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Erik Hollie Sentenced to Death in 2009
Mississippi Murder
Wlbt.com
March 17, 2010
HAZLEHURST, MS (WLBT) – A Copiah County man gets
the death sentence after confessing he killed a Wesson pawn shop
operator in September 2009.
The jury returned the unanimous decision after
deliberating for just over an hour and ten minutes.
25- year-old Erik Hollie pleaded guilty to the
murder then asked to for the death penalty.
Hollie stood up in court and told the jury
considering his fate that he was guilty. He had confessed to the crime
the day after he was arrested in September of 2009, and told
investigators he wanted the death penalty.
He got what he wanted for shooting 54-year-old
Denmon Ward at least five times in the robbery of Ward's Pawn Shop in
downtown Wesson.
Hollie had also robbed a convenience store in
Georgetown the day before and was caught on surveillance tape during
the commission of that crime.
The star witness in the trial was Milton Twiner,
the chief investigator for Copiah County, who had gotten the
confession on tape.
"He wanted what he got. He asked for the death
penalty, it's a crime that warranted the death penalty, and a jury of
his peers handed him the death penalty. He showed no remorse at any
time during the whole thing, he was kind of, he was real cooperative,
he was up front with it, I just wish that he had told me how it
happened," said Twiner.
In death penalty cases, there is an automatic
appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Families on both sides had very little to say to
the media.
Hollie
sentenced to death in Sept. pawn shop killing
By Therese
Apel - DailyLeader.com
March 17, 2010
HAZLEHURST - As convicted murderer Erik Hollie left
a Copiah County courtroom after being sentenced to death on Tuesday,
members of his family shouted, "We love you, Erik."
On the other side of the courtroom, the family of
his victim, Denmon Ward, held hands and wiped away tears, seemingly
relieved that the ordeal that began on Sept. 8, 2009, was over. Unlike
Hollie's clan, they had not been able to tell their father and husband
they loved him before Ward was killed by Hollie that Tuesday afternoon
in Wesson Pawn & Gun.
"We last saw him Sept. 11 in his casket, and that
was our last time to say goodbye, and thank you for your wonderful
life," said Ward's wife Ursula Ward. "The impact of this will change
my life forever. Erik Hollie has taken something from us that cannot
be replaced."
Hollie, 24, pleaded guilty to capital murder in
Ward's shooting death, and Tuesday's proceedings were in order to
allow the jury to suggest a sentence. The jury's options included life
in prison or the death sentence.
The jury considered facts from forensic pathologist
Dr. Bruce Levy, who testified that Ward was hit by six bullets,
including one shot to the head that appeared to have come when he was
already laying face down on the ground, and Chief Investigator Milton
Twiner, who said Hollie never showed any remorse for the killing.
After the jury received instructions for
deliberations, Hollie's attorney, M.A. Bass, asked Circuit Judge Lamar
Pickard to allow his client to address the panel.
"Let the Lord deal with me," Hollie said. "Sentence
me to death."
Copiah County Chief Deputy Tony Hemphill said it
was rather shocking to see Hollie ask the jury for the death penalty.
"It was very unorthodox, and he got what he asked
for. Regardless of how a person he is or how he thinks, you still have
to use all your resources," Hemphill said. "I think by not allowing
his lawyer to defend him any way he could, I thought it was
ludicrous."
Yet Hemphill said Hollie had given a full
confession to the crime, and that possibly though he has shown no
remorse, he may be simply taking his punishment.
"He absolutely knows what he's doing," he said. "He
can blame anybody he wants to, but I think this is his way of just
saying here I am, I did it, take me."
The jury decision was returned in just over an
hour. Jurors unanimously agreed Hollie should die for his role in
Ward's death.
"I do hereby sentence you to death by the method
described by the state of Mississippi at a time to be determined,"
said Pickard, who added on a 50-year sentence for armed robbery.
In Mississippi, the death sentence carries an
automatic appeal, though officials don't really know what to expect
from Hollie since he has asked for the death penalty since he
confessed to the crime the day he turned himself in to Wesson police
and the Copiah County Sheriff's Department in the middle of Highway 51
in Wesson.
The court then heard impact statements from the
victim's family. Ward's family told the court of the ways that their
lives have been changed forever.
"I don't even feel like I can be a good mother to
my children because I'm a grieving child myself," said daughter Julie
Case. "I fear my children won't even remember him as a person, just
the horror of his death."
Ward's son, Wesson Police Chief Chad O'Quinn, is
currently stationed overseas, but members of his department said it is
a relief to have the case finished so that the healing can begin.
"As far as the police department is concerned, it
didn't matter if the sentence was life in prison or the death penalty,
we're happy that the family got justice," said acting Police Chief
Chad Sills.
Hemphill said that while he's happy that justice
has been done for Ward's family, he is touched for Hollie's.
"Chad (O'Quinn)'s been a friend of mine for years,
even back in school. I'm just glad it's over for his sake," Hemphill
said. "But I feel for Erik's mother, I really do. I'm a father, and I
can't imagine sitting there watching your child go through something
like this and getting up and asking the jury for the death sentence in
her presence, I can't imagine how that made her feel."
After the victim impact statements, Hollie, who had
remained stoic throughout the trial, declined to speak to the
courtroom.
