Robin Lee Archer

Case information

Robin Lee Archer was tried in the First Judicial Circuit, Escambia County, Case #91-0606. His date of birth was 10/12/64. The sentencing judge was The Honorable Lacey Collier. The resentencing judge was The Honorable T. Michael Jones.

Trial attorney was E. Brian Lang, Esq. (Private Attorney). Retrial attorneys were Spiro Kypreos, Esq. (Private Attorney). Direct appeal attorney was David A. Davis (Assistant Public Defender). Resentencing attorney was David A. Collateral appeals attorney was Michael Reiter (Registry).

Offence and circumstances

On January 26, 1991, Robin Lee Archer, through the acts of his cousin and three accomplices, murdered the victim, Billy Coker. The victim was shot to death.

Archer had been fired from his job at an auto parts store in March 1990. The following January, he convinced his 17-year-old cousin, James Patrick Bonifay, to kill the clerk Archer blamed for his having been fired.

Bonifay testified that Archer told him to rob the store to conceal the motive for the killing and also told him the location of the store’s cash box and emergency exit. Bonifay asked a friend to borrow a gun. Bonifay was not home when his friend brought the gun, so he gave it to Archer, who in turn gave it to Bonifay.

Bonifay talked two friends into helping him, and the trio went to the parts store on the night of January 25, 1990. Bonifay could not go through with the plan, and they left. The following morning Archer chastised Bonifay for not killing the clerk, and the three went back to the store that night.

Bonifay and Clifford Barth each shot the clerk from outside the store. They then crawled into the store through the parts window. After opening the cash boxes, Bonifay shot the clerk twice in the head execution-style as he lay on the floor begging for his life.

Archer later refused to pay Bonifay because Bonifay had killed the wrong clerk. Bonifay confessed to several people, one of whom informed the authorities. Archer, Bonifay, and Bonifay’s two friends were arrested.

People

Defendant

• Robin Lee Archer

Victim

• Billy Coker

Co-defendants and other named individuals

• James Patrick Bonifay — Archer’s cousin
• Clifford Barth
• David A. Davis — Assistant Public Defender (direct appeal and resentencing)
• E. Brian Lang, Esq. — Private Attorney (trial attorney)
• Spiro Kypreos, Esq. — Private Attorney (retrial)
• Michael Reiter — Registry (collateral appeals)
• The Honorable Lacey Collier — sentencing judge
• The Honorable T. Michael Jones — resentencing judge
• David A. Davis — Assistant Public Defender Attorney (direct appeal, resentencing)

Trial

Archer’s jury convicted him of First-Degree Murder. He was sentenced to death.

Codefendant information

James Patrick Bonifay, in a separate trial, also was convicted of First-Degree Murder and sentenced to death in 1991. His appeals history resembled Archer’s. The Florida Supreme Court in 1993 affirmed his conviction but remanded the sentence. A new jury resentenced Bonifay to death in 1994. The Supreme Court affirmed the sentence in 1996. Clifford Barth in 1991 received a life sentence for his role in the murder.

Trial summary details

• 07/18/91: Defendant found guilty of one count of Felony Murder, one count of Robbery and one count of Grand Theft as charged in the indictment.
• 07/19/91: Upon advisory sentencing, the trial jury recommended the death penalty by a 7 to 5 vote.
• 09/20/91: Defendant was sentenced to death.

Sentencing and resentencing

Original sentencing

Resentencing

• 10/27/93: New jury recommended the death penalty by a 7 to 5 vote.
• 01/19/94: Defendant was resentenced to death.

Appeals and collateral proceedings

Archer filed a direct appeal with the Florida Supreme Court in 1991. He argued that the jury should not have been instructed on the heinous, atrocious or cruel aggravator because that aggravator did not apply to him. The Supreme Court agreed and in 1993 affirmed the murder conviction but remanded the sentence. Archer’s request for a rehearing was denied that same year.

After resentencing, the trial court resentenced Archer to death in 1994. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the decision in 1996 and denied a request for a rehearing that same year. Archer then petitioned the United States Supreme Court for a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in 1996, and the court denied it in 1996.

Archer filed a shell 3.850 Motion in the State Circuit Court in 1997 and an amended motion in March 2000. The motion was denied 02/25/04. Archer filed an appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 03/19/04, citing newly discovered evidence, as well as Giglio and Brady claims. On 06/29/06, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the motion.

Archer filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on 04/22/05, citing ineffective assistance of counsel claims. On 06/29/06, the Florida Supreme Court denied the petition.

Timeline

• 03/1990 — Archer was fired from his job at an auto parts store.
• 01/25/1990 — Bonifay and his two friends went to the parts store at night but left after Bonifay could not go through with the plan.
• 01/26/1991 — Archer, through the acts of his cousin and three accomplices, murdered Billy Coker; the victim was shot to death.
• 07/18/91 — Defendant found guilty of Felony Murder, Robbery, and Grand Theft.
• 07/19/91 — Advisory sentencing: jury recommended the death penalty by a 7 to 5 vote.
• 09/20/91 — Defendant was sentenced to death.
• 10/27/93 — New jury recommended the death penalty by a 7 to 5 vote.
• 01/19/94 — Defendant was resentenced to death.
• 02/25/04 — The shell 3.850 Motion was denied.
• 03/19/04 — Archer filed an appeal in the Florida Supreme Court citing newly discovered evidence, and Giglio and Brady claims.
• 04/22/05 — Archer filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court citing ineffective assistance of counsel claims.
• 06/29/06 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the motion.
• 06/29/06 — The Florida Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
• 1996 — The United States Supreme Court denied a Petition for Writ of Certiorari.

Outcome

Archer’s conviction for First-Degree Murder was affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court in 1993, but the sentence was remanded. After resentencing, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision in 1996. The Florida Supreme Court denied the subsequent 3.850-related appeal and denied the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on June 29, 2006.

Other details

Archer and his co-defendants were arrested after Bonifay confessed to several people and one of those people informed the authorities. The defendants were tried separately.