Ashley experienced some difficulty in starting her brown mustang before departing to Senatobia High School on the morning of January 9th 1996. Witnesses claim they last saw Ashley asking for assistance and getting into a black pick-up truck around 7:30 a.m. She was wearing a brown suede jacket with a fur collar and blue jeans. She was not reported missing until 11:45 p.m. when her mother arrived home from work.
On January 22nd, children who were searching for wood discovered Ashley's body under the floor of an abandoned house in Quitman county. On March 27th, Ashley's class ring and a knife were discovered on the property close to the home of William Ray Hughes, a known sex offender. Semen samples matched those that were found on Ashley's body, and a witness later stated that she saw Ashley in a black pick-up on a rural road in Quitman county.
Hughes was indicted for kidnapping, rape, and murder in Tate Co. and covicted and sentenced to death on November 20th, 1996. There was controversy that Hughes was mentally retarded and he went though several tests trying to seek post-conviction relief.
Here is an article posted on January 25, 2011:
After spending nearly 15 years on Death Row, a man convicted in a Tate County murder has won a fight to have his sentencing changed.
According to David Walker, court-appointed attorney for William Ray Hughes, an order was filed by the Mississippi State Supreme Court on January 14 to move Hughes' sentence from the death penalty to life in prison without parole.
Hughes was convicted in 1996 for the murder of 16-year-old Ashley Galloway. Court records reflect that Galloway was kidnapped, raped, and murdered while on her way to Senatobia High School in early 1996. Her body was found nearly two weeks later under the floor of an abandoned house, by a group of children scavenging for wood.
According to the Supreme Court's order, Hughes was found by a federal court to be mentally retarded, and thus ineligible for the death penalty.
Court records show that Hughes was transported to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield and examined by a clinical psychologist and given other tests. The courts had ruled in previous appeals that he did not show diminished enough mental capacity to be deemed mentally retarded.
Tate County Circuit Court, as the original trial court, has been ordered to enact the resentencing.
Circuit Clerk Eddie Hadskey said late last week that no date had been set for the hearing, but noted that the order mandated that it occur within 20 days of January 14.
SPECIAL THANKS TO WHITE LIGHT FOR SPONSORING THIS MEMORIAL!
On January 22nd, children who were searching for wood discovered Ashley's body under the floor of an abandoned house in Quitman county. On March 27th, Ashley's class ring and a knife were discovered on the property close to the home of William Ray Hughes, a known sex offender. Semen samples matched those that were found on Ashley's body, and a witness later stated that she saw Ashley in a black pick-up on a rural road in Quitman county.
Hughes was indicted for kidnapping, rape, and murder in Tate Co. and covicted and sentenced to death on November 20th, 1996. There was controversy that Hughes was mentally retarded and he went though several tests trying to seek post-conviction relief.
Here is an article posted on January 25, 2011:
After spending nearly 15 years on Death Row, a man convicted in a Tate County murder has won a fight to have his sentencing changed.
According to David Walker, court-appointed attorney for William Ray Hughes, an order was filed by the Mississippi State Supreme Court on January 14 to move Hughes' sentence from the death penalty to life in prison without parole.
Hughes was convicted in 1996 for the murder of 16-year-old Ashley Galloway. Court records reflect that Galloway was kidnapped, raped, and murdered while on her way to Senatobia High School in early 1996. Her body was found nearly two weeks later under the floor of an abandoned house, by a group of children scavenging for wood.
According to the Supreme Court's order, Hughes was found by a federal court to be mentally retarded, and thus ineligible for the death penalty.
Court records show that Hughes was transported to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield and examined by a clinical psychologist and given other tests. The courts had ruled in previous appeals that he did not show diminished enough mental capacity to be deemed mentally retarded.
Tate County Circuit Court, as the original trial court, has been ordered to enact the resentencing.
Circuit Clerk Eddie Hadskey said late last week that no date had been set for the hearing, but noted that the order mandated that it occur within 20 days of January 14.
SPECIAL THANKS TO WHITE LIGHT FOR SPONSORING THIS MEMORIAL!
