyone if allowed to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Most importantly, I understand that Mr. Mobley is truly remorseful for the murder of John Collins. Mr. Collins’ family is aware of his remorse and is opposed to his execution. I believe that the wishes of Mr. Collins’ family, the survivors of this terrible tragedy, should be paramount in the Board’s consideration. They have suffered enough, and I hope that the Board gives the highest priority and greatest compassion to those most affected by this crime – John Collins’ surviving family members.

In light of the above, I respectfully request that the Board commute Stephen Anthony Mobley’s sentence from death to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Sincerely,

2. Case Background

Two Main Points:
1) the victim’s family does not want this execution to happen
2) mobley, like so many on death row, had an inadequate court-appointed legal defense and may have not been sentenced to death had his jury heard all of the mitigating circumstances.

The Crime

Convicted for murdering John Collins, who was managing a Domino’s Pizza store in Oakwood, Hall County after robbing the store; White on white – Mobley and Collins; Crime happened in 1991, Mobley was 26, Collins was 24 yrs old

Mobley’s Background

Mobley had a very troubled background and has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, paranoia, other anxiety disorders and organic brain damage. He went through 10 different residential placements – his family could not deal with him.

Legal Process

His court-appointed attorney was not given the resources to bring in expert witnesses to testify to Mobley’s mental health and many of these mitigating factors were not raised. Had the lawyer been more competent in death penalty law and been better resourced, it is possible that the jury, having more information (i.e. mitigating evidence) to weigh, could have issued a different sentence besides death.

Mobley’s first trial resulted in a mistrial; his second trial resulted in a serious error during the punishment phase. In the punishment phase of Mobley’s second trial, Georgia Superior Court Judge Andrew Fuller was brought to testify for the prosecution on Mobley’s character. Among other things, Fuller commented on Mobley’s lack of remorse and the financial cost of his trial to taxpayers. “I’ve handled many cases with heinous facts of a killing, but I have never, never seen a defendant like Mr. Mobley,” Judge Fuller said. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that, while these comments were inappropriate, they did not rise to the level of constitutional error.

A Superior Court judge looked at all the evidence and felt compelled to grant a new sentencing trial. This was then overturned by the Ga. Supreme Ct.

Record in prison

Exemplary prison record in his eight years on death row and has demonstrated that he will not be a threat to anyone if allowed to spend the rest of his life in prison.

However, at least one Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court dissented in the affirming of Mobley’s death sentence. In his strongly-worded dissent, Justice Hunstein noted, “[His testimony] constituted a recital in testimonial form of the essence of the State’s closing argument, replete with the imprimatur of the judicial branch.” Justice Hunstein wrote that a jury should not be exposed to the fundamentally unfair testimony of Judge Fuller and that such testimony should reverse the death sentence of Stephen Mobley.

Victim’s Family’s Wishes

Collins’ family has not always been against the death penalty, but asked the Parole Board to grant clemency to Mobley at the Parole Board hearing, Thurs, August 1, 2002. They are still against the execution Parole board claims to be pro-victims’ families, but is this only when it is convenient to them? (Fred Gilreath’s family – also victims’ family protested his execution and the Bd did not grant clemency) Six jurors signed affidavits asking the Board to spare Mobley

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language, in your own words:

- expressing sympathy for the family and friends of John Collins, and explaining that you are not seeking to excuse the manner of his death;

- expressing concern at the prosecutor’s conduct in this case, noting that he appears to have violated his duty to perform his duties fairly and consistently;

- noting the questionable declaration by Judge Fuller and the first mistrail of his case, followed by the overturned call for resentencing by the Superior Court;

- noting that half the jurors have signed an affidavit asking that the board spare Mobley;

- calling on the Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant clemency.

3. News Coverage on Stephen Mobley

News Source: AccessNorthGa: 2/19/05

"Mobley attorneys expected to ask for clemency at hearing," by Matt McClure.

ATLANTA - Attorneys for the man convicted of the 1991 murder of an Oakwood pizza store manager, are expected to ask for clemency next week when they meet before the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Stephen Mobley was convicted of the February 17, 1991 killing of John Copeland Collins at Domino's Pizza in Oakwood. Mobley is scheduled to die by lethal injection March 1 in Jackson. The meeting with the Board of Pardons and Paroles is scheduled for Friday at 10:00 a.m.

News source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 8/5/02

"Convicted murderer gets a stay of execution," by Bill Rankin.

The federal appeals court in Atlanta this afternoon issued a stay of the pending execution of Stephen Anthony Mobley. Mobley, 37 was scheduled to die at 7 p.m. Monday by lethal injection for the 1991 slaying of a Hall County pizza store manager. Two judges, Rosemary Barkett and Charles Wilson, on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave no explanation for postponing the execution and gave no indication whether or when the stay would be lifted.

