Business - Ohio Man who killed two put to death

By Jeannie Nuss Associated Press Writer LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- A man who was shot in the head by a former co-worker watched his attacker be executed on Tuesday. William Everett said he taught 38-year-old Roderick Davie how to drive his truck and sometimes hung out with him after work at a pet supply warehouse in northeast Ohio. Davie was sentenced to death for murdering two people and trying to kill Everett in Warren, near Youngstown. Gov. Ted Strickland rejected clemency for Davie on Monday and his attorney said he has no pending appeals. Davie was the seventh person executed in Ohio this year, tying a record the state set in 2004. He worked at the Veterinary Companies of America for less a year and got along well with co-workers, including Everett and Tracey Jefferys. Then he was fired in April 1991 after a fight with the building's owner, according to the state's clemency report. Less than three months later, then-19-year-old Davie went back to the pet supply warehouse. He ordered three workers, Everett, Jefferys and John Coleman, to lie face down on the floor. He shot Everett and Coleman -- a driver hired after Davie was fired -- in the head. When he ran out of bullets, he beat 21-year-old Jefferys to death with a metal folding chair. Investigators later found Davie's bloody fingerprint and Jefferys' hair on the chair. Davie snatched Everett's wallet from his back pocket and took Jefferys' change purse before he left the warehouse. Everett somehow stumbled out in the parking lot, where Davie got into a truck and tried to run him over. Instead, he crashed the truck, hopped out and tried to gouge Everett's eyes out with a stick. Davie fled when he saw someone watching and was later arrested. He confessed that he "flipped out" and "went down to VCA and shot 'em up," according to the clemency report. A federal appeals court upheld Davie's death sentence in 2008 and rejected claims that police questioned him illegally. Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins called Davie an "unabashed psychopath." "This man does not deserve mercy and he is a continuing danger," Watkins said Monday. "He will always be a continuing danger. Society has a right to protect itself from the likes of Roderick Davie." Davie's attorney declined to comment. Coleman, the driver who was hired after Davie was fired, was an Air Force veteran and former deputy sheriff. His brother Benny Coleman says his family has waited 19 years for Davie's execution and that the victims didn't have a chance to ask for clemency. Benny and Randy Coleman plan to watch Davie die, along with Jefferys' family members, a victim advocate and Everett. Davie spent the hours before his scheduled execution praying and visiting with his brother and sister-in-law, prisons spokeswoman Julie Walburn said. He spoke with other family members, including his mother, father and daughter on the phone. Davie, who also goes by an Islamic name, fasted until sundown on Monday. He was served a vegetarian meal and drank several cups of coffee during the night. He was allowed to bring a Quran, prayer time sheet, kufi cap and other possessions into the prison. Walburn said Davie was quiet and cooperative. Doctors did two medical assessments and had no problem detecting veins. Davie has declined to meet with attorneys and mental health professionals. He was the 40th person to be put to death since Ohio resumed executions in 1999. Published: Wed, Aug 11, 2010

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