Justice Delivered: The Case for Officer Timothy Davison
Some cases stay with a prosecutor forever. For Kelley, one of those moments came on October 27, 2017, when a Bowie County jury returned a guilty verdict for capital murder in just over an hour. After years of work, countless hours of preparation, and an emotional trial, the verdict represented what she and her team had fought for: justice for Correctional Officer Timothy Davison.
Officer Davison was killed on July 15, 2015, during a routine transport at the Barry Telford Unit in New Boston. The attack was as deliberate as it was brutal. In the moments when Officer Davison was simply doing his job, inmate Billy Joel Tracy slipped free from his handcuffs, grabbed a metal tray slot bar, and struck Davison repeatedly. The blows were so violent that Davison’s face became unrecognizable.
Kelley later said the cruelty of the attack made one truth inescapable: “This was planned. And I knew I had to fight with everything I had to get justice for Officer Davison.”
Throughout the trial, Kelley and her team presented evidence of Tracy’s long, documented history of plotting violence against correctional officers. Witnesses and records made it clear this was no spontaneous act. Tracy had spent years openly expressing his desire to kill an officer. The jury saw the intent behind his actions, the danger he posed, and the devastating loss suffered by Officer Davison’s family, coworkers, and community.
On October 27, 2017, the jury convicted Tracy of capital murder. Just days later, that same jury sentenced him to death.
The speed and clarity of their decisions revealed the weight the jurors carried—and the message they intended to send. As Kelley put it, “Officer Davison was a public servant who deserved justice. After years of pursuit, we finally secured it.”
For Kelley, this case remains one of the most defining of her career—a reminder of the sacrifice made by those who serve in corrections and the responsibility she bears to stand up for them when justice is threatened.