There have been 29 men executed in Georgia - 23 by electrocution and six by lethal injection - since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1973.

Mobley was convicted of killing Domino's manager John Collins, 24, during a robbery at the store in the Oakwood community of Hall. He is serving sentences for murder, three counts of armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault. He hung a Domino's pizza box in his jail cell and had the word "Domino" tattooed on his back.

News source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Monday, August 5, 2002)

"Execution nears even as victim's kin object," by Bill Montgomery.

Stephen Anthony Mobley is scheduled to be executed today despite pleas for mercy from some relatives of the man he killed. Mobley, 37, is scheduled to die by lethal injection for the 1991 slaying of Hall County pizza store manager John Collins, 24.

Collins' mother, Nina Collins, two sisters and a brother-in-law joined Mobley's parents last Thursday in asking the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare the convicted killer's life. The board denied a clemency request.

Atlanta defense lawyer Jack Martin said at the hearing that the Collins family felt the victim, "a forgiving person, would not want Tony Mobley to die." Martin and attorney Brian Steel also presented a letter from the prosecutor who had asked for the death penalty at Mobley's trial but now favors clemency.

Martin said prosecutor Bill Brownell wrote that he knew the Collins family "was conflicted" about the death penalty at the trial, and if they desire life without parole, he supports their wishes. Collins was killed at the Domino's in the Oakwood community of Hall.

Superior Court Judge Brooks Blitch later vacated Mobley's death sentence, saying his defense lawyer was ineffective, but the Georgia Supreme Court disagreed in a 6-1 ruling and reinstated the death sentence.

Mobley is serving sentences for murder, three counts of armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault. He hung a Domino's pizza box in his jail cell and had the word "Domino" tattooed on his back.

News source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 8/2/02

Parole board denies clemency plea

The state Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a clemency request from convicted killer Stephen A. Mobley on Thursday, despite pleas for mercy from family members of the man he was convicted of killing. Mobley, 37, is set to be executed by lethal injection Monday. He was convicted of murdering an Oakwood pizza store manager in 1991.

"The board felt this was really an egregious case that featured the murder of an innocent man," board spokeswoman Heather Hedrick said in explaining the decision. Mobley is serving sentences for murder, three counts of armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault. Jack Martin, one of Mobley's attorneys, said he was surprised by the decision.

"The victim's family said it would hurt them if he was executed," said Martin. "And we had signed affidavits from six jurors urging the board to spare him. I can't believe the board would turn a deaf ear to this."

News source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 7/20/02

Execution date for pizza store killer

The state set an Aug. 5 execution date on Friday for the killer of a Hall County pizza store manger. Hall Superior Court Judge John Girardeau signed the warrant for Stephen Anthony Mobley after the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear his appeal, said Russ Willard, spokesman for the State Attorney General's Office. Mobley, 37, was convicted for the 1991 shooting death of pizza store manager John Collins, 24, during a robbery. After the shooting, Mobley hung a Domino's Pizza box in his jail cell and had the word "Domino" tattooed on his back.

1Prison.Com

Stephen Anthony (Tony) Mobley #283018
Date Entered- March 1991
Custody Level- Death Row Unit- G-House
P.O. Box 3877
Jackson, GA 30233

Age- 39
Sex- Male
Race- Caucasion
Height- 5'11"
Weight- 170 lbs.
Eye Color- Brown
Hair Color- Brown
Sexual Preference- Not Important (mine or yours)

Pen Pal Searching for-
Age- 18-80
Sex- Not Important
Race- Not Important
Other Preferences- I only prefer someone who is honest, sincere and has a sense of humor, of course, recent lottery winners are cool, too :).

I've been incarcerated a little over 13 years and just recently (16 Aug. 2004) filed my very last Appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Essentially, I'm looking at some news, either very good or very bad, in October, so I do understand if my timetable is less than optimum.

Let's see, I'm a sports nut. I crochet, write poetry and read quite a bit. I ask only for friendship, as that is what I know I can return in kind. Should financial support be offered, I would certainly be grateful, but if not, that's not a problem as far as this goes.

I love to laugh and I know that joy is always a possibility. Anyone who writes is encouraged to include a photograph and all writers will be written back. Kids (with parents permission of course) and young people are encouraged to participate. It may prove surprising to see just how we all have things to offer one another.

As always, I look forward.

