Ricky Allen Morris was a man whose life was marked by a profound and devastating tragedy long before it was cut short by violence. Born in Panama City, Florida, on September 2, 1982, Ricky’s life took a dark turn that would ultimately lead him inside the walls of a state prison. In February 2008, at the age of 25, he shot and killed his parents, Raymond and Deborah Morris, in their home.
Ricky pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. His family, including his wife Karen, believed that Ricky, a father of two young children, was not in his right mind when he committed the act and had been failed by a system that did not provide adequate help for his severe mental illness. "The Ricky Morris that did what he did was not the same person I had children with," his wife told the judge.
His life behind bars was served at the Charlotte Correctional Institution in Punta Gorda, Florida. It was there, in the confines of a shared cell, that his path crossed with Leo Lancing Boatman, an inmate with a fearsome reputation and a history of extreme violence. Boatman was already serving two life sentences for the 2006 execution-style murders of two college students, Amber Peck and John Parker, in the Ocala National Forest. He had told a friend he wanted to become a serial killer. The decision to place Morris in a cell with such a dangerous individual would prove to be a fatal one.
On the morning of August 18, 2010, prison employees found Ricky Morris, then 28, unresponsive and bleeding inside his cell. His cellmate, Leo Boatman, had subjected him to a merciless beating. According to court records, Boatman punched, kicked, stomped, and repeatedly smashed Ricky’s head against the concrete floor. The attack left Morris with catastrophic brain damage. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was placed on life support. For a month, he lingered in a coma, never regaining consciousness. On September 19, 2010, seventeen days after his 28th birthday, Ricky Allen Morris died.
The investigation into the killing was straightforward. Boatman was immediately identified as the assailant and was transferred to another prison while the Charlotte County State Attorney's Office prepared its case. Prison documents later suggested a possible motive: Boatman was allegedly upset with Morris for a prior assault on an elderly inmate. Ricky's aunt, Cindy Morris, was left stunned by the prison's failure to protect him. "I don't even understand how these two people got into the cell together," she said.
In January 2011, authorities formally announced they would charge Boatman with Morris's murder. He was initially charged with second-degree murder, but on August 15, 2013, a Charlotte County jury convicted him of the lesser charge of third-degree murder after about four hours of deliberation. For ending Ricky Morris's life, Boatman was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison—a sentence that seemed almost meaningless given he was already destined to die behind bars for his previous crimes.
Leo Boatman’s trail of violence did not end with Ricky Morris. He would go on to kill another inmate, William Chapman, in 2019. For that murder, Boatman was convicted of first-degree murder and finally sentenced to death. He now resides on Florida's death row.
Ricky Morris was laid to rest at Ebenezer Cemetery in Vernon, Florida. His obituary remembered him as a father, brother, and grandson, survived by his two children, Ricky and Kaylyn. His family’s final words for him in print were a prayer: "May Ricky now have peace in his heart and soul and God be with him." His death was the final, tragic chapter in a life defined by violence, both committed and suffered, and the profound failures of the systems meant to provide care and ensure safety.
