Guy Tobias LeGrande

Case overview

Guy Tobias LeGrande was sentenced to death in Stanley County Superior Court for the first-degree murder of Ellen Munford. He also received a consecutive sentence of nine years for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. LeGrande’s execution was later stayed and, on July 1, 2008, he was declared mentally incompetent to be executed.

Timeline

• 04/26/1996 — LeGrande, 47, was sentenced to death in Stanley County Superior Court for the first-degree murder of Ellen Munford, with a consecutive sentence of nine years for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
• 07/27/1993 — Guy Tobias LeGrande entered the home of Ellen Munford and shot her twice in the back, killing her.
• 07/24/1997 — The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed LeGrande’s conviction and sentence of death.
• 10/02/2006 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied LeGrande’s petition for writ of certiorari to review the decision of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• 10/13/2006 — An execution date was set for Guy Tobias LeGrande.
• 11/27/2006 — Superior Court Judge Robert Bell delayed LeGrande’s execution for at least two months and set hearings to evaluate LeGrande’s mental competency.
• 01/25/2007 — Superior Court Judge Robert Bell extended the stay until March 5 for doctors to complete mental competency evaluations.
• 07/01/2008 — LeGrande was declared mentally incompetent to be executed.

Background

At the time of the murder, Ellen Munford was living with another man. Tommy Munford and Ellen Munford had been estranged for two years. LeGrande worked with Tommy Munford at Jay’s Downtowner Restaurant in Albermarle.

Ellen Munford’s estrangement context included allegations that Tommy Munford repeatedly harassed Ellen and trespassed on the property where she was living with her new boyfriend. Munford told numerous people that he wanted to “do in” the victim.

LeGrande insisted on representing himself. During his sentencing testimony, he called the jurors the “antichrists” and declared that they could “kiss his natural black ass in the window of Heilig-Meyers,” that they could “pull the switch and let the good times roll,” and that he would meet them in hell where they would be required to worship him.

The competency evaluation found that LeGrande did not appear to have a serious mental disorder, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Although at times he appeared hypomanic, he seemed able to control his behavior when he so desired. The evaluation also described characteristics of a personality disorder with antisocial and narcissistic features.

The offence

On July 27, 1993, Guy Tobias LeGrande entered the home of Ellen Munford and shot her twice in the back, killing her.

The case described a murder-for-hire plot involving Tommy Munford. LeGrande and Tommy Munford conspired to kill Ellen Munford. The plan included Munford taking out a life insurance policy in the amount of $50,000 on Ellen’s life, naming Munford as the sole beneficiary. Munford promised to pay LeGrande $6,500 if LeGrande would kill Ellen Munford.

On the day of the murder, Munford arranged to take his and Ellen Munford’s two children to the beach so that Ellen would be alone in the house. Prior to picking up the children, Munford dropped LeGrande off in the woods next to Ellen’s house. LeGrande was carrying a shotgun. As Munford left Ellen’s house, he blew his horn to signal to LeGrande that Ellen was alone. LeGrande watched Ellen Munford for hours from the woods before he entered her home and killed her.

Following the murder, LeGrande bragged to a friend about having “capped that ass.”

Investigation and arrest

The record did not describe investigative or arrest steps.

Trial

The North Carolina Supreme Court later affirmed LeGrande’s conviction and sentence of death.

LeGrande was tried before an all-White jury. The prosecutor’s office that handled the case was described as handing out gold noose lapel pins when the attorneys won a death verdict. LeGrande’s trial included sentencing testimony in which he called the jurors the “antichrists” and made statements including:

• “[h]ell ain’t deep enough for you people. But you remember when you arrive, say my name, Guy Tobias LeGrande. For I shall be waiting. And each and every one of you will be mine for all eternity. And we shall dance in my father’s house. And you will worship me and proclaim me Lord and master. But for right now, all you so-called good folks can kiss my natural black ass in the showroom of Helig Meyers. Pull the damn switch and shake that groove thing.”

