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Thread: Robert Boyd Rhoades - California Death Row

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    Robert Boyd Rhoades - California Death Row


    Julie Connell, 18, and Michael Lyons, 8


    Robert Boyd Rhoades


    Facts of the Crime:

    On May 16, 1996, Michael Lyons, of Yuba City, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered. Robert Rhoades was arrested the next day near the boy’s body.

    Rhoades was sentenced to death in Sacramento County for Lyons' murder on September 10, 1999.

    Then, after the Lyons conviction and sentence, Rhoades was identified as a suspect by DNA evidence linking him to the murder of Julie Connell, who disappeared on April 20, 1984 after she had gone to a park in Hayward to read a book. Her body was found five days later in a corral in Palomares Canyon near Castro Valley. Authorities say she was tied up and raped and her neck was slashed.

    Rhoades was sentenced to death in Alameda County for Connell's murder on June 20, 2007.

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    April 11, 2007

    Death Row inmate convicted of '84 murder

    Rape-slaying adds to case against 8-year-old's killer


    By Henry K. Lee
    The San Francisco Chronicle

    OAKLAND - An Alameda County jury deliberated for less than an hour Tuesday before convicting a man of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the rape-slaying of an 18-year-old San Leandro woman in 1984.

    Robert Rhoades, a former San Lorenzo resident who is already on Death Row for murdering an 8-year-old boy, showed no emotion when a court clerk read the verdicts pronouncing him guilty of murdering Julie Connell with the special circumstance of rape.

    Connell's parents, James and Kathy Connell of San Leandro, burst into tears, as did the victim's sister, Patricia Connell. They hugged Senior Deputy District Attorney Angela Backers after jurors filed out of the Oakland courtroom.

    As they left, several jurors touched the back of an empty chair next to Backers that the prosecutor had told them symbolized the victim.

    "I've been waiting 23 years to get this guy," Kathy Connell said outside court. "He's the one. All I can say is my daughter can rest now."

    On Thursday, the jury will be told of Rhoades' previous murder conviction, which makes him eligible for a second special circumstance, Backers said. A conviction on one or both of the special circumstances makes Rhoades eligible for the death penalty. Next Wednesday, the penalty phase of the trial will begin, after which the jury will determine whether Rhoades should be sentenced to death for Julie Connell's murder or to life in prison without parole.

    "We're very disappointed with the verdict," said Albert Wax, an attorney for Rhoades. "We respect the jury's verdict, and we're hopeful that they'll spare his life."

    Julie Connell disappeared April 20, 1984, after she went to a park in Hayward to read a book. Her body was found five days later in a corral in Palomares Canyon near Castro Valley. Authorities say she was tied up and raped and her neck was slashed.

    Rhoades wasn't identified as a suspect until DNA evidence linked him to the crime after his conviction for the 1996 kidnap, torture and murder of 8-year-old Michael Lyons of Yuba City.

    "He destroyed so many people. He took our babies' lives," Michael's mother, Sandra Fuller of Marysville (Yuba County), said outside court. "I'm just so happy for them and that Julie got the justice she deserved."

    Of Rhoades, she said, "He's absolutely not human. To breathe the same air as him makes me sick."

    http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...84-2602543.php

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    June 20, 2007

    Another execution verdict for inmate

    OAKLAND — Appeals are now all that stand between Robert Boyd Rhoades and death, as Alameda Superior Court Judge Joseph Hurley on Tuesday upheld a jury's recommendation to execute Rhoades for the 1984 rape and murder of 18-year-old Julie Connell of San Leandro.

    "I feel embarrassment for my role as part of a system that will allow appeals for the next few decades," Hurley said Tuesday after he denied a motion to reduce the sentence to life without parole and ordered Rhoades to pay the maximum penalty of $10,000 restitution.

    Rhoades, 56, whom prosecutor Angela Backers called "a poster boy for the death penalty," also was ordered to pay $2,275 to the California Victims' Compensation Board and $4,000 to the Connell family for funeral costs.

