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Twenty Years of Injustice: The Fight to Free Murray Lawrence Jr.
The reconstructed timeline makes one fact impossible to ignore. Murray Lawrence Jr could not have been at the scene of the murder on the night of April 6 2003. This was the night of a time change, and that shift in the clock created confusion that investigators never corrected. It produced false assumptions about when events occurred and distorted the entire sequence of the night.
Neither the prosecution nor the defense ever created an accurate timeline during the trial. The jury never saw one. They were left with a confused and incomplete picture of the night, while the evidence now shows a clear sequence that places Murray somewhere else entirely.
Key Timeline Events
• 1:20 AM CST – Jarius McNeil calls Brandon Hastings from a payphone.
• 1:30 AM – Brandon picks Jarius up; they stop briefly at Bebo’s Car Wash.
• 1:35 AM – Debra Fudge sees Brandon alive with Jarius.
• 1:47 AM – Jarius and Brandon arrive at a remote location (alleged murder site).
• 1:55 AM – Jarius murders Brandon by ligature strangulation, not a gunshot.
• 3:00 AM CDT – After Daylight Saving Time begins, Jarius finishes loading the body into the trunk.
• 3:30 AM CDT – Jarius arrives at Tonya Mixson’s house and taps on the window. Murray comes outside, confused and suspicious to see Jarius driving Brandon’s car. Jarius forces him to hold car speakers.
• 4:20 AM – Crystal Curtis and John Wayne Mixson visit Tonya’s home and find Murray there, awake and present.
• 6:26 AM – Jarius returns home after dumping the body in Mississippi.
Why This Timeline Exonerates Murray
• Murray was at home with Tonya before and after the murder. Multiple witnesses, including Tonya and Crystal Curtis, testified to his presence there throughout the early morning.
• He was seen at home at the same time Jarius was driving Brandon’s car with Brandon’s dead body in the trunk.
• There is no evidence Murray was ever with Jarius that night between 9:00 PM and 3:30 AM when Jarius appeared at his window.
• Witness testimony and the precision of the timeline, including the Daylight Saving Time change, confirm that Jarius acted alone, murdered Brandon, moved the body, and later tried to implicate others to avoid a death sentence.
Conclusion
The timeline is airtight. Murray Lawrence Jr. was not with the victim or the killer during the murder window. He had no opportunity, means, or motive, and several credible witnesses place him elsewhere. This detailed chronology, supported by testimony and physical evidence, proves Murray’s innocence.
From Crime Scene to Conviction (2003–2005)
Why the Investigation and Trial Were Fundamentally Corrupt
After the murder of Brandon Hastings, the investigation was mishandled from the start. Jurisdiction belonged to Mississippi, where the body was found and the cause of death determined as ligature strangulation. Despite this, Baldwin County authorities in Alabama took control, fabricating a gunshot theory and suppressing critical forensic evidence that proved otherwise.
Key Timeline Events
• April 8, 2003 – Brandon Hastings’s stripped vehicle is found at the State Docks in Mobile, Alabama.
• April 11, 2003 – His remains are discovered in Jackson County, Mississippi.
• May 14, 2003 – A second autopsy is conducted by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences following a disinterment. Cause of death is confirmed as ligature strangulation, directly contradicting the State’s gunshot theory. This report is never disclosed to the defense.
• June 3, 2004 – Murray Lawrence is arrested while at work at the Grand Hotel in Fairhope.
• May 2–12, 2005 – Trial proceedings take place. The prosecution presents no physical or forensic evidence connecting Murray to the crime. Jarius McNeil testifies against him in exchange for a reduced charge. Voir dire reveals racial bias in jury selection. Judge Robert Wilters presides.
• May 13, 2005 – Murray is convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole based solely on the testimony of the actual killer. No physical evidence ties him to the crime.
Why This Case Represents a Systemic Failure
• Jurisdictional authority was ignored, and the case was unlawfully tried in Baldwin County.
• The State withheld the second autopsy confirming strangulation as the cause of death.
• Prosecutors built their case on the coerced testimony of a confessed killer seeking leniency.
• The trial was tainted by racial bias during jury selection and judicial conflicts of interest.
• The conviction relied entirely on words, not evidence — a complete violation of due process.
Conclusion
The evidence that could have freed Murray Lawrence Jr. was deliberately buried. From the destruction of jurisdictional boundaries to the manipulation of witness testimony, this case became a textbook example of systemic corruption. Murray’s conviction was not the result of proof but of power — and it has kept an innocent man imprisoned for over twenty years.