Inmate: Robert D. Duckett
ODOC#: 130539
Birthdate: 07/01/1964
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5 ft. 09 in
Weight: 165 pounds
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Location: Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Mcalester

Oklahoma.Com Channel 5

"Convicted Killer Duckett Executed In McAlester." (AP July 8, 2003)

MCALESTER, Okla. -- A man who beat an Oklahoma City resident to death with an ashtray stand and fireplace poker died for the crime Tuesday in Oklahoma's death chamber. Robert Don Duckett, 39, received a heart-stopping injection and was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m., becoming the state's 11th inmate executed this year. He had not tried to stay his execution at the last minute, having already exhausted his appeals.

In his final statement, Duckett asked for forgiveness. "I just want to apologize and hope my family forgives me. I love them very much, and I hope they never forget that. Let's go," he said, and the execution began.

Duckett was a 24-year-old prison escapee in October 1988 when he killed John E. Howard, 53, with whom he briefly shared an apartment. Howard's severely beaten body was found in the apartment with his hands and feet bound with wire. Prosecutors said Howard was killed because he wanted Duckett to move out. The defense alleged that Howard made a homosexual pass at Duckett, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after a prison rape. Duckett was serving time for a 1983 robbery and beating when he escaped from prison in 1987. Prosecutors also presented evidence that he had beaten and robbed an 85-year-old man in 1982.

Howard's brother, Tom, said Howard had recently returned from New York to help him with his Oklahoma City convenience store business. John Howard had given Duckett a job working in one of the stores. Mark Howard said his father was known for taking people in and helping them out. Both men planned to witness the execution. "It means the man who took my father's life will not be allowed to have that opportunity anywhere else, with anyone else," Mark Howard said.

Duckett spent his final hours visiting with his parents. He was served his requested last meal of a small pizza, a chili cheese coney, a half-gallon of cookie-dough ice cream and a vanilla Coke.

An appeals court last year refused to overturn Duckett's death sentence despite condemning retired Oklahoma County District Attorney Bob Macy's handling of the case. "Macy's persistent misconduct, though it has not legally harmed the defendant in the present case, has without doubt harmed the reputation of Oklahoma's criminal justice system and left the unenviable legacy of an indelibly tarnished legal career," 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges wrote.

Kansas City Star

"Oklahoma Man Executed for Fatally Beating Roommate in 1988." (AP July 9, 2003)

McALESTER, Okla. - A man who beat his roommate to death with an ashtray stand and fireplace poker was executed by injection. Robert Don Duckett, 39, directed his last words to his relatives. "I just want to apologize and hope my family forgives me," said Duckett, who spend his final hours with his parents. "I love them very much, and I hope they never forget that." Duckett, the 11th inmate executed in Oklahoma this year, was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. Tuesday.

Duckett killed John E. Howard, 53, in October 1988 in the apartment they shared. Howard had hired Duckett, an escaped convict, to work at an Oklahoma City convenience store operated by Howard's brother. Duckett had been serving time for a 1983 robbery and beating when he escaped in 1987. Prosecutors said Howard was killed because he wanted Duckett to move out. The defense alleged Howard made a pass at Duckett, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after a prison rape. An appeals court last year refused to overturn Duckett's death sentence despite condemning the prosecutor's handling of the case.

Oklahoma Attorney General News Release

News Release - W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General

Court Sets Execution Date for Duckett(5/30/03)

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals today set July 8 as the execution date for death row inmate Robert Don Duckett. Attorney General Drew Edmondson asked the court to set the execution date after the United States Supreme Court denied Duckett's final appeal April 28.