    Rhoades had his head shaved and wore a red prison jumpsuit instead of the pullover shirt and khaki pants he had worn during the trial. When asked by Hurley if he wanted to say anything, Rhoades replied, "No, sir."

    Julie Connell's father, mother and sister sat in the front row of the courtroom and declined to speak before Hurley officially handed Rhoades his death sentence.

    Most members of the jury also attended the sentencing and filled the rows of chairs behind the Connell family.

    "My client still denies the offense and hopes to be vindicated on appeal," defense attorney Albert Wax said.

    Rhoades is already on death row in San Quentin State Prison for the 1996 torture and murder of 8-year-old Michael Lyons of Yuba City. DNA evidence from the Lyons case was matched to DNA collected in the Julie Connell investigation, which led to Rhoades' conviction.

    Rhoades will be given an execution date in 2009 for the Lyons slaying, and could be put to death before appeals run out in the Connell case.

    "I'm happy with the judge's decision," said Julie Connell's mother, Kathy. "They should dispose of him already. Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay while he appeals."

    http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_6184328?source=rss

  4. #4
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Rhoades' case has been fully briefed on direct appeal before the California Supreme Court since May 19, 2014.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....9TQCAgCg%3D%3D

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    Mom Grateful For Court Ruling That May Speed Execution Of Son’s Killer

    MARYSVILLE (CBS13) – Death row executions could resume in California in a matter of months, giving relief to a mother who’s been waiting decades for her son’s killer to be executed.

    “I know that the last few moments of his life were horrific,” said Sandy Friend.

    It’s been more than two decades since Friend’s 8-year-old son was kidnapped while walking home from school.

    Michael Lyons’ tortured body was found a day later in the Feather River just up the street from his Marysville home.

    “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare knowing that your child suffered and was tortured for 10 hours from the first inflicted wound to the last,” Friend said.

    That was 21 years ago. She was sure Robert Boyd Rhoades would be executed by now. Instead, he’s still alive.

    “Michael deserves justice.” She said.

    The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 66, the voter-approved measure to speed up executions in California.

    What may have taken decades will now take 10 years.

    “We can bring things down from 25 down to 10,” said Kent Scheidegger, Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation.

    But the opposition is ready to appeal.

    “It is immoral. The state should not be killing people,” said Senator Scott Weiner, (D-San Francisco).

    Weiner said executions may soon resume, but so will the fight to get rid of capital punishment.

    “I think we will eventually repeal the death penalty. we came very close last year, and we have to keep trying,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Friend holds on to hope that never happens. She said parents living this nightmare deserve closure and hopes someday there will be justice for victims like Michael.

    Right now there are 750 inmates on death row in California. Twenty inmates may have exhausted their appeals and could face the death penalty within the next year, but the majority will stay put, including Michael’s killer.

    In the meantime, the focus for pro-death-penalty groups is on the method of execution. There’s currently a fight over a humane lethal injection. Until then, executions will remain stalled.

    http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/...66-executions/

  6. #6
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On September 3, 2019, oral argument will be heard in Rhoades' direct appeal before the California Supreme Court.

    https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/...rs/SSEP319.PDF

  7. #7
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On October 11, 2019, Rhoades filed a habeas petition before the California Supreme Court.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....lSMCAgCg%3D%3D

    On November 25, 2019, the California Supreme Court DENIED Rhoades' direct appeal.

    https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/d...ts/S082101.PDF

  8. #8
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Distributed for conference September 29, 2020.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/19-8332.html

    Distributed for conference October 9, 2020

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/19-8332.html

    Distributed for conference October 30, 2020

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/19-8332.html
    Last edited by Bobsicles; 10-26-2020 at 08:58 PM.
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  9. #9
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court DENIED Rhoades' petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of California
    Case Numbers: (S082101)
    Decision Date: November 25, 2019
    Rehearing Denied: January 29, 2020

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/...20zor_08m1.pdf

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