Roy Ramsey

Case identifiers

Roy Ramsey (Roy Ramsey Jr.)

STATUS

Roy Ramsey was executed on April 14, 1999.

Timeline

• 1971 03/25 — Ramsey was sentenced to ten years in Jackson County, Missouri on the charge of Robbery First Degree and remanded to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
• 1977 02/16 — Ramsey was sentenced to five years in Jackson County, Missouri on the charge of Robbery First Degree and remanded to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
• March 11, 1977 — Ramsey was sentenced to 15 years in Jackson County, Missouri on the charge of Sodomy and remanded to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
• 1988 11/21 — Roy Ramsey murders Garnett and Betty Ledford in their home in Jackson County, Missouri.
• 1990 12/3 — Ramsey is found guilty of two counts of murder first degree and the jury recommends death on each charge.
• 1991 3/14 — Ramsey is formally sentenced to death by the Court.
• 7/16 — Ramsey files a post-conviction relief motion in the Jackson County Circuit Court.
• 1992 7/7 — The Jackson County Circuit Court denies Ramsey's post-conviction relief motion.
• 1993 10/26 — The Missouri Supreme Court affirms the Circuit Court's denial of Ramsey's post-conviction relief motion along with Ramsey's conviction and sentence.
• 1994 5/2 — The United States Supreme Court denies Ramsey's petition for writ of certiorari.
• 5/24 — Ramsey files a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
• 1997 9/5 — The District Court denies Ramsey's petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• 1998 6/10 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit affirms the District Court's denial.
• 1999 2/22 — The United States Supreme Court denies Ramsey's petition for writ of certiorari.
• 3/8 — The Missouri State Supreme Court sets Ramsey's execution date for April 14, 1999.
• April 14, 1999 — Roy Ramsey was executed.

Background

Roy Ramsey was on Missouri death row.

The offence

On November 21, 1988, Roy Ramsey accompanied by his brother Billy Ramsey and Billy's girlfriend Angela Ray drove to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Garnett and Betty Ledford in Grandview, Missouri. The Ramseys knocked on the door and Mr. Ledford answered.

Billy Ramsey reminded Mr. Ledford that they had previously been acquainted through the Ledfords' son-in-law who had served time in jail with Billy Ramsey. Mr. Ledford talked to the Ramseys for awhile whereupon Roy Ramsey pulled out a .22 caliber pistol and ordered everyone inside.

Inside the Ledford home they confronted Mrs. Ledford. Roy Ramsey pointed the gun at her and demanded that she give them money, jewelry and other valuables. Mr. and Mrs. Ledford were ordered into their bedroom where Mrs. Ledford opened a safe.

Roy stayed with the Ledfords while Billy went through the house and took guns and a video cassette recorder and placed them beside the front door. Roy Ramsey placed the items from the safe into a pillowcase.

Billy returned to the living room with the pillowcase and was preparing to leave when he heard a series of gunshots. Roy Ramsey later told his brother that he had to kill the Ledfords because they could identify Billy and would be able to pick him out of a lineup.

During the ride back home Billy Ramsey took money from Mr. Ledford's wallet and then threw the wallet out of the car. The wallet was later found that afternoon by two schoolgirls with Mr. Ledford's identification in it. Laboratory analysis later discovered Billy Ramsey's fingerprints on the wallet.

At the Ramseys' home the Ledfords' possessions were divided among Roy, Billy and their mother Effie Ramsey. The items taken were cash, jewelry, guns and silver coins amounting to about $7,500.

Learning that his brother received a larger share of the loot, Billy Ramsey took the murder weapon and pawned it.

A few days later when Angela Ray learned that the Ledfords had been killed during the robbery she became angry whereupon Roy Ramsey threatened to kill her if she told any one of the incident. Angela Ray then fled to Memphis, Tennessee.

Investigation

After connecting the Ramseys to the Ledford murder through the wallet, the police found Angela Ray and interviewed her.

On November 26, 1988, Roy Ramsey was taken into custody and one of the silver coins stolen from the Ledfords was found in his possession. Ballistics examinations determined that the bullets retrieved from the Ledfords matched shell casings found at the scene of the murder and had been fired from Ramsey's .22 caliber pistol.

Arrest

On November 26, 1988, Roy Ramsey was taken into custody.

