Bio

James Mathis was born in 1946 in the United States.

Murder Story

On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1980, 69-year-old J.L. Washington and his wife Ruby Washington disappeared in Douglas County, Georgia. Witnesses later reported seeing James Mathis in the back seat of the couple’s vehicle as it moved through their apartment complex.

Investigators later discovered the bodies of the Washingtons in a wooded area. Evidence presented in court showed that both victims had been beaten, stabbed, and shot. Prosecutors charged Mathis with two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, and armed robbery.

At trial, the state argued that Mathis abducted the couple, robbed them, and then killed them. A jury found him guilty on all major charges on May 28, 1981. He received death sentences for the two murders, life sentences for the kidnappings, and an additional prison term for armed robbery.

The case continued through years of appeals. In 1989, a federal district court set aside the death sentences after finding problems related to legal representation during sentencing. However, in 1992, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated that ruling and sent the case back for further proceedings on the sentencing issues.

The murders of J.L. and Ruby Washington remained a notable Georgia capital case because of both the brutality of the crimes and the long legal battles that followed the original death sentence.