Bio

Eric John King was born on September 30, 1963. He grew up in Arizona, where his life ultimately became defined by a fatal decision on December 27, 1989. At 25 years old, King walked into a Phoenix convenience store to commit an armed robbery, a crime that escalated into violence when he shot and killed store clerk Ron Barman and security guard Richard Butts for a total of $72. 

Convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, he spent the next two decades on Arizona's death row maintaining his innocence and launching multiple state and federal appeals. His legal battles culminated in a high-profile challenge against the state's illegally imported execution drugs before he was ultimately executed by lethal injection on March 29, 2011, at the age of 47.

Murder Story

Shortly after midnight on December 27, 1989, a Short Stop convenience store in Phoenix, Arizona, was robbed. During the robbery, store clerk Ron Barman and store security guard Richard Butts were shot and killed. The robbery resulted in the theft of about $72 from the cash register.

The store had surveillance cameras that recorded parts of the robbery. The footage showed the robber wearing a distinctive dark sweater with a white diamond or patterned design. The video captured the shooting of clerk Ron Barman inside the store. Security guard Richard Butts was later found outside the store with his holster empty. Investigators believed King used Butts’s .357 revolver during the crimes.

Several witnesses saw parts of the incident. One witness saw the security guard lying on the ground and observed a Black man in a distinctive sweater return to the guard and wipe the holster and belt area with a cloth. Other witnesses reported seeing two men running from the area after hearing gunshots. A police officer responding to the scene saw two men who generally matched the suspect descriptions. One man, Michael Page Jones, stopped, while the other man fled.

Nekita Renee Hill, who knew King, later saw him near a dumpster. She reported seeing him throw a thin plastic bag into the dumpster. Police recovered the bag and found a gun and a dark sweater with a white diamond pattern inside. Hill said she had seen King wearing that sweater earlier that night.

Michael Page Jones testified at trial that he and King had gone to the store to buy wine. Jones said he stayed outside while King went inside. He testified that after hearing gunshots, he saw King leaving the store with a gun in his hand and saw the security guard lying on the ground. Jones was later released, and no charges were filed against him.

King was arrested on December 28, 1989. He was later convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and armed robbery. The trial began on August 28, 1990, and the verdict was returned on September 5, 1990. On March 4, 1991, he was sentenced to death for the murders and received an additional 21-year sentence.

During sentencing, aggravating circumstances included pecuniary gain, multiple homicides, and especially depraved conduct. Mitigating evidence included claims of traumatic childhood, family dysfunction, substance abuse, post-traumatic distress, and family support. The death sentence was upheld in later appeals, including State v. King and federal habeas proceedings.

King maintained his innocence until the end. His attorneys argued that there were doubts about the evidence, including the quality of the surveillance video and the testimony of key witnesses. Courts and clemency officials rejected the final challenges. On March 29, 2011, Eric John King was executed by lethal injection in Arizona.