Shockley, a black male, was executed in Maryland in a gas chamber for the murder of shopkeeper Sarah Hearne on January 16, 1958.
Leonard and Harold brought their sister with them to drop her off at a friend's house; after leaving her, the two decided to commit a robbery in Boxiron.
[3] Leonard and Harold Shockley drove to a store in Boxiron owned by Sarah Hearne, a 39-year-old mother of three.
Evidence suggests that Harold stayed in the car during the beginning of the crime, while Leonard entered the store with a knife in his waistband.
[4][2] During the attack, a witness, a black man named Clarence Bishop, saw Leonard and Harold's car outside of the store and heard a scuffle occurring inside.
By the time they returned, Hearne had walked from the store to her house 95 feet away, where, in front of her stepfather, George Harris, she died from the injuries sustained in the attack.
The two disposed of several pieces of evidence before returning home, including several articles of clothing containing extensive bloodstains from the victim.
The next day, April 8, Harold was tried and convicted of aiding and abetting Leonard in robbing and murdering Sarah Hearne, and he received a life sentence.
[2] On January 19, 1959, the Maryland Court of Appeals upheld Leonard Shockley's conviction and death sentence.
Guards sealed the gas chamber at 10:02 PM, and at 10:03, the pill of hydrogen cyanide dropped into a vat of sulfuric acid.