CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (Court TV) — Hannah Payne was sentenced to serve a life sentence with the possibility of parole plus 13 years after a jury found her guilty of fatally shooting a man during a traffic dispute.
Hannah Payne, 25, faced a possible life sentence for shooting Kenneth Herring in the abdomen when she was 21.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts on Tuesday evening.
At a sentencing hearing on Friday morning, two of Herring’s sisters and one of his brothers spoke and asked the judge to sentence Payne to life without the possibility of parole. Payne’s attorney asked for leniency and the possibility of parole, noting that his client had “good intentions.”
According to investigators, at around 6 pm on May 7, 2019, the victim, 62-year-old Herring, was driving his Dodge pickup truck when he ran a red light and hit an 18-wheeler. Both vehicles were damaged, and the drivers pulled over to wait for police to arrive.
Kenneth Herring (family photo)
Herring’s accident was witnessed by two people who pulled over to help — the defendant, Hannah Payne, and an officer with the Georgia Department of Corrections named Terry Robinson. Robinson, who worked in the infirmary at a local prison, examined Herring and noticed that he appeared disoriented.
A police officer reported that Herring’s eyes looked to be a reddish-orange color. He believed Herring was in diabetic shock.
Payne and Robinson stayed with both drivers for about 20 minutes waiting for the police to arrive when Herring returned to his truck and left the scene.
According to a defense motion, Robinson encouraged Payne to follow Herring after he left the scene so that she could get his license tag number.
Hannah Payne (Clayton County Sheriff’s Office)
Payne reportedly called 911 as she followed Herring to report the tag number. The dispatcher told her to return to the accident scene and not to follow Herring.
Accident, self-defense, or murder?
According to the defense motion, Payne was concerned that Herring might cause another accident, so she followed him until the police could intervene to stop him.
Roughly one mile from the original accident scene, Payne pulled her Jeep Wrangler in front of Herring’s truck to stop him. She got out of her Jeep and approached Herring’s truck. According to the defense motion, Herring revved his engine and attempted to run Payne over.
The scene of the initial hit and run at the intersection of Clark Howell and Forest Parkway in College Park, Georgia. No first responders arrived before Kenneth Herring left the scene.
The motion states that as Payne approached Herring’s truck, he grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her closer to his vehicle’s window. Payne told investigators that she then pulled out a semi-automatic 9mm that was holstered to her hip, a struggle for the gun ensued and the weapon discharged.
Clayton County Police, responding to a 911 call, reached Herring’s truck at 6:20 pm. They found him sitting in the front seat, suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. They rushed him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
The site of the shooting, the intersection of Forest Parkway and Riverdale Road, is about one mile west of the scene of the hit-and-run scene. This is the spot where Hannah Payne cut off Kenneth Herring, forcing him to stop.
According to prosecutors, Herring never got out of the truck; and his blood toxicology report showed no drugs or alcohol in his system. In an interview with Atlanta’s WXIA in 2019, Herring’s wife stated that she believed her husband was experiencing a diabetic episode and was trying to get to a hospital.
The State also says that a bystander took a video of the incident in which Payne can be seen hitting Herring with her left hand while holding the gun in her right. The footage reportedly shows the gun going inside the vehicle, but it’s not possible to see who pulled the trigger.
Payne faced eight charges, including two counts of felony murder, one count of malice murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment, and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. A jury found her guilty on all of them.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 5 – 12/12/23
- The prosecution presented its rebuttal case.
- The prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments.
- The jury deliberated for several hours before returning a verdict.
DAY 4 – 12/11/23
- Ashley Jackson testified about what she witnessed, saying that Payne was at Herring’s driver’s side door, yelling obscenities and “very aggressive.”
- Hannah Payne took the stand to testify in her own defense.
- Payne said that she had a concealed carry permit because of her line of work and personal safety.
- Payne said that Terry Robinson identified himself as a “state officer” and flashed a badge.
- Payne told the jury that she never had her finger on the trigger of the gun and that Herring had attacked her and tried to pull her into his vehicle.
DAY 3 – 12/8/23
- The medical examiner testified about Kenneth Herring’s cause of death, saying he was killed by a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
- Cameron Williams, another eyewitness, testified about seeing the confrontation between Hannah Payne and Kenneth Herring as the jury saw a cellphone video he recorded of the incident.
- Detectives testified to their response and investigation as the jury saw bodycam footage from the incident.
- WATCH: Car Crash Vigilante Trial: Day 3 Recap
DAY 2 – 12/7/23
- Jurors heard Hannah Payne’s 911 call where she was repeatedly told by the dispatcher not to chase Kenneth Herring.
- Eyewitnesses testified to seeing the altercation and described Hannah Payne as the aggressor in the situation.
- WATCH: Car Crash Vigilante Trial: Day 2 Recap
DAY 1 – 12/6/23
- Bonnie Smith delivered opening statements for the prosecution, emphasizing “audacity” and describing Hannah Payne as the aggressor.
- Hannah Payne’s attorney talked about her youth and naivete in his opening statement.
- The jury heard the 911 call from Terry Robinson, a bystander who saw the initial crash.
- WATCH: Car Crash Vigilante Trial: Day 1 Recap