Trial

Roy Ramsey was tried for the killings of Garnett and Betty Ledford.

Billy Ramsey testified that he ransacked the house while Roy Ramsey took Ledford, 65, and his wife, 63, into a back bedroom, where he fatally shot them at close range.

A Missouri jury convicted Ramsey of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death.

Sentencing

On 12/3/1990, Ramsey was found guilty of two counts of murder first degree and the jury recommended death on each charge. On 3/14/1991, Ramsey was formally sentenced to death by the Court.

Appeals

State appeal and post-conviction relief

• The Jackson County Circuit Court denied Ramsey's post-conviction relief motion on 1992 7/7.
• On 1993 10/26, the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Court's denial of Ramsey's post-conviction relief motion along with Ramsey's conviction and sentence.
• On 1994 5/2, the United States Supreme Court denied Ramsey's petition for writ of certiorari.
• The Missouri Supreme Court in State v. Ramsey, 864 S.W. 2d 320 (Mo. banc 1993), affirmed Ramsey's conviction and sentence on direct appeal.
• The Missouri State Supreme Court set the execution date on 3/8/1999.

Federal habeas corpus and federal appellate review

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit case captioned Roy Ramsey, Appellant, v. Michael Bowersox, Superintendent, Appellee.

• The case was submitted: April 16, 1998
• The case was filed: June 10, 1998
• The court panel included FAGG, JOHN R. GIBSON, and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.
• The appellate court affirmed the district court's denial of the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

The Eighth Circuit described the underlying basis for conviction as follows:

• It stated that on November 21, 1988, Ramsey and his brother, Billy, went to the home of an elderly couple, Garnett and Betty Ledford, to rob them.
• It stated that Billy's girlfriend drove the brothers there in her car and that Ramsey had a gun, while Billy did not.
• It stated that Ramsey used the gun to force his way inside, took the Ledfords upstairs to a bedroom, and after Betty opened the safe, the brothers took loot downstairs while Ramsey killed the Ledfords by shooting each of them at close range in the head.
• It stated that Billy entered a plea agreement and testified against Ramsey in exchange for a twenty-five-year sentence.

The Eighth Circuit addressed Ramsey’s arguments:

• It rejected an ineffective assistance claim involving an alleged conflict of interest relating to letters written to Ramsey from Billy.
• It rejected challenges to Missouri’s proportionality review of the death sentence.
• It rejected an argument that the aggravating circumstance about the homicide being “outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture or depravity of mind” was invalid.
• It rejected a claim that Ramsey’s confrontation and cross-examination rights were violated when parts of a videotaped statement by Billy about Ramsey’s role were admitted.
• It rejected claims of improper prosecutor argument during the guilt phase and penalty phase.
• It rejected claims about voir dire questions and jury instructions.
• It rejected a challenge to reasonable doubt instructions.
• It addressed claims about denials of challenges for cause to venirepersons Atwood and Dillon.
• It rejected a claim that jury instructions confused elements of first-degree murder and improperly shifted the burden of proving deliberation.
• It rejected Ramsey’s attempt to obtain permission to raise fourteen more issues on appeal and affirmed the district court’s denial.

Verbatim quotes included in the Eighth Circuit decision:

“Roy Ramsey alone . . . knows where the coin came from. . . . Who, by his actions, let you know not only that this coin was part of the homicide but that he knew that by being in possession of this, he was caught. Roy Ramsey.” (Trial Trans. at 1521-22.)

“The uncontradicted evidence is that Roy Ramsey and Billy knew, with certainty, that Garnett Ledford knew Billy.” (Trial Trans. at 1462.)

“Roy Ramsey, Rambo, is not burning out. . . . We have no reason to believe anything else. Roy Ramsey, while in the most secure prison in the state, sodomized a member of our society. And that's something I am having trouble with. We can't protect people in our society from Roy Ramsey.” (Trial Trans. at 1755-56.)

The Eighth Circuit also quoted and referenced portions of a trial court’s voir dire questioning:

“I'm going to ask you some questions [about] imposition of the death penalty. These questions are asked of you in the abstract, understanding that no evidence has been presented. . . . If you were selected as a juror in this case, you must be able to vote for both of the punishments authorized by law. My question is would you be capable of voting for a sentence of death? Would you be capable of voting for a sentence of life without parole?” (Trial Trans. at 578-80.)

