Briley Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Briley Brothers were responsible for a series of killings
in Richmond, Virginia
in 1979 that lasted seven months before their arrest.
. With their younger sibling Anthony, Linwood and James were regarded by older neighbors as people who would help neighbors repair cars or mow lawns.
The three boys collected exotic pets, such as tarantula
s, piranha
s, and boa constrictor
s. It is also alleged that all three brothers engaged in zoosadism
. Their father, James Briley, Sr., was unnerved enough by their behavior that he kept his bedroom door padlocked from the inside overnight. James Sr. was the only person the brothers feared.
from his bedroom window and fatally shot Orline Christian, an elderly next door neighbor, as she passed by his window sill. The crime almost went undetected; however, her curious relatives noticed a small bloody mark on her back at the viewing and asked the funeral director
to re-examine the body. Upon a second examination, the director found a small caliber bullet wound in her back. Police investigators were contacted and they sought to find the source of the gunshot. Standing at the open window in her home where Mrs. Christian had been killed, a detective used a sheet of plywood to represent her body, with a hole cut out to represent the bullet wound. He soon determined that the bullet could only have come from the Briley home next door. There, the murder weapon was found and Linwood admitted to the crime with indifference: "I heard she had heart problems, she would have died soon anyway."
Linwood was sent to reform school
to serve a one-year sentence for the killing. His young brother, James or "J.B." followed in his path at the same age, having been sentenced to time in juvenile hall
for having pulled a gun and fired upon a police officer
during a pursuit.
couple William and Virginia Bucher. Claiming that he had car trouble and needed to use their telephone, Linwood eventually forced his way into their home. At this point, he held the couple at gun point and waved his brother Anthony inside. The two Brileys tied up the couple and robbed the house, dousing each room with kerosene
after picking it clean of valuables.
As they left, a lit match was tossed on the fuel. The two hurriedly packed their stolen loot – a television, CB radio
, and jewelry into their trunk and drove out of the area. They were not around when Mr. Bucher managed to free himself and his wife from their restraints and escape just before the house became engulfed in flames. They would be the sole survivors of the rampage.
serviceman, was murdered by the brothers at his suburban home on March 21. The brothers first assaulted McDuffie, before shooting him dead and stealing his valuables.
John "Johnny G." Gallaher was performing with his band at a South Richmond nightclub
. Stepping outside between sets for a break, he inadvertently came right into the hands of the Briley brothers, having been looking around town for a victim all night without success. They decided to lie-in-wait for whoever might happen to step outside.
Gallaher was assaulted by Linwood and then put into the trunk of his own Lincoln Continental
. He was then driven out to Mayo Island in the middle of the James River
, where the remnants of an abandoned paper mill
stood. There, he was removed from the trunk of his Lincoln Continental and shot dead at point blank range
in the head. His body was then dumped into the river. The remains were found two days later. When arrested months later, Linwood was still wearing a ring stolen from Gallaher's hand.
. The brothers then entered her apartment and robbed it of valuables.
, and a fork. The latter of the two were left embedded in Garner's back.
for a 1973 robbery and malicious wounding conviction, J.B. led his brothers on the prowl for yet another victim that night.
Upon seeing the brothers down the street, Wilkerson, who lived with his 23-year-old wife Judy Barton (who was five months pregnant at the time) and her 5-year-old son Harvey, instinctively closed and locked his door. This action was noticed by the brothers, who then walked over to Wilkerson's front door. Terrified by their response if he refused them entry, Wilkerson allowed them in.
Both adults in the home were overpowered, bound and gagged with duct tape
. Linwood Briley then assaulted Judy Barton into the kitchen, where she was raped within hearing distance of the others. Fellow gang member Duncan Meekins continued the sexual assault
, after which Linwood dragged Barton back into the living room
, briefly rummaged the premises for valuables, and then left the house.
