The South Carolina Supreme Court has affirmed the death penalty conviction of Marion Alexander Lindsey, bringing an end to an 18-year legal battle that began with the 2002 murder of his estranged wife outside a police station.
In an opinion filed Nov. 5, 2025, the court rejected Lindsey's post-conviction relief claims and upheld the death sentence imposed by a Spartanburg County jury. Justice James wrote the opinion affirming the lower court's decision.
The case stems from events on Sept. 18, 2002, when Lindsey shot and killed his estranged wife, Ruby Nell Lindsey, as she sat in the back seat of a friend's car in the parking lot of the Inman Police Department. The victim was shot while seeking safety at the police station, highlighting the calculated nature of the crime.
A Spartanburg County jury convicted Lindsey of murder and recommended a death sentence, which Circuit Court Judge Paul M. Burch imposed. The South Carolina Supreme Court initially affirmed both the conviction and sentence in 2007 in *State v. Lindsey*, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied Lindsey's petition for certiorari.
However, Lindsey's legal challenges continued through the post-conviction relief process, which began in 2007. The PCR court initially denied relief in 2010, but the case took a complex procedural path over the following years.
In 2014, the South Carolina Supreme Court remanded the case to the PCR court for further proceedings, extending what had already become a lengthy appeals process. After the additional proceedings, the PCR court again denied relief to Lindsey.
The Supreme Court then granted Lindsey's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the PCR court's decision, leading to the final resolution announced this week.
In his appeal, Lindsey raised two primary issues challenging the post-conviction proceedings. First, he contested the PCR court's signing of a proposed order that had been submitted by the State, arguing this represented procedural error.
More substantially, Lindsey challenged his trial counsel's preparation and presentation of mitigation evidence during the penalty phase of his jury trial. Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel during capital penalty phases are common in death penalty appeals, as the Supreme Court has established that defendants facing execution are entitled to competent legal representation throughout all phases of their trial.
Mitigation evidence typically includes factors such as the defendant's background, mental health issues, substance abuse problems, childhood trauma, or other circumstances that might warrant a sentence less than death. The adequacy of counsel's investigation and presentation of such evidence is often scrutinized in post-conviction proceedings.
The court's decision to "affirm in result" indicates that while the justices may not have agreed with every aspect of the lower court's reasoning, they reached the same ultimate conclusion that Lindsey's claims lacked merit.
The legal team representing Lindsey included Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, Appellate Defender David Alexander, and Appellate Defender Lara Mary Caudy, all from Columbia. The state was represented by Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown, and Spartanburg Solicitor Barry Joe Barnette.
The case was heard by the Supreme Court on Sept. 12, 2023, more than a year before the opinion was filed, reflecting the careful consideration given to capital cases.
This resolution represents the conclusion of more than two decades of litigation stemming from the 2002 murder. The lengthy post-conviction process is typical in death penalty cases, where multiple layers of review are designed to ensure that constitutional protections are upheld before the ultimate punishment is carried out.
The affirmation of Lindsey's death sentence comes as South Carolina continues to face challenges in carrying out executions due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs. The state has sought to resume executions using alternative methods, including the electric chair and firing squad, though no executions have been carried out in South Carolina since 2011.
For the victim's family and friends, the Supreme Court's decision represents a final judicial resolution to a case that has remained in the courts for more than two decades. The murder occurred in a public location where the victim had sought safety, underscoring the particularly troubling nature of the crime that led to Lindsey's death sentence.