LETTER TO THE EDITOR: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH MARCH 13, 1999
EXECUTIONS WHEN IN DOUBT NOT NEW FOR MISSOURI
In 1995 Tony Murray was executed
for shooting a man he did not shoot. Mr. Murray's brother confessed
to the crime long before the execution. A juror from the original
trial said if they had known Murray was not the shooter they would not
have given him the death sentence. Governor Carnahan did not step
in and stay the execution of Mr. Murray.
Also in 1995 a man admitted
under oath he was the killer of Quentin Moss not Larry Griffin before Larry
Griffin's scheduled execution. Larry Griffin was executed June
21, 1995 for a crime he did not commit.
Again Governor Carnahan did
not step in to stop the execution but rather said, " the process of our
judicial system has run its course." Tell that to the innocent family
and friends of Larry Griffin who mourn his loss like any other family member
of a loved one lost to murder be it by an individual or by the state.
Now in the case of Roy Roberts,
a probably innocent man put to death by the state of Missouri, we are led
to another "cover story" by the chief propaganda agent for Governor Carnahan,
Chris Sifford.
About 9:45 on March 9, the Governor's
decision not to intervene in the Roberts case was announced. Mr.
Sifford said, "The Governor reviewed all the facts of the case and determined
there was not significant evidence to cause him to overturn the jury's
verdict and intervene."
The next day in still another
"cover story" from Mr. Sifford, he talks about the Governor still
trying to get to the true facts by seeking an elusive witness with a story.
They finally settle for a sister of an inmate who was at Moberly at the
time of the riot who tells the Governor's office that her brother told
her that Roberts was only holding Officer Jackson and not a stabber.
From this hearsay evidence at
the eleventh hour Mr. Sifford says, "this provided the Governor confirmation
that no evidence existed to exhonerate Roberts."
Really Mr. Sifford, shame on
you telling the reasonably intelligent readers of this newspaper such a
story.
We already knew like the Governor
should have known that the evidence pointing to Mr. Roberts innocence was
at least equal to evidence pointing to his guilt.
It was a no-brainer.
As columnist, Bill McCllelan
said on KMOX Monday before the execution. "In a death penalty case it should
not be beyond a reasonable doubt but there should be no doubt at all before
you execute."
A review of the undisputed facts
before the Governor long before the late night search for the elusive witness
makes it very plain there was substantial doubt.
The only evidence presented
against Roberts at trial were four eyewitness accounts.
In their initial reports these
witnesses did not mention Roberts although Roberts was known to all the
witnesses and according to one witness, "stood out like a red rose in the
Sahara dessert."
Eight witnesses testified at
trial that Roberts was elsewhere when the murder took place and that Roberts
had no involvement in the killing of Officer Jackson.
There was no physical evidence
linking Roberts to the crime scene. No bloody clothes were confiscated
from Roberts. No blood was discovered on his body. Bloody clothes
were confiscated from Driscoll and Carr (the alleged stabbers).
Roberts was alleged to be holding
and struggling with Officer Jackson and having Jackson in a head lock while
Jackson was bleeding profusely from stab wounds to the eye, heart and abdomen.
Roberts who claimed his innocence
from the very beginning demonstrated that >innocence by passing a lie detector
test. (February 19, 1999) given by an ex-policeman and professional polygrapher
for 24 years. The polygrapher said Roberts recorded "No Deception"
in his repeated denials of any involvement in Officer Jackson's death.
According to a host of experts that polygraph had 90% reliability.
If these FACTS before the Governor
caused not one scintilla of doubt, it means one of two things. Either
the Governor is just plain stupid and should never be elected to a political
office again or Governor Carnahan is just a cynical ambitious politician
who will do ANYTHING to win a political election against Senator Ashcroft.
Illinois our next door neighbor
is putting on trial this week prosecutors and law enforcement officers
on 47 counts of perjury and obstruction of justice in the case of sending
an innocent man to death row.
WAKE UP MISSOURI! Do you think
we have an infallible court system in Missouri superior to Illinois.
Judges and jurors are human beings.
Despite the TITLE of Judge or
juror they remain human beings not GOD!
WAKE UP MISSOURI! Take
away the "cover stories" from the Governor and his
agent, Chris Sifford!
The Governor says he represents
the people of Missouri and this is what we want. I don't believe
it!
The state kills in our names.
Are you a cold-blooded killer like the Governor implies? Do you feel
"better" now that Roy Roberts is dead? Is this something you are proud
of? Do you feel "safer" now? Have you changed any of
your safety precautions this morning because Roy Roberts is dead and our
streets are safer?
Even supporters of the death
penalty in Missouri should be outraged at the killing of a probable innocent
man, Roy Roberts. When you kill an innocent man, you let the guilty
go free to create more mayhem in our streets and threaten our loved ones.
Missourians that support the death penalty, is that what you want?
Tom Block
St. Louis, MO
LETTER FROM A FRIEND OF ROY'S
Farewell My Friend
It's so hard to say good-bye, but it is only really
"until later." I miss you more than you will ever know, just as you
didn't know how many friends you had until the end neared. I know
my life is so much richer for having known you.