“If you were chosen as a juror, would you have a tendency to favor either the death penalty, the life imprisonment penalty, or neither?” (Trial Trans. at 580.)

Outcome

The federal habeas petition was denied by the district court, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial. The United States Supreme Court denied Ramsey’s petition for writ of certiorari on 1994 5/2 and again on 1999 2/22.

Aftermath

On April 14, 1999, in Potosi, Roy Ramsey Jr. was executed by lethal injection in Missouri early Wednesday.

He was pronounced dead at 12:04 a.m., just 3 minutes after the state administered the 1st of 3 lethal drugs at Potosi Correction Center in southeast Missouri. As the procedure began, Ramsey raised his head and looked toward the room where his friends and clergy were watching and mouthed a few words. He then laid his head down. He coughed and his chest heaved as the 1st drug was injected. Ramsey then closed his eyes for good.

Ramsey's last words were:

“Tell everybody I love them. Tell the governor that I understand, and that I am not mad at him. In the future, it ain't going to hurt him to spare some of the people.”

His death sentence had been condemned for the killings of Garnett and Betty Ledford at their home in Grandview, near Kansas City. His fate was sealed at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday when Gov. Mel Carnahan refused a clemency request from Ramsey's attorney, J.R. Hobbs of Kansas City. It stated that Hobbs also failed to get a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court after appeals court and the state Supreme Court denied requests for a stay.

It stated that Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said he had no doubt about Ramsey's guilt or whether he deserved to be executed:

“He's a brutal double murderer who has attempted to slow down and manipulate the system for years,” said Nixon. “The killing of senior citizens in their own homes - execution style in their own bedrooms - is an example of the cruel and cold-blooded murders for which the death penalty should clearly be an option.”

Ramsey spent most of Tuesday meeting with a brother, a cousin and 2 spiritual advisors, the Rev. Paul Jones of Kansas City and the Rev. Larry Rice of St. Louis.

It stated that 9 of Ramsey's 10 brothers had prison records for crimes ranging from robbery to murder, 6 currently were in prison, and 3 of Ramsey's brothers were in prison for murder. It stated Ramsey had blamed himself for his family's problems and that, as the 2nd oldest, he taught his brothers to steal, learning the skill during high school. It stated Nixon agreed and said:

“He was raised in a poisonous environment and carried that poison on into society,” said the attorney general.

It stated Ramsey blamed police for harassment:

“We are flies in a spiderwall. The more we try to get out, the deeper we get in.”

Pat Peters, the Jackson County prosecuting attorney who handled the Ledford case, said:

“Peters said this case was not about police harassment, but about the death of 2 innocent people.”

It stated Ramsey denied any involvement in the murders, blaming the shootings on his younger brother, Billy, and Billy's former girlfriend, Angela Ray. It stated Ramsey said he was selling drugs the day of the murders. It stated that court records indicated Ray drove Ramsey and his younger brother, Billy, to the Ledford home and that Ray waited in the car while the two brothers walked to the front door. It stated that Roy flashed a .22-caliber Ruger semiautomatic at Ledford, who let them into his home.

It stated that Ramsey forgave Billy for testifying against him and provided the following statements:

“What he did was wrong,” Ramsey said. “I'd die for all my brothers. I love him, even now. It was bad what he did. I don't support what he did, testifying against me, lying and killing those 2 old people, he was wrong. But when it's said and done, I love my brother.”

It stated that for his testimony, Billy Ramsey's 1st-degree murder charges were dropped and he pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder and was serving a 25-year sentence out of state.

It stated Ramsey became the 4th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Missouri and the 36th overall since the state resumed executions on Jan. 6, 1989.

Other details

Effie Ramsey was identified as Ramsey's mother, and the Ledfords' possessions were divided among Roy, Billy and their mother Effie Ramsey.

Two schoolgirls found the wallet that afternoon containing Mr. Ledford's identification.

Angela Ray fled to Memphis, Tennessee after being threatened by Ramsey.

A foreign coin was found in Ramsey's pocket when police arrested Ramsey at his mother's home on a charge unrelated to the murder; Ramsey tried to persuade police to give the coin to his mother, but police refused.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit stated it affirmed the district court's denial of Ramsey's petition for a writ of habeas corpus.