The three remaining gang members covered their victims with sheets. J.B. told Meekins, "you've got to get one", at which point Meekins took a pistol and fatally shot Harvey Wilkerson in the head. J.B. then shot Barton and the 5-year-old boy to death.
Police happened to be in the general vicinity of the neighborhood, and later saw the gang members running down the street at high speed. They did not know where the shots had been fired. The bodies were not discovered until three days following the crime, but the brothers were all arrested soon afterwards.
in return for turning state's evidence
against the Brileys. He took the offer and offered a full detailing of the crime spree
; as a result, he escaped the death penalty
and was incarcerated at a Virginia
prison away from any of the Briley brothers. The plea agreement gave him a sentence of life plus 80 years, which at the time of conviction would make him eligible for parole after serving 12–15 years. Duncan Meekins is still in prison awaiting parole; both the (former) case prosecutors and the detective who arrested him are publicly advocating his release to the parole board.
A single life sentence
with parole eligibility was handed down to Anthony Briley, youngest brother of the trio, due to his limited involvement in the killings.
Because of Virginia's "triggerman statute," both J.B. and Linwood received numerous life sentences for murders committed during the spree, but faced capital charges only in cases where they had physically committed the actual killing of the victim.
Linwood was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of John Gallaher, while J.B. received two death sentences, one for each of the murders of Judy Barton and her son Harvey.
A Richmond judge presiding at one of the trials summed up the case following the verdict, "This was the vilest rampage of rape, murder and robbery that the court has seen in thirty years."
Both were sent to death row
at Mecklenburg Correctional Center
near Boydton
in early 1980. While there, they were disruptive inmates who used their guile and physical prowess to threaten both fellow inmates and officers. A flourishing drug and weapon trade operated in the prison under their leadership.
. They almost succeeded, making it as far as Vermont
before being captured at gunpoint by Vermont state troopers. The group was held at Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Rutland
, pending their extradition back to Virginia
. These events were featured on I.D. Channel in Escape from Death Row.
Splitting off from their two remaining free escapees at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, the Brileys went to live with their uncle in the north of the city. They were captured on June 19 by a heavily armed group of FBI
agents and police. Returned to Richmond, Virginia, few sought to plead for their lives to be spared.
at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond. Linwood was put to death in Virginia's electric chair on October 12, 1984. James Briley was executed in the same manner on April 18 of the following year. Linwood is survived by 1 son, who under witness pretences is to remain anonymous. James is survived by 3 daughters, who live in Richmond.
Their younger brother Anthony remains incarcerated in Virginia's corrections system and comes up for parole consideration every few years. To date, all his applications for parole have been denied by the state parole board
.
Linwood Briley's son, Norman Ampy, has been jailed repeatedly for drugs and robbery, whilst also avoiding a capital-murder charge that could have sent him to death row. He was shot 24 times in a single attack, struggled for two years to recover, and became addicted to painkillers while in hospital. After losing a leg he committed more crimes while in a wheelchair, including the robbery of a Chesterfield County
bank.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in 1979 that lasted seven months before their arrest.
Early lives
The brothers were born to a stable home with two parents in Northeastern Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. With their younger sibling Anthony, Linwood and James were regarded by older neighbors as people who would help neighbors repair cars or mow lawns.
The three boys collected exotic pets, such as tarantula
Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and often very large arachnids belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Some members of the same Suborder may also be called "tarantulas" in the common parlance. This article will restrict itself to...
s, piranha
Piranha
A piranha or piraña is a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. In Venezuela, they are called caribes...
s, and boa constrictor
Boa constrictor
The Boa constrictor is a large, heavy-bodied species of snake. It is a member of the family Boidae found in North, Central, and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive...
s. It is also alleged that all three brothers engaged in zoosadism
Zoosadism
Zoosadism is a term coined by Ernest Borneman referring to pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. Zoosadism is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that are a precursor to sociopathic behavior.-Research:...
