Teen sentenced to life in prison for murder of 75-year-old woman
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Davon Reed Trial
Davon Reed Trial
Angela E.Kershner/MORNING NEWS
Maple Park Neighborhood Association President Ron White, left, comforts Cathy Hansen as they listen to testimony Wednesday during the trial of Davon Reed for the murder of Hansen’s mother, 75-year-old Geraldine “Jerry” Scott, at the Florence City/County Complex. Reed pleaded guilty to armed robbery and murder.
FLORENCE — An 18-year-old Florence man will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering a Florence woman after he pleaded guilty to murder and armed robbery before a circuit court judge Wednesday afternoon.
Davon William Reed was sentenced to life in prison on charges that he murdered 75-year-old Geraldine “Jerry” Scott in her King Avenue home June 1, 2007.
Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman of Kingstree also sentenced Reed to 30 years in prison for armed robbery — the maximum allowed for that charge.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT
Davon Reed, 18, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and murder in the death of Geraldine “Jerry” Scott at the Florence City/County Complex on Wednesday, September 3, 2008. Reed was sentenced to 30 years for armed robbery and life for murder with the sentences to be served consecutively. View more images, click here.
Life in prison also is the maximum penalty for the murder charges. He also faced a grand larceny charge in connection with the case but that charge was dropped.
Reed was 17 at the time he committed the murder and that’s the only thing that saved him from facing the death penalty, 12th Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements III said.
He would have pursued the death penalty in the case if the U.S. Supreme Court had not ruled that someone Reed’s age could not face the death penalty, Clements said.
Before handing down his sentence, Newman said Reed’s age really didn’t matter in this case.
“It’s pointless for your mother or anybody else to be here begging for your life,” Newman said “You have committed the most inhumane act known to man ... age is really no consequence, considering what you did.”
Society has nothing left to give Reed and the only thing left to do is lock him up, Newman said.
During the hearing, Clements pointed out Reed had committed similar crimes when he was a juvenile and was on parole when he murdered Scott.
Before he was sentenced, Reed’s mother spoke on his behalf and said it was her fault her son had problems.
She said she was addicted to crack for part of his life and he was shifted around in the state foster care system until he was about 13.
“If I could take his place, I would,” she said. “I feel responsible.”
Reed’s mother said she’s confident her son has repented for his wrongdoing and is confident Scott would have forgiven him.
Reed spoke for himself during the hearing and said he killed Scott after he had just had a fight with his mother and he was stressed and frustrated at the time.
He needed money and picked Scott’s house as a target at random, Reed said.
He entered the home but panicked when he saw Scott, Reed said.
“I didn’t realize what was going on until it was too late,” he said. “It just happened.”
Florence Police Investigator Tim Compton told the court Reed stomped on Scott’s face and stabbed her at least 17 times during a fit of rage.
He then stood over her and threw the knife into her as if it were a dart, Compton said.
Reed later told police he killed Scott because he didn’t want to be identified by her later, Compton said.
After the slaying, he stole Scott’s car, picked up his friends and drove around the city in it, Compton said.
Cathy Scott Hansen, Scott’s daughter, discovered her mother’s body and told the court Wednesday about the horrific scene.
Hansen discovered her mother’s body in her childhood bedroom just a few feet from her bed. Her mother was unrecognizable and the only reason she knew it was her was because of the shoes she was wearing, Hansen said.
“When he killed my mother, he sentenced me to a lifetime of hell, and I beg your honor to give him the same courtesy,” Hansen told Newman through tears.
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Reader Reactions
Over crowded jails and prisons? There go your liberal law makers and judges again. Pack them in like sardines if necessary or do like Sheriff Joe Arpaio does in Arizona. Put prisoners in fenced in areas and let them sleep in tents. If our troops can be made to live like that criminals can damned well do it too.
When you cast your votes on November 4th remember who is liberal and who is conservative. If the candidate is a liberal they are likely in favor of light sentences for criminals because they seem to think an eye for an eye is cruel punishment and criminals can be rehabilitated. They also think you should not be able to own a gun to protect yourself because they mistakenly think the bad guys will stop have guns also.
How long can a society last that just keeps building jails, prisons and judicial centers? Because that punk was 17 and not 18 year old the taxpayers will keep him alive in prison for many years at a huge cost. If they were where they should have been this crime would not have happened. I wonder how the judge feels that let them out on bail feels.
This guy and all animals that commit such crimes should be executed in the same fashion by the survivors if they want to do it.
