Brian Douglas Holliman, serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife, Laura Lee Godfrey Holliman, is seeking executive clemency from the Governor of Mississippi. Holliman, who was convicted twice for the 2008 crime in Lowndes County, Mississippi, has filed a formal "Petition for Pardon" which has been running in the legal notices of The Commercial Dispatch in Lowndes County through October and November 2026.
In his petition, Holliman asks for full executive clemency, a pardon, or an immediate commutation of his life sentence to time served. He highlights his prison jobs, horticulture awards, Bible college grades, and completion of courses such as "Cage Your Rage." He refers to his wife's death, caused by a shotgun blast to her face, as a "tragic accident."
The incident occurred on October 25, 2008, in Caledonia, Lowndes County, Mississippi. Laura Lee Godfrey Holliman, 25, a nurse and active church member, had consulted an attorney and informed friends, family, and Brian Holliman that she intended to seek a divorce and move on with her young children. Instead, she was cornered in a bedroom closet within her home on Wolfe Road.
According to the investigation, Brian Holliman ensured the children were outside and Laura’s teenage sister, Katie Godfrey, was away from the home. He then retrieved a shotgun, walked to the closet, and shot Laura Lee Godfrey Holliman in the face at close range, ending her life instantly. Following the shooting, Holliman did not immediately call 911. Instead, he staged the scene by moving the heavy firearm near her body to fabricate a suicide. He then called his parents before emergency services received a call.
Lowndes County Sheriff’s deputies and emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene at 4:01 p.m., finding Laura Lee dead from a catastrophic shotgun wound. Brian Holliman initially told officers that his wife had shot herself. However, investigators determined that the physical mechanics of the wound, the angle of the weapon, and the length of the shotgun barrel made a self-inflicted blast impossible.
Under initial questioning by Lowndes County Sheriff’s Detective Eli Perrigin, Holliman's first account shifted. He then claimed Laura had pushed the barrel away as he was holding the shotgun to "intimidate" or "talk" to her, causing it to accidentally discharge. He confessed to Detective Perrigin that he repositioned the shotgun to stage a suicide because he "didn’t want people to think that I shot her." Days later, on October 29, 2008, after being formally arrested and waiving his Miranda rights, Holliman provided a third statement. He admitted, "On purpose, I pointed the gun at Laura to scare her to tell me where she was going," stating he aimed a loaded 12-gauge shotgun at her head from barely two feet away to force her to comply. Laura’s sister, Katie Godfrey, testified that Brian had previously locked Laura in the same bedroom closet in the week leading up to the murder.
Holliman’s first trial for deliberate-design murder began on November 30, 2009, in the Circuit Court of Lowndes County. The State, led by 16th Circuit District Attorney Forrest Allgood, presented a case that included testimony about Laura’s intent to divorce, Brian’s refusal, and his actions to isolate her before retrieving the weapon. State medical examiner Dr. Lisa Funte established the cause of death as a massive contact or near-contact shotgun wound to the head, ruling the manner of death an unequivocal homicide. The prosecution emphasized Holliman’s staging of the scene as evidence against his claims of accidental discharge. The defense argued for manslaughter, citing culpable negligence or an accidental discharge during a domestic dispute.
On December 4, 2009, after deliberation, the Lowndes County jury returned a verdict of Guilty of Murder. The judge subsequently handed down the mandatory sentence of life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Brian Holliman has been convicted of murder by two separate juries in two separate Mississippi counties.
