Bio

Larry L. Jenkins Jr. was a Georgia teenager who became the central defendant in the 1993 kidnapping, robbery, and killing of Terry Ralston and her 15-year-old son, Michael Ralston, in Wayne County, Georgia. At the time of the crimes, Jenkins was 17 years old. Some older summaries described him as 21 at sentencing, but later habeas records found that he was a juvenile when the murders occurred. This became legally significant after the United States Supreme Court ruled in Roper v. Simmons that offenders who were under 18 at the time of their crimes could not be sentenced to death.

Before trial, Jenkins’s defense raised issues related to mental ability. Trial records show that mental retardation was litigated as an issue in the case. The jury ultimately rejected that defense, and Jenkins was convicted and sentenced to death. Years later, however, his habeas proceedings focused heavily on whether his trial attorneys had adequately investigated the crimes and possible alternative suspects.

In 2006, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a habeas court decision vacating Jenkins's death sentences and convictions. The death sentences were vacated because Jenkins was 17 years old at the time of the murders, making him ineligible for execution under Roper v. Simmons. The court also upheld the habeas ruling that Jenkins received ineffective assistance of counsel during the guilt-innocence phase of his trial, particularly regarding the investigation of alternative suspects and evidence connected to the victims' van.