Bio

James Ringo McDaniel was born in 1974 in the United States. Before the crime, McDaniel lived with members of his family, including his grandparents and younger stepbrother, in Georgia. Relatives later opposed the death penalty for him, citing his mental illness and substance abuse history.

Murder Story

On October 8, 1994, after using crack cocaine, McDaniel took a gun from his grandfather’s bedroom inside the family home in Butts County. He then shot each victim once in the head. The three people killed were his grandparents, Erner Barkley and Eugene Barkley, and his 10-year-old stepbrother, Justin Davis.

After the shootings, he took his grandfather’s wallet, left to buy more crack cocaine, then returned home and used the drugs on the front porch. He later called 911 and initially claimed he had found his family murdered. Investigators questioned him further, and he confessed in recorded statements.

McDaniel later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death in 1997. In 1999, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the convictions after finding the plea was involuntary because of improper judicial involvement during negotiations. His death sentence was eventually removed, and he remained imprisoned under a life sentence.