Emmett Nave

Case overview

Emmett Clifton Nave was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on July 31, 1996, following his conviction for the capital murder of his landlady, Geneva Roling, on November 19, 1983.

Timeline

• 1958 11/20 — Nave was placed on five years probation for Joyriding in Denver, Colorado.
• 1958 06/24 — Nave was sentenced to 90 days in jail for Soliciting for an Act of Prostitution in Denver, Colorado.
• 1959 07/02 — Nave was sentenced to one year in jail for Joyriding in Denver, Colorado.
• 1960 07/05 — Nave was sentenced in Denver, Colorado for Simple Robbery, receiving an indeterminate sentence to the Colorado State Reformatory.
• 1964 03/26 — Nave was sentenced to 120 days for Burglary in Los Angels, California.
• 1965 07/16 — Nave was sentenced to two concurrent Life sentences for Forcible Rape and Armed Robbery with a Dangerous and Deadly Weapon in Liberty, Missouri.
• 1979 March — Nave was sentenced to four years in California for Burglary; Nave’s Missouri parole was revoked in November 1981 following his conviction in California.
• 1983 03/14 — Nave was paroled—for a second time—for his Missouri conviction a second time.
• 1983 11/19 — Geneva Roling, Nave’s upstairs neighbor and landlady, was shot to death in Jefferson City.
• 1984 2/7 — Emmett Nave was indicted in Cole County on charges of capital murder for the shooting death of Geneva Roling.
• 1984 6/18–6/21 — Nave was tried in the Circuit Court of St. Charles County on a change of venue from Cole County and found guilty of Capital murder; the jury recommended a sentence of death.
• 1984 8/6 — A motion for a new trial was denied and Nave was sentenced to death for killing Geneva Roling.
• 1984 8/15 — A notice of appeal was filed.
• 1985 8/7 — The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Nave’s conviction and sentence.
• 1986 3/31 — The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• 1986 5/19 — Nave filed a Rule 27.26 motion for post conviction relief in the Circuit Court of St. Charles County.
• 1987 10/6 — The Missouri court of Appeals, Eastern District remanded the post conviction proceedings to the circuit court in order for the motion court to enter findings and conclusions on all of the issues raised in the motions for post conviction relief.
• 1987 12/1 — The motion for post conviction relief was denied.
• 1987 12/7 — A notice of appeal was filed.
• 1988 7/19 — The Missouri court of Appeals, Eastern district affirmed the denial of post conviction relief.
• 1988 10/18 — Nave’s motion for transfer was denied by the Missouri Supreme Court.
• 1989 2/27 — The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• 1989 3/14 — Nave filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
• 1992 4/28 — An evidentiary hearing was held on Nave’s federal habeas petitions.
• 1993 6/17 — The petition for writ of habeas corpus was granted; the conviction was affirmed, but the sentence was vacated.
• 1993 7/1 — The State’s notice of appeal was filed.
• 1994 4/22 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the district court’s order to the extent that it granted the petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• 1994 7/13 — Rehearing was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
• 1994 10/24 — The United States district Court entered an order and judgment denying Nave’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.
• 1994 12/14 — Nave filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
• 1995 2/12 — Nave’s petition for writ of certiorari was granted and the case remanded to the Eighth Circuit.
• 1995 8/7 — After further consideration the petition for writ of habeas corpus was denied by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• 1995 10/25 — Rehearing was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
• 1996 3/23 — Nave filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
• 1996 5/20 — Nave’s petition for writ of certiorari was denied by the United States Supreme Court.
• 1996 5/23 — The Office of the State Attorney General applied to the Missouri Supreme Court to set an execution date.
• 1996 5/30 — The Missouri Supreme Court set an execution date for July 31, 1996.
• 1996 7/31 — Nave was executed by lethal injection in Missouri.

The offence

On the morning of November 19, 1983, Nave threatened to kill his wife if she didn’t drive him to the hospital and help him get some drugs.

