Escambia Man Gets Second Life Sentence After Second Murder Conviction

June 15, 2024

A 25-year old Escambia County man already serving a life sentence for murder received another life sentence this week after being convicted of a second murder.

A jury convicted Ellis Miguel Clark of first degree murder for the shooting death of Andrew Howard in 2020. He was immediately sentenced to life in prison.

The new life sentence will be served consecutively to another life sentence for the June 2023 murder of 20-year-old Marcus Atienza on Rawls Avenue in Ensley.

About 11 p.m. on December 27, Clark attempted to rob Howard, 24, at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Northwoods Apartments off 9th Avenue. Howard fought with Clark, sustaining numerous non-fatal injuries.

When Howard managed to break free Clark and began to run away toward his nearby apartment, Clark fired two shots at him with a handgun. One shot grazed Howard’s left hip. The other shot struck Andrew Howard in his back, causing a perforating wound which passed through his heart. Howard passed away on the outside patio of his apartment.

The evidence at trial established that Clark had conspired with co-defendant Nicholas Wells to rob Howard of a substantial amount of cash. Additionally, the evidence proved that after the homicide, Clark burned his vehicle in an effort to destroy evidence. He also reported to law enforcement that his vehicle had been stolen. The burned vehicle was located by a county worker the day after the homicide.

Comments

6 Responses to “Escambia Man Gets Second Life Sentence After Second Murder Conviction”

  1. Bob on June 19th, 2024 11:22 am

    @George

    Life in prison would also prevent convicted murderers from killing again

    So again, why not just sentence them to life in prison? What benefit do we get from capital punishment?

  2. George on June 18th, 2024 5:49 pm

    Bob, if every convicted murderer got the chair they would not kill again.

  3. Bob on June 17th, 2024 4:07 pm

    @Mike J

    “Every convicted murder should be punished by the death penalty” – why? The death penalty is significantly more expensive than life in prison. It doesn’t protect the community any more than keeping convicts incarcerated for life. And your claim that “studies have shown… the death penalty discourages crime” is just blatantly not true.

    So… why?

  4. Mike J. on June 17th, 2024 11:45 am

    In my opinion, every convicted murder should be punished by the death penalty. Every murder conviction should be reviewed for any possibility of mistakes or corruption and if there are none, the execution should be done. Studies have shown statistics that the death penalty discourages crime.

  5. Bill T on June 15th, 2024 10:17 am

    Got what you deserve and hope you get in prison what you gave to the people you killed!! Good bye you won’t make it out alive!!!

  6. Lou on June 15th, 2024 8:18 am

    Another useless murder of a young person’s life. Drugs, guns and bad judgement. Great job to the ECSO, prosecutor and jury for justice for these vicyim’s.