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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Roberts (Stanislaus) v. Louisiana
Citation:
428 U.S. 325 (1976)Facts
On August 18, 1973, Richard G. Lowe was found dead in a Lake Charles, Louisiana gas station where he worked. He had been shot four times in the head. Stanislaus Roberts and three others were arrested. According to testimony, Roberts had discussed “ripping off that old man at the station” before the crime. Roberts and Arceneaux entered the station pretending to seek employment, then assaulted Lowe and forced him into a back room. While Arceneaux posed as an attendant to serve a customer, Roberts shot Lowe four times. Roberts was charged with first-degree murder under Louisiana’s post-Furman statute, which mandated the death penalty for specific categories of murder, including killings during armed robberies. The jury found Roberts guilty, and as required by law, the trial judge sentenced him to death without any discretion to consider mitigating factors.
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