Nicholas Ingram

Nicholas Lee Ingram (20 November 1963 – 7 April 1995) was a dual British and American national, executed for murder in 1995 at the age of 31 by the US state of Georgia, using the electric chair. He was born in Britain, but had an American father. The British Prime Minister, John Major, declined to intervene and attempt to get him reprieved. He had been imprisoned since 1983 for the murder of J.C. Sawyer, a 55-year-old retired military veteran, and injuring his wife Mary Eunice Sawyer, during a robbery. The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, was one of many who campaigned unsuccessfully for clemency. The case received widespread media coverage in the United Kingdom.

Early life Ingram was born in Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, England, to a British mother, Ann, and an American father, Johnny Ingram. One year after Ingram's birth, his family relocated to the U.S. state of Georgia.

Murder of J.C. Sawyer On 3 June 1983, 19-year-old Ingram sold car wheels and a ring at a pawn shop while accompanied by a friend. Afterwards, he and his friend retrieved a .38 caliber revolver from his father's house; Ingram told his friend he knew where he could get a vehicle that he would then use to go to California. At approximately 6:30 pm EST, Ingram's friend drove him to a house in Marietta, Georgia, in Cobb County. Ingram told his friend to wait in the car; before leaving, Ingram stated that he intended to pistol-whip the people in the house, although he was not sure he would be able to kill them. His friend decided not to wait for Ingram and drove home instead.

At approximately 6:30 pm, Ingram burglarized the Cobb County home of 55-year-old retired military veteran J.C. and his 48-year-old wife, Mary Eunice Sawyer. Ingram asked that they let him use their phone, and they refused entry, after which Ingram produced a pistol, threatened to shoot them if they did not cooperate with him, and demanded money and the keys to the couple's car. Mary Sawyer gave Ingram $60 USD, while J.C. Sawyer surrendered the keys to his pickup truck. Ingram then led the couple outside and into the woods surrounding their home. Once they were about from the home, Ingram tied their hands behind them and bound them to a tree using rope and wire. The Sawyers begged Ingram not to kill them while Ingram taunted and threatened them; he ultimately gagged them with his shirt after tearing it in two and stuffing each half into each victim's mouth. He then shot them both in the head at point-blank range. The shots were fatal to J.C. Sawyer, but Mrs. Sawyer survived. She played dead until she heard Ingram drive off with J.C. Sawyer's truck. After confirming that her husband was dead, Mary Sawyer untied herself and went to a neighbor's house to call the police.

Apprehension After the murder, Cobb County police put out a nationwide bulletin warning about Ingram's suspected actions and calling for his arrest.

Jury selection began in November 1983. Ingram's primary defence at trial, as stated in his attorney's opening statement, was that Mary Sawyer's description of the murderer and assailant did not match Ingram, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab also allegedly made a mistake when testing J.C. Sawyer's blood; he also alleged that the GBI would be unable to produce forensic evidence tying Ingram to the crime, including fingerprints, blood, fiber, or hairs. Despite these claims, Ingram's defence attorney did not call any witnesses to testify on Ingram's behalf.

The prosecution called over 30 witnesses, the last of whom was Mary Sawyer, who recounted her and her husband's interactions with Ingram. She testified that Ingram commented while pistol-whipping J.C. Sawyer that "he liked to torture the [male victims] while the [female victims] watched." She testified that Ingram also told her and J.C. Sawyer that it would take days for anyone to find their bodies after he murdered them, and he threatened the Sawyers' surviving relatives if they ever gave evidence against Ingram: "It will take two or three days for your bodies to be found, and when your bodies are found, if any of your family finds any evidence to convict me, the most I'll ever get is 30 years. And I'll come back and get them." Under cross-examination, Ingram's defence attorney questioned Mary Sawyer about the initial description of Ingram that she provided to police, to which she responded, "If you could have photographed my mind, you would have gotten the perfect picture of him, because I have thought about him night and day. [...] I will never forget the person's face who shot my husband and who shot me." After Mary Sawyer's testimony, the jury retired to deliberate. After three hours of deliberation, the jury returned with a verdict on 20 November 1983, Sawyer's 20th birthday; he was convicted of murder and two counts of armed robbery. However, the jury could not yet agree on a sentence and returned to deliberate further. After five more hours of deliberation, the jury sentenced Ingram to death on 21 November 1983, and the judge set 10 January 1984 as his date of execution. Ingram reportedly laughed as the judge set his execution date, although his attorney claimed his laughter was due to Ingram not knowing "how to react" to hearing the sentence. Georgia's automatic appeals process postponed Ingram's execution from taking place in January 1984.

In an "open letter to the British people" published in London newspapers, Ingram thanked those who had appealed on his behalf, adding: "If I die, I hope it is not for nothing. I hope people will see that a ritualistic killing in the electric chair solves nothing." Ingram declined a final meal, but later ate some crackers and chips bought by relatives from a prison vending machine.

According to Steve Boggan, Ann and Johnny Ingram last saw their son eight hours before his execution. Ingram's head was already shaved and he had worn a baseball cap to spare his parents the traumatic sight of his shaved head. Shortly after Ingram's execution, his father stated, "Well, he's dead now and they can't hurt him no more" [ sic], while his mother said, "There's nothing to be said. It has happened and nothing's going to bring him back. Now we must pick up the pieces of our lives."

Ingram's execution took place at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson, Georgia. Two chaplains and officials from Georgia's prison service were with him in the execution chamber when he died as well as six media representatives who went into the prison to view the execution. Ingram's lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, also witnessed his execution. Witnesses said Ingram glared at them while guards strapped him into the electric chair. When the warden, Albert "Gerry" Thomas, asked Ingram if he had any last words, Ingram spat at him. When he was asked whether he wished to have a final prayer, some sources suggested Ingram replied, "Let's get on with it". Other sources stated Ingram simply closed his eyes and did not mention Ingram speaking. Ingram was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m. according to Vicki Gavalas, the prison department spokeswoman for the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center where the execution took place. He died in Georgia's electric chair, Old Sparky.