|
Robert Alton Harris (January 15, 1953 – April 21, 1992) was an American criminal and murderer who was executed at San Quentin State Prison in 1992 in connection with the 1978 murders of two teenage boys in San Diego. His execution was the first in the state of California since 1967. Harris was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was abused as a child. He had run-ins with law enforcement as early as age 10, and was first placed into juvenile detention at age 13 for stealing a car. His mother abandoned him at age 14 and soon after he was again placed into juvenile detention after stealing another car. Following his release he found work, married, and had a son, but in 1975 he was imprisoned for manslaughter; he was paroled in January 1978. On July 5, 1978, Harris and his younger brother commandeered a car occupied by two 16-year-old boys, John Mayeski and Michael Baker, ordered them to drive to a remote area, then killed them. The brothers then used the boys' car as their getaway car when they robbed a San Diego bank. Harris was arrested less than an hour after the robbery and charged with murder, auto theft, kidnapping, burglary, and bank robbery. Coincidentally, one of the arresting officers, Steve Baker, was the father of one of the murdered boys, but did not realize that fact until later. Robert Harris was convicted and sentenced to death on March 6, 1979. After a series of appeals and stays of execution, Harris was executed in San Quentin's gas chamber on April 21, 1992. ==Early life and criminal history== Robert Alton Harris was born at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the fifth of nine children of Kenneth and Evelyn Harris. Kenneth was a sergeant in the United States Army who was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his service in World War II.〔 Both parents were alcoholics, and Robert reportedly was born two months premature as a result of Kenneth kicking Evelyn in the abdomen;〔 Robert is also reported to have suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome.〔 Robert was especially targeted for abuse by his father, who believed that Robert was conceived in an affair.〔 The Harris family moved to Visalia, California in 1962 following Kenneth Harris' discharge from the Army. Kenneth Harris was jailed in 1963 for 18 months and again for a longer period of time in 1964, both times for sexually abusing his daughters.〔 With Kenneth in jail, the remaining family members lived a migrant life around the San Joaquin Valley. Robert spent four months in juvenile hall at age 13 for stealing a car.〔 In 1967, Evelyn abandoned Robert, then 14, in Sacramento and left him to fend for himself.〔〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/harris169.htm )〕 After making his way to Oklahoma to live with his brother and sister, he stole a car and was subsequently arrested in Florida.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Capital_Punishment/inmates_executed/robertHarris.html )〕 He spent the next 3 years in the Florida juvenile detention system, but when he turned 19, the system could no longer keep him, and he was sent to Chula Vista, California.〔 At some point Harris married and the couple had a son, Robert, Jr., born in 1974 or 1975. In 1975 while living in a trailer park in Imperial County,〔 Harris beat his brother's roommate to death, claiming he did so to protect the victim's wife; however, it was later determined that he beat the victim without provocation.〔 He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and imprisoned in San Luis Obispo;〔 during his imprisonment Harris' wife filed for divorce.〔 Harris was paroled in January 1978.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robert Alton Harris」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|