Robert Austin Sullivan (July 20, 1947 – November 30, 1983) was an American man who was executed by the state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the

electric chair The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New Yo ...

for the 1973 murder of a

Howard Johnson's Howard Johnson by Wyndham, still commonly referred to as Howard Johnson's, is an American hotel brand with over 200 hotels in 15 countries. It was also formerly a Chain store, restaurant chain, which at one time was the largest in the U.S., wit ...

restaurant manager. He was the second person to be executed in Florida after

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

was reinstated in 1976, and at the time of his execution, he had been on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

longer than anyone else in the United States. His execution generated attention when

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

personally pleaded for clemency to spare Sullivan's life; however, Governor

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

refused the appeal. Sullivan was executed in 1983 and maintained his innocence to the end.

Early life

Sullivan was born on July 20, 1947, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Two weeks after his birth, he was adopted by a couple from

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...

, and was later raised in

Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a western suburb of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, its population was 27,295, an increase of 10.4% from 2010. H ...

, by his adoptive mother after the couple divorced.

Murder

On the evening of April 8, 1973, Sullivan and his accomplice, Reid McLaughlin, went to a

restaurant in

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in the United States, U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and ...

. Sullivan had previously been employed at the restaurant for eight months as an assistant manager in 1972. At the restaurant, the pair encountered 38-year-old Donald Schmidt, the new assistant manager who worked there. Schmidt was abducted, had his hands tied behind his back with tape, and was then taken by the pair to a remote area in a swamp located in the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the K ...

. He was forced onto the ground, where he was hit with a tire iron. He was then fatally shot four times in the back of the head by a 12 gauge shotgun. Schmidt was robbed of both his credit cards and a watch.

Trial

On April 17, Sullivan was arrested. Police found evidence linking Sullivan to the crime, including Schmidt's credit cards, his watch, a shotgun, a handgun, tape, and a tire iron, which was discovered in Sullivan's car. Sullivan reportedly confessed to the murder and implicated McLaughlin. McLaughlin confessed as well, but took a plea deal with the state where he would be given a life sentence in exchange for his testimony against Sullivan. Sullivan later denied committing the crime, claiming he had confessed to it while drunk and that his confession had been coerced. In addition, his lawyer did not contact possible witnesses that could have supported Sullivan's alibi that he was in a gay bar at the time of the murder. Sullivan had reportedly told police that the motive for the crime had been robbery, and that he needed the money to pay a blackmailer who was threatening to tell his father that he was homosexual. Ultimately, Sullivan was found guilty of the crime and was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death on November 12, 1973.

Execution

Throughout Sullivan's time on

, prison officials and Catholic priests described him as a model prisoner. He was originally scheduled to be executed in June 1979, but a federal judge granted him a stay of execution. On November 30, 1983, Sullivan was executed in the

Florida State Prison Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is an American correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida, with a Raiford postal address. It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East U ...

at the age of 36. His

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...

consisted of steak, french fries, milk, and fresh strawberries. He was the second person to be executed in Florida since 1976, after

John Spenkelink John Arthur Spenkelink (March 29, 1949 – May 25, 1979) was an American convicted murderer. He was executed in 1979, the first convicted criminal to be executed in Florida after capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, and the second (after ...

. Prior to his execution, he spent ten years and three months on death row, which, at the time, was the longest amount of time any inmate had spent on death row in the United States.

References

! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in Florida , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Robert Austin 1947 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American criminals 20th-century executions by Florida 20th-century executions of American people American male criminals American people executed for murder Executed people from Massachusetts People convicted of murder by Florida People executed by Florida by electric chair

Early life

Murder

Trial

Execution

See also

References