15 October 2010 :

A jury sentenced Jessie Dotson, 35, black, to death. Dotson was found guilty yesterday of six counts of first-degree murder in the March 2, 2008 shooting deaths of his brother, his brother's girlfriend and two other adults, and the fatal stabbings of two nephews, ages 2 and 4. Criminal Court Judge James Beasley imposed it. Three other children were stabbed but survived the slaughter, for which he was convicted of three counts of attempted first-degree murder in the attack. Dotson already served 14 years in prison for murder. He was released about seven months before the Memphis killings. Dotson shot his brother, Cecil Dotson, in the head during an argument after a day of drinking, then went after everyone else in the house with two guns, boards and kitchen knives, trying to eliminate all witnesses. He then stabbed two boys and a 2-month old girl, who stayed alive for about 40 hours until paramedics arrived, prosecutors said. Also killed were his nephews 4-year-old Cemario Dotson and 2-year-old Cecil Dotson Jr. II; Cecil Dotson's girlfriend, Marissa Williams; and friends Hollis Seals and Shindri Roberson. Cecil Dotson Jr., now 11, was found in a bathtub with a 4½-inch knife blade stuck in his skull. The boy, his brother 8-year-old Cedric Dotson, and Jessie Dotson's mother were key prosecution witnesses. Beasley set his execution date for March 2, 2012, but appeals will delay it.