At your funeral 60 to 70 people came together united
in their pain, loss and love of you. Fr. Mike Freymuth presided over
your graveside memorial just like he would preside over Mass at our Days
of Renewal. Msgr. Richard Stika came to offer the prayers and support
of Archbishop Rigali who tried to prevent this miscarriage of justice.
Tears flowed down cheeks enough to create a river.
Every tear was a tear of love and grief that your life was taken much too
young. If only all of society could see how many new victims were
created by this senseless and undeserved murder.
Your murder was different but no less painful than
the murders we hear of daily in the news. Your murder was committed
by the State of Missouri. Every resident of Missouri has your blood
forever engrained in their hands.
Not only did you profess your innocence all along,
but all of the evidence supported your claim. We did all in our power
to halt this evening of horror and lifetime of pain. But your cries
and the cries of all those who loved you fell on deaf ears.
Besides my own grief and pain in the loss of my friend,
I suffer my own burden. As a mother of three, how do I explain to
my children that violence is bad, murder an unthinkable act, and all life
is sacred when our state is murdering and creating an even bigger circle
of victims? When will this vicious cycle of suffering end?
I along with many others am filled with pain, sadness
and anger over the senseless loss of your life. But I know that I
must face these feelings and turn them into positive actions that will
bring an end to the death penalty.
Your death should not be in vain. The memories of
your friendship and the good times we shared shall forever live in my heart.
Thank you for being you and for sharing the gift of you with me.
Just as you would always say "in the struggle" to me so do I say "in the
struggle" shall I be until executions are a thing of the past.
Farewell my friend, farewell.>
Sue Engel
Roy Michael Roberts
December 18, 1952 - March 10, 1999
GOVERNOR CARNAHAN
Missouri State Capitol
201 West Capitol Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Tel. 1-573-751-3222
Fax 1-573-751-1495
CRANSTON MITCHELL, PARDONS BOARD
117 Commerce St.
Jefferson City, MO65109
Tel.1-573-526-6557
Fax 1-573-751-8501
Click on links below to read
CLEMENCY APPLICATION
NEWSWEEK ARTICLE
ON ROY ROBERTS
The
State of Missouri intends to execute Roy Roberts at 12:01 a.m. on March
10, 1999. Roberts was convicted and sentenced to death for his alleged
participation in the stabbing death of a prison guard, Thomas Jackson,
during a riot on July 3, 1983 at a state prison, the Moberly Training
Center for Men in Moberly, Missouri.
Roy Roberts was never accused of stabbing the guard who was killed. Roberts was accused of restraining Jackson during the riot, while other inmates stabbed and killed Jackson.
All
of the surviving guards that could identify who stabbed Jackson,
identified
Rodney Carr as the stabber. Carr was convicted of capital murder
but received a sentence of life imprisonment, rather than death.
Another inmate, Robert Driscoll, was also convicted and sentenced to death
for stabbing Jackson, but Driscoll's conviction was reversed in 1995 after
it was discovered that the prosecution had misled the jury into believing
that the dead guard's blood was on Driscoll's knife when in fact no such
blood was present. See Driscoll v. Delo, 71 F.3d 7o1 8th Circuit,
1995) Driscoll has not been retried for the crime.
Thus, Roberts is the only person who was sentenced to death for the crime even though he is the least culpable, even under the State's version of the evidence. This disproportionality pales in comparison, however, to that which arises if, as we contend, Roberts is indeed innocent of the crime.
It should be noted that Missouri has a notoriously bad track record when it comes to prison killings. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the conviction and death sentence of Lloyd Schlup based on evidence he was innocent of prison murder.
Roy Roberts has maintained his innocence from the beginning, and was supported by corroborating testimony at trial from many inmates. He was convicted,however, primarily based on the contrary testimony from three guards, one of whom had been hypnotized before he could recall that he saw Roberts holding the guard who was killed.
None of the guards identified Roberts in their initial statements about the the riot.
The prison confiscated bloody clothes from inmates, Driscoll and Carr, who were accused of stabbing the murdered guard. Roberts' clothes were not confiscated, though the State's testimony established that the victim was stabbed three times in the heart and once in the eye and abdomen, all if believed, while Roberts was supposedly holding the victim by the head and arm.
Last week, in an attempt to bolster his claim of innocence, Roy Roberts took a polygraph (lie detector) test, administered by a retired Kansas City police officer on February 19, 1999. Roberts passed the polygraph, which showed "NO deception" in his answers denying involvement in the murder, including specific denials that he was holding the victim during the stabbings.
Roy Roberts was originally sent to prison as punishment for an armed robbery conviction in 1979. A columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bill McClellan, recently interviewed a man who claimed to have committed that robbery, Carl Harris. After reading the robbery trial transcript, McClellan concluded in an article published on February 21, 1999, that Roberts might well have been wrongly imprisoned in the first instance.
All attempts at relief in the courts have failed. An appeal for clemency to Governor Carnahan is Roberts' only hope.
Write Governor Carnahan
Governer Mel Carnahan
Missouri State Capitol
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65101
COPY:
Ms. Dora Schriro
Director, Department of Corrections
2729 Plaza Drive
Box 236
Jefferson City, MO 6510
Submitted by:
Tom Block and Bruce Livingston,
attorney for Roy Roberts
Tom Block
St. Louis, MO
Email:
tjblock@gateway.net
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