Troy Leon Gregg: A Criminal's Unlawful Exploits

Troy Leon Gregg was a criminal who broke the law in several ways. Firstly, he was convicted of murdering Fred Edward Simmons and Bob Durwood Moore during a robbery. The crime occurred on November 21, 1973, and Gregg was found guilty and sentenced to death. Additionally, Gregg participated in the first successful escape from Reidsville State Prison death row in Georgia along with three other inmates. They altered their prison clothing to resemble correctional officers' uniforms, sawed through their cell bars, and escaped through a window. Unfortunately, Gregg's freedom was short-lived as he was killed the same night during a bar fight, and his murder remains officially unsolved.

Murder of Fred Edward Simmons and Bob Durwood Moore

On November 21, 1973, Troy Leon Gregg and his 16-year-old companion, Floyd Ralford ("Sam") Allen, were hitchhiking in Florida when they were picked up by Fred Edward Simmons and Bob Durwood ("Tex") Moore. Simmons and Moore drove them north for around 240 miles until their car broke down. Simmons then bought a 1960 red and white Pontiac, and the four continued their journey, picking up a third hitchhiker, Dennis Weaver, along the way.

Weaver got out of the car in Atlanta, Georgia, at around 11 pm, leaving the other four men to continue their journey. They stopped at a rest stop in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where Gregg and Allen got out of the car. According to Allen, Gregg then said, "we're going to rob them", and shot Simmons and Moore three times. Both men fell into a nearby drainage ditch. Gregg then approached the men and shot each of them once in the head at close range. He then robbed them and drove away with Allen.

The bodies of Simmons and Moore were found the next morning, and their deaths were reported in a local paper the following day. Weaver recognised the men and went to the police, providing a description of the car. Gregg and Allen were found the next day in Simmons' car, and Gregg was found with a .25-caliber gun and approximately $107 in cash. Ballistics tests later confirmed that the bullets found in the ditch had been fired from Gregg's gun.

Gregg was tried and convicted of the murders and armed robberies of Simmons and Moore. He was sentenced to death, and this sentence was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in Gregg v. Georgia.

Escaped Reidsville State Prison

On July 28, 1980, Troy Leon Gregg, along with three other condemned murderers—Timothy McCorquodale, Johnny L. Johnson, and David Jarrell—escaped from Reidsville State Prison, marking the first death row breakout in Georgia's history. The four inmates altered their prison clothing to look like correctional officer uniforms, sawed through their cell and window bars, and walked along a ledge to a fire escape. They then drove off in a car that had been left in the visitors' parking lot by one of the escapees' aunts.

Reidsville State Prison, located in a remote part of Tattnall County, Georgia, was considered a model prison when it opened in 1936. It was designed in the "depression modern" style, characterised by its monumental concrete building with a broad central cupola and a freestanding guard tower. The prison was originally intended to house 2,000 inmates but now has a capacity of just over 1,300. Inmates are housed in single cells within eleven buildings, each containing four two-tiered cell blocks.

The escape of Gregg and the other inmates from Reidsville State Prison was not discovered until he telephoned a newspaper to explain their reasons for fleeing. There are conflicting accounts of what happened after the escape, but all stories end with Gregg's body being found in a lake, bearing signs of a violent struggle. One version suggests that Gregg called a reporter for the Albany Herald to complain about the inhumane conditions, after which the reporter alerted prison officials. Another account indicates that Gregg wrote about the escape in letters to his wife, enraging his fellow escapees who then beat him to death and dumped his body in the lake. A third story mentions a drunken row between the escapees that ended in Gregg's death.

The prison break prompted officials to accelerate plans to transfer death row inmates from Reidsville to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson, Georgia.

Killed in a bar fight

On July 28, 1980, Troy Leon Gregg, along with three other convicted murderers, escaped from Georgia State Prison. The four men altered their prison clothing to resemble the uniforms of correctional officers, cut through the bars of their cells, and made their way out through a window.

However, Gregg's freedom was short-lived, as he was killed later that night in a bar fight. There are differing accounts of what exactly transpired, but all reports conclude that Gregg's body was found beaten and bruised, floating in a nearby lake.

One version of events suggests that Gregg was in a biker bar in North Carolina when he drunkenly attempted to assault a waitress. When she rebuffed his advances, he became violent, leading a local biker to intervene and assault Gregg, ultimately beating him to death. His body was then dumped in a lake located behind the bar.

