IN LOVING MEMORY OF BORIS G. NAUMOFF (DIED: JANUARY 3, 1979) (ROBERT LEE MASSIE WAS EXECUTED ON MARCH 27, 2001 IN CALIFORNIA)

            On this date, March 27, 2001, a recidivist murderer by the name of Robert Lee Massie was executed by lethal injection in San Quentin State Prison of California. Let us not forget the victim, Boris G. Naumoff who was murdered by him on January 3, 1979.

Robert Lee Massie

CASE: On Jan. 7, 1965, Robert Massie murdered Mildred Weiss, a mother of two married to a furniture store owner. Massie shot Weiss, 48, outside her San Gabriel home during a botched follow-home robbery. He received a stay of execution 16 hours before he was to enter the gas chamber, even though he had urged officials to carry out the sentence. Then-Gov. Ronald Reagan stayed the execution so that Massie could testify in the trial of his alleged accomplice. After testifying, he returned to prison and remained there when the California Supreme Court temporarily banned executions. Massie's death sentence was commuted to life in prison when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled capital punishment unconstitutional in 1972.

He was paroled and set free in 1978. But 8 months later he was arrested for the murder of grocery store owner Boris Naumoff during a robbery attempt. Chuck Harris, a clerk at Naumoff's liquor store who was hit by one of Massie's bullets, survived with a leg wound. After receiving a death sentence for that crime, Massie spurned appeals on his behalf and once again asked to be executed. The state Supreme Court, however, threw out his conviction on grounds he pleaded guilty over the objections of his lawyers. Massie was retried and again sentenced to die for Naumoff's killing in a 1989 retrial. Earlier this year Massie withdrew his federal appeal and instructed his lawyers not to make any further efforts to save his life, clearing the way for his long-desired execution. In his petition to end his appeals, Massie said that he would rather die than continue living on death row in San Quentin. He said life on death row is a "lingering death." Even if his death sentence is reversed or commuted by an appeal, he would remain in prison for the rest of his life for shooting Boris Naumoff to death at a San Francisco liquor store. That is why he said he wants a "swift execution." California's condemned inmates are more likely to die of old age or illness than by execution. More than 100 inmates have been on death row for more than 15 years.

In recent days, death penalty opponents tried a flurry of last-ditch efforts to save Massie. They argued in state and federal courts that Massie had long been racked by depression and other mental illness, a fact they claim was not argued strongly enough throughout Massie's time in prison. They also said Frederick Baker, a corporate lawyer who represented Massie, had abdicated his responsibility by seeking to pave the way for Massie's execution. The late moves angered both Massie and the prosecutors who had sought his execution for years. "I just find it curious that we are suddenly hearing from attorneys who have never met Massie and weren't at any of his hearings in which a judge found him competent, that he knows what he is doing," said Deputy Atty. Gen. Bruce Ortega. "I just don't understand why they are not respecting his opinion." "The hurt for my family will never stop," said Rick Naumoff, the son of one of Massie's victims. "We continue to deal with the loss of a husband, a father, a grandfather."

Many of the witnesses held hands and watched intently as the guards went about their work before the execution. One man bowed his head, looked up after Massie died, and smiled.

"I'm glad this is done," said Menck Rickman, Naumoff's grandson. "This ruined our family. It ripped us apart."

Rickman said Massie's execution was the first time some of the relatives had seen each other in 22 years.

"Hopefully, I'll get my family back," Rickman said.

Massie's Time in Jail, From 1965 Through 2001

-- 1965: Massie shoots Mildred Weiss to death during a robbery in front of her San Gabriel home.

He pleads guilty and is sentenced to die. 

-- 1967: He comes within 16 hours of being put to death in the gas chamber. But Gov. Ronald Reagan grants him a reprieve to testify at the trial of his co- defendant. 

-- 1972: His death sentence is commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court declares the death penalty unconstitutional. 

-- 1978: Massie is released on parole and becomes a law clerk for a San Francisco attorney. 

-- 1979: Massie shoots to death Boris "Bob" Naumoff, owner of Miraloma Liquor, during a robbery at the Twin Peaks store.

He pleads guilty and is sentenced to die. 

-- 1985: After his case is automatically appealed to the California Supreme Court, the justices overturn his conviction and death sentence. The court rules that he cannot plead guilty over the objections of his trial attorney. 

-- 1989: Massie is retried and a jury finds him guilty of the robbery and murder of Naumoff. He is sentenced to die. 

-- 1998: The California Supreme Court upholds his conviction and death sentence. 

-- October 2000: Massie says he wants to drop his appeals in federal court and be put to death. 

-- March 27, 2001: Massie dies by lethal injection. 

Naumoff's son, Rick, said Massie's death will allow the family to finally put the murder behind them.

"This execution marks an end to a sad and tragic chapter," the son said. "This execution corrects a wrong."

Family members of Boris G. Naumoff – He was murdered by Robert Lee Massie on January 3, 1979. Robert Lee Massie was executed by lethal injection in California on March 27, 2001.