San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, U.S.
Cause of death
Execution by gas chamber
Nationality
American
Criminal status
Executed
Conviction(s)
Federal Bank robbery (18 U.S.C. § 2113) California First degree murder with special circumstances (2 counts) Voluntary manslaughter Kidnapping (2 counts), Robbery (2 counts) Receiving stolen property
Criminal penalty
Federal 25 years imprisonment California Death (March 6, 1979)
Details
Victims
James Wheeler John Mayeski and Michael Baker, 16
Date
1975 July 5, 1978
Robert Alton Harris (January 15, 1953 – April 21, 1992) was an American car thief, burglar, kidnapper and murderer who was executed at San Quentin State Prison in 1992 for the 1978 murders of two teenage boys in San Diego. His execution was the first in the state of California since 1967.[1]
Harris was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was abused as a child. He had run-ins with police as early as age 10, and was first placed into juvenile detention at age 13 for stealing a car. His mother abandoned him at age 14 and he was soon after placed into juvenile detention after stealing another car. Following his release he found work, married, and had a son. In 1975 he was imprisoned for manslaughter and paroled in January 1978.
On July 5, 1978, Harris and his younger brother commandeered a car occupied by two 16-year-old boys, John Mayeski and Michael Baker, ordered them to drive to a remote area, then killed them. The brothers then used the car as their getaway car when they robbed a bank in San Diego. He was arrested less than an hour after the robbery and charged with murder, auto theft, kidnapping, burglary, and bank robbery. One of the arresting officers, Steve Baker, was the father of one of the murdered boys, but did not realize the victim was his son until later. Harris was convicted and sentenced to death on March 6, 1979. After a series of appeals and stays of execution, he was executed in San Quentin's gas chamber on April 21, 1992.
^"Harris guilty". The Los Angeles Times. 1979-01-25. p. 21. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
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