Murder of Ralph Stoudemire
| Date | July 12, 1977 |
|---|---|
| Location | South Congaree, Lexington County, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Type | Robbery and murder |
| Deaths | Ralph Stoudemire, 44 |
| Convicted | J. D. Gleaton Larry Gilbert |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | Armed robbery Murder |
| Sentence | Death (October 7, 1977) |
On July 12, 1977, at a local service station in South Congaree, South Carolina, two half-brothers, J. D. Gleaton (1945 – December 4, 1998) and Larry Gilbert (1955 – December 4, 1998), robbed 44-year-old service station owner Ralph Samuel Stoudemire (November 26, 1932 – July 12, 1977) before he was stabbed and shot by both brothers, who were reportedly high on drugs at the time of the robbery. Stoudemire succumbed to his injuries and died after his son discovered his body at the scene of crime. Gleaton and Gilbert were arrested for the murder a day after they committed the offence.
The brothers were both found guilty of murder and sentenced to death on October 7, 1977, therefore becoming the first two convicts to be condemned under South Carolina's new death penalty laws since it was first introduced in June 1977 (a month before the murder of Stoudemire). Both Gilbert and Gleaton were executed by lethal injection on December 4, 1998, becoming the first pair of brothers executed by the state since 1976; they were also the longest-serving death row prisoners in South Carolina at the time of their executions.