Duckett, 38, was sentenced to death in Oklahoma County District Court for the Oct. 18, 1988, murder of 53-year-old John E. Howard. Howard's severely beaten body was found in his Oklahoma City apartment with his hands and feet bound with wire. Howard, who was beaten with a fireplace poker and the wooden stand of an ashtray, suffered numerous skull fractures, a ruptured and punctured eye and a broken ankle. Duckett was in possession of Howard's car when he was arrested Nov. 1, 1988, in Queen Creek, Arizona. Currently, two death row inmates are scheduled for execution: Kenneth Chad Charm, Comanche County, June 5, and Lewis Eugene Gilbert, Cleveland County, July 1. Execution dates have been requested for Comanche County inmates Bryan Anthony Toles and Jackie Lee Willingham.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

Robert Duckett was sentenced to die for the robbery and murder of a man who befriended him after Duckett escaped from prison. John Howard was savagely beaten to death in his apartment in Oklahoma City on Oct. 19, 1988. Prosecutors said Duckett used a fireplace poker and a wooden ashtray stand to bludgeon Howard to death. The victim's hands and feet were also bound with wire. Prior to the murder, Howard, who operated a convenience store, had picked up Duckett hitchhiking. Court documents stated that Duckett had escaped from prison - where he was serving time for robbery and assault. Howard helped Duckett find work and offered to let Duckett stay with him at his apartment.

While being questioned by police, Duckett said that he and Howard had "exchanged blows," but the victim was "on his feet and breathing" when Duckett left the apartment. Duckett told lawmen that he had bound the victim's hands and feet in order to keep Howard from coming at him again. But authorities didn't buy the explanation. An autopsy revealed that Howard's ankle had been broken, his skull fractured, his left eye ruptured and blood splatters were all over the room. Blood smears indicated that the victim had been trying to crawl on the floor before he died. These facts make it unlikely that Howard was "on his feet" when Duckett left the apartment.

Duckett had also told lawmen that he had been gang-raped in prison and that Howard and he got into a fight when Howard made a homosexual pass toward him. Following the murder, Duckett was arrested in Arizona while driving Howard’s car. Authorities said Duckett had switched license plates with another vehicle. These stolen plates were taken from another vehicle parked in Howard's apartment complex. A blood stained jacket and jeans were also found in the car, along with a bank bag taken from Howard's convenience store, court documents stated.

The DeathHouse.Com

"Escaped Con Executed for Murder of Man Who Befriended Him." (July 8, 2003)

McAlester, Okla. - An escaped convict who beat to death a man who befriended and took him into his home was executed by lethal injection Tuesday night at the state prison. Robert Duckett, 39, became the 11th convicted killer put to death in Oklahoma this year - the second highest total in the nation. Oklahoma has three more men scheduled for execution this month. Duckett was convicted of the 1988 murder of John Howard, 53. Duckett was serving a prison sentence for robbery and assault when he escaped in 1987 and met Howard.

Duckett was pronounced dead from the lethal injection of chemicals at 6:16 p.m., two minutes after the drugs began to flow into his body. He did not file any last ditch appeals to ward off his execution. "I just want to apologize and hope my family forgives me," Duckett said moments before death. "I love them very much and I hope they never forget that. Let's go." Four members of Howard's family watched Duckett die.

Hands And Feet Bound

Howard's body was found in his Oklahoma City apartment. His hands and feet were bound with wire. Prosecutors said the murder occurred on Oct. 19, 1988. Prosecutors said Duckett used a fireplace poker and a wooden ashtray stand to bludgeon Howard to death. There were suggestions at trial that Duckett and Howard were lovers. Duckett had also told lawmen that he had been gang raped in prison and that Howard and he got into a fight when Howard made a homosexual pass toward him. Prosecutors countered that Duckett killed Howard when the victim decided to kick Duckett out of the apartment. Howard, who operated a convenience store, had picked up Duckett hitchhiking. Court documents stated that after Duckett escaped from prison Howard helped Duckett find work and offered to let Duckett stay with him at his apartment.

Sexual Advances Lead To Murder?

