Current:Home > ScamsSouth Carolina prosecutors plan to seek death penalty in trial of man accused of killing 5 -Profound Wealth Insights
South Carolina prosecutors plan to seek death penalty in trial of man accused of killing 5
View
Date:2025-04-18 06:24:37
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a man arrested nearly two years ago and accused of fatally shooting five people.
The 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office filed a motion last week expressing its plans to seek capital punishment for 26-year-old James Douglas Drayton, news outlets reported. The solicitor’s office declined to comment about the decision. No trial date has been set.
Drayton was arrested in October 2022 and charged with five counts of murder and five counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. The victims were found in a home in Inman, about 13 miles (21 kilometers) northwest of Spartanburg. Four were dead at the scene: Thomas Ellis Anderson, 37; James Derek Baldwin, 49; Mark Allen Hewitt, 59; and Adam Daniel Morley, 32. The fifth person shot, Roman Christean Megael Rocha, 19, died later at a hospital.
Drayton’s attorney, public defender Michael David Morin, declined to comment, citing the ongoing case.
At the time of Drayton’s arrest, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said that Drayton had confessed to the killings, telling police that he was high on methamphetamine and hadn’t slept for four days. Drayton handed over the gun he said he used to kill everyone in the home where he was also staying, a place people went frequently to use drugs, Wright said.
Drayton was arrested in Georgia after a crash during a police chase. He was driving a car taken from the Inman home, Wright said in 2022. Deputies in Burke County, Georgia — about 145 miles (233 kilometers) away — said they chased Drayton after he tried to rob a convenience store at gunpoint and kidnap an employee.
South Carolina, one of 27 states that allow the death penalty, hasn’t performed an execution since 2011. A recent ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court upholding the use of the firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair, opened the door to restart executions in the state.
veryGood! (4674)
Related
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Charles Barkley says WNBA players are being 'petty' over attention paid to Caitlin Clark
- A’s face tight schedule to get agreements and financing in place to open Las Vegas stadium on time
- EPA Formally Denies Alabama’s Plan for Coal Ash Waste
- Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
- Chris Hemsworth went shockingly 'all in' as a villain in his new 'Mad Max' film 'Furiosa'
- Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
- Urban Outfitters' Memorial Day Mega Sale is Here: Score a $590 Sweater for $18 & More Deals Up to 97% Off
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- Rodeo Star Spencer Wright's 3-Year-Old Son in Critical Condition After Driving Toy Tractor into River
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Navajo Nation approves proposed settlement to secure Colorado River water
- Norfolk Southern agrees to $310 million settlement in Ohio train derailment and spill
- Norfolk Southern agrees to $310 million settlement in Ohio train derailment and spill
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- St. Louis detectives fatally shoot man after chase; police said he shot at the detectives
- Remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after deadly Astroworld concert has been settled, lawyer says
- Long-term mortgage rates ease for third straight week, dipping to just below 7%
Recommendation
Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
Court overturns suspension of Alex Jones’ lawyer in Sandy Hook case that led to $1.4B judgment
Remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after deadly Astroworld concert has been settled, lawyer says
Singapore Airlines passenger says it was chaos as extreme turbulence hit flight with no warning
Plunge Into These Olympic Artistic Swimmers’ Hair and Makeup Secrets
30 years of clashes between Ticketmaster, artists and fans
City’s red-light camera program was lawful after all, North Carolina justices say
Serena Williams Shares Clothing Fail Amid Postpartum Weight Loss Journey