Hannah Payne found guilty of killing hit-and-run driver in Georgia
A woman in Clayton County, Georgia was found guilty of pursuing, shooting, and killing a man who had fled the scene of a car accident. She was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on Thursday.
The presiding judge sentenced Hannah Payne to life in prison with the possibility of parole after finding her guilty of malice murder. The judge also sentenced Payne to eight consecutive years for false imprisonment and five consecutive years for possession of a firearm during a felony.
‘I’M A MURDERER’: Hannah Payne found GUILTY of hunting down and killing a Georgia hit-and-run driver
According to District Attorney Tasha Mosley, Hannah Payne will have to spend the next 43 years in prison before she is eligible for parole.
Hannah Payne shoot and kill Georgia hit-and-run driver 62-year-old Kenneth Herring
On May 7, 2019, prosecutors said Payne called 911 twice. She told the operator that she saw a man, identified as 62-year-old Kenneth Herring, drive through a red light, hit an 18-wheeler, and flee.
Prosecutors told jurors that 911 operators warned Payne not to approach the man (Herring), but Payne did so anyway. When Payne testified, she told jurors that she was acting as a “messenger for police” when she approached Herring’s truck, all while still on the phone with the 911 operator.
She claimed that Herring attacked her and pulled the trigger of her gun during a struggle, but prosecutors disputed Payne’s account and told jurors that she was the sole aggressor and acted with malice.
“She has yet to tell a consistent story about what happened,” the prosecution said during the sentencing. “… She accepts no responsibility for her actions. The real Hannah Payne is the one cursing, telling him to get the F out of the car.”
Hannah Payne, 25, will be 69 years old when she becomes eligible for parole.
