Jeffrey Alan Walton was born on January 29, 1966, in Tucson, Arizona, USA. 

On the night of March 2, 1986, Jeffrey Alan Walton, along with two accomplices, entered a bar in Tucson, Arizona. Their plan was to find someone at random to rob and kidnap. They chose Thomas Powell, an off-duty Marine. The three men threatened Powell with a gun and forced him into his car. They then drove him into the desert. Walton and Powell got out of the vehicle while his accomplices remained inside with the radio on.

In the desert, Walton threw Powell to the ground and shot him in the head. After the shooting, Walton made a comment to his co-defendants about the situation, which reflected his lack of remorse. A week later, Walton was arrested. During the investigation, he guided the police to the location of Powell's body.

An autopsy revealed that Powell did not die immediately from the gunshot. Instead, he suffered for six days before dying from dehydration, starvation, and pneumonia. Walton was charged with first-degree murder. The jury found him guilty based on both premeditated murder and felony murder definitions in Arizona law.

At the sentencing hearing, the prosecution established that the murder was committed in an "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner" and that Walton committed the crime for financial gain. Walton's defense attorney argued that his age and mental state should be considered as mitigating factors. However, the trial judge determined that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones. Thus, Walton received a death sentence.

The Arizona Supreme Court upheld the conviction and sentence. During the appeal process, discussions took place on the constitutionality of Arizona's death penalty procedures, especially regarding whether a jury should decide the aggravating factors in sentencing. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on these procedural issues as they related to Walton's case.