In May of 1975, a chance encounter in Forsyth County, Georgia, set the stage for a brutal and senseless crime that would cut short the life of Michael Priest. The harrowing ordeal began when Jack Howard Potts and his companion, Norma Blackwell, sought a ride to Marietta. The couple had been staying in Forsyth County after returning from Florida where Potts had recently killed a man. Gene Snyder and Elaine Glaze offered them a ride, a decision that would prove to have devastating consequences. As they traveled, Potts, who was driving, suddenly shot Snyder, leaving him for dead on the side of the road.
Following the shooting, Potts, covered in blood, walked to a nearby home where Michael Priest was having supper with his pregnant wife and her parents. Claiming to have been in an accident and in need of a ride, Potts preyed on the kindness of Priest, who volunteered to take him to a hospital. This act of compassion sealed his fate. Once in Priest's car, Potts revealed his true intentions, pointing a gun at him. The two women, Blackwell and Glaze, were forced into the car as well, and Potts ordered Priest to drive.
The drive was filled with terror as Michael Priest pleaded for his life, telling Potts about his wife and unborn child. In a chilling display of cruelty, Potts declared himself to be Priest's god and forced him to pray to him. The terrifying journey ended on a desolate dirt road where Potts took Priest into a field of high weeds. There, he forced him to his knees and shot him in the back of the head. Potts then returned to the car, callously informing Glaze that it was her turn, though Blackwell intervened and her life was spared.
Jack Howard Potts was later apprehended and stood trial for his crimes. In 1976, a Forsyth County Superior Court jury convicted him of the murder of Michael Priest and sentenced him to death. He was also found guilty in Cobb County of the kidnapping with bodily injury and armed robbery of Michael Priest, for which he also received a death sentence. Potts' legal battles were extensive, with his initial death sentence for the murder being overturned in 1984, only for him to be resentenced to death in a new trial in 1988. His conviction and death sentence for the kidnapping were also subject to appeals and retrials. Throughout the legal proceedings, the chilling details of Michael Priest's final moments were recounted, painting a grim picture of his tragic and untimely death.
