Facts of the Crime:
Fred Robinson and Susan Hill lived together for a number of years. Beginning in 1984, Susan made several efforts to leave Robinson, but he always forced her to return. In February 1987, Susan left Robinson for a week to visit her father, and stepmother, Sterleen Hill, in Yuma. After this visit, Susan went to California to live with other relatives and did not tell Robinson.
On June 8, 1987, Robinson decided to go to Yuma and bring Susan back. Robinson persuaded his friends, Washington and Jimmy Mathers to go with him. The men loaded Robinson's car with weapons and drove to Yuma. Washington was wearing a red bandanna. Around 11:45 p.m., two men entered the Hills' home, forced the couple to lie on their bedroom floor and tied them up. A black man wearing a red bandanna held a gun to the husband's head, then ransacked the drawers and closet while the second man stood over the Hills. One of the men shot the Hills with a 12-gauge shotgun. Sherleen Hill died from her wounds but her husband survived.
Washington, Robinson, and Mathers were tried jointly and each received the death penalty. On appeal, in 1990, the state Supreme Court reversed Mathers' conviction, finding insufficient evidence to support the jury verdict. In 2011, Robinson's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
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