The families of the perpetrators also suffer so let’s not forget about them as well as the family of the victim.
I agre totally with the two previous comments. It’s our justice system that needs a boost. It is my belief that if you can commit such a crime at the age of 14-17, although not an adult, if the system can try you as an adult, then they should be able to apply an adult’s penalty. These young thugs are not rehabilitable. Jail to them is just a revolving door until they commit such a crime as these that will land them there for life. This should not be. Lobbyist should press for harsher penalties in the beginning, not give them a way to come out and kill someone. Had Johnson remained in jail and was not allowed bail, Ms. Hayes would be alive today. In addition, we should not keep them in jail an endless amount of time and pay for them to eat, play and do more drugs. If a 14-17 year old can kill, he should also be killed no matter what the age. I am a black woman!
There are many who contend we need a new Judicial Center in Florence.
I think not! What we really need is larger Jail facilities!! The Court system is flooded with cases committed by repeat offenders who should not be on the street to commit new crimes!
Just about every major crime committed in Florence County is committed by
someone who is out on parole or has an extensive history of previous arrests.
Persons convicted of serious crimes rarely serve an adequate sentence commensurate with the crime they committed. They are let out early due to Federal guidelines regarding Prison overcrowding. An inmate can sue the state or county for being held in a
facility that does not meet Federal Guidelines (there are many including overcrowding).
Judges also take prison overcrowding into consideration when presiding over cases and passing sentences. Judges meter out shorter sentences or alternative forms of punishment in lieu of a deserved sentence to relieve the prison system.
This sends the wrong message (slap on the wrist) to criminals who need a deterrent to a “life of crime”.
Granted, attorneys enjoy this revolving door of justice just as much as any business enjoys a steady flow
of customers. When the Public defenders office becomes bogged down with cases Judges appoint attorney’s in private practice to defend the criminal at taxpayer expense!
Many complain that the Solicitors Office is not doing their job by plea bargaining with attorneys allowing
their clients “off easy”. Look through the Yellow Pages at the number criminal defense attorneys in Florence and compare that number with the number of persons in the Solicitors office who investigate and prosecute crimes committed in Florence County. The Solicitors office is basically “having to save the Titanic by bailing water out with a teacup”! You can be sure of one thing, if we build that larger Judicial Center it will enable us to spin the revolving door of justice at a speed that will require the prison expansion already needed. This will escalate your
property taxes through the roof or require more local option sales tax and there will be no end to this cycle!
I say empty the Courtrooms by building adequate prison systems! In the end you will not need a new Judicial
Center. The repeat offenders will no longer crowd the City County Complex Courtrooms and the citizenry of
this county will no longer be preyed upon by persons who should be behind bars and the criminal defense
attorney’s will have to move to an area where the common folk cater to the rantings of the self serving!
Justice, at least the best our system can offer. Almost good enough, but too little too late for some of our citizens.
Where are the 18 new officers you promised, Mayor Willis? Your police chief told us all about them in a press conference in Maple Park the same week Mrs. Scott died. 13 months later, and all of a sudden they’re no longer needed because “juvenile crime is down.“ Well, you’re going to have to show us the figures, because that is easy to claim if you aren’t locking these criminals away. This doesn’t mean less crime; just that you’re doing less about it, and then claiming victory. I heard it said that “if we can make a difference in the life of one child, then it’s all been worth it.“ Not really - at least not in my book. What of the lives of these two respected, loved, and productive citizens? It’s made a hell of a difference for them, hasn’t it? It’s way past time time we stopped making social workers out of our law enforcement officers, and let them get to the business of making our streets safe once again.
Geraldine Scott & Willie Mae Hayes got the death penalty for nothing more than being perceived as easy targets by their murderers. Shoving a needle into the veins of these cowards would accomplish several things, not the least of which is retribution for the families. It also relieves society of the burden of keeping them alive at taxpayer expense, and sends the message to the rest of the despicable thugs out there that our society has had enough of “tolerance” for any of their crimes. We should all hope that the eventual trial in the Hayes murder case accomplishes these goals. It might just take away the fear that someday, the offenders could be unleashed on society should they ever become eligible for parole. Perhaps then, the citizens affected by this (family, friends, neighbors) will be able to reclaim something of what they once knew in the way of peace.
60+ years of living in a 6’ by 8’ cell with a small slit window. Excellent prison sentence for a punk. I once heard that after you die in prison, they still shackle and handcuff you until the autopsy is completed.
Let’s have more of these life sentences for the violent/cowardly/punk offenders in our society.
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