An Alabama jury just recommended, in late April of 2023, a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for Coley McCraney. McCraney was the man who raped at least one woman and murdered two women, J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett, in 1999.
Because the two women were murdered, McCraney faced the possibility of receiving a death sentence. However, only two jurors voted for the death sentence, so McCraney will spend the rest of his life in prison. The charges and convictions he faced were, WFSA reports:
- Capital murder during the commission of a felony (rape) – 2 voted for death penalty
- Capital murder for the deaths of 2 or more people – Life in prison
- Capital murder for death in a motor vehicle – Life in prison
- Capital murder for death in a motor vehicle – Life in prison
The lead prosecutor in the case was Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. He held a press conference to discuss the murders, prosecution, and convictions in which family members of the two murdered women attended. Speaking during the press conference, he said:
“For 23 years, the families of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett have hoped and prayed for justice. While this outcome will not bring their loved ones back, my hope is that it will give them the much-delayed closure they deserve and will reinvigorate this entire community’s faith in the justice system.
“It was an honor to return to my prosecutorial roots on behalf of two young ladies that were never forgotten. The verdict handed down today sent a clear message—we have no tolerance in this state for those who callously take the lives of others, especially our youth. This timely resolution during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is a poignant reminder that we must not ever allow the plight of crime victims to be minimized or their voices drowned out.”
He also said, speaking about the murdered women, “They were on the precipice of being able to begin their lives. They were daughters. They were best friends. They were pillars of their own clique and group of people. They were siblings of brothers and sisters. They were who we are as a community. And yes, I appreciate words from the defense saying they’re sorry about the loss of their life, but let’s don’t forget who committed this crime and took those girls away. They’d be 41 years old now. Can you imagine what they would have been able to do with their lives over the last 24 years, and what we have lost because they didn’t have that opportunity.”
His office added, “The successful conviction was the result of a multiagency effort including: the District Attorney’s Office of the 33rd Judicial Circuit, Ozark Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Dale County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dothan Police Department.”
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Further, in his closing statement, Marshall called McCraney “a monster, a murderer, a rapist.”
Predictably, the murderer’s lawyers pledged to continue the fight to get him out of jail, saying, “There are some issues that we feel like that are appealable and we plan to do forward with those issues.”
McCraney featured image credit: Dale County Sheriff’s Office. Beasley and Hawlett images credit: Dale County Sheriff’s Office Facebook