Stephen Anthony Mobley

Name and identity

Stephen Anthony Mobley

• Sex: Male
• Race: White
• Age: 39 at execution
• Date of birth: 07/13/1965
• Height: 5'10"
• Weight: 166
• Eye color: Brown
• Hair color: Brown
• County: Gwinnett County
• Case number: 326725
• GDC ID: 0000283018
• Inmate-related identifiers: Stephen Anthony (Tony) Mobley #283018
• Custody unit: Death Row Unit- G-House
• Entered custody: March 1991

Victim

John C. Collins

• Role: store manager
• Victim age: 24-year-old
• Victim name used in the record: John C. Collins (also referenced as John Copeland Collins)
• Victim location: Hall County Domino’s pizza store / Domino’s Pizza in Oakwood

Timeline

• 02-17-91 — Mobley robbed a Hall County Domino’s pizza store and shot John C. Collins in the back of the head with a semi-automatic pistol shortly after midnight.
• 03-19-91 — The Hall County Grand Jury indicted Mobley.
• 02-16-94 — A jury found Mobley guilty of malice murder, felony murder based on five underlying felonies, and guilty of the five underlying felonies (armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime).
• 02-20-94 — The jury’s recommendation of a death sentence was returned.
• 02-28-94 — The trial court imposed sentence on February 28, 1994 nunc pro tunc to February 20, 1994.
• 03-17-95 — The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Mobley’s convictions and sentences.
• 10-30-95 — The United States Supreme Court denied Mobley’s petition for certiorari.
• 03-12-96 (on or about) — Mobley filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court of Butts County, Georgia.
• 02-24-97 to 02-25-97 — An evidentiary hearing was held.
• 10-13-97 — The state habeas corpus court granted relief as to sentence on ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing phase.
• 07-15-98 — The Georgia Supreme Court reversed the habeas corpus court’s order and reinstated Mobley’s death sentence.
• 02-19-99 — Mobley filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
• 05-25-00 — The district court denied relief.
• 08-04-00 — The district court granted a certificate of appealability.
• 04-04-01 — The case was orally argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
• 10-04-01 — The Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion denying relief.
• 10-29-01 — Mobley filed a petition for panel rehearing.
• 12-14-01 — The petition for panel rehearing was denied.
• 05-10-02 — Mobley filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 06-28-02 — The United States Supreme Court denied the petition.
• 07-16-02 — Mobley filed an Extraordinary Motion for New Trial.
• 07-19-02 — The Extraordinary Motion for New Trial was denied; the Superior Court of Hall County filed an order setting a seven-day execution window beginning at noon on August 2, 2002 and ending at noon on August 9, 2002.
• 07-29-02 — Mobley filed an Application for Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution in the Georgia Supreme Court.
• 08-01-02 — The Application for Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution in the Georgia Supreme Court was denied.
• 08-02-02 — Mobley filed a federal motion for a new habeas hearing.
• 08-03-02 — The federal motion for a new habeas hearing was denied.
• 08-05-02 — The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of execution pending a decision of a United States Supreme Court case.
• 08-09-02 — The seven-day execution window that had been set for August 2002 ended at noon on this date.
• 04-01-03 — The Eleventh Circuit granted an en banc oral argument.
• 06-17-03 — An oral argument was held.
• 04-26-04 — The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of his motion for new habeas hearing.
• 08-16-04 — Mobley filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 01-18-05 — The United States Supreme Court denied the petition.
• 02-10-05 — The Superior Court of Hall County filed an order setting the seven-day window beginning at noon March 1, 2005 and ending seven days later at noon on March 8, 2005.
• 02-17-05 — A parole-board clemency-related hearing date was referenced as occurring on Friday, February 25, 2005; a separate mention in the clemency-related reporting included February 10, 2005 as the filing date of the order.
• 02-25-05 — A clemency petition was denied by the Parole Board; the final clemency hearing is referenced as occurring on February 25.
• 03-01-05 — Mobley was executed by lethal injection in Georgia.

The offence

Shortly after midnight on February 17, 1991, Stephen Anthony 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 same 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 was 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.

The State introduced testimony establishing that, out of 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.

Investigation and arrest

Police arrested Mobley after a high-speed chase following the dry cleaning store robbery attempt to dispose of the pistol.

The pistol used in the murder was recovered after Mobley tossed it from his car during the chase.

Mobley confessed to the murder of Collins and to the robbery of the Domino’s pizza store.

Trial

Indictment

The Hall County Grand Jury indicted Mobley on March 19, 1991.