. Their father, James Briley, Sr., was unnerved enough by their behavior that he kept his bedroom door padlocked from the inside overnight. James Sr. was the only person the brothers feared.
First murder
In 1971, the first killing was committed by (then) 16-year-old Linwood. While alone at home one day, he took aim with a rifleRifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
from his bedroom window and fatally shot Orline Christian, an elderly next door neighbor, as she passed by his window sill. The crime almost went undetected; however, her curious relatives noticed a small bloody mark on her back at the viewing and asked the funeral director
Funeral director
A funeral director , also known as a mortician or undertaker, is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the planning and arrangement of the actual funeral ceremony...
to re-examine the body. Upon a second examination, the director found a small caliber bullet wound in her back. Police investigators were contacted and they sought to find the source of the gunshot. Standing at the open window in her home where Mrs. Christian had been killed, a detective used a sheet of plywood to represent her body, with a hole cut out to represent the bullet wound. He soon determined that the bullet could only have come from the Briley home next door. There, the murder weapon was found and Linwood admitted to the crime with indifference: "I heard she had heart problems, she would have died soon anyway."
Linwood was sent to reform school
Reform school
A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...
to serve a one-year sentence for the killing. His young brother, James or "J.B." followed in his path at the same age, having been sentenced to time in juvenile hall
Youth detention center
A youth detention center, also known as a juvenile detention center , juvenile hall or, more colloquially as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs...
for having pulled a gun and fired upon a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
during a pursuit.
Murder spree
In 1979, the three Briley brothers and an accomplice, Duncan Meekins, began the seven month series of random killings that terrified the city and the surrounding region.William and Virginia Bucher
Their first attack occurred on March 12, when Linwood knocked on the door of Henrico CountyHenrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
couple William and Virginia Bucher. Claiming that he had car trouble and needed to use their telephone, Linwood eventually forced his way into their home. At this point, he held the couple at gun point and waved his brother Anthony inside. The two Brileys tied up the couple and robbed the house, dousing each room with kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
after picking it clean of valuables.
As they left, a lit match was tossed on the fuel. The two hurriedly packed their stolen loot – a television, CB radio
Citizens' band radio
Citizens' Band radio is, in many countries, a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the 27-MHz band. Citizens' Band is distinct from the FRS, GMRS, MURS and amateur radio...
, and jewelry into their trunk and drove out of the area. They were not around when Mr. Bucher managed to free himself and his wife from their restraints and escape just before the house became engulfed in flames. They would be the sole survivors of the rampage.
Michael McDuffie
Michael McDuffie, a vending machineVending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
serviceman, was murdered by the brothers at his suburban home on March 21. The brothers first assaulted McDuffie, before shooting him dead and stealing his valuables.
Mary Gowen
On April 9, the brothers followed 76-year-old Mary Gowen across town from her babysitting job. They followed her into her house to rape and murder her. The brothers escaped the residence with many of her valuables.Christopher Philips
The gang saw seventeen-year-old Christopher Philips hanging around Linwood Briley's parked car on July 4. Suspecting that he might have been trying to steal the vehicle, the gang surrounded him and dragged him into a nearby backyard. There the three brothers wrestled him to the ground. When Philips screamed for help, Linwood murdered him by dropping a cinderblock on his skull.John Gallaher
On September 14, disc jockeyDisc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
John "Johnny G." Gallaher was performing with his band at a South Richmond nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
. Stepping outside between sets for a break, he inadvertently came right into the hands of the Briley brothers, having been looking around town for a victim all night without success. They decided to lie-in-wait for whoever might happen to step outside.
Gallaher was assaulted by Linwood and then put into the trunk of his own Lincoln Continental
Lincoln Continental
The Lincoln Continental is an automobile which was produced by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from 1939 to 1948 and again from 1956 to 2002...
. He was then driven out to Mayo Island in the middle of 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...
