Alabama sets man to die in fourth execution this year

Alabama is set to execute a man later this summer for the 1992 shooting of a Marion County woman.

On June 16, the Alabama Supreme Court authorized the execution of David Lee Roberts, 59. Roberts is set to die by nitrogen gas for the April 1992 killing of Annetra Jones. Gov. Kay Ivey set the timeframe for his execution to happen sometime between the hours of midnight on August 21 through 6 a.m. the following day.

Roberts was sent to Alabama’s Death Row in 1994. At his trial, the jury recommended by a vote of 7 to 5 that he be sentenced to life in prison. But a judge overrode that decision, and sent him to death row.

According to court records, Roberts had been staying with a man that April. That man’s girlfriend, Jones, was staying at the same house and was sleeping on a couch on April 22, 1992. Records show Roberts left work and went to the house that afternoon to pack his things. He stole money from Jones’ wallet, court records said, and then shot her three times in the head with a rifle.

Following the shooting, Roberts poured flammable liquid on her body and set a piece of paper on fire, pushing it under the couch, according to court records. He set another fire in the house, and stole more items.

He confessed to the crime, but his lawyers said those statements were made after hours of interrogations and culminated in over 25 hours of questioning.

Roberts first told police he killed Jones under the instruction of her boyfriend, who owned the home, and because that man had threatened Roberts’ family. At another point, he told police he didn’t know why he killed Jones, but he tried to burn the house down because of the threats being made against his family.

According to a website spreading awareness about the clemency effort for Roberts, he “has a well-documented history of inherited, severe mental illness, including hallucinations and delusions, which have persisted throughout his life.”

“These symptoms are not merely intermittent or situational—they are indicative of deep-rooted, hereditary psychiatric conditions that should have been carefully considered during his trial and sentencing – and absolutely warrant consideration now when the State of Alabama is seeking to execute him.”

Several jurors have said, according to the clemency website, that they wished to see Roberts serve the rest of his life in prison and not be executed.

In February, Alabama executed Demetrius Terrence Frazier. The state was set to next execute Robin “Rocky” Myers, but in a rare move, Alabama Gov. Ivey commuted his sentence to life in prison.

James Osgood was executed in April, and on June 10, Gregory Hunt was put to death.

The Yellowhammer state led the nation in executions last year by executing six people: Kenneth Smith, Jamie Mills, Keith Gavin, Alan Miller, Derrick Dearman, and Carey Grayson.