Arizona man sentenced to death over deadly drive-by shooting

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Franklin Arnett Clifton

PHOENIX - Court documents show that an Arizona man has been given the death penalty for his role in a deadly shooting.

What we know:

According to the documents, 39-year-old Franklin Arnett Clifton was sentenced to death for premeditated first degree murder. He was also given two concurrent 23-year prison sentences for attempted 1st degree murder and kidnapping.

The backstory:

Per our previous reports, the shooting happened in October 2014, in the area of Campbell and 27th Avenue. Investigators said Clifton was on a motorcycle when he drove by and shot two women that he had been in an argument with the week prior.

Dig deeper:

This was not Clifton's first run-in with the law. At the time the deadly shooting happened, he was accused of almost killing a 21-year-old woman during a road rage incident a year and a half prior. The trial for that incident ended in a mistrial because the jury couldn't reach a verdict. For his part, Clifton claimed self defense during that trial.

"I recognized his picture on the television before they even announced his name," said Andrea Smith, the mother of the 21-year-old, in 2014. "Unfortunately, another crime had to be committed for people to see what kind of a person he is."

By the numbers:

The website for the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry shows there are 108 death row inmates. As of Jan. 29, Clifton is not listed on the site as a death row inmate.

Of the 108 inmates, an overwhelming majority (105) are men.

Also Read: Only 3 women are on Arizona's death row: Who are they and what were they sentenced to death for?

ADCRR's website also shows that six death row inmates who were executed since 2013 spent an average of 25.56 years on death row before they are actually executed for their crimes.