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James Terry Roach
James Terry Roach
Born	February 18, 1960; Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	January 10, 1986 (aged 25); Central Correctional Institution, Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by electrocution
Conviction(s)	Murder (2 counts); Rape
Criminal penalty	Death (December 16, 1977)

James Terry Roach (February 18, 1960 – January 10, 1986) was the second person to be executed by the state of South Carolina following the 1976 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court reauthorizing the use of capital punishment by the states. He was electrocuted on January 10, 1986, aged 25, nearly a year to the day following the electrocution of his accomplice, Joseph Carl Shaw, on January 11, 1985, at the Central Correctional Institution in Columbia. Roach was executed for a crime he committed at age 17.

On December 13, 1977, upon the advice of his lawyer, Roach pled guilty to two counts of murder, criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, and robbery.^[1] He was convicted of the rape and murder of a fourteen-year-old girl and the murder of her seventeen-year-old boyfriend. Evidence presented at the trial showed that Roach was mentally handicapped, with an I.Q. between 75 and 80 and that he was probably suffering from Huntington's Chorea. Moreover, the sentencing judge found that Roach was under the influence of Shaw when the crimes were committed. Despite these mitigating factors, the sentencing judge declared that the death penalty was warranted in this case. Roach was executed by electrocution on January 10, 1986, at the Central Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, aged 25.

Roach's sentence was upheld on appeal by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Several attempts to seek review of the case or to bring a petition of habeas corpus were unsuccessful. The US Supreme Court declined to grant him certiorari.^{[citation needed]}

Pleas for legal reconsideration came from the United Nations,^[2] international figures, and former president Jimmy Carter. Governor Richard Riley denied clemency.^[3]

On January 10, 1986, Roach, was strapped into the electric chair and gave his last words: "To my family and friends, there is only three words to say: I love you." He then gave a thumbs-up sign, reportedly to signal he was ready to die.^[4] He was pronounced dead at 5:16 a.m.^[5]

The case of Roach was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which found by five votes to one that the United States Government had violated Article I (Right to Life) and Article II (right to equality before the law) of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man in executing Roach. This was the first time the United States was found to be in violation of its human rights obligations under the aforementioned Declaration.^[6]^[7]

Murders

On October 29, 1977, Roach and accomplices Joseph Carl Shaw and Ronald Eugene Mahaffey spent the morning drinking beer and doing drugs. The three then spent the early afternoon driving around in an attempt to "find a girl to rape," according to Mahaffey.^[8]

After pulling beside a parked car at a baseball field outside of Columbia, South Carolina, Roach aimed a .22 caliber rifle at the car's occupants, 14-year-old Carlotta Hartness and 17-year-old Thomas Taylor. Roach demanded they give them their money and Taylor obliged. Shaw and Mahaffey then got out of the car, took Taylor's keys, and forced Hartness into the backseat of Shaw's car. Once back in the car, Shaw said to Roach "OK, now!" to which Roach fired the rifle into the parked car, killing Thomas Taylor.^[9]

Hartness was then driven to a dirt road not far away where they demanded she undress. She was forced to perform oral sex on Shaw and Mahaffey and was raped repeatedly by all three. Once they were finished, Shaw then asked who would kill her. Roach volunteered to be the one to shoot the girl. Shaw ordered Hartness to lie face down on the ground, to which she initially refused and pled with them to spare her life. Eventually giving in to their demands, she put her face to the ground, and Roach shot her several times in the head. Shaw shot her in the head once more, then buried the rifle, bullets, and wallet they had stolen from Taylor earlier. The three then returned to the baseball field to confirm that Taylor was dead.^[10]

References

^ 757 F.2d 1463. Roach v. Martin. March 20, 1985. United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
^ Capital punishment for minors was at the time prohibited under the ICCPR (U.S. signed 1977, ratified 1992) and American Convention on Human Rights (U.S. signed 1977; never ratified by the U.S. Congress)
^ "Court Clears Execution Of South Carolina Man". The New York Times. AP. 1986-01-10. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
^ Phillips, Robert Anthony (2000-01-12). "Those Who Died for Juvenile Crimes". APBnews.com. Archived from the original on 2002-02-09.
^ "SOUTH CAROLINA EXECUTES KILLER: AGE STIRS PROTEST". The New York Times. The New York Times. January 11, 1986. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
^ "Case 9647: James Terry Roach & Jay Pinkerton v United States", OAS – Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 87, vol. 3, no. 9647, 1987-09-22, retrieved 2010-07-20
^ Shelton, Dinah, ed. (1987). "Note— Decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights". Human Rights Law Journal (8): 345–361.
^ 757 F.2d 1463. Roach v. Martin. March 20, 1985. United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
^ 757 F.2d 1463. Roach v. Martin. March 20, 1985. United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
^ 757 F.2d 1463. Roach v. Martin. March 20, 1985. United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Sources

U.S. Executions Since 1976, at The Office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney . Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
Shuler, Rita Y (2006-08-01). Carolina Crimes: Case Files of a Forensic Photographer. The History Press. ISBN 9781596291669. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
Roach v. Martin, 757 F.2d 1463 (4th Cir. 1985-03-20).

Executions carried out in South Carolina
Preceded by Joseph Carl Shaw January 11, 1985	James Terry Roach January 10, 1986	Succeeded by Ronald Woomer April 27, 1990
Executions carried out in the United States
Preceded by Carroll Cole – Nevada December 6, 1985	James Terry Roach – South Carolina January 10, 1986	Succeeded by Charles Bass – Texas March 12, 1986