Tony

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

"GA Parole Board denies clemency for Stephen Mobley. (Associated Press February 26, 2005)

The execution of convicted killer Stephen Anthony Mobley should proceed as scheduled, the state parole board decided in denying his petition for clemency Friday. In a nearly 2-hour hearing behind closed doors earlier in the day, Mobley's lawyers argued that he should not be executed because his victim's family favors a life sentence without parole - an option not available at the time of Mobley's 1991 trial.

Mobley was convicted of murder for the Feb. 17, 1991, shooting of 24-year-old John Collins during a robbery at the Domino's Pizza in Oakwood, 45 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Mobley's attorneys said in a petition that all members of the victim's immediate family, as well as the prosecutor who tried the case and six of the 10 jurors in his trial would have favored a sentence of life without parole for Mobley if it had been an option. Two years after Mobley's trial, the Georgia Legislature passed a law allowing the sentencing option of life in prison without parole instead of just the death penalty in the most heinous murder cases.

"There is no question what they want, and that is commutation," attorney Mike Bowers said after the hearing Friday before the pardons board. After more than three hours of deliberation, the board denied clemency without elaborating on what led to its decision. Bowers notified his client shortly after the decision was issued and said they were both "extremely disappointed."

Mobley, 39, is scheduled to die Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. by lethal injection at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles heard his case Friday. Bowers said a last-minute appeal to stay the execution was possible, but that he had not yet decided on a course of action. "It's always a potential," he said. "Is it something that will happen? I don't know yet."

Earlier Friday, the victim's mother, Nina Collins, and two sisters met privately with the board to express their opposition to the death penalty, Bowers said. Members of Mobley's family, including his parents and sister, declined to speak to reporters after testifying at the hearing because they were too upset, the attorney said.

In a letter to the board, former Hall County Assistant District Attorney William Brownell Jr., the prosecutor at Mobley's trial, had said he felt death was not an inappropriate sentence in Mobley's case but wanted to support the victim's family.

Collins was alone in the pizza store when Mobley demanded the money from the cash register and store's office, then shot Collins in the back of the head. Mobley previously was set to be executed in August 2002, but that was delayed by a federal appeals court to allow the U.S. Supreme Court time to rule on another case involving the rules for when condemned inmates can bring new evidence before a judge.

Prosecutors have called the murder particularly heinous because of Mobley's apparent lack of remorse. While in jail, Mobley hung a Domino's Pizza box in his cell and had the word "Domino" tattooed on his back, according to fellow inmates. The prosecutor in the case said Mobley even told a guard he would "apply to Domino's when he got out because he knew there was a management position open." Bowers said the pizza box only was used "to cover up a vent" and that he's seen for himself that Mobley, in fact, does not have such a tattoo.

Mobley's execution would be Georgia's second this year.

Bowers said his client has been introspective in the week leading up to his scheduled execution. "He's extremely tense," he said. "Somebody once said, when you're facing the gallows, it'll really focus your head. He is focused on what life is all about and how remorseful he is."

Mobley v. State, 455 S.E.2d 61 (Ga. 1995). (Direct Appeal)

Defendant, in second trial after first trial ended in mistrial, 262 Ga. 808, 426 S.E.2d 150, was convicted in the Superior Court, Hall County, Richard W. Story, J., of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and was sentenced to death. Defendant appealed. The Supreme Court, Fletcher, J., held that: (1) evidence was sufficient to support convictions; (2) defendant was not entitled to funds for expert witnesses to conduct preliminary testing to determine whether defendant suffered from a deficiency of enzymatic activity for monoamine oxidase A with follow-up genetic testing to be used as evidence in mitigation in sentencing phase to suggest a possible genetic basis for violent and impulsive behavior; (3) defendant failed to show that harm resulted from erroneous granting of state's motion for copy of any and all scientific reports prepared by defendant's experts such that reversal was not required; (4) as a matter of first impression, offers by defendants to plead guilty and testimony of prosecutors regarding their reasons for rejecting such offers are no longer admissible during penalty phase of capital prosecution; and (5) death sentence was properly imposed. Affirmed. Hunstein , J., concurred in part, dissented in part, and filed opinion.

FLETCHER, Justice.
Stephen Anthony Mobley was convicted of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The jury recommended the death penalty for the murder, finding the aggravating circumstance of armed robbery. OCGA § 17-10-30(b)(2). The trial court sentenced Mobley to death and Mobley appeals. [FN1] We affirm.

FN1. The crimes occurred February 17, 1991. Mobley was indicted March 19, 1991 in Hall County. The State filed its notice of intent to seek the death penalty on March 20, 1991. Mobley's first trial in February 1992 ended in a mistrial. After a second trial, beginning February 7, 1994, the jury found Mobley guilty of malice murder, felony murder based on five separate underlying felonies, and guilty of those five underlying felonies (armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime) on February 16, 1994. The jury's recommendation of a death sentence was returned on February 20, 1994. The trial court imposed sentence on February 28, 1994 nunc pro tunc February 20, 1994. A notice of appeal was filed on February 22, 1994. The transcript was certified on April 29, 1994. The appeal was docketed on May 18, 1994. Oral arguments were heard on September 26, 1994.

