Kenneth Lee Boyd - Trial and Appeals

Trial and Appeals

After being indicted on May 16, 1988, he was tried, convicted and received a death sentence for each murder from a jury in Rockingham County. This conviction and sentence was overturned on appeal to the North Carolina Supreme Court on the grounds that a juror was improperly excused after a private, unrecorded bench conference with the juror. A new trial resulted in Boyd once again being convicted and sentenced to death on July 14, 1994. The sole aggravating circumstance was that the murder was committed during the commission of other acts of violence.

Psychiatrists testified as expert witnesses at his trial that Boyd suffered from several mental health issues at the time of the murders. Dr. Patricio Lara said that Boyd suffered from adjustment disorder with psychotic emotional features, alcohol abuse, and a personality disorder with predominante compulsive-dependent features. Dr. John Warren diagnosed chronic depression, alcohol abuse disorder, dependent personality disorder, and a reading disability. He had an IQ of 77, placing him into "borderline deficiency" region of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, one level above "mild mental retardation".

The Supreme Court of the United States turned down Boyd's petition for a writ of certiorari on October 3, 2005. Ten days later, the North Carolina Secretary of Corrections, Theodis Beck, set the execution date for December 2, 2005.

Less than four hours before the scheduled time, Governor Mike Easley denied Boyd clemency. It was just after the Supreme Court of the United States had denied another appeal by Boyd's lawyers.