Georgia Department of Corrections
Brian Owens, Commissioner
Director of Public Affairs
Joan Heath
Contact: Office of Public Affairs (404) 656-9772
STATE OF GEORGIA
For Immediate Release
Execution Date Set For Newton County Murderer
Melbert Ford to be executed Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Atlanta–The Newton County Superior Court has ordered the execution of convicted murderer Melbert Ford. The Court ordered the Department to carry out the execution on a date between June 9 and June 16, 2010.
The execution is scheduled to take place at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9, 2010.
Ford was sentenced to death in 1986 for the murder of his former girlfriend and her niece. If executed, he will be the 24th inmate put to death by lethal injection in Georgia.
Media interested in a picture of Ford and a listing of his crimes may go to the Department of Corrections website (www.dcor.state.ga.us).
The Department of Corrections is the fifth largest prison system in the United States and is responsible for supervising nearly 60,000 state prisoners and over 150,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 13,000 employees.
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