Ex-DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey died Monday from natural causes at Augusta State Medical Prison in Grovetown, Georgia. He was 86.
In 2002, Dorsey was convicted of ordering a hit on Derwin Brown, who defeated Dorsey in the runoff election in November 2000.
Brown was ambushed and shot by hitmen outside his Decatur, Georgia home on December 15, 2000, just days before he was to take office.
Prosecutors said Dorsey (pictured in prison) was bitter over his defeat and arranged Brown’s death by paying off-duty deputies to commit the hit.
Dorsey confessed to his role, but he claimed he attempted to call off the hit.
He was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional 23 years on racketeering and violation of oath of office convictions.
Two of the hitmen, Melvin Walker and David Ramsey, were acquitted of murder in state court, but they were found guilty in federal court, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Brown (pictured) had said he planned to fire Dorsey’s corrupt deputies after he took office.
During Dorsey’s term in office, there were allegations of inmate abuse at the DeKalb County Jail. There were also accusations that he used on-duty deputies to staff his security agency.
He previously killed a man in 1970, when his gun accidentally discharged during a scuffle.
Dorsey is survived by 5 children. He was married to former Atlanta Councilwoman Sherry Dorsey from 1954 to 2006.