Verdicts

A jury found Mobley guilty of:

• malice murder
• felony murder based on five separate underlying felonies
• the five underlying felonies: armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime

The jury’s recommendation of a death sentence was returned on February 20, 1994.

Sentence

The trial court imposed sentence on February 28, 1994 nunc pro tun c February 20, 1994.

Proceedings timeline details

The first trial in February 1992 ended in a mistrial. After a second trial beginning February 7, 1994, the jury returned guilty verdicts on February 16, 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.

Appeals

Direct appeal

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

Mobley filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court of Butts County, Georgia on or about March 12, 1996. Mobley was represented by retained counsel, August “Bud” Siemon.

An evidentiary hearing was held February 24-25, 1997.

On October 13, 1997, the state habeas corpus court granted relief as to sentence on 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 the death sentence on July 15, 1998. Head v. Mobley, 269 Ga. 635, 502 S.E.2d 458 (1998).

Citations also included:

• Turpin v. Mobley , 502 S.E.2d 458 (Ga. 1998) (State Habeas).
• Mobley v. State , 455 S.E.2d 61 (Ga. 1995). (Direct Appeal)

Federal habeas corpus

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 a certificate of appealability on August 4, 2000.

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals

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 certiorari (2002)

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

The petition was denied on June 28, 2002.

Extraordinary Motion for New Trial and execution-window orders (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 may occur to begin at noon, August 2, 2002, and ending seven days later at noon on August 9, 2002.

Mobley filed an Application for Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution in the Georgia Supreme Court on July 29, 2002, which was denied on August 1, 2002.

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

Stay and en banc proceedings (2002-2004)

On August 5, 2002, the Eleventh Circuit 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 certiorari (2004)

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

Sentencing and prison behavior details

Following his incarceration, Mobley had the word “Domino” tattooed on his back, placed a Domino’s pizza box in his cell on the wall, and carried a domino piece in his pocket with the same dot configuration as that used by Domino’s Pizza.

He told a guard that he wished the guard had been up at Domino’s instead of “that other boy.”

In referring to Collins, Mobley stated: “If that fat son-of-a-bitch had not started crying, I would never have shot him,”.

He told another guard that he was “going to apply for the night manger’s job at Domino’s because he knew they needed one,”.

He told another guard that the guard was “beginning to look more and more like a Domino’s pizza boy everyday,”.

He told another guard that “anywhere Mobley was put [in jail] he’d kill anybody he came in contact with”.

Mobley forcibly sodomized his cellmate on two separate occasions.

Clemency and execution-related proceedings

A clemency petition was denied by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

A nearly 2-hour hearing behind closed doors occurred, after which the board denied clemency without elaborating on what led to its decision, following pleas including opposition from the victim’s family.

In explaining the denial, board spokeswoman Heather Hedrick said: “The board felt this was really an egregious case that featured the murder of an innocent man,”

Jack Martin said: “The victim's family said it would hurt them if he was executed,” “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.”

A Superior Court of Hall County order set a seven-day window for the execution to begin at noon on March 1, 2005 and end seven days later at noon on March 8, 2005. The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections set the execution for 7:00 p.m., March 1, 2005.

Execution

Stephen Anthony Mobley, a 39-year-old white male, was executed by lethal injection at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia on March 1, 2005.

He was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. in reporting included in the record.

Final meal

Steak, french fries, 1-quart butter-pecan ice cream, 1-quart chocolate-chip ice cream, and 2 soft drinks.

Final words and prayer

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. 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.

Other details

• Media witnesses for the execution were identified as Harry Weber (Associated Press), Carlos Campos (Atlanta Journal Constitution), Nicole Young (The Gainesville Times), and Ken Stanford (WDUN AM Radio in Gainesville).
• Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty published an advocacy update; it stated that the state scheduled Stephen “Tony” Mobley for execution on March 1, 2005 and requested letters and planning for vigils, then indicated letters were not requested after the clemency hearing date referenced as Friday, February 25.
• A letter to the Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Paroles began “Dear Chairman Nix:” and requested commutation from death to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; it included a closing “Sincerely,”.
• References included that Mobley’s first trial ended in a mistrial and his second trial resulted in a death sentence.
• Citations included Turpin v. Mobley, 502 S.E.2d 458 (Ga. 1998) (State Habeas) and Mobley v. State, 455 S.E.2d 61 (Ga. 1995) (Direct Appeal).
• Federal and other appellate citations included Mobley v. Head, 267 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir. 2001) and Mobley v. Georgia, 516 U.S. 942 (1995).