Chatham County commissioner pleads with state to keep brother’s killer behind bars
By Tia Maggio
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CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WJCL) — A Chatham County commissioner is pleading with the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to keep his brother’s killer in prison — nearly four decades after the crime.
Commissioner Dean Kicklighter says his family was blindsided by a letter notifying them that his brother’s murderer, Christopher Lucas, had been tentatively granted parole.
“I woke up yesterday morning and opened a whole piece of hell out of my mailbox,” Kicklighter said.
Lucas was convicted in the 1987 murder that left 23-year-old Randy Kicklighter dead outside his home at Foss Mobile Homes. Investigators later revealed that Lucas — Randy’s father-in-law — had hired a man, James Edward Smith, to kill him.
Kicklighter still vividly remembers the night his family’s life was shattered.
“He was laying outside beside his truck on his back, shot in his head, and my mother was begging me to go wake him up — that was when all the hell began,” Kicklighter said.
Lucas was sentenced to life in prison. He has served 32 years and been denied parole 11 times. But Georgia law allows parole eligibility for life sentences after seven years. In a statement, the parole board said:
“This offender has been considered for parole according to statute and denied parole eleven times. The tentative grant is not a final decision.”
The board is required to review new information during a 90-day period before making a final ruling. That decision is expected in December. Still, Kicklighter is determined to stop his brother’s killer from being released.
“When a person takes a life, they should atomically be giving up their life — whether that be by the death penalty or spending their entire life in prison,” he said.
The commissioner has taken to social media, urging the public to contact the parole board and ask them to reverse course.
This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles says it will make a final decision after the 90-day review period ends.
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