Ivon Ray Stanley: Biography & Case Details

Ivon Ray Stanley was born in 1956. Details about his early life and upbringing are limited, but it’s known that he had a history of criminal activity and a violent nature before the murder of Clifford Floyd. Stanley had been involved in petty crime and had served time for various offenses prior to the 1976 murder. By the time he was involved in the killing, he was no stranger to law enforcement, and his criminal background played a significant role in his later conviction.

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The Crime:

On April 12, 1976, Stanley and an accomplice, Herman F. Cook, committed the murder of Clifford Floyd, a 56-year-old insurance collector. The details of the murder are gruesome:

• Robbery and Murder: Stanley and Cook had planned to rob Floyd, who had been collecting insurance payments at the time of the crime. After robbing him, Stanley shot Floyd with a .22 caliber pistol.

• Buried Alive: After shooting Floyd, Stanley and Cook went a step further in their cruelty. They buried Floyd alive in a shallow grave. This act of burying the victim alive was especially horrifying and added to the severity of the crime.

The crime shocked the local community in Decatur County, Georgia, and drew national attention due to its brutal nature.

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Investigation and Arrest:

Two days after the murder, on April 14, 1976, Ivon Ray Stanley was apprehended by police in connection with the crime. Stanley’s arrest was relatively swift, largely due to evidence found at the scene and witness testimony linking him to the murder. His accomplice, Cook, was also apprehended and tried separately.

The murder was initially thought to be a random act of violence during a robbery, but as investigators delved into Stanley’s criminal history and the details of the case, it became clear that the crime was far more premeditated and heinous than it first appeared.

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Trial and Conviction:

Ivon Ray Stanley was tried for the murder of Clifford Floyd. His defense team did not contest the basic facts of the crime, but they argued that Stanley’s history of mental illness and other mitigating factors should be considered in sentencing.

• Conviction: Stanley was convicted of first-degree murder with the aggravating factor of committing the crime during a robbery. The brutality of the murder, especially the act of burying the victim alive, was a key factor in the jury's decision.

• Sentence: In 1977, Stanley was sentenced to death by electrocution.

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Appeals and Death Row:

Stanley’s legal team filed numerous appeals during the years following his conviction. These appeals focused on issues such as the fairness of the trial, the application of the death penalty, and Stanley’s mental health at the time of the crime.

Despite the legal efforts to overturn the sentence, Stanley’s conviction was upheld, and he spent several years on death row at Georgia State Prison.

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Execution:

After a prolonged legal process, which included multiple attempts to delay the execution, Ivon Ray Stanley was executed by electrocution on July 12, 1984, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison.

• Final Statements: On the day of his execution, Stanley offered a brief statement, expressing regret for his actions. However, his final words were considered to be relatively subdued and did not provide much in the way of remorse or explanation for the extreme brutality of the crime.

• Execution: At the time of his execution, Stanley was 28 years old. His execution marked the end of a lengthy and controversial process, and it was part of a period in Georgia’s history when the state had been carrying out several executions after the resumption of the death penalty in the U.S.

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Legacy and Public Reaction:

The case of Ivon Ray Stanley and the murder of Clifford Floyd remained a notable example of murder during a robbery with extremely violent and sadistic elements. The brutality of the crime, particularly the act of burying the victim alive, was something that deeply disturbed the local community and the wider public.

Stanley’s execution in 1984 was part of a broader debate about the use of the death penalty in the U.S. During the 1980s, Georgia was one of the states that actively pursued capital punishment, and the execution of Stanley was seen by some as an example of the state’s commitment to upholding the death penalty in murder cases with aggravating circumstances.

However, there was also significant opposition to the death penalty, with many human rights groups and activists arguing against executions in general, regardless of the severity of the crime.

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Summary:

Ivon Ray Stanley’s case remains one of the more chilling examples of violent crime in Georgia during the 1970s and 1980s. His brutal murder of Clifford Floyd—a robbery that escalated to a horrific act of burying the victim alive—led to his eventual conviction and execution. While his execution brought a sense of closure to the case, it also contributed to the ongoing debate about the morality and efficacy of the death penalty in the United States.

Stanley’s story is one of senseless violence and criminality, but also one that serves as a reminder of the often brutal consequences of premeditated murder. The case remains a tragic chapter in Georgia’s criminal history.