Tennessee Stays Execution of Donald Middlebrooks, Scheduled for December 8, 2022
Donald Middlebrooks, Tennessee
Updated: Monday, December 5, 2022
Tennessee planned to execute Donald Ray Middlebrooks on Thursday, December 8, 2022, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institute near Nashville, Tennessee. His execution has been stayed by the governor. Sixty-year-old Donald is convicted of murdering 14-year-old Kerrick Majors on April 26, 1987, in East Nashville, Tennessee. Donald has spent the last 33 years on death row in Tennessee.
Donald was born and raised in Texas. His father died when he was four, and his mother remarried. She had another child before getting her second divorce. At night, she would leave her child with relatives or take them with her to bars. She often brought unknown men home. Both Donald and his sister were sexually molested. Growing up, Donald had trouble controlling his anger. He spent time in prison twice and was sent to a mental institution more than once.
On April 26, 1987, 24-year-old Donald Middlebrooks, along with his 17-year-old wife, Tammy, and their 16-year-old friend Roger Brewington set up a make-shift flea market in East Nashville, Tennessee. Five black teenage males approached the table, Donald yelled a racial slur at them and told them to leave.
Donald, Tammy, and Roger then chased after the group, which included Kerrick Majors. Roger grabbed Kerrick and dragged him over to Donald who began hitting him. Kerrick’s body was found by the police the following day. It was in the woods near where he was abducted. Injuries to his body showed that he had been beaten, stabbed, burned, sliced, and tortured.
Two days later, Roger voluntarily confessed to the crime and implicated Donald and Tammy. After his arrest, Donald claimed that Roger was the ringleader. Donald eventually confessed to delivering the final fatal stab wound to prove that he was “cooler” than Roger.
During his trial, a friend testified that Donald had bragged about being a member of the KKK. Donald had also repeatedly expressed his dislike for African Americans and referred to them by a racial slur.
Donald was convicted and sentenced to death. Roger was tried as a juvenile.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted all executions scheduled for this year in the state. Earlier this year, an oversight in lethal injection testing resulted in an execution being stayed. Governor Lee, who maintains his support for capital punishment, wants to ensure any operational failures within the Tennessee Department of Corrections are addressed before the state moves forward with carrying out executions again.
Please pray for peace for the family of Kerrick Majors. Please pray for strength for the family of Donald Middlebrooks. Pray that if Donald is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason that evidence will be provided before his execution. Please pray that Donald may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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