After deliberating for nearly three hours, the jury sentenced Ricky Allen Dubose to a double death sentence – one for each victim – Thursday in Putnam County Superior Court. Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Judge Alison T. Burleson will set the date of execution. In Georgia, execution is by lethal injection.
On Monday, the same jury, made up of six women and six men from Glynn County, returned a verdict of guilty against Dubose on all six counts -– two counts of malice murder, two counts felony murder, one count escape, and one count hijacking a motor vehicle.
The Georgia Capitol Defense Team of attorneys never debated that Dubose was guilty of pulling the trigger and fatally shooting Georgia Dept. of Corrections officers Sgt. Curtis Billue and Sgt. Chritopher Monica, but the attorneys presented that Dubose was mentally ill and intellectually disabled.
Dubose's co-defendant, Donnie Rowe, was tried separately last year and found guilty of all charges but was sentenced to life in prison instead of death. Rowe was already serving a life sentence at the time of the murders and escape in June, 2017. Dubose was imprisoned for 20 years for armed robbery, having been convicted and sentenced in 2014.
See more in next week's edition of The Eatonton Messenger for more coverage of the trial.