Alabama sets August nitrogen execution for man convicted of 1992 shooting death
In this undated photo from the Alabama Department of Corrections, David Lee Roberts, who was convicted of capital murder for the 1992 shooting death of Annetra Jones, is scheduled in Alabama for an Aug. 21, 2025, execution using nitrogen gas. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)
Alabama has scheduled an August execution with nitrogen gas for a man convicted three decades ago of shooting a woman in the head while she slept.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey set a Aug. 21 execution date for David Lee Roberts after the Alabama Supreme Court authorized the execution. If carried out, it would be the nation’s seventh execution by nitrogen gas, a method Alabama began using last year as an alternative to lethal injection.
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Roberts, 59, was convicted of killing Annetra Jones in 1992 while a houseguest at Jones’ boyfriend’s home in Marion County. There have been 25 executions so far in 2025 in the United States.
Prosecutors said on the afternoon of April 22, 1992, Roberts came to the home, packed his belongings, stole money and shot Jones three times in the head with a .22 caliber rifle while she slept on the couch. Prosecutors said he poured gasoline or another flammable liquid on the floor and Jones’ body and set fire to the home to hide evidence.
A jury convicted Roberts of capital murder. Jurors voted 7-5 to recommend that he receive life in prison without possibility of parole. A judge overrode the recommendation and sentenced him to death. Alabama no longer allows a judge to override a jury’s sentence in capital cases.
The Alabama Supreme Court authorized Roberts’ execution at the request of the state attorney general’s office, which argued he has exhausted his appeals.
Roberts’ attorney had asked for a delay, arguing that Roberts, who has a paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis, is “probably incompetent to be executed” and should have an evaluation. The U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited the execution of a prisoner who is insane and not aware of his impending execution and of the reasons for it.
Roberts has a well-established history of psychotic illness, and his mental health has deteriorated after decades on Alabama’s death row, his lawyer wrote. A doctor diagnosed him in February with paranoid schizophrenia.
“On February 17, 2025, an ADOC psychologist who saw Mr. Roberts cell-side noted that he was ‘hearing voices,” ranting, thinking illogically, and delusional,’” a lawyer representing Roberts wrote in court filing.
The state acknowledged that prison records indicate Roberts has been diagnosed with various mental illnesses but argued that doesn’t mean he is incompetent.
“Roberts may well have a mental disease, but that doesn’t mean he is unaware of his situation or incapable of trying to prevent his execution,” a state lawyer wrote.
Last year Alabama became the first state to carry out an execution with nitrogen gas, a method that involves pumping nitrogen through a face mask and depriving the inmate of oxygen. The method has now been used in six executions — five in Alabama and one in Louisiana.
Roberts selected nitrogen as his preferred execution method over the other options, lethal injection or the electric chair. He made the selection before Alabama developed procedures for the method.