Ashley experienced some difficulty in starting her brown mustang before departing to Senatobia High School on the morning of January 9th 1996. Witnesses claim they last saw Ashley asking for assistance and getting into a black pick-up truck around 7:30 a.m. She was wearing a brown suede jacket with a fur collar and blue jeans. She was not reported missing until 11:45 p.m. when her mother arrived home from work.
On January 22nd, children who were searching for wood discovered Ashley's body under the floor of an abandoned house in Quitman county. On March 27th, Ashley's class ring and a knife were discovered on the property close to the home of William Ray Hughes, a known sex offender. Semen samples matched those that were found on Ashley's body, and a witness later stated that she saw Ashley in a black pick-up on a rural road in Quitman county.
Hughes was indicted for kidnapping, rape, and murder in Tate Co. and covicted and sentenced to death on November 20th, 1996. There was controversy that Hughes was mentally retarded and he went though several tests trying to seek post-conviction relief.
Here is an article posted on January 25, 2011:
After spending nearly 15 years on Death Row, a man convicted in a Tate County murder has won a fight to have his sentencing changed.
According to David Walker, court-appointed attorney for William Ray Hughes, an order was filed by the Mississippi State Supreme Court on January 14 to move Hughes' sentence from the death penalty to life in prison without parole.
Hughes was convicted in 1996 for the murder of 16-year-old Ashley Galloway. Court records reflect that Galloway was kidnapped, raped, and murdered while on her way to Senatobia High School in early 1996. Her body was found nearly two weeks later under the floor of an abandoned house, by a group of children scavenging for wood.
According to the Supreme Court's order, Hughes was found by a federal court to be mentally retarded, and thus ineligible for the death penalty.
Court records show that Hughes was transported to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield and examined by a clinical psychologist and given other tests. The courts had ruled in previous appeals that he did not show diminished enough mental capacity to be deemed mentally retarded.
Tate County Circuit Court, as the original trial court, has been ordered to enact the resentencing.
Circuit Clerk Eddie Hadskey said late last week that no date had been set for the hearing, but noted that the order mandated that it occur within 20 days of January 14.
SPECIAL THANKS TO WHITE LIGHT FOR SPONSORING THIS MEMORIAL!
On January 22nd, children who were searching for wood discovered Ashley's body under the floor of an abandoned house in Quitman county. On March 27th, Ashley's class ring and a knife were discovered on the property close to the home of William Ray Hughes, a known sex offender. Semen samples matched those that were found on Ashley's body, and a witness later stated that she saw Ashley in a black pick-up on a rural road in Quitman county.
Hughes was indicted for kidnapping, rape, and murder in Tate Co. and covicted and sentenced to death on November 20th, 1996. There was controversy that Hughes was mentally retarded and he went though several tests trying to seek post-conviction relief.
Here is an article posted on January 25, 2011:
After spending nearly 15 years on Death Row, a man convicted in a Tate County murder has won a fight to have his sentencing changed.
According to David Walker, court-appointed attorney for William Ray Hughes, an order was filed by the Mississippi State Supreme Court on January 14 to move Hughes' sentence from the death penalty to life in prison without parole.
Hughes was convicted in 1996 for the murder of 16-year-old Ashley Galloway. Court records reflect that Galloway was kidnapped, raped, and murdered while on her way to Senatobia High School in early 1996. Her body was found nearly two weeks later under the floor of an abandoned house, by a group of children scavenging for wood.
According to the Supreme Court's order, Hughes was found by a federal court to be mentally retarded, and thus ineligible for the death penalty.
Court records show that Hughes was transported to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield and examined by a clinical psychologist and given other tests. The courts had ruled in previous appeals that he did not show diminished enough mental capacity to be deemed mentally retarded.
Tate County Circuit Court, as the original trial court, has been ordered to enact the resentencing.
Circuit Clerk Eddie Hadskey said late last week that no date had been set for the hearing, but noted that the order mandated that it occur within 20 days of January 14.
SPECIAL THANKS TO WHITE LIGHT FOR SPONSORING THIS MEMORIAL!
