Clinton Bankston

Timeline

• 15 August 1987 — Ann Morris (63), her sister Sally Nicholson (59), and Sally’s daughter Helen (22) were hacked to death in a home in suburban Carr’s Hill.
• 16 August 1987 — Patrolmen spotted a stolen car owned by one of the victims outside the home where Clinton Bankston, Jr. lived with his half-brother, Curtis Johnson, and arrested him on three counts of murder.
• 12 May 1988 — Clinton Bankston, Jr., on his seventeenth birthday, pled guilty but mentally ill on five counts of murder and was sentenced to five consecutive life terms in prison.

Background

Clinton Bankston, Jr. was 16 years old at the time of the offences and lived with his half-brother, Curtis Johnson. Associates and relatives professed no knowledge of his violent tendencies. The case described the murders as occurring during events that were unfamiliar to residents of Athens, Georgia.

The offence

On the night of 15 August 1987, three women were hacked to death in a home in suburban Carr’s Hill:

• Ann Morris, 63
• Sally Nicholson, 59
• Sally’s daughter Helen, 22

The mutilations were so extensive that the corpses were completely beyond recognition and had to be positively identified through post-mortem testing. The murder weapon was believed to be a hatchet, which was recovered at the scene.

Clinton Bankston, Jr. was also charged with the merciless and grisly stabbings of Glenn and Rachel Sutton, described as having occurred in April 1987. The case described the motive as “Sex” and stated the method of operation as killing and mutilating five victims in two home invasions.

Investigation

After the arrests, charges multiplied as additional allegations were brought. Authorities were unable to find any trace of an elusive accomplice named “Chris,” whom Bankston blamed for most of the violence. The case stated that authorities concluded Bankston most likely imagined or concocted “Chris” to shift the blame away from himself.

Arrest

On 16 August 1987, patrolmen spotted a stolen car owned by one of the victims outside the home where Clinton Bankston lived with his half-brother, Curtis Johnson. Bankston was immediately arrested on three counts of murder.

Trial

On 12 May 1988, which was Bankston’s seventeenth birthday, he pled guilty but mentally ill on five counts of murder.

Sentencing

The case stated that Bankston was “rescued from Death Row by a state law forbidding execution of killers 16 or younger at the time of their crimes.” He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms in prison in May 1988.

Outcome

Clinton Bankston, Jr. received five life terms following his plea of guilty but mentally ill on five counts of murder.

Other details

The case record described Bankston as the “product of a broken home.” It stated that he was living with his mother when his father died in a fire during May 1982. The record also listed the following descriptors: SEX: M, RACE: B, TYPE: T, and MOTIVE: Sex. It described his disposition as “Five life terms, May 1988.”