Robert Shields was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of Paula Stiner
According to court documents Robert Shields would break into the home of Paula Stiner and when the woman came home she would be stabbed repeatedly and beaten with a hammer.
Robert Shields would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Robert Shields would be executed by lethal injection on August 23 2005
Robert Shields Case
Robert Shields FAQ
When Was Robert Shields Executed
Robert Shields was executed on August 23 2005
Robert Shields Case
A suburban Houston man who fatally stabbed and beat a woman at her home nearly 11 years ago was executed Tuesday evening. Robert Alan Shields, 30, was the 12th prisoner executed in Texas this year.
A Galveston County jury condemned him for the killing of Paula Stiner, 27, who had been repeatedly stabbed with a knife from her kitchen and beaten with a hammer. Her husband found her body after he returned home from work Sept. 21, 1994. The couple had lived at the home in Friendswood, southeast of Houston, for only about three months. Shields, whose parents lived next door, was arrested three days later.
“The world will be a better place without him; that’s for sure,” said Michael Guarino, the former Galveston County district attorney who prosecuted Shields in 1995. “It was an extremely vicious, brutal murder. “It was one of the worst capital murder scenes I’ve seen, and I’ve seen many over 20 years as district attorney.” When asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Shields responded twice, saying, “No.” His parents and his victim’s parents were among those who watched the execution.
According to evidence at the trial, Shields’ fingerprints and bloody shoeprints were in the laundry room where Stiner’s body was found. About 90 minutes after Stiner was killed, Shields used her credit card to buy clothes. And when he was arrested three days later about 50 miles away, he had her car. Appeals lawyers contended Shields was trying to defend himself and never intended to kill Stiner, that the self-defense argument never was pursued by his lawyers at trial and that the U.S. Supreme Court should allow him another chance to prove his innocence.
“If Shields’ jury had believed the self-defense claim, which was not presented at his trial, it would have meant that he would not have been found guilty of capital murder,” the petition seeking an 11th-hour reprieve from the high court said. The effort failed. Justices rejected the petition a few hours before Shields’ scheduled execution time. Appeals lawyers also contended that a state-appointed lawyer who initially handled Shields’ appeal was inexperienced and incompetent.
In a letter posted on an anti-death penalty Web site, Shields described his prospects as “not looking good” and referred to his execution as a “state-sanctioned murder.” Shields had previous arrests for burglary and auto theft, including an auto theft arrest in Florida where he and some friends were accused of driving a stolen car and shoplifting from there to Texas.
His mother testified at his trial that she and his father had changed the locks on their home at least twice to keep him from stealing from them. A social worker testified that Shields had drunk alcohol continuously since he was 14 and had focused much of his time since the age of 17 on drugs and alcohol.
At least seven other Texas inmates have execution dates this year.