Randy Gay – white, age 52
Sentenced to death in Garland County, Arkansas
By: a jury
Date of crime: 05/10/2011
Prosecution case/defense response: Originally charged with first-degree murder of Connie Ann Snow, 49, the charge against Randy William Gay was upgraded to capital murder, as he was twice convicted of murder in the state and released on early parole. He served 2-years for the murder of his father-in-law and 8-years for the murder of his father. In 1978, Gay murdered his father-in-law and again was convicted of murder in 1991 for killing his own father. The first attempt to try the case resulted in a mistrial because of juror misconduct. Witnesses, who were working on logging equipment in the area, knew Gay because they previously had paid him to guard their equipment. They saw Gay pull into a site at the U.S. Forrest Service property, in Ouachita National Forrest, where he and Snow got into an argument. Gay retrieved a gun from the back of his pickup and shot Snow once before loading her body into the back of his truck and driving off.
Sources: Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) 3/14/2015; 2015 WLNR 7664451; Huffington Post 4/9/2013.
Zachary Holly – white, age 27
Sentenced to death in Benton County, Arkansas
By: jury
Date of crime: 11/20/12
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Holly was found guilty of capital murder, kidnapping, rape, and residential burglary. He kidnapped 6-year-old, Jersey, from her home then raped and strangled her with her pajama pants. Holly confessed to the kidnapping, rape, and murder and the recording was shown to the jurors. The prosecution sought the death penalty, but the defense tried to persuade the jurors for life imprisonment without parole. The defense had Holly’s mother testify that Holly’s childhood was filled with drugs and abuse. Holly’s mother frequently abused drugs, his mother gave Holly drugs at the age of 10, Holly was beaten by his mother’s boyfriend, and had to witness his mother’s prostitution acts.
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 5/27/15 (2015 WLNR 15708985), Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 5/28/15 (2015 WLNR 15866707)