Robert Fieldmore Lewis
Robert Fieldmore Lewis (born September 30, 1947 in Jacksonville , Florida , † July 22, 2001 in Stillwater , Minnesota ) was the only person who managed to escape from Florida death row.
Act and condemnation
Robert Lewis drove to Joseph Lynwood Richards' home in Jacksonville on January 27, 1977 with two accomplices. While Eddie Odom remained in the vehicle, Lewis and Charles Carter went to the apartment armed with rifles and shot Joseph Richards through a bedroom window. They then escaped from the scene, throwing their shoes, gloves, and Carter's rifle into the Trout River, a tributary of the St. Johns River . The Lewis shotgun was brought home by Carter.
Through a comprehensive confession from Charles Carter, who in return had been assured of impunity, the ballistic investigation and further testimony, Lewis was charged with willful murder. The investigation revealed that Lewis had hired the two men to help him kill Richards, with whom he was at odds over money. Both had already threatened each other with murder. Lewis was sentenced to death for first degree murder and transferred to Florida State Prison death row .
Prison break and re-arrest
On Saturday, November 18, 1978, Robert Lewis put on a prison guard's uniform, glued on a fake beard, and marched out of prison unmolested. The uniform had been smuggled in by a visitor wearing her body and deposited in the toilet in the visitor room. At the main gate, Lewis was able to convince the guard that he was a new employee who urgently needed to see his wife, who had been injured in an accident.
Robert Lewis was then 11 days at liberty before a tip on November 29th arrested him again by the FBI at a motel in Santee , South Carolina . Lewis was armed and had disguise supplies with him at the time of his arrest.
After his arrest, it was revealed that he had planned an even bigger coup. Lewis had designed an escape idea with seven prisoners to free four death row inmates by helicopter. After his own escape, he wanted to kidnap a helicopter and then attack a watchtower in order to enable the four fellow inmates to escape over the courtyard fence while they were walking around the courtyard. Then he wanted to pick them up at a place not visible from the other watchtowers and fly away. The entire plan, including a detailed sketch, was printed on March 30, 1979 in the daily edition of the Florida Times Union .
For the escape Lewis received an additional prison sentence of six years, in addition, the visitor controls and exit controls of the Florida State Prison were significantly tightened; Among other things, visitors are no longer allowed to use the same toilet facilities as the prisoners. Because of the escape, three guards were also released, two more were temporarily suspended, three demoted, and two warned. Lewis's death sentence was overturned in 1982 and commuted to life imprisonment.
While in custody, he maintained contact with Danny Rolling , who was also incarcerated in Florida State Prison and later convicted as a serial killer, and who had given him full details of his murders. In exchange for information about Rolling's murders, Lewis was transferred by the authorities to the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, where he was given a double-sized protective cell with amenities such as a microwave and a TV. In 2001 he died of hepatitis C after a long illness .
See also:
Individual evidence
- ^ His final escape
- ↑ LEWIS v. STATE
- ↑ UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Daniel Nelson Silva, Appellant ( Memento of the original from May 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lewis, Robert Fieldmore |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American convict |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 22, 2001 |
| Place of death | Stillwater, Minnesota, USA |