Robert Austin Sullivan was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 20, 1947
Facts of Crime: On the night of April 8, 1973, Sullivan, along with Reid McLaughlin, robbed a Howard Johnson's restaurant in Homestead, Florida, where Sullivan had formerly been employed. Sullivan and McLaughlin abducted the assistant manager, Donald Schmidt, taped his wrists behind his back, and drove him to a swampy area. Sullivan struck Schmidt twice on the back of the head with a tire iron and then shot him twice in the back of the head, each time with both barrels of a double barrel shotgun.
When Sullivan was arrested, the police found Schmidt's credit cards and watch. The police also found a shotgun, a handgun, white adhesive tape and a tire iron in Sullivan's car. Sullivan subsequently confessed to the murder of Schmidt and implicated McLaughlin. McLaughlin also confessed, but entered into a plea bargain with the state. McLaughlin was promised a life sentence in exchange for his testimony at Sullivan's trial.
Sullivan was convicted by a jury in Dade County, Florida in November 1973. The jury recommended a sentence of death and the state trial judge imposed the death penalty pursuant to Fla.Stat. Sec. 921.141 (1973).
Time of death: 10:16 am
Manner of execution: Electric chair
Last meal: A two-pound steak, french fries, milk and strawberries
Final statement: "And God alone is my soul at rest, because my hope comes from within. To all my peers on death row, despite what's about to happen to me, do not quit." He also thanked pope John Paul II for "his personal intervention asking that my life be spared:" "I hold no malice to none. May God bless us all."
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