For nearly 17 years, three Brewton area families have known those responsible for the deaths of their loved ones were behind bars. They say that peace of mind would be shattered if one of the two men accused in the 1996 murders is set free.
Ethan Eugene Dorsey is eligible for parole from an Alabama Department of Corrections facility, and a three-member board will make that decision next month.
Scott Williams, Richard Cary and 13-year-old Bryan Crane were brutally killed when Dorsey and Calvin Middleton planned a robbery at a country store in the Brooklyn community.
Middleton is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his role in the triple murder.
“We are the only voices left for Bryan, Richard and Scott,” Mike Crane, an uncle of the slain teen, said. “We owe it to them to speak out.”
Family members of the three murder victims gathered this week to plan their strategy for presentations to the parole board when they meet on Dorsey’s case on July 17 in Montgomery.
Hazel Carter, Williams’ sister, said she plans to speak to the board and do her best to keep Dorsey behind bars.
“I want to be merciful and understanding,” Carter said. “But I’m still seeking justice for them.”
Only a handful of relatives will be allowed to speak to board members when they convene next month, but Crane said everyone can play a part in the fight to keep Dorsey in prison.
“Only those of us who got letters about the hearing will be allowed to speak,” Carter said. “They don’t want to hear about what we’ve been through. But, we need to let them know that someone who’s responsible for a triple murder doesn’t need to be out on the streets.”
Mike Crane said he wants the parole board to know about the viciousness of the crime, and he hopes to be among those who prove the point.
“What kind of man kills a 13-year-old who’s running away from him and then goes out and brags about it?” Crane said. “It’s barbaric. Every Christmas and every birthday when I talk to my mom and she’s crying; I don’t have to ask why. We can still live, but part of us is missing.”
As family members prepare letters, petitions and speeches to present to parole board members, they are reaching out for help with the job from the community.
“Anybody who can sign a petition, we are asking for your help,” Crane said. “Churches, groups, anybody can sign a petition. You can bring it to us to send to the board or we’ll come and pick it up. We have to let them know how we feel.”
For those interested in sending a letter to members of the parole board, letters should include the following information: Re: AIS # 200641, Ethan Eugene Dorsey, Parole Hearing Date: July 17, 2013. Letters should be addressed to: State of Alabama, Board of Pardons and Paroles, Attention: William Wynn, Cliff Walker, Bobby Longshore, P.O. Box 302405, Montgomery, AL 36130.
For those wishing to sign and submit petitions in support of keeping Dorsey behind bars, the header of any petition bearing original signatures should read as follows: We, the undersigned, respectfully protest the parole of inmate Ethan Eugene Dorsey, AIS #200641, who murdered Timothy Bryan Crane Jr., Scott Williams and Richard Cary, on November 20, 2996. Please deny parole for the maximum time allowed by law, due to the heinousness of the crime.
Letters may be mailed directly to the parole board address or they, along with any petitions, may be delivered to Judy Crane at the Greater Brewton Area Chamber of Commerce office inside the Brewton City Hall complex on Douglas Avenue.
Letters and petitions must be submitted no later than July 2 in order to be considered by board members prior to the hearing date, Crane said. Petitions signed after July 3, but before July 10, will be delivered to board members on the day of the hearing in Montgomery.
Carter said members of the Brewton community as well as outlying communities in the area near the crime have been supportive through the years of heartache endured by the family.
“I plan to visit all through Brooklyn and Johnsonville with a petition,” Carter said. “Even in Andalusia there are people who don’t want to see him out. I shop in Andalusia as much as I do in Brewton. If he were to get out, he’d go back to Andalusia, and I’d always be looking over my shoulder.”
Other family members recalled the incident and all of the press and legal proceedings surrounding the case over the years.
“We never forget,” Jenny Crane Gray said. “It’s always in the back of your mind until something like this comes up and brings it all back again.”
Carter said she knew that Dorsey would someday have to pay the price for the horror he committed on his victims — and their families.
“I have forgiven Dorsey and I pray he has asked for forgiveness,” Carter said. “I know the final justice is God.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
For those interested in sending a letter to members of the parole board, letters should include the following information: Re: AIS # 200641, Ethan Eugene Dorsey, Parole Hearing Date: July 17, 2013. Letters should be addressed to: State of Alabama, Board of Pardons and Paroles, Attention: William Wynn, Cliff Walker, Bobby Longshore, P.O. Box 302405, Montgomery, AL 36130.
For those wishing to sign and submit petitions in support of keeping Dorsey behind bars, the header of any petition bearing original signatures should read as follows: We, the undersigned, respectfully protest the parole of inmate Ethan Eugene Dorsey, AIS #200641, who murdered Timothy Bryan Crane Jr., Scott Williams and Richard Cary, on November 20, 2996. Please deny parole for the maximum time allowed by law, due to the heinousness of the crime.