On a January evening in 2018, a distressing phone call set in motion a tragic chain of events that would end in the death of 45-year-old Lorenzo Freeman, a Black male from Fort Mitchell, Alabama. His son, while driving, found himself the target of a terrifying pursuit. A group of individuals in another vehicle began to chase him, shouting racial slurs and attempting to run him off the road. In a state of fear, the young man called his father for help.
Lorenzo Freeman, a retired U.S.
Army veteran, immediately drove to meet his son. In the parking lot of a Dollar General on Highway 165, he encountered the vehicle that had been menacing his son. The situation escalated with devastating speed. Freeman was gunned down, suffering a fatal shotgun wound. When Russell County sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call, they found him deceased at the scene.
The subsequent investigation into Freeman's death led to the arrests of two men, Earnie May and Justin Davidson. Witnesses at the scene reported that May had pointed a rifle at Freeman and was involved in the gunfire. Video evidence also showed May providing a weapon to Davidson, who was also convicted in the murder. The prosecution of this case was handled by the Russell County District Attorney's office, and a jury found both May and Davidson guilty of murder.
The jury also determined that the murder was racially motivated, officially classifying it as a hate crime. For his role in the fatal shooting, Earnie May, who was 49 at the time of his conviction, was sentenced to life in prison. He later sought to have his conviction overturned on appeal. However, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the original verdict in a decision issued on April 23, 2021. Justin Davidson was also convicted for his involvement in the murder.