While being questioned by police, Duckett said that he and Howard had "exchanged blows," but the victim was "on his feet and breathing" when Duckett left the apartment. Duckett told lawmen that he had bound the victim's hands and feet in order to keep Howard from coming at him again. But authorities didn't buy the explanation. An autopsy revealed that Howard's ankle had been broken, his skull fractured, his left eye ruptured and blood splatter were all over the room. Blood smears indicated that the victim had been trying to crawl on the floor before he died. These facts make it unlikely that Howard was "on his feet" when Duckett left the apartment. Following the murder, Duckett was arrested in Arizona while driving Howard's car.

Comments By Prosecutors Draw Fire

Authorities said Duckett had switched license plates with another vehicle. These stolen plates were taken from another vehicle parked in Howard's apartment complex. A blood stained jacket and jeans were also found in the car, along with a bank bag taken from Howard's convenience store, court documents stated. One of the main issues during Duckett's appeal was comments made by prosecutors at the trial. Defense lawyers say the comments made it impossible for Duckett to get a fair trail. For example, when a defense lawyer asked a prospective juror whether the juror thought it possible that a defendant, besides trying to hide something, would not want to take the stand to testify in his own defense, then Oklahoma County District Attorney Robert Macy was heard saying, "Like two prior convictions." An assistant district attorney also said during the trial that Duckett was trying to mount a "Johnny-come lately insanity defense" because that was the only way he could try to beat a murder conviction. These statements and others made by the prosecution have led appeals lawyers to claim that Duckett did not receive a fair trial. But the courts, so far, have rejected those appeals.

Reuters Newsdesk

"Oklahoma Executes Man Who Beat Roommate to Death." (July 9, 2003)

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 8 (Reuters) - Oklahoma on Tuesday executed a man who beat his roommate to death with a fireplace poker and a wooden ash tray about 15 years ago. Robert Don Duckett, 39, died two minutes after receiving a lethal dose of chemicals at the state's death chamber in McAlester, said Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie. "I just want to apologize and hope my family forgives me," Duckett said before he died, according to Massie. "I love them very much. I hope they never forget that." Duckett's last words were: "Let's go," said Massie.

In October 1987 Duckett escaped from prison where he had been serving time for beating and robbing a 56-year-old man. He arrived in the Oklahoma City area where he shared an apartment with John Howard, 58. According to court testimony, Duckett beat Howard to death in October 1988, binding his arms and legs with wire, after Howard told Duckett he wanted him out of the apartment. Duckett then stole Howard's car and fled to Arizona, where he was arrested.

His execution was witnessed his lawyer, a friend and four of Howard's family members. Duckett was the 11th person executed by Oklahoma this year and the 65th since the state resumed executions in 1990. His last meal was pizza, a chili dog and ice cream, Massie said.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Robert Don Duckett, Oklahoma - July 8, 2003

The state of Oklahoma is scheduled to execute Robert Don Duckett July 8 for the murder of John Howard in Oklahoma City in 1988. Duckett, a white man, allegedly beat Howard to death in the victim’s home before stealing his car and driving to Arizona. The murder occurred shortly after Duckett had escaped from prison.

On appeal, Duckett has argued that his defense attorneys provided ineffective legal representation during the sentencing phase by failing to investigate and present available mitigating evidence. Although the aggravating factors in the case are quite substantial, the mitigating factors are equally troubling. Duckett suffered sexual abuse as a child, and was forced to revisit that horror when he became a victim of prison rape during his incarceration.

Duckett claimed he began exchanging blows with Howard after the victim made a pass at him. Duckett’s attorneys failed to present as part of his defense a history of severe sexual abuse, a defense that could have affected the outcome of the trial. His defense counsel also failed to mention his chronic drug addictions during the sentencing phase of the trial, which could have partially explained, while certainly not excused, some of his behavior. He began smoking marijuana several times a day at age 11, and later became addicted to cocaine and methamphetamine.

The state of Oklahoma has executed several death row inmates in recent years despite extenuating mitigating circumstances. In fact, the state has accounted for roughly a quarter of the nation’s executions in 2003, and it seems that trend is likely to continue. Please write Gov. Brad Henry and the Pardon and Parole Board and request clemency for Robert Duckett and a re-evaluation of the state’s death penalty system.

