Georgia Seeks Death Penalty For Captured Inmates

EATONTON, GA -- Two Georgia inmates who were recently captured after a massive manhunt that spilled into Tennessee will face the death penalty, the District Attorney said Wednesday morning in the duo's first court appearance after being rearrested.

Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose are accused of fatally shooting two corrections officers on a prison transport bus last week in Putnam County. The duo, described as "dangerous beyond description" by law enforcement officials, were caught after abandoning a stolen a second vehicle in rural Tennessee.

The judge granted the convicts no bond "due to the circumstances regarding this matter," and said that a Putnam County grand jury would convene on Sept. 18.

"This is very clearly a death penalty case," Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Stephen Bradley said to the court. "We are preparing this case as a capital penalty trial."

Two prison guards, Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue, were disarmed and shot by the inmates early Tuesday in Putnam County. The inmates waived their extradition to Georgia and arrived there shortly before Tuesday's hearing.

Dubose reportedly mumbled "not guilty" as he was being escorted out of the courtroom.

Read more: 2 Georgia inmates on the run in 'heinous' killings

Curtis Billue's sisters attended the hearing and issued the following statement, saying that she forgave the inmates, according to WXIA.

"When I first laid eyes on them, all I could do was just, in my mind, just think how could two human beings kill two innocent men who were only doing their jobs? All I can do is say that I immediately, when this took place, I immediately forgave them. But forgiveness does not excuse their behavior and all I can say is that, at this point, we just want justice served," Denise Billue said.

Carol Billue used the moment to reflect on her fallen brother.

"The memory that I will always have is the way he took care of my father, especially in his later age," she was quoted as saying. "He was a caregiver, Friday to Sunday. I would wake up some mornings when I was there, he would have already completed half of the chores that needed doing that day and I will always remember him as being my hero."

Multiple agencies in both Tennessee and Georgia had a hand in bringing the nefarious duo to justice, but it was a couple that had been carjacked in Shelbyville that called 911, giving authorities the lead they needed to close in. It was also the alertness of another Volunteer State homeowner -- with a gun -- that made the two offenders surrender. The heroics call into question whether the reward money automatically goes to Tennessee civilians.

The homeowner who held the felons at bay with a gun has been identified by local media as Patrick Hale of Murfreesburo. He told local media that, "If that [the surrender] doesn't make you want to believe in Jesus Christ, I don't know what will."
Hale said that he heard from neighbors that the convicts were scampering around area yards, so he grabbed his little daughter, along with all the weapons in his home.
"We made the decision either to get in a panic room inside our house and be trapped or to get in our car and head down the road," Hale newschannel5. He said when they went outside, he made eye contact with the criminals, who began waving their shirts in surrender. He said he never confronted them or drew his weapon.

Read more: Reward for inmates' arrests 'will be dispersed,' officials say

The judge said the next Putnam County grand jury will convene on September 18.

Image via Tennessee Bureau of Investigation