Jones v. Head
Filing
112
ORDER denying 88 Motion for Hearing; finding as moot 93 Motion Requesting Ruling on Petitioner's Motion for Evidentiary Hearing ; granting 106 Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages. Signed by Judge William T. Moore, Jr on 5/25/17. (trb)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOlt""
THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GE0RGIA'?ni7
WAYCROSS DIVISION
Anhr^.S
cir.
ASHLEY LYNDOL JONES,
Petitioner,
V.
CASE NO.
CV502-116
BRUCE CHATMAN, Warden Georgia
Diagnostic and Classification
Center,
Respondent.
ORDER
Before the Court is Petitioner's Renewed Motion for an
Evidentiary Hearing.
(Doc. 88.) For the following reasons.
Petitioner's motion is DENIED.
Motion
Requesting
Evidentiary
Hearing
Respondent's
(Doc.
106)
Ruling
(Doc.
Motion
for
on
As a result.
Respondent's
Petitioner's
93)
is
Leave
Motion
DISMISSED
to
File
for
AS
MOOT.
Excess
Pages
is GRANTED.
BACKGROUND
I.
FACTUAL HISTORY
The facts of this case were set forth by the Supreme
Court of Georgia.
Jones
the
and his
crime
co-defendant,
Allen Bunner,
spree which led to the
began
death of Keith
Holland on the night before the murder, when they
stole four cases of beer from a
convenience store
in Ware County. The co-defendants fled in an
automobile with three other companions, who were
waiting
for
them
outside
the
store.
The
group
spent the remainder of the night driving aroimd
aimlessly and drinking the stolen beer, until
their car broke
the
others,
down, • and Jones
stating
they were
and Bunner
going
to
left
find
a
truck.
The CO-defendants stole a Ford tiruck, belonging
to Rudolph Melton, which was parked in front of
Melton's
residence.
After driving around for
several more hours in the stolen truck, they
arrived at the home of the victim,
Bunner
knocked
approximately
Mamie
for
5
on
a.m.
Holland's
and
assistance,
truck's battery was dead.
husband,
asked
on
the
Keith Holland.
front
door
Holland's
pretext
at
wife
that
and he went outside to assist Bunner.
Holland was
leaning over to
compartment of the truck,
the
Mamie Holland woke her
As
look in the engine
Jones strxick him in the
head from behind with a sledge hammer.
Mamie
Holland
witnessed
the
first
blow
from
her
dining room window and reacted by screaming for
Jones to stop and by banging on the window. Jones
turned and looked at her but continued to pound
the victim, inflicting at least six blows to the
head and face,
all of which were potentially
fatal. Prior to leaving in the victim's truck,
Jones got out of the vehicle and hit the victim
again,
while
workers
he
arrived
defendants'
was
lying
within
on
the
minutes
ground.
after
the
EMS
co-
departure. Because of the injuries to
the victim's face,
EMS
perform CPR or intubate
workers were unable to
the victim, and he died
before reaching the hospital.
Jones
and Bunner drove
to
Florida
in
the victim's
truck. They tossed Holland's personal belongings
out of the tDTuck along the way, and pawned two
chain saws belonging to Melton. Police learned of
their whereabouts through telephone calls made by
the co-defendants to a friend in Georgia, and
they were arrested at a welcome station south of
the Georgia-Florida line.
The victim's truck,
which Jones
and Bunner had burned,
the woods a short distance away.
was
foiand
in
Jones
V.
State,
267
Ga.
592,
592-93,
481
S.E.2d,
823-24
(1997).
II.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Petitioner was
1993.
Seven
Court
of
days
Ware
arrested on the afternoon of March 31,
later,
Coionty,
he
was
Georgia
jnurder,
armed
robbery,
property,
for
and theft by taking.
He pled not guilty.
(Doc.
indicted
malice
interference
96,
in
(Doc.
Superior
murder,
with
96,
Attach.
the
felony
government
Attach.
1 at 14.)
2 at 133.)
His jury
trial began on June 8, 1995.^ (Doc. 24 at 13.) On June 10,
1995,
at
he was convicted of all charges.
133.)
(Doc.
Four
days
later,
he
was
(Doc.
96, Attach.
sentenced
to
2
death.
24 at 13.)
After a
motion
March
for
10,
a
hearing,
new
1997,
the
trial.
the
(Doc.
Georgia
convictions and sentences.
S.E.2d 821
trial
court denied Petitioner's
98,
Attach.
Supreme
Jones v.
Court
State,
8
at
29.)
affirmed
267 Ga.
592,
On
his
481
(1997). A petition for writ of certiorari to the
United States Supreme Court was denied on November 3,
Jones V. Georgia,
522 U.S.
953
1997.
(1997).
^ Allen Bunner was arrested with Petitioner and charged as a
co-defendant.
He
sentence of life
conviction.
was
tried separately and received a
without parole. He did not appeal his
On
February
5,
1998,
the
trial
court
signed
an
execution warrant and scheduled Petitioner's execution for
the
time period between February 24
(Doc.
99,
Attach.
6 at
7.)
In
and March 3,
response
to
1998.
the
death
warrant. Petitioner filed a state habeas corpus petition in
the Superior Court of Butts County.
(I^) The state habeas
court conducted an evidentiary hearing on March 15,
1999
(Doc. 100, Attachs. 1-4; Doc. 101, Attachs. 1-5; Doc. 102,
Attachs.
amended,
1-3),
and
ultimately
on January 7,
2000
denied
(Doc,
the
petition,
103, Attach. 1) .
as
Further
attempts to appeal were unavailing.
After filing a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition in this Court
(Doc. 5), Petitioner filed a Motion for Discovery seeking
the opport\anity to depose his trial and sentencing jurors
(Doc.
31).
The Court
addressed Petitioner's
ultimately denied his motion,
claims
requesting
an
filed
a
Motion
evidentiary
for
(Doc.
an
hearing
37.)
Petitioner
Evidentiary
on
similar
Hearing
claims
those for which he had requested discovery.
(Doc.
Court
Petitioner
dismissed
resiabmit
his
Petitioner's
(Doc. 58)
and
that
motion
request.
second
ordered
and
ordered
(Doc. 54.)
motion
the
and
concluding that many of his
were procedurally defaulted.
sxibsequently
request
for
an
parties
The
50.)
to
The
to
Court
denied
evidentiary
hearing
to
file
supplemental
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