McAlester News-Capital & Democrat

"Killer's Execution is Tuesday," by Doug Russell. (July 7, 2003)

Mark Howard had hoped his father had learned to be a little less helpful. "He had been robbed once and had his car stolen once playing Good Samaritan," Howard said Thursday. "I'd hoped he'd learned, but he was like that - he'd do anything for anybody. If he could help them in any way, he would." But in 1988, John Howard helped one person too many. It cost him his life. Tuesday the man who killed him is scheduled to become the 11th Oklahoma inmate executed this year.

Robert Don Duckett was 24 years old when John Howard spotted him hitchhiking along an Oklahoma City highway in the fall of 1988. Howard probably didn't know that Duckett had escaped from Department of Corrections custody while serving 10 years on a LeFlore County conviction for robbery. Duckett may have reminded him a little of his own sons, who were then aged 26 and 23. No one knows for certain.

What is certain is that Howard, a well-liked man who always seemed to have a new joke and who family members say was always willing to lend a hand to others, apparently took a liking to Duckett. He helped Duckett get a job at the state fair and later let him work around the gas station and convenience store he managed. He even let Duckett move in with him. Howard had been down a few times himself and wasn't above helping someone else. "He always let someone share in his success, no matter how great or how small," Mark Howard said.

John Howard had spent 20 years working for the same company and, when an opportunity came to buy the company, he took it. His buyout offer was rejected, however, and Howard left his job rather than go to work for the new owners. He had several jobs over the next few years, his son recalled, including one that took him to Utica, N.Y., for about 18 months. While he was gone, he leased out the townhouse that he had customized to suit his tastes. "He loved that townhouse," Mark Howard said. "He was always doing something, decorating, out in the yard gardening - he was always doing something."

After returning from Utica, John Howard took an apartment in Oklahoma City. "He didn't want to throw the people out," his son said. "He was going to live in the apartment until the lease ran out and he could move back into the townhouse." But John Howard never got the chance. The 53-year-old man's body was found in his apartment on Oct. 18, 1988. He had been bound with wire coat hangars and beaten with a fireplace poker and a wooden ashtray stand. His keys, car and $200 were missing. Duckett had Howard's car when he was arrested two weeks later in Queen Creek, Ariz. Bank bags from the store and blood-stained clothing were in the car's trunk.

"I'll be there," Mark Howard said about Duckett's upcoming execution. He said he hadn't been close to his father for several years, but after he graduated from Oklahoma State University their relationship improved. "It really hurt me. For several years I didn't feel I had communicated much with my dad." When Mark went to California to graduate school, John Howard helped him as much as he could. Graduate school at the private university was expensive, and Mark had no scholarships to help pay his way. His second year of graduate school, Mark Howard had been saving some special news his father never got to hear: "That second year I had gotten some scholarships that would pay 70 percent of the costs. "I was saving the big news to tell him when I came home for Christmas. "I never got to."

Duckett v. State, 919 P.2d 7 (Okl.Cr. 1995) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the District Court, Oklahoma County, James B. Blevins, J., of first-degree murder, concealment of stolen property, and larceny of automobile, and he was sentenced to death. Defendant appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Johnson, P.J., held that: (1) as matter of first impression, defendant had no right to make plea for mercy or otherwise address sentencing jury in addition to closing argument by counsel; (2) as matter of first impression, aggravating circumstance that murder was committed while defendant was serving sentence of imprisonment applies to escapee; (3) attorney did not render ineffective assistance; (4) trial court properly excused one juror and was not required to excuse other; (5) videotape of crime scene was admissible; (6) errors in prosecutor's closing argument did not require reversal; and (7) evidence supported five aggravating circumstances. Affirmed. Chapel, V.P.J., concurred in result. Lane, J., concurred in result and filed opinion. Strubhar, J., concurred in result and filed opinion.

