R.I.P. Robert Towery

Roman Colosseum lit to protest an execution

Arizona executed Robert Towery on March 8, 2012, for the 1991 killing of 69-year-old philanthropist Mark Jones.  Towery's accomplice, Randy Allen Barker, testified against Towery in exchange for a deal in which he was released from prison after serving ten years.

Claims rejected in recent days by the courts included the disparity in sentences for the two perpetrators.  Towery also contended that the trial court failed to consider in mitigation of sentence Towery's difficult and abusive childhood and his longtime drug addiction.

The execution was delayed over an hour because a proper vein could not be found in Towery's arm to inject the lethal chemicals.  Eventually a catheter was inserted into the femoral artery.

At his clemency hearing, evidence was heard of the horrific childhood Towery had suffered and his severe addiction to methamphetamine.  Towery said he could not recall the facts of the crime and could not understand why he took the victim's life.  The plea for clemency was rejected.

Before he was put to death, Towery wept and apologized to Jones' family and to his own: "I would like to apologize to Mark's family and friends for what I did to them. I would like to apologize to my family.  So many times in my life I went left when I should have gone right and I went right when I should have gone left. It was mistake after mistake."

This is the eighth execution in the United States in 2012, the second in Arizona.