Robert Keller - Dead Men Walking Volume 2: 50 American Killers Who Were Executed for Their Crimes

Police Sergeant Roger Motley had only stopped off at the Wal-Mart in Opelika, Alabama, to pick up some supplies for the local jailhouse. But hed barely entered the store when he was approached by a worried-looking woman. She said that there was a small boy sitting in a car in the parking lot who looked like he may need help. Would the officer check it out? Motley said that he would.

After cruising up and down the rows of parked vehicles for several minutes, Motley eventually came across the car the woman had described, a blue Mustang. Pulling in behind, Motley got out of his patrol car and approached. There was the boy the woman had spoken of, sitting in the back seat. Motley judged him to be nine or ten years old. Behind the wheel sat a gaunt-faced man, probably in his late 40s to early 50s. Tapping on the window, Motley asked the man for his drivers license. The mans response surprised him. He said that he didnt need one. The officer then placed his hand on the butt of his service revolver and ordered the man out of the car. Instead, the man produced a pistol and started shooting.

Motley dived for cover, returning fire as he did so. Then followed an exchange of gunfire that had people screaming and diving for cover as the bullets flew. So concentrated was the officer on the threat in front of him that he failed to notice someone creeping up behind, a blonde-haired woman holding a 9mm Glock pistol. She was right behind him before Motley perceived the threat and turned. By then it was too late. The woman lifted the gun and fired, hitting Motley in the chest. Mortally wounded, the officer staggered toward his patrol car as the woman kept firing. He reached into the vehicle and grabbed the radio handset. Double zero, was all he managed to say before he collapsed to the ground. (Double zero is the code for officer needs assistance).

By the time help arrived, the man and woman in the Mustang were long gone. Officer Motley was rushed to the hospital but died that same afternoon. Now a concerted hunt was underway to catch the cop killers, and it soon delivered results. Later that evening, the Mustang was trapped in a police roadblock in Lee County. The killer couple were not about to give up without a fight, though. After releasing the boy, they managed to hold the police at bay for four hours before they eventually ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender.

George Sibley Jr. and his common-law wife, Lynda Block, were arrested and charged with murder. And it soon emerged why the pair had fought so fiercely to avoid capture. They were fugitives from justice, wanted in Florida for running out on an assault warrant. They were also members of the Libertarian Party, an anti-establishment movement who believe that the U.S. government has been captured by corrupt bureaucracies and therefore lacks the moral authority to pass laws and collect taxes. Libertarians like Block and Sibley therefore declare that they have seceded from the United States and revoke official documents such as birth certificates and passports. This was undoubtedly what Sibley meant when he told officer Motley that he did not need a drivers license.