, where the remnants of an abandoned paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
stood. There, he was removed from the trunk of his Lincoln Continental and shot dead at point blank range
Point-blank range
In external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm. The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic...
in the head. His body was then dumped into the river. The remains were found two days later. When arrested months later, Linwood was still wearing a ring stolen from Gallaher's hand.
Mary Wilfong
On September 30, 62-year-old private nurse Mary Wilfong was followed home to her Richmond apartment. The brothers surrounded her just outside the door and Linwood beat her to death with a baseball batBaseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
. The brothers then entered her apartment and robbed it of valuables.
Blanche Page and Charles Garner
Several days later on October 5, just two blocks from the Briley home on 4th Avenue in Richmond, 79-year-old Blanche Page and her 59-year-old boarder Charles Garner were both brutally murdered by the brothers. Page was bludgeoned to death while Garner was fatally assaulted with a variety of weapons, which included a baseball bat, five knives, a pair of scissorsScissors
Scissors are hand-operated cutting instruments. They consist of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting various thin materials, such as paper, cardboard, metal foil, thin...
, and a fork. The latter of the two were left embedded in Garner's back.
The Wilkerson family
The final murders occurred against a long time neighborhood friend of the brothers, Harvey Wilkerson and his family. On the morning of October 19, having promised a judge earlier that day that he would stay out of trouble while out on paroleParole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
for a 1973 robbery and malicious wounding conviction, J.B. led his brothers on the prowl for yet another victim that night.
Upon seeing the brothers down the street, Wilkerson, who lived with his 23-year-old wife Judy Barton (who was five months pregnant at the time) and her 5-year-old son Harvey, instinctively closed and locked his door. This action was noticed by the brothers, who then walked over to Wilkerson's front door. Terrified by their response if he refused them entry, Wilkerson allowed them in.
Both adults in the home were overpowered, bound and gagged with duct tape
Duct tape
Duct tape, or duck tape, is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure sensitive tape often sealed with polyethylene. It is very similar to gaffer tape but differs in that gaffer tape was designed to be cleanly removed, while duct tape was not. It has a standard width of and is generally silver or black...
. Linwood Briley then assaulted Judy Barton into the kitchen, where she was raped within hearing distance of the others. Fellow gang member Duncan Meekins continued the sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, after which Linwood dragged Barton back into the living room
Living room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
, briefly rummaged the premises for valuables, and then left the house.
The three remaining gang members covered their victims with sheets. J.B. told Meekins, "you've got to get one", at which point Meekins took a pistol and fatally shot Harvey Wilkerson in the head. J.B. then shot Barton and the 5-year-old boy to death.
Police happened to be in the general vicinity of the neighborhood, and later saw the gang members running down the street at high speed. They did not know where the shots had been fired. The bodies were not discovered until three days following the crime, but the brothers were all arrested soon afterwards.
Capture and incarceration
During interrogation by police, Duncan Meekins was offered a plea agreementPlea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
in return for turning state's evidence
Turn state's evidence
To turn state's evidence is when an accused or convicted criminal testifies as a witness for the state against his associates or accomplices. Turning state's evidence is occasionally a result of a change of heart or feelings of guilt, but more often is done in response to a generous offer from the...
against the Brileys. He took the offer and offered a full detailing of the crime spree
Crime Spree
Crime Spree is a 2003 film written and directed by Brad Mirman. It stars well known actors Gerard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel as well as french singers Johnny Hallyday and Renaud.- Plot :...
; as a result, he escaped the death penalty
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...
and was incarcerated at a 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...
prison away from any of the Briley brothers. The plea agreement gave him a sentence of life plus 80 years, which at the time of conviction would make him eligible for parole after serving 12–15 years. Duncan Meekins is still in prison awaiting parole; both the (former) case prosecutors and the detective who arrested him are publicly advocating his release to the parole board.
A single life sentence
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
with parole eligibility was handed down to Anthony Briley, youngest brother of the trio, due to his limited involvement in the killings.
