Missouri death sentence case gets another look

Renewed scrutiny of death penalty
Missouri has executed 64 men since the death penalty was reinstated in 1989. By the mid-1990s, executions had become so common they drew few protesters.

But the Roberts case came at a time of renewed interest.

During a 1999 visit to St. Louis, Pope John Paul II asked Gov. Mel Carnahan to spare the life of convicted killer Darrell Mease, who was days away from execution.

Carnahan, a Baptist Democrat, commuted the sentence to life in prison, citing “the extraordinary circumstances of the pope’s request.”

Roberts’ execution was set a few weeks later. Livingston suggested the decision to execute him was partly political, noting the governor was preparing to run for the Senate in 2000.

“Carnahan was still taking serious flack for the Mease case,” Livingston said. “It was Roy’s bad luck to be next up.”

Jessica Coakley was 19 when she watched Roberts die. Coakley’s mother was a lifelong friend of Roberts. Coakley recalled a gregarious man who sent her homemade birthday cards and even crafted a high school graduation gift from his prison cell.

A case of bad timing?
Friends of Roberts say bad timing was part of his life. He was convicted of a restaurant robbery to which another man later confessed.

While Roberts was jailed in 1983, a riot broke out and Jackson, a veteran guard six months from retirement, was stabbed repeatedly in the heart, eyes and stomach by two inmates.

Ray Newberry, who was chief investigator of the riot for the state, remains certain that Roberts was guilty.

“He was the one that held Mr. Jackson,” Newberry said. “Hog Roberts was a troublemaker. He was obese and he had a loud mouth, and he just caused problems.”

Roberts’ supporters doubt he had any role. They point out:

• Initial reports made no mention of anyone holding the guard while he was stabbed. Roberts supporters wonder how the 300-pound man could have been missed. Three guards and an inmate testified against Roberts, though the inmate later recanted.
• Another guard told investigators he was struggling with Roberts at the time of the killing, far from the site where Jackson was stabbed.
• Roberts’ clothing was blood-free. The attack “was bloody, just awful, and Roy Roberts’ shirt did not have a drop of blood on it,” said Margaret Phillips of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Roberts, true to his nature, remained adamant to the end. His last words: “You’re killing an innocent man and you can all kiss my ass.”

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