RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTW) — A Robeson County man who has been on death for decades after being convicted of killing his stepfather had his sentence commuted to life without parole by Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday — his final day in office.
Robbie Dexter Locklear, 52, was among 15 inmates granted clemency among 89 who asked Cooper’s office for relief, according to a news release.
News13 on Tuesday asked Cooper’s office for a copy of Locklear’s petition.
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“These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a Governor can make, and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose,” Cooper said in a statement.
Locklear was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder in May 1996, and the state Supreme Court upheld his punishment in 1998.
On Jan. 27, 1994, Locklear and his stepfather James Charles “Jay” Taylor got into an altercation in the Robeson County mobile home they shared, according to details of the case outlined in his Supreme Court appeal.