Fred Coffey was given the Death sentence for the 1979 murder of little Amanda Ray, age 10. He was given a re-trial and Again sentenced to Death. He appealed on the basis that during the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury was informed of nine convictions for child molestations that he committed in 1986. Because they occurred AFTER he murdered Amanda, and he argued that he COULD have become a child molester after he murdered Amanda. Therefor (in the convoluted logic of his Defense) introducing the information about the Molestations were prejudicial to his case.
The appellate court agreed and ordered a third sentencing trial. At that trial, the jury voted 10 to 2 for the Death penalty, but since it was not unanimous, Coffey's death sentence was commuted to Life with him immediately eligible for parole. He has been denied Parole every time he has been considered for it.
Coffey is a strong (in fact the only) suspect in the 1981 murder of Neeley Smith (age 5) and the 1986 murder of Travis Shane King (age 8), but he was never charged or tried for those murders.
Coffey's Navy career came to an end in 1974 after 12 years when he raped the 13 year old daughter of a fellow Navy man.
If you would like to express your feelings and thoughts to the North Carolina Parole Commission, you can contact them via e-mail at:
Parole.Commission@ncdps.gov.
LINK:
Parole.Commission@ncdps.gov