Robert Dale Conklin

Case information

• Defendant: Robert Dale Conklin
• Gender: Male
• Race: White
• Date of birth: 02/16/1961
• Height: 5' 07"
• Weight: 166
• Eye color: Brown
• Hair color: Brown
• County: Fulton County
• Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) ID: 0000418164
• Case number: 170001
• Date crime committed: 03/28/84

Timeline

• 03/26/1984 — Attorney George Crooks left his office at approximately 3:00 p.m.; later that evening he was at home in Smyrna, Georgia during the early evening hours.
• 03/26/1984 — George Crooks went to Conklin’s Lake Forest Apartment in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday night.
• 03/27/1984 — George Crooks’ parents and co-workers were unable to contact him.
• 03/28/1984 — A maintenance man collecting aluminum cans from the trash dumpster at Conklin’s Lake Forest apartment complex discovered dissected human body parts encased in black plastic garbage bags.
• 04/07/1984 — Conklin’s apartment was searched.
• 04/08/1984 — Conklin was arrested and advised of the Miranda warnings.
• 06/15/1984 — A jury found Conklin guilty of malice murder.
• 06/16/1984 — The jury’s recommendation of a death sentence was returned; the sentencing verdict was returned.
• 06/27/1985 — The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Conklin’s conviction and sentence.
• 07/23/1985 — Conklin’s motion for reconsideration was denied.
• 12/16/1985 — The United States Supreme Court denied Conklin’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• 02/24/1986 — Conklin’s motion for rehearing was denied.
• 04/07/1986 — Conklin filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court of Butts County, Georgia.
• 05/24/1989 — Evidentiary hearings were held in the state habeas corpus proceedings.
• 09/24/1990 — Evidentiary hearings were held in the state habeas corpus proceedings.
• 10/01/1992 — The state habeas corpus court denied Conklin state habeas corpus relief.
• 10/06/1993 — Conklin’s application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal in the Georgia Supreme Court was denied on or about this date.
• 05/16/1994 — The United States Supreme Court denied Conklin’s petition for writ of certiorari.
• 06/22/1995 — Conklin filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
• 07/18/1997 — An oral argument was held in the federal habeas corpus proceedings.
• 10/14/1999 — The district court denied Conklin federal habeas corpus relief as to certain claims.
• 12/15/1999 — An oral argument on the remaining issues was held.
• 08/28/2001 — The district court denied federal habeas corpus relief as to the remaining claims raised in his amended petition.
• 08/30/2001 — The district court entered a final order denying and dismissing the petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• 09/16/2002 — The district court denied a motion to alter and amend judgment.
• 01/03/2003 — The district court granted Conklin a certificate of appealability.
• 02/19/2003 — The Eleventh Circuit granted an expansion of the certificate of appealability.
• 12/17/2003 — The case was orally argued before the Eleventh Circuit.
• 04/21/2004 — The Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion denying relief.
• 06/14/2004 — Conklin filed a petition for panel rehearing.
• 08/26/2004 — The petition for panel rehearing was denied.
• 01/21/2005 — Conklin filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 03/28/2005 — The United States Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari.
• 06/06/2005 — The United States Supreme Court denied Conklin’s petition for rehearing.
• 06/24/2005 — The Superior Court of Fulton County filed an order setting the seven-day window beginning at noon on July 12, 2005, and ending seven days later at noon on July 19, 2005.
• 07/12/2005 — The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Conklin’s last-minute plea for clemency; he was executed by lethal injection at 7:00 p.m. (pronounced dead at 7:44 p.m. EDT per Reuters accounts).
• 07/12/2005 — The state parole board denied clemency.

Background

Robert Dale Conklin was on parole at the time of the murder for Armed Robbery and Burglary. He was sentenced to death for the March 1984 murder of attorney George Grant Crooks in Fulton County.

Conklin and Crooks had an intimate relationship. The men met at an I-20 highway rest stop and established a physical relationship over a period of time. Crooks was 28 years old. Conklin was 44 at execution.

The offence

Crooks went to Conklin’s apartment in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday night, March 26, 1984. Crooks took codeine medication and both men smoked marijuana. Crooks remained at Conklin’s apartment overnight, and Crooks’ parents and co-workers were unable to contact him on Tuesday, March 27, 1984.

A maintenance man collecting aluminum cans from the trash dumpster on Wednesday, March 28, 1984 discovered dissected human body parts encased in black plastic garbage bags.

