Summary:
The defendant, Robert Alton Harris,
and his brother, co-defendant Daniel Marcus Harris, abducted two teenage boys.
The defendant brutally murdered the boys, and then stole their car.
The investigation revealed that at
10:30 a.m. on July 5, 1978, the defendant and co-defendant left their
residence, and drove to a fast food restaurant. Once at the restaurant, the two
men abducted two 16-years-old boys, John Mayeski and Michael Baker. The
defendant held the victims at gunpoint with a 9mm Luger pistol and forced them
to drive until they reached an isolated area. Daniel Harris followed in the
defendant's 1963 Ford.
At about 11:45 a.m., the defendant
shot and killed both victims in the presence of Daniel Harris. Following the
killings, the Harris brothers drove both automobiles to their residence. Later
that day they drove the stolen vehicle to a local bank. Donning colored ski
masks, the two robbed the bank, netting $2,000 in cash.
The Harrises fled the bank at 12:30
p.m. and drove back to the residence. Robert Harris parked the stolen vehicle
in the garage.
At about 1:05 p.m., San Diego police
officers, acting on a tip by a witness who had followed the suspects' vehicle
to the residence, apprehended the Harrises. Police recovered 20 unfired rounds
of 9mm ammunition from Robert Harris. Clothing and other effects linked to the
robbery were found smoldering in the fireplace.
At about 6:20 p.m. that evening,
police questioned Daniel Harris who gave a voluntary statement describing in
detail the abduction and the killing of the victims by the defendant. Officers
went to the scene of the murder and discovered the two murdered victims.
When initially interviewed by
authorities, the defendant admitted robbing the bank but denied kidnapping the
youths or being responsible for their murders. He later indicated to
authorities that his brother, Daniel, had furnished the stolen automobile. The
defendant continued to deny any involvement in the murders, indicating that it
had been his brother who had suggested the robbery while they were in
Porterville, California.
The San Diego District Attorney's
Office filed felony charges of auto theft, kidnapping, murder and burglary
against the defendant. The U.S. Attorney's Office filed bank robbery charges
against him.
On March 6, 1979, Robert Alton Harris
was convicted in San Diego County, Superior Court of two counts murder in the
first degree with special circumstances, and kidnapping.
Co-defendant Daniel Marcus Harris was
convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to six years in state prison. He was
discharged in 1983.
Execution:
Robert Alton Harris was executed April
21, 1992 in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison - the first execution
in California in 25 years.
For his last meal, Harris requested
and was given two large pizzas, a bucket of fried chicken, and ice cream. At
6:01 a.m., Harris was escorted into the gas chamber. The execution order was
given at 6:07 a.m., and Harris was pronounced dead at 6:21 a.m. The body was
removed from the chamber at 7 a.m. and left the grounds at 8:15 a.m.
The Harris execution was scheduled for
12:01 a.m. on the morning of April 21, but a series of four stays issued by
individual federal judges delayed the execution until just after 6 a.m. In its
order vacating the fourth stay of execution, the U.S. Supreme Court stated,
"No further stays of Robert Alton Harris' execution shall be entered by the
federal courts except upon order of this court."
According to Warden Daniel Vasquez,
Harris' last words were: "You can be a king or a street sweeper, but
everyone dances with the grim reaper."
Prior:
SERVED 3 YEARS IN FLORIDA AS A
JUVENILE: PETTY LARCENY; AUTO THEFT; ESCAPE
Date: 08/04/1975
P192.1 - VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.
PAROLED JAN. 1978
QUOTE: Tuesday 4 September 2012 - Even after 20 years, Mankins has no regrets
about watching Robert Alton Harris die by cyanide gas for the 1978 murders of
her 16-year-old son, Michael Baker, and his friend John Mayeski.
"We saw justice served," the 69-year-old Southern California woman said in an interview last
month. "It took a long time, but it helped us all.
I think it helped the whole family."
AUTHOR: Sharron Mankins whose son, Michael Baker and his friend, John Mayeski
was murdered by Robert Alton Harris on 5 July 1978. Robert Alton Harris
(January 15, 1953 – April 21, 1992) was an American criminal and murderer who
was executed at San Quentin State Prison in 1992 in conjunction with the 1978
murders of two teenage boys in San Diego. His execution was the first in the
state of California since 1967. Harris was born in North Carolina and was
abused as a child. He had run-ins with law enforcement 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 soon after he was again placed into juvenile
detention after stealing another car. Following his release he found work,
married, and had a son, but in 1975 he was imprisoned for manslaughter; he was
paroled in January 1978. On July 5, 1978, Harris and his younger brother
commandeered a car occupied by two 16-year-old boys, ordered them to drive to a
remote area, then killed them. The brothers then drove the boys' car to a San
Diego bank, robbed it, and used it as their getaway car. Harris was arrested
less than an hour after the robbery and charged with murder, auto theft,
kidnapping, burglary, and bank robbery. He was convicted and sentenced to death
on March 6, 1979. After a series of appeals and stays of execution, Harris was
executed in San Quentin's gas chamber on April 21, 1992.
CONDOLENCES & COMMENTS:
Abolitionists can name victims’
families who did not feel happy years later even after watching their loved
ones’ killers getting put to death. But for a former abolitionist like me, I
can use Sharron Mankins’s and many others, as example of how victims’ families
can be satisfied that justice had been served when they look back.
I am so
sorry for your loss, Sharron but I am thankful that your son and his friend can
R.I.P. I understand that Harris is now gone from the earth, you never need to
envision him breathing at all. I thank God that Proposition 34 was defeated and
I am grateful for Sharron’s quote as a testimony that the death penalty does
serve as justice.
He absolutely received less than he deserved.
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