Bio

William Mark Mize was born on July 30, 1956. While Mize himself was born in Georgia, "Samuel Hart Jr." was a false identity he used, likely to obscure his background or criminal history. Before the murder of Eddie Tucker, Mize already had a criminal history. Georgia Department of Corrections records listed prior convictions or sentences for offenses including marijuana possession, motor vehicle theft, robbery, escape, criminal trespass, arson, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He had several periods of incarceration before the 1994 murder case.

By 1994, Mize was the leader of a small white supremacist group called the National Vastilian Aryan Party. Witnesses later testified that Mize made the group’s decisions and controlled its members. The group included friends, co-workers, and people who were trying to join. Eddie Tucker had submitted an application but was not yet considered a full member.

Mize had shown members a single-shot 12-gauge shotgun at a group meeting. Witnesses testified that he said this was the type of weapon the group would use because it could not be traced. That same type of weapon was later connected to Tucker’s killing.

Murder Story

On October 15, 1994, several members and applicants of the National Vastilian Aryan Party gathered at William Mark Mize’s home after he finished work. The group included Mize, Eddie Tucker, Chris Hattrup, Mark Allen, Brian Dove, Samantha Doster, and others. Mize told them they were going camping that night, and the group left in his car.

While driving, Mize said there was a “crack house” in Athens that he wanted destroyed. The group stopped at a convenience store and bought lighter fluid. Mize then directed Hattrup and Tucker to set the house on fire. The attempt failed.

After Hattrup and Tucker returned, Hattrup told Mize that Tucker had not followed orders. Hattrup also said they did not need anyone around who could not do what he was told. The group later stopped at a bar for about an hour before Mize drove them to a wooded area in Oconee County.

The group walked into the woods at night without flashlights. Tucker was near the front, followed by Mize and the others. After walking only a short distance, Mize told Mark Allen to stop Brian Dove and Samantha Doster from going farther. Tucker, Mize, and Hattrup continued ahead and were soon out of sight.

Dove and Doster then heard a gunshot. Tucker reportedly cried out, “My God, what did you do that for?” A second shot followed. Doster heard Hattrup and Mize talking about the gun. Mize was heard saying, “If you can’t finish it I can.” A third shot was then fired.

Dove and Doster ran back to Mize’s car. Mize later came out of the woods holding a shotgun and trying to break it down. Once in the car, he asked the others if they knew why it had happened. He warned them that the same thing could happen to them if they talked. He also told them to say that Tucker had been dropped off at a convenience store.

While driving away, the group noticed that the shotgun barrel had shattered. They stopped at a bridge and threw the weapon into a river. The gun itself was never recovered. Later, Mize told Doster that he had finished Tucker off by shooting him in the head.

Police found Eddie Tucker’s body several days later. He had been shot in the back, chest, and head with a shotgun. The medical examiner testified that the back and chest wounds damaged Tucker’s right lung but were not immediately fatal. Tucker died from blood loss, and it may have taken several minutes for him to die. A shotgun barrel fragment was found near the body.

After Tucker’s body was discovered, Chris Hattrup told his roommate, Paul McDonald, what had happened. According to McDonald, Hattrup said Mize decided Tucker had to be killed after the failed arson attempt. Hattrup admitted shooting Tucker and said Mize gave him another shell before Tucker was shot in the head.

Brian Dove later told police what he had seen and heard and testified at trial. Samantha Doster also testified after charges against her were dropped. Hattrup and Mark Allen later pleaded guilty to murder and received life sentences.

Mize was indicted for malice murder on January 11, 1995. On December 12, 1995, a jury found him guilty of killing Eddie Tucker. The next day, the jury recommended a death sentence after finding aggravating circumstances, including that Mize caused or directed another person to commit the murder and that the murder involved aggravated battery.

Mize appealed his conviction and sentence, but the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed them on June 15, 1998. His state and federal habeas petitions were later denied, and the United States Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2009.

William Mark Mize was executed by lethal injection in Georgia on April 29, 2009. He was pronounced dead at 7:28 p.m. In his final statement, he denied responsibility and said he had been the victim of a “travesty of justice.”