Bio

Derrick O'Neal Mason was born on August 9, 1974. 

Murder Story

On March 24, 1994, Derrick O'Neal Mason entered a convenience store in Huntsville, Alabama, around 3 a.m. He pointed a .380-caliber pistol at Angela Cagle, a 25-year-old clerk, and forced her to go to the back room of the store. Mason demanded that she remove her clothes, allegedly searching for a way to disable the store's security camera. After she complied, he shot her twice in the face at close range, killing her.

Five days later, an unidentified informant contacted the police and implicated Mason in the murder. This informant provided details about the weapon used and stated that Mason was "out of control" and attempting to make a name for himself. Police followed the lead to Mason's vehicle, where they found the gun believed to be used in the murder during an inventory search.

Derrick Mason was arrested on March 29, 1994, while the officers were executing a separate warrant for misdemeanor assault. After his arrest, he was interrogated and eventually confessed to the murder. Mason claimed that the first shot had been an accident and that he shot Cagle a second time to ensure she could not identify him.

The case went to trial, and Mason was convicted. The jury recommended a death sentence by a 10-2 vote, which the trial court accepted. Derrick O'Neal Mason was executed by lethal injection on September 22, 2011, at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. Prior to his execution, he apologized to the victim's family.