Robert Austin Sullivan

Robert Austin Sullivan was born on July 20, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was adopted shortly after birth and raised in Belmont, Massachusetts, by his adoptive parents. His adoptive father was a Harvard-educated physician, and Sullivan grew up in a relatively privileged middle-class environment.

As a young adult, Sullivan attended the University of Miami, where he studied business administration. He became involved with Reid McLaughlin, with whom he would later participate in the robbery and murder of Donald Schmidt. Before the murder, Sullivan had not accumulated the extensive violent criminal history associated with many death-row prisoners.

On April 8, 1973, Sullivan and McLaughlin targeted the Howard Johnson's restaurant in Homestead, Florida, where Donald Schmidt worked as the night manager. Schmidt was counting approximately $2,700 in restaurant receipts when the two men abducted him during the robbery.

The men bound Schmidt's hands behind his back and drove him to a remote, swampy area. There, Schmidt was shot twice in the head with a double-barrel shotgun. His body was discovered several days later in the area where he had been taken.

Sullivan was arrested shortly afterwards and initially confessed to the killing, implicating McLaughlin in the crime. McLaughlin also confessed but entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors and ultimately received a life sentence after testifying against Sullivan.

The murder occurred during a planned robbery in which Sullivan and McLaughlin targeted Schmidt because he was responsible for the restaurant's cash receipts. They abducted him from the restaurant, restrained him and transported him away from the business before killing him.

Schmidt was shot twice in the head with a shotgun after being taken to a remote location. The prosecution argued that the murder was committed to eliminate the victim and prevent him from identifying the perpetrators.

Sullivan later recanted his confession and maintained that he had not committed the murder. His defence challenged aspects of the prosecution's evidence, but the jury convicted him of first-degree murder and robbery.

Sullivan and McLaughlin were arrested following the murder investigation. When taken into custody, Sullivan possessed a shotgun, a handgun, adhesive tape and Schmidt's credit cards, evidence that prosecutors used to connect him to the robbery and murder.

Sullivan initially admitted his involvement and implicated McLaughlin. McLaughlin's cooperation with prosecutors became a significant part of the state's case against Sullivan and resulted in McLaughlin receiving a life sentence rather than facing the death penalty.

Sullivan was prosecuted in Dade County, Florida, and remained in custody while his case proceeded through the courts.

Sullivan was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery in November 1973. Although the jury recommended a life sentence, the trial judge independently imposed the death penalty after finding aggravating circumstances, including that the murder occurred during a robbery and was committed for pecuniary gain.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Sullivan's conviction and death sentence in 1974. The United States Supreme Court later declined to review the case, and Sullivan remained on Florida's death row while pursuing state and federal appeals.

Sullivan spent approximately ten years on death row, making him the longest-serving condemned prisoner in the United States at the time of his execution. His attorneys pursued numerous challenges to his conviction, sentence, legal representation and the constitutionality of electrocution.

In November 1983, the final appeals and requests for stays were rejected. Pope John Paul II, Florida Catholic bishops and other religious leaders appealed to Governor Bob Graham for clemency, but Graham refused to stop the execution.

Sullivan was executed by electrocution at Florida State Prison on November 30, 1983. He was 36 years old and became the second person executed in Florida after the modern reinstatement of capital punishment in the state.

Sullivan's case attracted unusual international attention because of the length of time he spent on death row and the religious campaign opposing his execution. Pope John Paul II personally appealed for clemency, while seven Florida bishops also urged Governor Bob Graham to spare Sullivan's life. Graham declined, maintaining that the conviction and sentence should stand.

Sullivan maintained his innocence during the final years of his imprisonment, despite having initially confessed to the murder. His case became part of the wider debate over capital punishment, particularly concerning the execution of prisoners who continued to deny their guilt and the reliability of convictions based partly on testimony from accomplices.

At the time of his execution, Sullivan had spent more than ten years on death row, longer than any other condemned prisoner in the United States. His execution generated significant media coverage and renewed attention to Florida's use of the electric chair.

Sources:

• Florida Supreme Court
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Florida Department of Corrections
• The New York Times
• The Washington Post
• United Press International
• Associated Press
• Florida Catholic