The investigation recovered various body parts, knives, bloody bed clothes, screwdrivers, rope, credit cards, a wallet, and miscellaneous papers belonging to Crooks from the dumpster. The reverse side of Crooks’ business card contained Conklin’s name and telephone number. A total of ten plastic garbage bags were removed from the garbage dumpster, nine of which contained body parts.

Investigation and evidence

Authorities were notified on March 28, 1984. Fulton County Police Department investigators arrived at the apartment complex dumpster site shortly after 9:00 a.m. and removed the contents of the large metal trash container.

Conklin’s apartment was searched on April 7, 1984. The bed clothing was missing from Conklin’s bed and the mattress appeared to be blood-soaked. The jammed kitchen garbage disposal contained what appeared to be internal organs.

A forensic and evidentiary basis included:

• Carpet fibers from Conklin’s apartment were compared to fibers from the bed clothing introduced as evidence; many fibers from the bed clothing possessed the same microscopic characteristics as the carpet fibers.
• A latent print on a drinking glass recovered from Conklin’s bedroom matched the right middle finger of the victim.
• Fingerprints developed from incriminating evidence matched Conklin.
• Crooks’ blood was International Blood Group O.
• Blood samples taken from two knives, apartment carpet pieces, mattress stains, human tissue, and bed clothes matched the victim’s blood type.

A book describing the dissection of a body was found on Conklin’s bedroom floor. Another account described an instruction manual recovered from Conklin’s apartment describing how to slaughter animals in the same manner that Conklin admitted having disposed of Crooks’ body.

Arrest and statements

Conklin was arrested on April 8, 1984 and advised of the Miranda warnings. At the police department, after again being advised of his rights, Conklin signed a waiver of rights form and made and signed a statement.

Conklin stated that he and Crooks were wrestling on the bed; he grabbed a screwdriver and stuck Crooks; he pushed the screwdriver into the victim’s ear and wriggled the weapon around. Conklin stated that he attempted to dispose of the victim by cutting up the body and admitted dissecting the body and disposing of incriminating evidence in the dumpster.

Conklin’s post-arrest statement described a detailed disposal process, including cutting up the body in the bathtub and using the garbage disposal, and replacing the cassette tape in Crooks’ answering machine and taking items from Crooks’ apartment to destroy evidence connecting them.

A portion of Conklin’s statement given after his arrest was quoted verbatim as follows:

