Bonnie Bobit

Bonnie Bobit is the nation's foremost authority on the subject of death row. Since 1989, she has published 10 editions of her book Death Row. It includes a roster of all death row inmates throughout the United States, a total of 3,530, including 48 women, as of Jan. 1, 1999. As the publisher and editor of Death Row, Bonnie conducts original research, officiates victim and inmate mediations, develops and administers surveys, and interviews some of the most notorious inmates on death row. Her book also contains extensive statistics and facts about the inmates as well as about the issue of capital punishment. She is a leading advocate of victims' rights.

Henry Lee Lucas

Henry Lee Lucas is frequently touted as the ultimate serial killer, because he ultimately claimed to have killed more than 600 people. This in-depth story, by Bonnie Bobit, editor of the Death Row series of books, not only brings Lucas into sharp focus, but explains why the Texas board of pardons and paroles recommended that his death sentence be reduced to life imprisonment -- the only such instance of mercy by that board in modern times.

by Bonnie Bobit

For several years during the mid-1980s, Henry Lee Lucas enjoyed holding the title of "the most infamous man on death row." His fleeting fame did not evolve from the three cold-blooded murders he did commit, but from hundreds of murders he did not. When Lucas was sentenced to death in 1984, it wasn't for the 1960 murder of his mother. Nor was it for the 1982 cold-blooded rape and murder of Kate Rich, an 82-year-old Texas woman. And it wasn't even for the 1982 murder and dismemberment of Becky Powell, his longtime girlfriend. Instead, Lucas was sent to death row for the 1979 rape and murder of a woman known only as "Orange Socks" – a woman he probably never met.

After Lucas served 10 years in prison for the murder of his mother, he was released on parole free to kill again. And he did. During Lucas' second murder trial, in 1983, he shocked a Texas courtroom when he not only confessed to killing the elderly Rich, but then announced: "And I've got 100 more out there somewhere."

Convenient Excuses

The deadly occupation of convenience store employee and how the convenience store industry is fighting to prevent the implementation of federal rules that would make those jobs safer.

by Bonnie Bobit

Other than the job of police officer, which job category would you say is most often subject to homicide in the United States? Postal worker? Private detective? Bounty hunter? Abortion clinic staff? Liquor store workers? By far the most dangerous job in the United States is, and has been for years, that of those who work in convenience stores at night.

Ten months ago, Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman released recommendations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that could significantly reduce the number of employees murdered on the job during robberies and other violent acts. The report, in citing that after-dark convenience store workers were at the greatest risk of being murdered during robberies and other violent acts, included recommendations that directly addressed what convenience store owners could do to better protect their employees from assault. In particular, the report advanced a series of preventative measures, chiefly physical improvements and alterations to the stores.

Not surprisingly, the convenience store owners immediately translated these improvements into added overhead costs and balked at the report. Quickly, public relations reps from the major convenience store chains called a press conference to say that OSHA's recommendations were premature, not practical, and would ruin customer relationships.

Death Row Trivia

Death Row

Explores some of the unusual and even humorous facts attending capital punishment.

by Bonnie Bobit

Did You Know?

Frank Johnson was the first death row inmate electrocuted in Florida. He met his fate with the electric chair on October 7, 1924. Throughout 1929 and from May 12, 1964 to May 24, 1979, there were no executions in Florida.

The executioner in Florida is an anonymous, private citizen who is paid $150 per execution. The position of executioner was advertised in the classified section of several Florida newspapers in 1978.

The electrocution cycle is two minutes or shorter in duration. During the cycle, voltage and amperage levels peak on three occasions. Maximum current is 2,000 volts and 14 amps.

In Florida, death row inmates may receive mail and have a limited number of magazine subscriptions. They also may have cigarettes, snacks, radios and B & W televisions in their cells. Occasionally, an inmate will play chess with a neighboring cellmate.