LeGrande also appeared to the court to “ramble incoherently during his trial, cursed the jury and called them ‘Antichrists.’”

LeGrande was described as working with the victim’s husband at Jay’s Downtowner Restaurant in Albermarle at the time of the murder. The record stated that Tommy Munford and LeGrande conspired to kill Ellen Munford.

LeGrande’s attorney, Jay Ferguson, made the following statement:

“This order addresses only one of the injustices in this case,” said LeGrande’s attorney Jay Ferguson. “If the Legislature enacts the Racial Justice Act, the courts can examine serious issues, such as why prosecutors excluded every African-American citizen from Mr. LeGrande’s jury, and why they chose to prosecute the less culpable, mentally ill Black man for death, while giving a life saving deal to the White mastermind.”

LeGrande was also represented by attorney James Monroe.

A quoted statement attributed to Ferguson further read:

“Guy LeGrande was delusional at the time of the crime, he was delusional while representing himself in his own trial for his life, and he is delusional today,” said Ferguson. “The court has finally stepped in and halted a colossal miscarriage of justice, the execution of a seriously mentally ill man.”

Sentencing

On April 26, 1996, LeGrande, 47, was sentenced to death in Stanley County Superior Court for first-degree murder of Ellen Munford.

Following the murder, Tommy Munford was sentenced to life plus twenty years in prison.

Appeals

The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed LeGrande’s conviction and sentence of death on 07/24/1997.

On 10/2/2006, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had dismissed his appeal following completion of initial state and federal post-conviction proceedings.

Competency to be executed and related court proceedings

An execution date was set for Guy Tobias LeGrande on 10/13/2006.

The record stated that LeGrande was scheduled to be executed on December 1, 2006, until Judge Robert Bell stayed the execution to evaluate LeGrande’s competency. Judge Bell heard from three mental health experts during a two-day hearing in June. One expert was hired by the State, one by the defense, and one served as the Court’s expert. The record stated that both the Court’s and the defense’s experts found LeGrande mentally ill and incompetent, while the State’s expert found LeGrande mentally ill but competent.

The Court’s expert, a Dorothea Dix psychiatrist who previously had never found a death row inmate too mentally ill to proceed, could not conclude that LeGrande was competent. The expert cited LeGrande’s belief, written in a letter to his sister, that “my pardon is coming through and I’m getting three billion dollars” as evidence of his delusional disorder. In the Court’s expert’s opinion, LeGrande’s delusional disorder “interfere[s] with his appreciation of the nature and object of the proceedings against him.”

During the 11/27/2006 delay, Superior Court Judge Robert Bell delayed LeGrande’s execution for at least two months, after which he would hold hearings to evaluate his mental competency.

On 01/25/2007, Judge Robert Bell extended the stay until March 5 for doctors to complete mental competency evaluations.

A quoted statement attributed to Triangle psychiatrist Holly Rogers read:

“Execution is to be reserved for the worst crimes and the most culpable offenders,” said Triangle psychiatrist Holly Rogers. “Both the mental health and legal communities are asserting that seriously mentally ill offenders, like Mr. LeGrande, simply cannot understand the consequences of their actions enough to make the death penalty a just punishment.”

On 07/01/2008, LeGrande was declared mentally incompetent to be executed.

Aftermath

The record described claims that LeGrande was mentally ill and stated that the competency evaluation found characteristics including hypomania at times and a personality disorder with antisocial and narcissistic features, while also stating the evaluation found LeGrande did not appear to have a serious mental disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

The record also stated that the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the American Bar Association called for changes in the law to ensure people with serious mental illness are not executed. A bill was introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly to exempt the seriously mentally ill from capital punishment. Other states introduced bills and were considering the issue.

An April 2007 poll found that a majority of North Carolinians believed mentally ill offenders should not be subject to execution.

LeGrande’s self-representation during the competency-related proceedings included wearing a Superman t-shirt and communicating with Oprah through the television.