In the summer of 1995, a promising life was tragically cut short in Memphis, Tennessee. On June 19th, 24-year-old Arthur Kirkwood, an African American male, was murdered by someone he considered a friend. The events of that day would set off a chain of violence that would span multiple states, leaving a trail of grief and devastation in its wake.
The perpetrator was identified as Ernest D. Jamison, a former Bible college student who had known Kirkwood.
Investigators would later learn that Jamison had premeditated the act, having previously spoken of his intentions to rob and kill his friends. On that fateful Monday, Jamison put his chilling plan into action, shooting Arthur Kirkwood and stealing his maroon Oldsmobile Delta 88. With Kirkwood's life extinguished, Jamison fled Memphis, embarking on a violent crime spree.
His journey of terror led him westward. In Arnold, Missouri, he stopped at a gas station where he shot and killed 67-year-old attendant James Klug in front of witnesses, stealing fuel to continue his flight. From there, he drove into Illinois. At another gas station, he murdered 52-year-old Susan K. Gilmore, a vacationing teacher, shooting her as she sat in her car before dragging her body out and stealing her vehicle. The multi-state manhunt for Jamison came to a dramatic end in McLean County, Illinois, after a high-speed chase. Before he could be apprehended, Jamison attempted to take his own life, resulting in a self-inflicted gunshot wound that left him permanently blind.
Ernest D. Jamison was subsequently tried and convicted for the murders he committed across Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois. In Illinois, he was initially sentenced to death; however, this sentence was later commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He also received a life sentence without parole in Missouri for the murder of James Klug. Throughout his legal proceedings, Jamison showed no remorse for his actions, which began with the senseless killing of his friend, Arthur Kirkwood.
