Bio

Warren McCleskey was born in 1957 in the United States. By adulthood, he had become involved in crime and robbery offenses. In the late 1970s, McCleskey was living in Georgia. He associated with other armed offenders and took part in planned robberies. His name later became nationally known not only because of murder charges, but also because of the major Supreme Court case McCleskey v. Kemp, which challenged racial disparities in death penalty sentencing.

Murder Story

On May 13, 1978, McCleskey and three other men planned to rob a jewelry store in Marietta, Georgia. After deciding not to carry out that robbery, they chose the Dixie Furniture Store in Atlanta instead

The group entered the store while armed. Employees were forced to the floor and robbed. During the crime, police officer Frank Schlatt responded to a silent alarm and entered the building. As Officer Schlatt walked inside, he was shot twice. One bullet struck his chest, and another hit his head. The head wound was fatal. The robbers fled the scene.

McCleskey was later arrested in connection with another robbery. He admitted taking part in the furniture store robbery but denied being the gunman. Prosecutors presented witness testimony and ballistic evidence linking him to the murder weapon. A jury convicted McCleskey of murder and armed robbery. He received the death sentence for the killing of Officer Schlatt.