The Crimes & "Screaming" Execution of Jerry White

Jerry White began drinking at 14, had been arrested on burglary charges, and quit school by age 15. Those shenanigans were only the beginning of his life of crime. By age 30, he'd be on Death Row.

As a child, Jerry looked to friends for support. His mom was rarely in the house. She worked as a maid and was always covering a shift at work. His dad had never been around, and he watched as his stepfather was fatally shot. By age 14, Jerry had been arrested on burglary charges. By age 15, he had dropped out of school and regularly drank alcohol. Within a short time, he developed an addiction to heroin and crime, seeming to enjoy his amoral lifestyle.

By 1977, 29-year-old White had racked up nine felony criminal convictions and numerous misdemeanors, including attempted murder, robbery, burglary, and larceny. That year, a judge sentenced him to three years in prison. He was released from custody in March 1980.

On March 8, 1981, a year after his prison release, White entered Alexander’s Grocery Store in Taft, Florida. Alex Alexander, the 53-year-old store owner, and a customer, 34-year-old James Melson, were the only two people inside. Intent on robbing the store, White led the two men to a bathroom in the back of the store and shot them both. Melson was shot twice -once in the arm and once in the head. Alexander was shot in the spine.

A man and his 12-year-old daughter walked into the store to pick up a few items during the robbery. White attempted to force them inside a freezer, but the dad refused. White attempted to shoot them at point-blank range. Luckily, the gun misfired. White walked out of the store on foot and the man and his daughter fled in their vehicle to the local police station. White stole approximately $388 from the store.

Orange County officers found White lying in a wooded area near the store less than an hour later. He had the money he took from the store in his pockets. White had inadvertently shot himself in the left thigh and groin as he attempted to put his gun into his pants before leaving the store.

Melson and Alexander were transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Melson was pronounced dead. Alexander remained in critical condition for several days, kept alive only with help from a ventilator. He suffered spinal cord injuries that paralyzed him from the neck down and left him unable to speak again. He was admitted to a Veterans Administration Hospital where he lived until he died from heart failure and complications related to the shooting in 1985.

White was convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery. An all-white jury convicted White of murder and voted 11-1 to sentence him to death. He also received a life sentence on the armed robbery conviction.

White maintained his innocence, filed an appeal, and received several stays of execution until 1995, when then-governor Lawton Chiles signed a final death warrant and scheduled the execution for December 4 at 12:05 p.m.

On the day of his execution, White gave a last statement: “I wish that all the people who can hear my voice will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ as I have.” He also provided prisoners with a note he asked to be read after he died, reading, “I have confessed all my sins before the Lord my God. I wish to express my sorrow to all of those I’ve pained.”

Witnesses to the execution said White screamed when the electricity began flowing through his body. The scream faded in intensity over the one minute when electricity was administered. White was pronounced dead at 12:19 p.m.