Stephen Anthony Mobley

Stephen Anthony Mobley (July 13, 1965 – March 1, 2005) was a convicted murderer executed by the State of Georgia for the 1991 killing of John C. Collins, a 25-year-old college student working nights as a Domino's pizza store manager. On appeal, Mobley's attorneys advanced a novel argument that Mobley was genetically predisposed to seeking violent solutions to conflict. The case was described by Nature Reviews Neuroscience as "perhaps the most widely cited case in which defence lawyers used genetic factors in the defence of their client".

Prior criminal history According to relatives, Stephen Anthony Mobley had been a "difficult" child who had a history of lying, cheating, stealing, vandalizing, setting fires, and being cruel to animals. School records showed further evidence of lying, stealing, destruction of property, use of profanity to teachers, assaults on other students, and expulsions. More serious offenses followed in Mobley's adolescence and by his mid twenties, he had served prison sentences for forgery and began a series of armed robberies.

A number of social workers and psychologists had evaluated Mobley during his youth for possible learning disability or organic brain disorder, and despite finding him "manipulative, self-centered and impulsive," found no evidence of either.

Trial On February 16, 1994, Mobley was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder based on five separate underlying felonies, and guilty of those five underlying felonies (armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime.) Mobley, who was 25 years old when he committed the crimes, was sentenced to death after one day of deliberation on February 21, 1994.

Appeals The strength of the evidence against Mobley was such that his attorneys concluded early on that his conviction was certain and focused on attempting to identify mitigating evidence. His lawyers argued for clemency on the basis that his family had a disposition toward violence and aggressive behavior. His family tree was analyzed by researchers who were interested in the connection between genetics and criminality. In the course of analyzing Mobley's family, four generations, including uncles, aunts, and a grandfather, were responsible for acts of violence and aggression ranging from serious crimes (including murder and rape) to alcoholism, explosive tempers, antisocial behaviors, and extreme spousal abuse.

Mobley's father apparently at this point replaced his son's attorneys, dropping the genetic arguments in favor of different lines of appeal. Pointing out that the sentencing option of Life imprisonment without parole was not available in 1994, the board was asked to commute Mobley's death sentence. This was supported by affidavits from six of the remaining ten trial jurors who said they would have voted for life in prison without parole if it had been an option. Mobley's attorneys for this clemency hearing included former state Attorney General Mike Bowers, who had argued to uphold the death sentence in prior appeals.

Execution Mobley was executed by lethal injection at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison on March 1, 2005. Mobley's execution was delayed by legal appeals right up to the last moment. Minutes before the scheduled 7:00pm execution time, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay to review these final appeals. At 7:25 p.m., after the high court had denied the appeals, Mobley was prepared by prison officials by strapping him to a gurney and affixing a needle that would deliver the mixture of drugs designed to stop his heart. At 7:50 p.m., he made a short statement: "I would be remiss not to acknowledge and make amends to my family and friends. There are those who say I'm a bigger man than I used to be; I appreciate that. The opportunity I've been given I want to atone for what I've committed." The lethal injection quickly followed. Mobley's eyes blinked rapidly, then slowed. At 7:56 p.m., they fluttered once, and remained closed. Two physicians pronounced the 39-year-old dead shortly afterwards.