David Roberts was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder committed during a robbery. According to court documents David Roberts would murder the victim while she lay sleeping on a couch before robbing the home and setting it on fire. David Roberts would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.
David Roberts 2021 Information
| Inmate: | ROBERTS, DAVID LEE |
| AIS: | 0000Z560 |
| Institution: | HOLMAN PRISON |
David Roberts More News
Roberts had been a houseguest of Wendell Satterfield. On April 22, 1992, Satterfield’s girlfriend, Annetra Jones, was sleeping on a couch in Satterfield’s den. Roberts left his job and went to Satterfield’s residence around noon on that day. He packed his belongings, stole money from the victim’s wallet, and shot her three times in the head with a .22 caliber rifle while she slept. Jones died within seconds. Roberts poured flammable liquid on her body and on the floor in the den, then set fire to a piece of paper he had placed under the couch. In the bedroom in which Roberts had stayed, which was in the basement of Satterfield’s house, Roberts set another fire, causing major damage to the room and sending smoke throughout the house. Roberts left the house, taking with him a variety of items, such as the murder weapon and other guns. He hid this evidence, but later led the police to the hiding place.
Law enforcement authorities questioned Roberts and he gave several statements. He admitted shooting Jones and setting Satterfield’s house on fire. In his last statement, Roberts said that he had set the house on fire to get back at Satterfield for threatening his parents; he said that he did not know that Jones would be at the house and he did not know why he shot her.
At the sentencing hearing before the jury, the State presented evidence that Roberts had previously been convicted of second degree burglary and first degree theft, and that he had been on parole for less than two months when he committed this crime. Roberts’s brother, Terry, and his mother, Brenda, testified that Roberts was nervous, slept poorly, and had a history of drug abuse. Terry Roberts also testified that two days before the murder, Satterfield made what could be construed as a threat against their father.
At the sentence hearing before the court, Roberts testified that he was sorry about what had happened. He stated that an “older individual” had threatened to kill his parents, that the pressure had built up over time, that he had no one to turn to for help, and that he did what he thought he needed to do at the time. He also testified that the “older individual” told him to burn the house and to shoot Annetra Jones.
After considering the evidence and the jury’s sentencing recommendation, the trial court weighed the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and sentenced Roberts to death.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1241470.html