Robert O'Neal (murderer)

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Robert O'Neal
Born
Robert Earl O'Neal Jr.

(1961-09-25)September 25, 1961
Joplin, Missouri, U.S.
DiedDecember 6, 1995(1995-12-06) (aged 34)
Potosi Correctional Center, Mineral Point, Missouri, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Conviction(s)Capital murder
First degree murder
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment (January 24, 1980)
Death (May 15, 1985)
Details
VictimsRalph Roscoe Sharick, 78
Arthur Dade, 33
DateJuly 6, 1979
February 3, 1984
CountryUnited States
State(s)Missouri
Date apprehended
August 25, 1979
Imprisoned atMissouri State Penitentiary

Robert Earl O'Neal Jr. (September 25, 1961 – December 6, 1995)[1] was an American white supremacist and convicted murderer who was executed by the state of Missouri for the February 1984 murder of Arthur Dade, a 33-year-old black American man. O'Neal, who was serving a life sentence for the robbery and murder of 78-year-old Ralph Roscoe Sharick, stabbed Dade to death at the Missouri State Penitentiary. For the latter murder, O'Neal was sentenced to death and executed in 1995 at the Potosi Correctional Center via lethal injection.[2] O'Neal is notable for being the only white person to be executed for killing a black person in the history of modern Missouri.[3][4]

Murders[edit]

Ralph Roscoe Sharick[edit]

On July 6, 1979, O'Neal and his accomplice, John E. Boggs, broke into the home of Doctor J. Larry Dowell in Strafford, Missouri. While burglarizing the home, Dowell's father-in-law, 78-year-old Ralph Roscoe Sharick, who lived in a trailer home behind the house, entered the property after hearing a disturbance. After confronting O'Neal and Boggs, Sharick was bound and placed into a chair in a closet. After stealing a saxophone, a guitar, and a couple of guns, O'Neal fired four shots with a .22 caliber gun into the closet, one of which fatally struck Sharick in the chest. His body was found later that night by Dowell when he returned home.[5][6]

Boggs was captured and arrested two days later in Fort Worth, Texas.[7] O'Neal remained a fugitive and became the subject of a multi-state manhunt. On August 25, 1979, he was captured in Enid, Oklahoma, after police received a tip from an area truck stop operator. He was found sleeping in a stolen truck and had been working in the Enid area.[8] O'Neal was held without bail in the Greene County Jail. He was charged with capital murder, first-degree burglary, stealing, and armed criminal action.[9] On August 27, O'Neal waived extradition and was returned to Springfield, Missouri.[10]

O'Neal and Boggs both pleaded innocent to all charges.[11] Each accused the other of pulling the trigger.[5] On January 24, 1980, O'Neal was convicted of first-degree murder. On February 22, 1980, he was sentenced to life in prison by Circuit Judge James H. Keet. O'Neal was then transported to the Missouri State Penitentiary to serve his sentence.[12] For his role in the crime, Boggs also received a life sentence. He was eventually granted parole but was barred from ever returning to Greene County.[5]

Arthur Dade[edit]

While serving life in prison, O'Neal became a member of the white supremacist group, the Aryan Brotherhood,[13] and was affiliated with Aryan Nations.[14] On February 3, 1984, at noon, 33-year-old Arthur Dade, a black American man serving a twenty-two-year sentence at the Missouri State Penitentiary for two armed robbery convictions in 1979, was attacked by three white inmates.[15] O'Neal, accompanied by fellow inmates Lloyd Schlup and Rodnie Stewart, attacked Dade in a prison hallway outside the prison dining hall. Dade had been released from his cell to eat his noon meal.[16] Schlup allegedly held Dade's arms, while Stewart threw hot liquid in Dade's face to distract him.[17] O'Neal then stabbed Dade to death with a homemade ice pick.[18][19] Dade was stabbed four or five times in the chest and once in his right arm. He was pronounced dead by prison physicians twenty minutes later.[20] Both Dade and O'Neal were residents of the Special Management Unit, which was a special prison inside the Missouri State Penitentiary. The unit was used for the confinement of 400 of the most troublesome inmates.[21]