Another account, however, indicates that Gregg may have been killed following a fight with one of his fellow escapees, Timothy McCorquodale, and another man, James Cecil Horne, a member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. According to this version, Gregg's body was discovered in the Catawba River.

The official cause of Gregg's death was homicide by suffocation caused by swelling, as determined by his autopsy. Despite the various accounts of what transpired, no charges were brought, and Gregg's murder remains officially unsolved.

Supreme Court ruling

Troy Leon Gregg was convicted of murdering Fred Edward Simmons and Bob Durwood Moore during an attempted robbery. The crime occurred on November 21, 1973. Gregg admitted to shooting, robbing, and stealing the car of Simmons and Moore after they gave him and another man, Dennis Weaver, a ride while they were hitchhiking.

In the case of Gregg v. Georgia, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed on Gregg by a 7-2 majority. The Court held that the State of Georgia could constitutionally put Gregg to death. This decision set a precedent for all future trials in which the death penalty was a consideration.

The Supreme Court's ruling in Gregg v. Georgia reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the use of the death penalty in the United States. The Court found that the death penalty did not violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on "cruel and unusual punishments". The Court set forth two main features that capital sentencing procedures must employ to comply with this amendment:

• The scheme must provide objective criteria to direct and limit the death sentencing discretion, ensured by appellate review of all death sentences;
• The scheme must allow the sentencer (judge or jury) to take into account the character and record of the defendant.

The Court's decision in Gregg v. Georgia ended the de facto moratorium on the death penalty imposed by the Court's earlier decision in Furman v. Georgia. The Court in Furman v. Georgia had invalidated all previous capital punishment laws in the United States, holding that capital punishment, as practiced in the country, was cruel and unusual punishment because there were no rational standards governing its imposition.

In upholding the death sentence in Gregg v. Georgia, the Court found that the state's death penalty statute served the principal social purposes of retribution and deterrence. The Court further determined that the death penalty was not disproportionate to the crime of deliberately taking human life.

The Supreme Court's ruling in Gregg v. Georgia established a constitutional basis for the death penalty and set limits on how it could be carried out. The decision solidified the flow of trials from a guilt or innocence phase to the sentencing phases. It also guaranteed appellate review of all death sentences.

Death sentence upheld

Troy Leon Gregg was convicted of the murders of Fred Edward Simmons and Bob Durwood Moore, as well as armed robbery. The crime occurred on November 21, 1973, when Gregg was 25 years old.

Gregg and his 16-year-old companion, Floyd Allen, were hitchhiking in Florida when they were picked up by Simmons and Moore. After their car broke down, Simmons bought a second vehicle, and the group continued their journey, later picking up a third hitchhiker, Dennis Weaver.

Weaver left the group around 11 pm in Atlanta, but Gregg and Allen continued with Simmons and Moore. The four eventually stopped to rest, and it was then that Gregg shot and killed Simmons and Moore. Gregg claimed that Simmons became violent and that he shot him in self-defense. However, Allen's testimony contradicted this, stating that Gregg said, "Get out, we're going to rob them."

Gregg was found with the murder weapon, a .25-caliber gun, and bullets that matched those found at the scene. He also wrote a letter to Allen from jail, instructing him on what to say during his testimony.

Gregg was charged with armed robbery and murder and found guilty of both. His trial occurred after the Furman v. Georgia case, which invalidated all existing death penalty statutes and forced states to create new ones.

In Gregg v. Georgia, the United States Supreme Court upheld the death sentence by a 7-2 majority. This ruling set a precedent for future trials involving the death penalty and established the constitutionality of Georgia's approach to capital punishment.

On July 28, 1980, the night before his scheduled execution, Gregg became the first person to escape from Georgia's death row. He and three other condemned murderers, Timothy McCorquodale, Johnny L. Johnson, and David Jarrell, altered their prison clothing to resemble correctional officers' uniforms, sawed through their cell bars and a window, and escaped via a fire escape.

However, Gregg's freedom was short-lived. He was killed later that night in a bar fight, and his body was found in a lake, beaten and bruised. While the exact details of his death are disputed, it is clear that Gregg's escape and subsequent death had a significant impact on the history of the death penalty in the United States.

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