Some of slain woman’s family members support clemency for her killer, lawyers say

Some family members of a woman fatally shot in 1990 support clemency for her condemned killer, lawyers for Keith “Bo” Tharpe argue in a petition seeking clemency on the eve of Tharpe’s scheduled execution.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole is set to consider Tharpe’s case Monday, the 27th anniversary of Jacqueline Freeman’s killing in Jones County. Freeman was Tharpe’s sister-in-law.

Lawyers for Tharpe are asking that his execution — set for Tuesday — be stayed and that his sentence be commuted to life without the possibility of parole.

The copy of Tharpe’s clemency application released to the media Friday after being declassified doesn’t list which of Freeman’s family members support clemency.

The portion of the document addressing their support was redacted “to protect the victims’ and victims’ family members’ identities and privacy,” according to the application.

Tharpe’s application describes his early introduction to alcohol, drug addiction and remorse.

According to the application:

When jurors convicted Tharpe and sentenced him to death — just three months after Freeman’s Sept. 25, 1990 killing — they didn’t hear about his childhood, drug addiction or “limited intellectual abilities” that would have provided context for understanding how someone others described as being “kind, loving and generous” could kill his sister-in-law.

Tharpe’s mother admitted in an affidavit that she drank moonshine and beer daily while pregnant with her son.

Both of Tharpe’s parents drank “excessively” and ran an illegal moonshine business — a shot house — out of their home. At age 5, Tharpe began serving the homemade alcohol to customers and taking sips himself.

By the time he was 10, Tharpe was drinking enough liquor to make him drunk enough to lose consciousness. His early exposure to alcohol impaired his development.

Despite his childhood, Tharpe has been described as being a “friendly, outgoing, happy and athletic child” who had many friends and was a standout high school athlete.

He married his high school sweetheart and the couple shared four children. Tharpe had another daughter from a previous relationship.

Later, Tharpe became addicted to crack cocaine which led to his alienating his family and losing himself in the drug culture.

In August 1990, Tharpe’s wife took their children and left him. Tharpe was desperate to win his family back, but his wife’s relatives were protective of her and wanted him to stay away.

On the night before Freeman’s murder, Tharpe drank and smoked crack until the early morning hours.

Then, he drove toward the Freeman family’s home where several family members had homes and his wife was staying.

He encountered his wife and Freeman on the road leading to the family’s property, stopped them and told his wife to get into his truck. Tharpe and Freeman argued. Then Tharpe shot Freeman with a shotgun, reloaded and shot her again.

“To this day, Mr. Tharpe cannot fathom what came over him and caused him to act as he did and kill Mrs. Freeman,” his lawyers wrote in the application. “It is an act for which he takes full responsibility and will regret every day for the rest of his life.”

Tharpe regularly talks about his remorse and has endeavored to live a Christian life, devoted to helping others learn from his mistakes, his lawyers argue.

Tharpe’s lawyers are continuing to appeal his conviction and death sentence alleging that one member of the juror voted for the death penalty due to racial prejudice.

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Some of slain woman’s family members support clemency for her killer, lawyers say."