Bio

Farris Genner Morris Jr. was born on November 9, 1955. Publicly available court and correctional records identify him as a Madison County, Tennessee offender who was later convicted of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and one count of aggravated rape. The Tennessee Department of Correction lists his race as Black, his county of conviction as Madison County, the date of crime as September 17, 1994, and the sentence date as January 18, 1997.

Before the murders, Morris lived in Jackson, Tennessee. The Tennessee Supreme Court’s opinion states that Charles and Angela Ragland lived in a duplex residence in Jackson, and Morris lived with his wife in the adjoining residence. This made Morris a next-door neighbor of the Raglands at the time of the crimes. The record does not provide a full public biography of his childhood, education, employment, or long-term family background, and those details should not be invented for a website profile.

The verified public record focuses mainly on the events immediately before and during the September 17, 1994 crimes. According to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s summary, Morris told police that on the day of the offense he had purchased and smoked approximately $250 worth of cocaine. He also admitted that he had spoken with Charles Ragland shortly before the murders and asked Ragland to sell him drugs. When Ragland said he did not sell drugs, Morris later told police that he said Ragland would “regret disrespecting me.”

This interaction became a central part of the prosecution’s case. The court record shows that Morris armed himself with a shotgun, loaded two shells, and waited for Angela Ragland to return home. The later crime involved the killings of Charles Ragland and Erica Hurd and the aggravated rape of Angela Ragland. The Tennessee Supreme Court described the evidence as sufficient to support the jury’s findings of premeditated first-degree murder.

There is no verified public record showing that Morris attempted to flee the jurisdiction after the crime. Instead, police found and arrested him at his home shortly after Angela Ragland escaped and reached help. Because the available records do not establish a broader verified life history beyond his residence, age, nearby relationship to the victims, drug use before the offense, and criminal case history, this profile limits the biography section to those verified facts.

Murder Story

In the early morning hours of September 17, 1994, Angela Ragland returned to her Jackson, Tennessee home with her 15-year-old cousin, Erica Hurd. Angela’s husband, Charles Ragland, was awake in the bedroom. According to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s case summary, Erica went outside to retrieve something from the car shortly after arriving. When she came back inside, Angela heard a scream and saw Farris Genner Morris Jr. holding a shotgun to Erica’s head.

Morris forced his way into the Ragland residence while armed. He pushed Erica onto the bed in the Raglands’ bedroom and demanded to know where the drugs were. Charles Ragland said he did not have any drugs and asked whether Morris wanted money instead. Morris then fired a shot into the floor, ordered Charles onto the floor, placed a pillow over his head, and shot him once in the head. Charles Ragland died from a shotgun wound to the head.

After killing Charles Ragland, Morris threatened Erica Hurd and ordered her into a closet. He then forced Angela Ragland into another bedroom, tied her wrists and ankles, and covered a window with a mattress so people outside could not see inside. Morris later removed Erica from the closet. Angela testified that she heard Erica pleading with Morris not to kill her, then heard Morris tell Erica to be quiet, followed by screaming, gasping, and silence.

Erica Hurd was killed inside the residence. The Tennessee Supreme Court press release later stated that Morris was sentenced to death for Erica’s September 17, 1994 stabbing and bludgeoning death. The court record also states that Erica had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly. A blood-stained steak knife was found behind a couch, and a large butcher knife with traces of blood was found in a chair in the living room. Angela Ragland testified that neither knife belonged to her or her husband.

After Erica was killed, Morris returned to Angela Ragland. Still armed with the shotgun, he forced Angela to bathe him, ordered her to put on a negligee, and made her prepare food for him. He then raped her repeatedly. Angela later testified that Morris said he had once been accused of rape and that if he was going to jail, he was going to jail for “doing something.” She also testified that he said society had made him the way he was and was the reason he was doing what he did.

Around 6:30 a.m., Morris heard his wife in the adjoining residence. He told Angela that he would let her go, but he instructed her to tell police that she had found the bodies of her husband and cousin when she arrived home that morning. Morris wiped objects he had touched with a cloth and warned Angela not to report him. Angela escaped to a nearby friend’s home, and the friend took her to the police station. Officers found Morris at his home shortly afterward and arrested him.

After being advised of his constitutional rights, Morris gave a statement to Jackson police officers. He admitted that he had gone into the Ragland residence with a shotgun and demanded drugs from Charles Ragland. He admitted that after Ragland said he had no drugs, he fired into the floor, placed a pillow over the shotgun barrel, and shot Ragland in the head. He also admitted that he placed Erica Hurd in a closet, tied up Angela Ragland, and had sexual intercourse and oral sex with Angela.

Morris was tried in Madison County, Tennessee. In January 1997, he was convicted by a jury of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and one count of aggravated rape. The jury imposed the death penalty for the premeditated first-degree murder of Erica Hurd after finding aggravating circumstances, including that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, and that it was committed during the course of another felony.

For the murder of Charles Ragland, Morris received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. For the aggravated rape of Angela Ragland, he received a consecutive 25-year sentence. The Tennessee Supreme Court later affirmed the convictions and sentences on direct appeal, rejecting the issues Morris raised and concluding that the evidence supported the convictions and the death sentence.

Morris continued to pursue post-conviction relief after his direct appeal. On February 6, 2001, he filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. An amended petition was filed on December 17, 2001, and an evidentiary hearing took place in April 2004. On January 18, 2005, the trial court denied post-conviction relief, and on October 10, 2006, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed that denial.

As of the current Tennessee Department of Correction public death-row listing, Farris Genner Morris Jr. remains listed as a death-row offender. The listing identifies his offender number as 204071, his date of birth as November 9, 1955, Madison County as the county of conviction, September 17, 1994 as the date of crime, and January 18, 1997 as the sentence date.