On July 27, 1993, Guy Tobias LeGrande entered the home of Ellen Munford and shot her twice in the back, killing her. LeGrande was 34 and worked with the victim's husband, Tommy Munford, at Jay's Downtowner Restaurant in Albermarle. Tommy Munford and LeGrande conspired to kill Ellen Munford. Munford and Ellen had been estranged for two years. At the time of the murder, Ellen was living with another man. Munford had repeatedly harassed Ellen and trespassed on the property where she was living with her new boyfriend.  Munford told numerous people that he wanted to "do in" the victim. Munford took out a life insurance policy in the amount of $50,000 on Ellen's life, naming himself as the sole beneficiary. He promised to pay LeGrande $6,500 if LeGrande would kill Ellen Munford. On the day of the murder, Munford arranged to take his and Ellen Munford's two children to the beach so that she would be alone in the house. Prior to picking up the children, Munford dropped LeGrande off in the woods next to Ellen's house. LeGrande was carrying a shotgun. As Munford left Ellen's house, he blew his horn to signal to LeGrande that Ellen was alone. LeGrande watched Ellen Munford for hours from the woods before he entered her home and killed her. Following the murder, LeGrande bragged to a friend about having "capped that ass."  Tommy Munford was sentenced to life plus twenty years in prison. There are many claims on the internet about LeGrande being mentally ill, however, an appellate court found that he had attended college, was an aircraft mechanic, worked for the post office for six years, and was described as a "very intelligent young man." LeGrande insisted on representing himself and during his sentencing testimony, called the jurors the "antichrists" and declared that they could "kiss his natural black ass in the window of Heilig-Meyers," that they could "pull the switch and let the good times roll," and that he would meet them in hell where they would be required to worship him. The competency evaluation found that LeGrande did not appear to have a serious mental disorder, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Although at times he appeared hypomanic, he seemed to be able to control his behavior when he so desired. LeGrande also demonstrated characteristics of a personality disorder with antisocial and narcissistic features.

On 3/3/85, Jerome Henderson murdered his neighbor, 26-year-old Mary Acoff in her Cincinnati apartment. Mary Acoff had fought her attacker and was beaten and repeatedly stabbed before her nude body was found by her 10-year-old daughter when she returned home. Henderson broke into Mary's apartment, attempted to rape her, stabbed and beat her multiple times in the head, chest and neck and slashed her throat at least 13 times.  DNA testing, conducted during federal appeals in 2003, identified Mary Acoff as the source of blood, and Henderson as the source of semen, found on Henderson's coat which was recovered from his residence three days after the crime. Henderson's blood-stained shoes also matched prints at the scene of the crime. At the time of the trial, the jury learned that, based on the scientific technology available then, the semen found in Mary's body could have come from Henderson or from Mary's boyfriend. Henderson was acquitted of rape, but convicted of attempted rape and all other counts he was charged with. Henderson claimed he was innocent and wanted DNA tests when they became available years later, but the tests revealed that while the semen inside Mary's body could not have come from Henderson, the semen on Henderson's coat belonged to Henderson and the blood on the coat belonged to Mary Acoff. 

Angel Diaz was convicted of first-degree murder, four counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and one count of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony based on his participation in the holdup of a Miami bar in 1979. One of three Spanish-speaking men shot and killed the bar manager during the December 29, 1979, holdup of a Miami bar. No one witnessed the shooting. The majority of the patrons and employees had been forcibly confined to a restroom. A dancer hiding under the bar did not see the triggerman. Angel Diaz was charged with the crimes and convicted of first-degree murder, four counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and one count of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. Diaz conducted his own defense with standby counsel from the opening statements through
conviction. He was represented by counsel during jury selection and the sentencing phase. The trial court sentenced Diaz to a total of 834 years of imprisonment and imposed the jury's recommended sentence of death.