"I first met George Crooks at a rest stop off of I-20 by Douglasville. Over a period of time we established a relationship. We would see each other every couple or three weeks. I moved out to my apartment on Copeland Road. Every now and then he would come over and spend the night or I would go over there and spend the night. We would usually get high, have sex and go to sleep. On Monday night, he came over, we got stoned. He didn't drink but I did. He was in Alcoholics Anonymous and would not drink, but he did get high that night. We got high by smoking pot. Later on that evening we went on and went to bed and I wanted to go to sleep and he wanted to play. He kept messing with me and it turned into a wrestling match. I got tired of it, told him to quit and he wouldn't. This went on for quite a while, an hour to an hour and a half, I guess. At this point I was getting pretty mad because he wouldn't leave me alone, so eventually he had me pinned on the bed sitting on my stomach. I was wrestling trying to get free. I was mad but he thought it was all a big joke. Eventually I got an arm free and I did hit him and he hit me back. He was still sitting on me. We were there struggling and I reached over and grabbed a screwdriver. I swung the screwdriver and it stuck into him. He rolled off the bed and I followed him screwdriver in hand. I held him down and I stuck the screwdriver in his ear, I wiggled it around and I realized what I had done and got scared. I went ahead and got a blanket and I tried to stop him from bleeding but I think he was already dead. So I wrapped him up in the blanket and I drug him into the bathroom. Since he was bleeding, I tried to put him in the bath tub and I couldn't. He was too heavy and the shower curtain was in the way. So I went ahead and got a screwdriver downstairs, took the shower curtain down. I was able to go ahead and get his body into the bath tub. He was still bleeding and everything. At this point I panicked. There was blood all over the place, I think it was on the sheets, I'm pretty sure on the blanket, walls and all over the bathroom. At this point, I stopped and tried to think about what to do. I came to the conclusion that since I was on parole, it wouldn't be in my best interest to get caught and have it discovered that I had killed this person. So I decided I had to get rid of the body some way. I couldn't move him, he was too big, too heavy, so I thought if I let the blood drain out he would be lighter, so I went ahead and got a steak knife from downstairs and tried to cut his throat and bleed him into the bathtub. That did not work too good. So I went ahead and tried to tie his feet up several ways so his feet was up and his head was down. Tried to use a neck tie but it broke. Eventually I just propped his feet up and left him like that with the water running. I went ahead and cleaned myself up and got the blood off of me. I tried to figure out what to do. I was scared and since I was on parole I didn't want to go to the police. I decided I had to get rid of the body some way, so I sat down and planned what to do. I couldn't pick him up and carry him, he was too big, and I didn't want to involve anyone else. So I decided I had to get rid of the body somehow and to get rid his car and his possessions and everything else. By now it was Tuesday morning. I don't know what time. So I went ahead and took his keys and his wallet, honest face card, and I got into his car. I then went ahead and went to his apartment so I could get anything there that would connect me with him. I took a card with my name and number on it and the tape out of his answering machine then put another fresh tape in. Since I had his Honest-Face card and his checkbook, I drove around to several grocery stores and started to get cleaning supplies. The idea was to get cleaning supplies and the stuff to finish cleaning up the place at the apartment. While doing this I realized there was no way I could get rid of the body because I couldn't pick him up, so I thought if I were to cut him in half I could put him in a couple of garbage bags that I could remove him from the apartment. I also bought some other things, food, knives and other things, and I wrote some checks. After I did this, I brought all the stuff back to the apartment. He still hadn't lightened any from the bleeding all that much, so I used one of the knives to go ahead and cut his throat some more. It was a lot sharper than the steak knives. I realized I had to get rid of his car some how, so I drove it downtown. On the way downtown it ran out of gas so I pushed it into a parking lot. I think it was Sears in Buckhead. I wiped it down and took everything out of it and tried to catch a bus back to where I live; caught the wrong bus on the wrong road. I was on Paces Ferry Road. So I rode that bus to Paces Ferry Crossing and I caught a cab back to my apartment. When I got there I went ahead and went to work to cut him in half so I could get him out of there. After I had done that, he was still too big to move, too heavy, so I decided I had to cut him in smaller pieces. All of this I did in the bathtub. For most of the day I went ahead and worked on him. It was a big mess, I'm telling you. I decided there would be less of him to move if I could put some of him down the garbage disposal. Fortunately [sic], he would not fit, so I cut him up in even smaller pieces. These I was able to stuff into the garbage disposal, but it turned out that the garbage disposal would not accept him. So I pulled all that out, took it back upstairs to the bathroom and cleaned up the kitchen and everything the best I could. I then went ahead and cut the rest of him up in small enough pieces to put in the bags. Before I could get all of this done I got a call from a friend of mine who was in the neighborhood and he said he was going to stop over. Since normally I tell him to come over, I told him to come on over. It was D-- M-- and his wife. I cleaned up everything downstairs before he got there the best I could. Between 3:00 o'clock and 5:00 that evening, I had gone to a meeting for work. I was gone for a couple of hours. And D-- came over about 7:00 or 8:00 o'clock. Shortly after he was there, another friend showed up, S-- L--. And D-- and his wife left and S-- and I sat around and drank beers. After a while S-- left and I went back upstairs, finished putting him in the bags. I found that I couldn't even carry all the bags, so I went to K-Mart and bought a garbage can. I think it was also at Handy City I bought a push cart to put the can on so I could move the can. I went ahead and filled up the garbage can with these bags and they would not all fit, so I left some of the bags with George in them outside. Later on that night it started to rain, so I went ahead and took the trash can with the cart, took it to the dumpster, unloaded all the bags. Before I did this I cleaned up the bathroom. I also took the sheets, blankets and other stuff and put that in the trash can with him. I don't remember if it took two or three trips. I know it took at least two trips to get all that out there. I then went back and cleaned the apartment some more trying to get the blood and everything else up. Eventually I fell asleep on the couch and I woke up the next day. I had to be at work so I went ahead and took a shower, got ready for work and I was running late so I didn't finish cleaning up everything. I went out to my car, got into my car and drove around the building the way I usually go. But when I turned the corner, I noticed there was a tape across the road and people were digging stuff out of the dumpster. I didn't know if they would connect me with it or not but I decided it would be to my best interest not be around. So instead of going to work, I went ahead and drove around to try to figure things out awhile. I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to go back to the apartment unless I knew for sure that I wasn't a suspect. Then I decided that it would be best that I left altogether and assume that I was a suspect until I found out otherwise. I went ahead and got all my money from my bank account using my bank card. I then went downtown, parked my car at the Holiday Inn and wandered around town. I checked the bus station and eventually decided to buy a ticket for Miami. After I had been in Miami a couple, or was it two days, I decided it was not where I wanted to be so I hitchhiked back to Atlanta where I found out I was being sought. I had no place to go and I was broke and hungry. I went back to my apartment where I found the police had already been. I stayed there anyways because I didn't think anyone would be by until that Monday. It was last night, Saturday night, I was discovered and chased. I didn't get to take anything that I had planned on taking when I left, I just left as quickly as possible. So after hiding all night I went back to the apartment to get the stuff that I had left. It wasn't there so I went ahead and got what I could and decided to catch a bus downtown again. On the way to the bus stop I was caught and here I am."

