Opinion ID: 6500071
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Guilt Phase of Trial

Text: In 1998, an Alabama grand jury indicted Gavin on two counts of capital murder in connection with the murder of William Clayton, Jr., and one count of attempted murder in connection with shooting at a law enforcement officer. Gavin v. State, 891 So. 2d 907, 926 (Ala. Ct. Crim. App. 2003). The murder of Clayton constituted two capital counts because (1) it was committed during the course of a robbery in the first degree, and (2) Gavin had been convicted of another murder within the previous 20 years. 1 See Ala. Code § 13A-5-40(a)(2), (13) (1975). Attorneys H. Bayne Smith and John H. Ufford, II, were appointed to represent Gavin at trial. At Gavin’s November 1999 trial, the evidence established that the victim, Clayton, was a courier driver for Corporate Express Delivery Systems, Inc. Gavin, 891 So. 2d at 927. On the evening of March 6, 1998, after completing his deliveries, Clayton stopped 1 In 1982, Gavin was convicted of murder in Illinois and served 17 years of a 34-year sentence. Gavin, 891 So. 2d at 930. Gavin was on parole for the 1982 murder at the time of the Alabama murder. Id. USCA11 Case: 20-11271 Date Filed: 07/14/2022 Page: 4 of 53