JOHNSON, Presiding Judge:
Robert Don Duckett, Appellant, was charged, tried and convicted of the crimes of Murder in the First Degree, Concealing Stolen Property and Larceny of an Automobile in the District Court of Oklahoma County, Case No. CRF-88-6248. The State filed a Bill of Particulars asking for the death penalty, and the jury found evidence of five aggravating circumstances: 1) that Mr. Duckett was previously convicted of a violent felony; 2) that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel; 3) that the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding arrest or prosecution; 4) that the murder was committed while Mr. Duckett was serving a sentence of imprisonment; and 5) that Mr. Duckett constituted a continuing threat to society. The jury set punishment at death, 25 years and 10 years imprisonment, respectively. The trial court sentenced accordingly with the sentences on the lesser counts to run concurrently. Appellant does not contest the validity of the convictions on the second and third counts.

Appellant raised thirty-two propositions of error. While we found several errors, none, singly or cumulatively, warrant reversal of the judgment or modification of the sentence. We affirm the judgment and sentence of death. On October 18, 1988, John Howard was found dead in his apartment. He had been severely beaten with a fireplace poker and the wooden stand of an ashtray. His hands and feet were bound with wire from a hanger. There were blood stains and spatters in all rooms but the two bedrooms of the apartment. His keys and car were missing, and over $200.00 was missing from the convenience store where John was a manager.

A few weeks prior to this, John had befriended a young transient male, Appellant, and helped him to obtain employment at the State Fair. He later offered Appellant a job helping with odd jobs at the convenience store which he managed, and offered to let Appellant stay with him. The deceased was unaware that Appellant was an escapee from prison, who had been convicted of robbery by force.

On November 1, 1988, Appellant was arrested in Clear Creek, Arizona. He was driving John Howard's car at the time. He had switched the license plates on John's car with the plates of another car in the parking lot of the victim's apartment complex. Found in the trunk were a blood-stained jacket and Levis and the bank bags from the store.

During questioning by Oklahoma authorities, Appellant admitted that he and John had a fight where five or six blows were exchanged, but that when he left, John was on his feet and breathing. He further told authorities that he had only bound John's hands to keep him from coming after him. Being an escapee, he was also afraid that John was going to call the cops on him. He told authorities that he had been gang-raped in prison, and that he and Mr. Howard were fighting over a homosexual pass Mr. Howard made toward him.

The State's case consisted of evidence which proved an unprovoked attack by Appellant in order to rob Mr. Howard and a murder to prevent Mr. Howard from having Appellant arrested. There was evidence that the victim was beaten with a fireplace poker and the wooden stand from an ashtray. His ankle was broken and he had been struck at least 19 separate times. Among various other head wounds, his skull was fractured in numerous places and his left eye was ruptured and punctured. There were blood spatters both high and low on the walls, indicating that Appellant continued to beat him after he was on the ground and incapable of running away. Blood smears on the victim's jeans indicate that he either was trying to crawl away or was dragged through the blood. Blood spatters on the windows and the closed curtains indicate that Appellant beat the victim with the curtains open, and then continued to beat the victim after stopping to close the curtains. The victim's hands and feet were bound with wire, and he had, at one point, been gagged with a rolled up sock and a bandanna. While the medical examiner could not tell if the wires were added before or after the beating ended, Dr. Choi did testify that there were bruises under the wire. Appellant stole the victim's keys and robbed the convenience store where the victim worked. Appellant also changed the license plates on the victim's car with another car in the parking lot and stole the victim's car.

* * * *

We are satisfied that neither passion, prejudice nor any other arbitrary factor is present in the record to undermine our confidence in the jury's verdict. Ample evidence supports the jury's finding of the five (5) aggravating factors:
1. That Appellant had previously been convicted of a felony involving violence.
2. That Appellant was a continuing threat to society.
3. That the murder of John Howard was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.
4. That the murders were committed for the purpose of preventing lawful arrest and prosecution.
5. That the murder was committed while Mr. Duckett was serving a sentence of imprisonment.
Finally, upon review of capital cases, we find the sentence of death in this case is supported by the evidence. Judgments and Sentences are AFFIRMED.