His statement mentioned only two wounds having been inflicted prior to death, but his trial testimony admitted additional stabbing while Crooks continued to struggle.

Medical evidence and injuries

Fulton County Associate Medical Examiner Saleh Zaki examined the body pieces of Crooks.

The evidence described body parts in garbage bags, including:

• Head with most of the neck, and both hands
• Right upper torso, shoulder, and arm
• Lower legs with feet attached
• Buttocks and pelvic bones
• Thigh muscle and skin
• Left upper torso, shoulder, and arm
• Rib cage (with internal organs removed) and spine
• Two thigh bones and genitalia
• Lungs, heart, and portions of liver, kidney, spleen, and intestines
• Blood-soaked bed-clothes found in the dumpster

The jammed kitchen garbage disposal contained additional internal organ fragments. The bed in Conklin’s apartment had no bed-clothes on it and the mattress was blood-soaked, and the blood was identified as the victim’s.

Dr. Zaki testified:

• Eight stab wounds on the right upper side of the neck were inflicted prior to death.
• A downward narrow stab wound to the back of the left ear area tore the ear canal and mastoid area and occurred before death with associated hemorrhaging.
• Bruising with swelling to the right ear auricle was consistent with blunt force trauma.
• A linear scratch to the right cheek area occurred prior to death.
• Areas of bruising to the right, middle and left portions of the scalp and head were consistent with blunt force trauma.
• Deep neck bruises were inflicted prior to death.
• Two short stab wounds to the left collarbone area, including one penetrating the left lung while Crooks was breathing; this wound was consistent with a screwdriver being used.
• Four stab wounds to the right shoulder area caused prior to death.
• Stab wounds to the left hand inflicted before death.
• Dr. Zaki testified that Crooks died as a result of stab wounds to the chest and neck, with contributing factor being blunt force trauma to the neck and head.
• Dr. Zaki testified that stab wounds to the buttocks and right thigh had been inflicted after death.
• Medical examiner Zaki stated that bruising basically does not occur after death.

Dr. Zaki also testified that the two weapons used to inflict injuries were a screwdriver and a knife.

Trial

The Fulton County Grand Jury indicted Conklin on April 3, 1984.

A jury found Conklin guilty of malice murder on June 15, 1984. The jury’s recommendation of a death sentence was returned on June 16, 1984. Conklin filed a motion for new trial on July 2, 1984, which was amended August 29, 1984, heard on August 30, 1984, and denied the same day.

In the trial evidence and accounts:

• Conklin was questioned about a statement describing wrestling and stabbing, cutting up the body, and disposing evidence in the dumpster.
• Trial testimony included witnesses stating Conklin did not exhibit body bruises during the early morning hours of March 28, 1984 and did not evidence scars or body bruises on Tuesday evening, March 27, 1984.
• Trial testimony also included a description that Crooks’ “coordination wasn’t what it should be.”

A quoted clemency-related argument included the following statement by defense lawyer Don Samuel:

"He is guilty of defending himself from rape and having the worst possible judgment after his attacker was dead,"

Sentencing

The jury returned its sentencing verdict on June 16, 1984. The jury found a statutory aggravating circumstance that the murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman and that it involved depravity of mind. The jury recommended the death sentence and the trial judge agreed. The case proceeded under Georgia law for sentence review required by OCGA § 17-10-35.

Appeals

Direct appeal

The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Conklin’s conviction and sentence on June 27, 1985.

• Conklin v. State, 254 Ga. 558, 331 S.E.2d 532 (1985)
• Conklin’s motion for reconsideration was denied on July 23, 1985.

Conklin filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on December 16, 1985 (Conklin v. Georgia, 474 U.S. 1038 (1985)). Conklin’s motion for rehearing was denied on February 24, 1986 (Conklin v. Georgia, 475 U.S. 1040 (1986)).

