(Ozark, Alabama) –Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall released a statement following the order issued by Judge William “Bill” Filmore denying Coley McCraney’s motion for new trial. In June, McCraney was sentenced to life without parole for the murders of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett of Houston County. McCraney was convicted on four counts of capital murder and the jury returned a sentencing verdict of life without parole.
“I am proud to live in a state that has zero tolerance for those who callously take the lives of others,” said Attorney General Marshall. “In Alabama, we will never give up our relentless pursuit of justice for victims and their families.”
In April, Attorney General Marshall served as the lead prosecutor in State v. McCraney where he successfully obtained a guilty verdict in the 1999 Dale County cold case. The conviction was the result of a multiagency effort including: the District Attorney’s Office of the 33rd Judicial Circuit, Ozark Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dale County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dothan Police Department.
