Convicted child murderer Tim Jones’ death sentence upheld by SC Supreme Court
The 2019 conviction and death sentence for Tim Jones, found guilty of killing his five young children, was upheld Wednesday by a unanimous South Carolina Supreme Court.
In a 37-page opinion, the five justices rejected most arguments by Jones’ defense attorneys and said that any errors in the case were “harmless” and would in no way affect the jury verdict or the death sentence.
In their decision, justices agreed that Jones’ killing of his children in 2014 was one of the most horrific murder cases in South Carolina history and there was nothing that compares with it.
Jones, who was a software engineer earning $80,000 a year, was found guilty after a 2019 trial in Lexington County of killing his five children: Merah, 8; Elias, 7; Nahtahn, 6; Gabriel, 2; and Abigail Elaine, 1.
Jones chose not to testify.
In a separate court proceeding immediately following the guilty verdict, the same jury recommended Jones be sentenced to death. State Judge Bubba Griffith then ratified the death sentence recommendation.
The jury took less than two hours to agree on a death sentence. The trial lasted 21 days, and more than 60 witnesses testified.
Jones, 41, is being held at the S.C. Department of Corrections’ death row, located in a complex just outside Columbia.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
