PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. — Ricky Dubose, who sentenced to death row less than 2 weeks ago in Putnam County, is now dead by his own hand. His death came after jurors found Dubose guilty of murdering 2 state corrections officers in 2017.
Dubose committed suicide Sunday evening at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Butts County.
Family members of Sgt. Curtis Billue and Christopher Monica and part of the team that worked to send him to death row had several reactions to the news.
"There's nothing good about any of this, but there's nothing good about what he did either,” Sheriff Howard Sills says.
Putnam County Sheriff Sills has been lead investigator on Dubose's case for the past five years.
He said he escorted Dubose to death row.
"No different than he was in the courtroom. He didn't-- no, he didn't say anything, and that's not uncommon. That's usually the-- I don't know if I've ever had one,” he says.
Sills said that suicides are unfortunately common in prisons, but he said that justice was served in the courtroom and that's what counts.
"I feel sorry-- or at least for some of Ricky Dubose's family, but I feel more sorry for the people he murdered and all the other people that he committed crimes against throughout his whole life,” Sills said.
"I wasn't exactly expecting that phone call on a Sunday afternoon,” T. Wright Barksdale said.
Prosecutor DA Barksdale has worked this case for five years.
"I believe in the death penalty, obviously. It was warranted and this was a case where that was certainly warranted and the jury agreed with us on that,” he explained. “Anytime, somebody loses their life, it's not a joyous occasion.”
Barksdale informed both families of murdered correctional officers, Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue immediately. They're not sure what to feel.
"It's a very numbing feeling. We're still trying to process the trial and put that into the perspective that needs to go. I don't understand why he didn't do it five years ago,” Christopher Monica’s wife, Denise said.
Curtis Billue’s sister, Denise said she and her family haven’t given it much thought.
"I don't' really have any feelings about it. Again, our focus is to try to move forward, try to move on with our lives. We will never move on without Curt -- we will move forward-- but it's just a time for us to go through the healing process,” Billue explains.
DA Barksdale says that it could take weeks to get the full story of what happened from the GBI and the Department of Corrections.
The DOC wouldn't go on camera, but said Dubose was found unresponsive in his cell before 5pm on Sunday.
He was pronounced dead just before 6pm. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about how he was able to hang himself in prison.
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