FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
April 25, 2017
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steven T. Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
Alabama Attorney General
AG MARSHALL ANNOUNCES COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
UPHOLDS JEFFERSON COUNTY CAPITAL MURDER CONVICTION
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steven T. Marshall announced that the
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday upheld the capital murder conviction of
Derrick Wayne Murray. Murray, 46, of Dora, was convicted in July of 2015 for the
murder of Edmund Reed.
The evidence at trial showed that on February 12, 2012, the victim Reed was
parked at a Jet Pep gas station on Forestdale Blvd. in Birmingham, when Murray
approached his car and shot him at close range. Reed died at the scene. Murray shot
Reed in intended retribution for an earlier incident at a night club during which Murray
was injured. However, this was a case of mistaken identity because Reed was not
involved in the prior incident. Murray’s act of rogue retribution resulted in the murder
of a completely innocent man.
The case was prosecuted at trial by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
Murray was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his
capital murder conviction. He subsequently sought to have his conviction reversed on
appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section handled the case during the
appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the
conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued on Friday, April 21.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Kristi
Wilkerson of the Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section for her successful work
in this case.
–30–
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