State habeas corpus

Conklin, represented by Mark E. Olive and Brian Mendelsohn, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court of Butts County, Georgia on April 7, 1986. Evidentiary hearings were held on May 24, 1989 and September 24, 1990. On October 1, 1992, the state habeas corpus court denied Conklin state habeas corpus relief.

Conklin’s application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal filed in the Georgia Supreme Court was denied on or about October 6, 1993.

Federal habeas corpus

Conklin then filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, denied on May 16, 1994 (Conklin v. Zant, 511 U.S. 1100 (1994)).

Conklin, represented by Mark E. Olive, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on June 22, 1995. An oral argument was held July 18, 1997. On October 14, 1999, the district court denied relief as to certain claims raised in his petition. An oral argument on remaining issues was held December 15, 1999. On August 28, 2001, the district court denied federal habeas relief as to the remaining claims in his amended petition. The district court entered a final order denying and dismissing the petition on August 30, 2001, and denied a motion to alter and amend judgment on September 16, 2002.

The district court granted a certificate of appealability on January 3, 2003. The Eleventh Circuit granted an expansion of the certificate of appealability on February 19, 2003. The case was orally argued before the Eleventh Circuit on December 17, 2003. On April 21, 2004, the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion denying relief (Conklin v. Head, 366 F.3d 1191 (11th Cir. 2004)).

Conklin filed a petition for panel rehearing on June 14, 2004, denied on August 26, 2004.

United States Supreme Court (2005)

Conklin filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on January 21, 2005, denied March 28, 2005 (Conklin v. Georgia, 474 U.S. 1038 (1985) is separately cited for earlier denial; this entry reflects the 2005 filing and denial dates). He then filed a petition for rehearing in the United States Supreme Court, denied June 6, 2005.

Clemency

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Conklin’s last-minute plea for clemency on July 12, 2005. The board did not give a reason for its decision.

A quoted clemency motion argument included the following statement by defense lawyer Mark Olive:

"Is Mr. Conklin guilty of malice murder? No," defense lawyer Mark Olive wrote in the motion. "He is guilty of defending himself from rape and having the worst possible judgment after his attacker was dead."

Outcome

Conklin was executed by lethal injection in Georgia on July 12, 2005. He was scheduled for execution at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, 2005, at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. Reuters accounts stated he was pronounced dead at 7:44 p.m. EDT. His last words included the statement "Amen." Reuters accounts also included that he asked for a final prayer and then said "Amen."

Aftermath and last meal

Conklin requested as his last meal:

• Filet mignon wrapped with bacon
• De-veined shrimp sautéed in garlic butter with lemon
• Baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives and real bacon bits
• Corn on the cob
• Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
• French bread with butter
• Goat cheese
• Cantaloupe
• Apple pie
• Vanilla bean ice cream
• Iced tea

Prison officials said he ate the entire meal and cleaning two plates. Media witnesses for the execution were identified as:

• Harry Weber, Associated Press
• Carlos Campos, Atlanta Journal Constitution
• Steve Pollak, Futon County Daily Report
• James Powers, WCNN AM Radio in Atlanta

Georgia Attorney General Baker announced the execution date for Robert Dale Conklin on June 27, 2005. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles met to hear the clemency request and denied clemency.

Other details

• Conklin was described as being sentenced to death for the March 1984 murder of George Grant Crooks in Fulton County.
• Reuters accounts described Conklin as having declined to make a final statement before sedative and lung-paralyzing drug and potassium chloride were injected into his arms.
• Reuters accounts reported Conklin was 44 and Crooks was 28; prosecutors described Conklin as on parole for burglary and armed robbery and as intentionally killing Crooks and trying to cover up the murder.
• A Reuters account stated Crooks was stabbed to death with a screwdriver and dismembered remains were discarded in a dumpster outside Conklin’s apartment.
• A Reuters account stated defense lawyers argued Conklin acted in self-defense to prevent Crooks from raping him, and that prosecutors insisted the killing was intentional and involved cover-up actions.
• A Reuters account described a dissent by Chief Justice Leah Sears in a 5-2 decision denying Conklin’s request for a stay of execution, quoting:

  "manifestly unjust." and stating that trial was unfair.

• A Reuters account quoted Jim Crooks:

  "It's been 21 years of appeals. Enough is enough," said Jim Crooks, 56.

• Another passage included that Conklin was the third person put to death in Georgia that year and the 39th in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty; it also referenced 38 men executed in Georgia since reinstatement in 1973 and that he would be the 16th inmate put to death by lethal injection if executed.
• Robert Dale Conklin’s final words included "Amen."