Crime & Safety
Georgia Death Row Inmate Spared
The inmate has been on Death Row since 1994 for the murder of a Forsyth County store clerk.
The man who has been on Georgia's Death Row since 1994 for the murder of a Forsyth County store clerk has been granted clemency by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.
68-year-old Tommy Lee Waldrip was convicted of the murder of Keith Evans, 23, on April 13, 1991. It is believed that Waldrip's motive for murder was to keep Evans from testifying in the re-trial of Waldrip's son for armed robbery.
According to Forsyth County News, Waldrip, his son John, and his brother-in-law Howard Livingston were involved in Evans' murder, and each of the three men were convicted for the crime. Only the elder Waldrip was sentenced to death.
Before Waldrip's clemency was granted, he was scheduled to die at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The decision by the Board of Pardons and Paroles commutes Waldrip's sentence to life in prison without parole.
He now joins only four other men who have had their death sentences lifted in Georgia since 2002, the last such clemency being granted in April of 2012.
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