The evidence established that shortly after midnight on February 17, 1991, Mobley robbed a Hall County pizza store and shot John C. Collins, the store manager, in the back of the head with a Walther .380 semi-automatic pistol. The physical evidence from the scene was consistent with a statement Mobley later made to a cellblock inmate that Collins was on his knees when Mobley shot him. Approximately three weeks after the crimes in issue, Mobley used the pistol while robbing a dry cleaning store, and tried to dispose of it by tossing it out his car window onto the side of a road when he realized he was being followed by an unmarked police car. The pistol was later recovered and Mobley arrested, after a high-speed chase. Mobley made statements to the police confessing to the murder of Collins and the robbery of the pizza store. In response to Mobley's statement to police that on the night of the crimes he was en route from his residence to a family member's home (where he was not expected) and that he robbed the pizza store because it was the only open establishment he passed, the state introduced testimony establishing that out of the three routes available to Mobley, only one passed the pizza store, and that this route exceeded by over 10 miles the next shortest route to the family member's house.

When considered in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to permit a rational trier of fact to find Mobley guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt.

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We do not find that Mobley's death sentence was imposed as the result of impermissible passion, prejudice or other arbitrary factor. OCGA § 17-10-35(c)(1). Mobley's death sentence is neither excessive nor disproportionate to penalties imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant. OCGA § 17-10-35(c)(3) . The similar cases listed in the Appendix support the imposition of the death penalty in this case, in that all these cases involved the deliberate, unprovoked killing of a robbery victim or victims, and thus show the willingness of juries to give the death penalty under these circumstances. Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur, except HUNSTEIN, J., who concurs in part and dissents in part.

Turpin v. Mobley, 502 S.E.2d 458 (Ga. 1998) (State Habeas).

Following affirmance of malice murder conviction, armed robbery conviction, and death sentence, 265 Ga. 292, 455 S.E.2d 61, petition for writ of habeas corpus was filed. The Superior Court, Butts County, Brooks E. Blitch, III, J., vacated death sentence on ground of ineffective assistance of counsel. State appealed, and petitioner cross-appealed. The Supreme Court, Fletcher, J., held that: (1) counsels' investigation into defendant's background for mitigating evidence was more than adequate, and (2) counsel were not ineffective for failing to seek funds to hire independent psychologist to testify in sentencing phase, for failing to accept defendant's father's offer to pay for genetic test to determine whether defendant suffered from genetic disturbance, or for adopting allegedly unorthodox mitigation theory. Reversed on appeal, affirmed on cross-appeal. Hunstein, J., issued dissenting statement.

FLETCHER, Presiding Justice.
Stephen Anthony Mobley was convicted of malice murder, armed robbery and other crimes in 1994 and sentenced to death for the murder. This Court affirmed Mobley's convictions and sentence in 1995, Mobley v. State, 265 Ga. 292, 455 S.E.2d 61 (1995) and the United States Supreme Court subsequently denied Mobley's petition for certiorari.Mobley v. Georgia, 516 U.S. 942, 116 S.Ct. 377, 133 L.Ed.2d 301 (1995). In 1996, Mobley filed this habeas action, raising several claims, including ineffective assistance of counsel. The habeas court ruled that all of Mobley's claims other than ineffectiveness of trial counsel were either barred or defaulted. The habeas court then vacated Mobley's death sentence because Mobley's trial counsel had been ineffective in the preparation for and conduct of the sentencing phase. The state appeals, S98A0410, and Mobley cross-appeals, S98X0411. We reverse and reinstate Mobley's death sentence.

The evidence adduced at trial showed that Mobley stole a .380 *636 pistol from an acquaintance. On February 17, 1991, Mobley robbed a Domino's Pizza restaurant just after midnight. The only person in the restaurant was the manager, John Collins. After taking all the money in the cash register and back office, Mobley shot Collins in the back of the head as he was kneeling and facing away from Mobley. Over the next three weeks, Mobley committed six additional armed robberies of restaurants and dry-cleaning shops. The police arrested him after a high-speed chase as he was fleeing the last armed robbery. Mobley confessed to the armed robberies and the murder of John Collins, and a gun he tossed from his car during the chase, the .380 pistol he had previously stolen, matched the murder weapon. Mobley, 265 Ga. at 292(1), 455 S.E.2d 61.

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