Because of Virginia's "triggerman statute," both J.B. and Linwood received numerous life sentences for murders committed during the spree, but faced capital charges only in cases where they had physically committed the actual killing of the victim.
Linwood was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of John Gallaher, while J.B. received two death sentences, one for each of the murders of Judy Barton and her son Harvey.
A Richmond judge presiding at one of the trials summed up the case following the verdict, "This was the vilest rampage of rape, murder and robbery that the court has seen in thirty years."
Both were sent to death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at Mecklenburg Correctional Center
Mecklenburg Correctional Center
Mecklenburg Correctional Center is a medium security prison operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections in unincorporated Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States, near Boydton. The facility serves as a reception and classification facility...
near Boydton
Boydton, Virginia
Boydton is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 454 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, and it is near the Mecklenburg Correctional Center.-Geography:...
in early 1980. While there, they were disruptive inmates who used their guile and physical prowess to threaten both fellow inmates and officers. A flourishing drug and weapon trade operated in the prison under their leadership.
Escape
Linwood and J.B. Briley were the ringleaders in the six inmate escape from Virginia's death row at Mecklenburg Correctional Center on May 31, 1984. During the early moments of the escape, in which a coordinated effort resulted in inmates taking over the death row unit, both Brileys expressed strong interest in killing the officers that they had taken hostage. They went so far as to douse captive officers in lighter fluid and were prepared to toss in a lit match to complete the action. Willie Lloyd Turner, another death row inmate, stepped in the way of James Briley and forbade him from doing so. Meanwhile, cop killer Wilbert Lee Evans prevented Linwood Briley from raping a female nurse who had been taken hostage while en route to delivering medication to inmates in the unit. The group's initial plan was to escape into CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They almost succeeded, making it as far as Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
before being captured at gunpoint by Vermont state troopers. The group was held at Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
, pending their extradition back to 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...
. These events were featured on I.D. Channel in Escape from Death Row.
Splitting off from their two remaining free escapees at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the Brileys went to live with their uncle in the north of the city. They were captured on June 19 by a heavily armed group of FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents and police. Returned to Richmond, Virginia, few sought to plead for their lives to be spared.
Execution
In short order, the remaining appeals ran out for both brothers. They were executed in the electric chairElectric 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...
at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond. Linwood was put to death in Virginia's electric chair on October 12, 1984. James Briley was executed in the same manner on April 18 of the following year. Linwood is survived by 1 son, who under witness pretences is to remain anonymous. James is survived by 3 daughters, who live in Richmond.
Their younger brother Anthony remains incarcerated in Virginia's corrections system and comes up for parole consideration every few years. To date, all his applications for parole have been denied by the state parole board
Parole Board
A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the United...
.
Linwood Briley's son, Norman Ampy, has been jailed repeatedly for drugs and robbery, whilst also avoiding a capital-murder charge that could have sent him to death row. He was shot 24 times in a single attack, struggled for two years to recover, and became addicted to painkillers while in hospital. After losing a leg he committed more crimes while in a wheelchair, including the robbery of a Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
bank.
See also
- List of individuals executed in Virginia
- Capital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment is legal in the U.S. State of Virginia. In what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first execution in the future United States was carried out in 1608. It was the first of 1,384 executions, the highest total of any state in the Union...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
Sources
- "So Vicious, So Violent", Page B-1, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, August 16, 1984 - Jackson, Joe; Dead Run: The Untold Story of Dennis Stockton and America's Only Mass Escape from Death Row, Times BooksTimes BooksTimes Books is a publishing imprint owned by The New York Times Company and licensed to Henry Holt and Company....
, 1999. - "Officials seek release for Briley accomplice", Richmond Times-DispatchRichmond Times-DispatchThe Richmond Times-Dispatch is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond the capital of Virginia, United States, and is commonly considered the "newspaper of record" for events occurring in much of the state...
, May 13, 2009. http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/crime/article/MEEK13_20090512-223007/267407/