Brandon Hedrick
Encyclopedia
Brandon Wayne Hedrick was a convicted murderer who was executed by electric chair
by the U.S. state
of Virginia
. He was convicted of the 1997 murder of 23 year-old Lisa Crider, who was kidnapped
, robbed, rape
d, and shot in the face. He was the first person electrocuted in Virginia since 2003, when Earl Bramblett
was executed for rape and murder.
and marijuana
, and employing the services of four prostitutes
. After driving the last two prostitutes back to downtown Lynchburg, Virginia
, Hedrick and Jones saw Lisa Yvonne Crider, an African American woman. Jones knew that Crider's boyfriend was a crack cocaine dealer, and the two decided to pick Crider up, have sex with her, and rob her of any crack in her possession. Crider voluntarily travelled with Hedrick and Jones back to Jones's apartment, where Jones paid Crider $50 to have sex with him. Afterwards, Hedrick retrieved a shotgun
from Jones’s car at Jones’s direction and robbed Crider of the $50 at gunpoint. Hedrick and Jones handcuffed Crider, duct-taped her eyes and mouth, and led her out to Jones’s truck. The three left the apartment around 1:00 a.m.
After driving for some time, Jones stopped the truck because Hedrick wanted to have sex with Crider. Hedrick raped Crider after telling her not to "try anything" because he had a gun. Afterwards, the two men decided to kill Crider, fearing retaliation from her boyfriend. As they drove in search of a suitable location, Crider, pleading for her life, asked if there was anything she could do to keep them from killing her. Hedrick told Crider that if she fellated
him, he'd "think about it", at which point Crider performed oral sex
on Hedrick.
They continued driving until daybreak, when Jones stopped the truck near the James River
. Jones led Crider to the riverbank, told Hedrick to "do what you got to do", and walked back to the truck. Hedrick shot Crider and left with Jones. The two men fled Virginia in Jones’ truck the next day. That evening, Crider’s body was discovered at the James River with a shotgun wound to the face. About one week later, the authorities arrested Hedrick and Jones in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
Hedrick was convicted of capital murder in the commission of robbery
, rape
, forcible sodomy
, abduction, and use of a firearm in the commission of murder. During the sentencing phase of his trial, a court-appointed clinical psychologist
testified at sentencing that Hedrick was significantly immature for his age and that he had a problem with drugs and alcohol that accelerated in the months leading up to the crimes. He noted Hedrick’s IQ score of 76, which was "far below average", although "not so low as to suggest mental retardation
". The jury recommended that he be sentenced to death
, finding that Hedrick posed a "continuing serious threat to society" and that his conduct in committing the offenses was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture
, depravity of mind, aggravated battery to the victim beyond the minimum necessary to accomplish the act of murder". The Circuit Court agreed and, on July 22, 1998, sentenced Hedrick to death.
Hedrick's accomplice, Trevor Jones, was sentenced to life in prison.
as their execution method. Hedrick's lawyers have indicated that he chose the electric chair because he feared complications related to the drugs used in the lethal injection.
The Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine
, denied Hedrick's petition for clemency
, giving the following statement:
Hedrick's final words were:
He was pronounced dead at 9:12 p.m. on July 20, 2006 at the Greensville Correctional Center
in Jarratt, Virginia
.
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
by the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He was convicted of the 1997 murder of 23 year-old Lisa Crider, who was kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, robbed, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d, and shot in the face. He was the first person electrocuted in Virginia since 2003, when Earl Bramblett
Earl Bramblett
Earl Conrad Bramblett was a man from Virginia who was convicted for the 1994 murders of the Hodges family...
was executed for rape and murder.
Crime
On May 10, 1997, Hedrick and Trevor Jones spent the evening drinking, smoking crack cocaineCrack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
and marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, and employing the services of four prostitutes
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. After driving the last two prostitutes back to downtown Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
, Hedrick and Jones saw Lisa Yvonne Crider, an African American woman. Jones knew that Crider's boyfriend was a crack cocaine dealer, and the two decided to pick Crider up, have sex with her, and rob her of any crack in her possession. Crider voluntarily travelled with Hedrick and Jones back to Jones's apartment, where Jones paid Crider $50 to have sex with him. Afterwards, Hedrick retrieved a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
from Jones’s car at Jones’s direction and robbed Crider of the $50 at gunpoint. Hedrick and Jones handcuffed Crider, duct-taped her eyes and mouth, and led her out to Jones’s truck. The three left the apartment around 1:00 a.m.
After driving for some time, Jones stopped the truck because Hedrick wanted to have sex with Crider. Hedrick raped Crider after telling her not to "try anything" because he had a gun. Afterwards, the two men decided to kill Crider, fearing retaliation from her boyfriend. As they drove in search of a suitable location, Crider, pleading for her life, asked if there was anything she could do to keep them from killing her. Hedrick told Crider that if she fellated
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
him, he'd "think about it", at which point Crider performed oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
on Hedrick.
They continued driving until daybreak, when Jones stopped the truck near the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
. Jones led Crider to the riverbank, told Hedrick to "do what you got to do", and walked back to the truck. Hedrick shot Crider and left with Jones. The two men fled Virginia in Jones’ truck the next day. That evening, Crider’s body was discovered at the James River with a shotgun wound to the face. About one week later, the authorities arrested Hedrick and Jones in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
.
Hedrick was convicted of capital murder in the commission of robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, forcible sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
, abduction, and use of a firearm in the commission of murder. During the sentencing phase of his trial, a court-appointed clinical psychologist
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
testified at sentencing that Hedrick was significantly immature for his age and that he had a problem with drugs and alcohol that accelerated in the months leading up to the crimes. He noted Hedrick’s IQ score of 76, which was "far below average", although "not so low as to suggest mental retardation
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
". The jury recommended that he be sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, finding that Hedrick posed a "continuing serious threat to society" and that his conduct in committing the offenses was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, depravity of mind, aggravated battery to the victim beyond the minimum necessary to accomplish the act of murder". The Circuit Court agreed and, on July 22, 1998, sentenced Hedrick to death.
Hedrick's accomplice, Trevor Jones, was sentenced to life in prison.
Execution
Under Virginia law since January 1, 1995, condemned prisoners have been able to choose between the electric chair and lethal injectionLethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
as their execution method. Hedrick's lawyers have indicated that he chose the electric chair because he feared complications related to the drugs used in the lethal injection.
The Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
, denied Hedrick's petition for clemency
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
, giving the following statement:
"In May of 1998, Brandon Wayne Hedrick was found guilty of capital murder in the commission of robbery, abduction, forcible sodomy, rape, and use of a firearm in the murder of Lisa Crider, a young mother. In a separate sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended that Hedrick be sentenced to death on the capital murder conviction, and this recommendation was adopted by the trial judge. The trial, verdict, and sentence have been reviewed in detail by various state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Supreme Court of the United States."
"Having carefully reviewed the Petition for Clemency and judicial opinions regarding this case, I find no reason to doubt Mr. Hedrick’s guilt or to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury and then imposed and affirmed by the courts."
"Accordingly, I decline to intervene."
Hedrick's final words were:
"I pray for everybody that believes in Jesus Christ in heavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, and I pray for the people that are unsaved that they will accept Christ because they know not what they do and will accept Christ one day. I’m ready to go and be free."
He was pronounced dead at 9:12 p.m. on July 20, 2006 at the Greensville Correctional Center
Greensville Correctional Center
Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. It is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. Greensville houses the execution chamber used to carry out capital punishment by the Commonwealth of...
in Jarratt, Virginia
Jarratt, Virginia
Jarratt is a town in Greensville and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 589 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles , all land....
.