Bio

James Bryant Hudson was born on March 10, 1948, and lived in rural Halifax County, Virginia. A single shared driveway, connected to State Route 658 (Virgie Cole Road), linked Hudson's home to that of his neighbors, Walter Stanley Cole and his wife Linda. The dispute between the families dated back years, originating after Hudson's father sold a parcel of land containing the road to the Cole family. Hudson maintained he had a right to continue using the road to reach his home, but frequently complained that the Coles were not properly maintaining it.

Murder Story

On July 3, 2002, Walter Stanley Cole and his brother Thomas Wesley Cole were riding in a truck on the driveway near Hudson’s home. The brothers encountered Hudson’s vehicle stopped in the middle of the driveway, facing them. Thomas Wesley Cole, who was driving, stopped the truck, got out, and spoke with Hudson near the driver’s side for a few minutes.

After Thomas Cole got back into the truck and began to drive away, Hudson took a 12-gauge shotgun from his vehicle. An eyewitness heard Thomas ask why Hudson was shooting at them as Hudson fired through the windshield of the truck. The witness then heard more shots while running for help.

Walter Stanley Cole was found slumped inside the passenger side of the truck. He had multiple pellet wounds to the head and neck and a fatal shotgun wound behind his left ear. Two expended 12-gauge shotgun shells were found near the driver’s side door, and investigators found shotgun damage to the truck’s front windshield, rear windshield, and passenger door.

Thomas Wesley Cole tried to flee after being wounded inside the truck. His body was later found in a ditch about five yards from the rear of the truck. The Virginia Supreme Court stated that he had suffered a nonfatal wound to the arm before escaping the truck and then sustained a fatal shotgun wound to the head.

After shooting the Cole brothers, Hudson drove to the front of the Coles’ home and stopped near the garden where Patsy Ayers Cole was working. A neighbor saw Hudson get out of his truck, take the shotgun from the back of the vehicle, and raise it. Patsy saw him and asked, “What are you doing?” Hudson then shot her and drove away.

After the shootings, Hudson returned to his home, parked one truck, got more ammunition, and left in another truck. He also telephoned his sister-in-law and said that he had “done some shooting.” The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office obtained arrest warrants that afternoon, and Hudson was apprehended the next day without incident. At the time of arrest, he had a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun and a pistol in his truck. Later testing determined that the shotgun and “Number 00 Buck” pellets were used to kill the Coles.

In September 2002, a grand jury indicted Hudson on multiple capital murder charges, three first-degree murder charges, and six firearm charges. Under a plea agreement, Hudson pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Stanley Cole and Wesley Cole, the first-degree murder of Patsy Cole, and two firearm charges. The Commonwealth dismissed the remaining charges.

At sentencing, prosecutors sought the death penalty using the aggravating factors of vileness and future dangerousness. The trial court found both aggravating factors and imposed the death sentence. The court described the killings as deliberate, execution-style murders and noted that Hudson refused to present mitigating evidence.

On May 12, 2003, Hudson signed a waiver of his right to appeal. The trial court later found that he knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived that right. Even so, Virginia law required the Supreme Court of Virginia to review the death sentence. On January 16, 2004, the court affirmed the judgment.

Hudson gave up his final appeals and did not file a clemency petition with Virginia Governor Mark Warner. He was executed by lethal injection at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia, on August 18, 2004, and was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m. When asked if he had final words, he answered, “No sir.”