James Barney Hubbard and John Barry Hubbard

I have several cases put together that I have already researched. I can research in the middle of doing other things but when it comes time to put it all together I need a quiet room and that is not always possible. The other issue with having several researched is that while they may have grabbed my interest when I researched them, when it came time to compose them they seemed less interesting or required more research and depending on how I am feeling, or the time available that sometimes does not happen.

This is a case though that not only caught my interest in many ways and I have the time to put it together. I did not know going into this story that it would lead into another, even more interesting case. This case also reminded me why my husband has said on many occasions I could not be a defense attorney. I could defend a guilty person if it was on the merits of the law and the way an investigation was conducted, if in fact it was found to be against the rights of the accused. However, I openly admit I would have difficulty in defending someone who was clearly guilty and stand up in a court of law and lie or attempt to spin a story that in no way could have occurred. The first case, involving James Barney Hubbard is just such a case. The second, that of James' son, John Barry, is one in which money seemed to buy protection and ended in the murder of another innocent woman.

In 1957 James Barney Hubbard was convicted in the second degree murder of a man named David Dockery. Considering the facts that occurred in the future, and the age of the crime, details of this murder are not really available. Hubbard was given a fifty year sentence and served his time in the Department of Corrections in Alabama. It is not clear whether Lillian Montgomery, a business owner in Tuscaloosa Alabama knew Hubbard prior to his conviction but she did apparently know him while he was in prison. She advocated for his release and it was said “sponsored” him. She offered him a job, and a home.

Lillian Montgomery was in her early 60's when Hubbard was released from prison in 1976. She ran a store next to her home and hired Hubbard to work there as well as allowed him to live with her. On January 10, 1977 Hubbard would call the police department and tell them that Lillian had killed herself. After officers arrived at the home they discovered that Hubbard had a gun and ammunition in his pocket. They found three spent bullet casings in a trash can in an upstairs bedroom. The medical examiner arrived and it seems that it was clear rather early that this was not a suicide.

Lillian Montgomery would be shot three times, once each in the head, shoulder and face. Hubbard was almost immediately read his rights and led to the police station for questioning. There appears that at some point there was questions as to whether Hubbard was intoxicated at the time in which he was first interviewed. A bottle of whiskey was found on him and police officers allege that he did smell of alcohol but that he did not appear to be intoxicated. It seems as if his first interview with investigators last about thirty minutes. Hubbard continued to allege that Montgomery had committed suicide. He went on to claim that after she had shot herself she had told him she wanted him to have her car. As far as the gun being in his pocket... he claimed he had took it from her body, reloaded it and was planning to hide it when the police arrived. A document based on his statement was written up and when it came time for Hubbard to sign it he became nervous and asked for something to drink. The officer handed him the bottle of whiskey that had been found on his body, Hubbard took a drink and signed the statement.

It appears as if Hubbard was never released from custody. The following month a grand jury indicted Hubbard and charged in the capital murder of Lillian Montgomery. By the time his trial began in September of 1977 the prosecutors had plenty of evidence against Hubbard. Not only was it apparent to everyone, except the defense it seems, that Lillian Montgomery had not committed suicide, it was also apparent that after her death Hubbard had stolen money and items from her while he waited between one and two hours before calling authorities. It was said that the sole aggravating circumstance that allowed the prosecutors to seek the death penalty was the fact that he had been convicted of murder in the past. The defense stuck to the “suicide” story at trial.

It is not clear just how long the trial lasted or how long the jury took in their deliberations but they rendered a guilty verdict against Hubbard. It was said that at the time of his conviction Alabama law required that the death penalty be imposed with a conviction of first degree murder. I found this quite interesting for a few reasons. First, I had never heard the death penalty being mandatory and secondly, I found it interesting that it had become so in a time so soon after the death penalty had been reinstated in the United States. The death penalty had been reinstated in July of 1976. Gary Gilmore of Utah would be the first person executed under the new law in January of 1977 and yet less than a year later it was a mandatory sentence in Alabama.

I am very much an opponent of mandatory sentences in all cases. I believe that each crime and defendant should be looked at uniquely. I am especially against a mandatory sentence that would include the death penalty. This is not to say that I necessarily did not believe that James Hubbard did not deserve the death penalty, only that by a rule of law I do not agree. That being said, it appears that the Alabama Supreme Court saw it the same way and because of this Hubbard's conviction and death sentence were overturned.