O'Neal, Schlup, and Stewart were each charged with capital murder in the killing of Dade. Prosecutors called the killing a well-planned "Aryan hit."[22] O'Neal claimed that he killed Dade in self-defense.[23] Ultimately, all three suspects were found guilty. O'Neal and Schlup were sentenced to death, while Stewart was sentenced to life in prison.[17] Schlup's death sentence was overturned in 1999 following Schlup v. Delo, in which he was retried, and pleaded guilty to second degree murder to avoid being sentenced to death.[24]

Execution[edit]

On December 6, 1995, O'Neal was executed at the Potosi Correctional Center via lethal injection.[25][26] He was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m.[27][28] His final statement was, "Praise the Lord and the name of Jesus. I forgive everybody involved in this. Jesus is my Lord."[29] He clutched a bible to his chest during the execution.[30][31] He declined a last meal and instead fasted all day on the day before his execution.[32]

O'Neal's execution marked the rare occasion of a white person being executed for killing a black person.[33][34] He remains the only white person to have been executed for killing a black person in the history of modern Missouri.[3] Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States in 1976, only 21 white people have been executed for murdering a black victim (less than 1.4 percent of all executions).[4][35]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Missouri Death Row: Executions: 1989-2005". Missourinet. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Schafer, Ed (December 6, 1995). "White Supremacist Executed in Missouri for Killing Black Inmate". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Execution Database | Death Penalty Information Center". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Deborah Fins. "Death Row U.S.A. Winter 2022" (PDF). NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Davis, Ron (December 5, 1995). "Talk of execution resurrects family's memories and pain". The Springfield News-Leader. pp. 1, 9. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "State v. Boggs". Casetext. July 6, 1982. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Murder suspect waives extradition". The Springfield News-Leader. August 28, 1979. p. 4. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Murder suspect arraigned after return to Springfield". The Springfield News-Leader. August 29, 1979. p. 19. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Murder suspect jailed". Springfield Leader and Press. August 29, 1979. p. 23. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Extradition awaited for murder suspect". Springfield Leader and Press. August 27, 1979. p. 4. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Two plead innocent to criminal charges". Springfield Leader and Press. September 22, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "O'Neal begins serving life term". Springfield Leader and Press. February 23, 1980. p. 10. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Man who killed inmate executed in Missouri". The Kansas City Star. December 6, 1995. p. 28. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "High Court Rejects Missourian's Appeal". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 10, 1987. p. 6. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Inmate stabbed during noon meal". St. Joseph News-Press. February 4, 1984. p. 8. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Murder trial venue changed". Springfield Leader and Press. April 20, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b "Court upholds 2 death sentences". The Daily Journal. February 18, 1987. p. 7. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "White supremacist executed for killing inmate". Hattiesburg American. December 6, 1995. p. 2. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Missouri prisoner sentenced to death loses high court appeal". The Springfield News-Leader. March 10, 1987. p. 11. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Murder Charges Filed Against 3 In Prison Stabbing". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 5, 1984. p. 21. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "The Missouri Supreme Court has ordered condemned killer Robert..." United Press International. November 19, 1986. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  22. ^ Word, Ron (December 6, 1995). "Frightened Child Killer Dies in Electric Chair". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  23. ^ "Convicted killer O'Neal put to death". The Daily Journal. December 6, 1995. p. 4. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Additional Innocence Information". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  25. ^ "Man will be put to death by lethal injection today". The Belleville News-Democrat. December 6, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Missouri inmate executed". United Press International. December 6, 1995. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  27. ^ "Sixth execution of year carried out". The Springfield News-Leader. December 6, 1995. p. 1. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Convicted killer Robert O'Neal Jr. executed at Potosi". The Springfield News-Leader. December 6, 1995. p. 15. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Missouri kills killer". The Manhattan Mercury. December 6, 1995. p. 4. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Missouri Executes Killer Who Turned To Religion". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 7, 1995. p. 4. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Missouri Inmate Executed". The New York Times. December 7, 1995. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  32. ^ "Missouri Executes Killer Who Turned To Religion". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 7, 1995. p. 24. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ Long, Colleen (September 15, 2020). "Report: Death penalty cases show history of racial disparity". Associated Press. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  34. ^ "Race and the Death Penalty". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  35. ^ "Executions by Race and Race of Victim". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
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