Hubbard's second trial began in April of 1992. Now, I cannot tell you if he had the same defense attorney's representing him as he had in the first trial, but what I can say is they seemed to be just as ignorant. I say this for the reason that they too would argue at trial that Lillian Montgomery had committed suicide and Hubbard was not guilty. This theory was so blatantly false that it is amazing that one, let alone two attorney's would agree to this defense. Not surprisingly the second jury also found James Hubbard guilty of capital murder. They recommended the death penalty claiming that the aggravating factors not only included the fact that he had committed murder once before, but that the crime was particularly heinous and they felt it had been committed for some sort of gain, financial or otherwise. The judge would agree with their recommendation.

After years and years of appeals that were ultimately denied the state of Alabama put James Barney Hubbard to death by lethal injections on August 5, 2004. There was more than the average protest going on against his execution at the time. At the age of seventy-four he was the oldest inmate to be put to death since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was said that he not only suffered from dementia but also from cancer of the prostate and colon. It was said that he was nearly already bed ridden and the usual calls of cruel and unusual punishment were stated. The prosecutor who had been in charge of the case simply stated that it never should have taken so long to execute him and that the appeals process should never be allowed to take as long as they do.

It was never made clear if Hubbard ever admitted to the murder of Lillian Montgomery or showed any remorse for his crimes. It was said that his daughter was present at his execution although allegedly did not necessarily witness her father's last breath. It was not said where his son, John Barry Hubbard was at the time.

John Barry had been just a toddler when his father was convicted of murder in 1957. I never found anything that described what kind of childhood he may have had or if he ever had any relationship what so ever with his father.

When John was arrested for the kidnapping of his ex-girlfriend, Tammy Carpenter and the murder of her sister, Kandi Murphy in July of 2015 the media was quick to put the connection to his father. And, while it appears that John's guilt was as obvious as his father's had been in 1977, there seemed to be a lot of other things and people involved in this case that could have prevented his crime.

In May of 2015 Tammy Carpenter reported to the local authorities in Bibb County Alabama, located just southeast of Tuscaloosa, that John Barry had kidnapped and raped her. The two had apparently dated but whether this event was the catalyst of their break up or they had already broken up is unclear. It was alleged that the crime was reported to Sheriff Keith Hannah. Hannah was apparently friends and close to a man named Harold Randolph. Randolph was John Hubbard's employer and a man with substantial wealth and influence within the county. It appears that Carpenter also filed for a restraining order against Hubbard but had failed to go to a hearing and it was dismissed.

Over the course of the next month it is alleged that John Hubbard stalked and harassed both Tammy and her sister, Kandi. On July 21, 2015 it was alleged that John Hubbard had entered the home in which the two women were located and after killing Kandi, by shooting her four times he kidnapped Tammy and left the area with her. Despite her wounds Tammy was able to call 911 for help. She would be pronounced dead at the hospital. It appears that both Kandi, and her children had stated it was John Hubbard who had entered the home, shot her and kidnapped Tammy.

Investigators would later learn that Hubbard took Tammy to a wooded area where once again he raped her. Later, his vehicle broke down and he called his cousin Gary Wade Rowland to come and get both him and Tammy and transport them to a motel. Rowland did as he was asked and apparently did not alert authorities. Hubbard was eventually captured and Carpenter was able to escape alive.

Much was made upon John's arrest because of his father's past as the prosecutor was left to decide if he would seek the death penalty. It is not clear what decision was ever made. Eventually John would plead guilty to capital murder and kidnapping charges. In July of 2018 he would be given a sentence of life, without parole. His cousin, Gary Rowland, was also arrested and initially charged with murder, kidnapping and hindering prosecution. Authorities would drop the murder charge due to insufficient evidence. He was still allegedly facing the kidnapping and hindering prosecution charges but it seems unclear as to what came of this. A search of the Alabama Department of Corrections website led me to find John Hubbard but not Gary Rowland. I also looked at the Bibb County Jail website and failed to find him.

In November of 2016 Bibb County Sheriff Keith Hannah would go into a bathroom near his office and commit suicide by shooting himself. He was a twenty-nine year veteran of the department and while there had been accusations related to the Hubbard case circulating, it is not clear his exact motive.

Tammy Carpenter filed a lawsuit in 2017 against several defendants, including the estate of Keith Hannah. She alleged in the lawsuit that Hannah, along with Harold Randolph and others had not only failed to follow up on her allegation of rape in May of 2015, but that they had actively protected Hubbard from prosecution. The lawsuit alleged that while both men continued to prevent Hubbard from being charged with the rape and protected him by prosecution that on the morning of July 21, 2015 both men had informed Hubbard they could no longer protect him, yet still did nothing. Neither man made any effort to warn the two women that their lives could have been in significant danger with this decision. The lawsuit is ongoing.