Before going to the hospital, Nave told his wife that he wanted to see his landlady, Geneva Roling. When Roling answered the door, Nave shot her with a .22 caliber rifle.

After leaving the Roling residence, Nave and his wife went to the hospital for drugs. An individual later identified as Emmett Nave attempted to obtain the drug Demoral from an emergency room employee at Still Hospital. After Nave was refused the drug, he flourished a .22 caliber automatic rifle at the employee and demanded Valium and Demoral. The employee administered 100 ml. of Demoral, and Nave left the hospital taking five female hostages with him.

Nave forced the hostages to have sex with him. During this time, three of the hostages were able to escape. Nave then took a hostage to a shed near Brazito, Missouri, where he forced her to inject him with Demoral and Valium; he lost consciousness and was eventually apprehended.

Investigation and response

At 8:02 a.m., officers of the Jefferson City Police Department responded to the Roling residence at 303 Marshall for a shooting. At the scene, officers found Geneva Roling laying dead on the floor with numerous gunshot wounds.

Police learned shortly after their arrival that Nave had attempted to obtain Demoral from an emergency room employee at the Still Hospital and that he had taken five female hostages from the hospital.

Trial

Nave was tried in the Circuit Court of St. Charles County after a change of venue from Cole County. The jury found Nave guilty of Capital murder, and the jury recommended a sentence of death.

A motion for a new trial was denied. Nave was sentenced to death for killing Geneva Roling.

The trial court also imposed additional sentences: life imprisonment for the robbery, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for thirty years on each sodomy charge, and thirty years’ imprisonment on each kidnapping charge.

Sentencing and convictions (as described in appellate proceedings)

In June of 1984, Nave was convicted of one count of capital murder, one count of first degree robbery, three counts of sodomy, and four counts of kidnapping. The convictions stemmed from a crime spree that took place on November 19, 1983 while Nave was on parole from two life sentences for armed robbery and forcible rape.

During the penalty phase, the jury recommended that Nave be sentenced to death for murdering Geneva Roling. The sentencing court sentenced him to death for the capital murder.

Appeals and post-conviction proceedings

Direct appeal and certiorari

The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Nave’s conviction and sentence on August 7, 1985. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on March 31, 1986.

State post-conviction proceedings

Nave filed a Rule 27.26 motion for post conviction relief on May 19, 1986 in the Circuit Court of St. Charles County. On October 6, 1987, the Missouri court of Appeals, Eastern District remanded the post conviction proceedings for the motion court to enter findings and conclusions on all issues raised. The motion for post conviction relief was denied on December 1, 1987.

A notice of appeal was filed on December 7, 1987. The Missouri court of Appeals, Eastern district affirmed the denial on July 19, 1988. On October 18, 1988, the Missouri Supreme Court denied Nave’s motion for transfer.

The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on February 27, 1989.

Federal habeas corpus

Nave filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District court for the Eastern District of Missouri on March 14, 1989. An evidentiary hearing was held on April 28, 1992.

On June 17, 1993, the petition for writ of habeas corpus was granted; the conviction was affirmed, but the sentence was vacated. On July 1, 1993, the State’s notice of appeal was filed.

On April 22, 1994, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the district court’s order to the extent that it granted the petition for writ of habeas corpus. Rehearing was denied on July 13, 1994. On October 24, 1994, the United States district Court entered an order and judgment denying Nave’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.

On December 14, 1994, Nave filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. On February 12, 1995, the petition for writ of certiorari was granted and the case remanded to the Eighth Circuit.

On August 7, 1995, after further consideration, the petition for writ of habeas corpus was denied by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and on October 25, 1995, rehearing was denied.

Additional certiorari and execution date

On March 23, 1996, Nave filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. On May 20, 1996, the petition was denied.

On May 23, 1996, the Office of the State Attorney General applied to the Missouri Supreme Court to set an execution date. On May 30, 1996, the Missouri Supreme Court set an execution date for July 31, 1996. Nave was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on July 31, 1996.

Habeas claims and appellate discussion (as included)

The appellate discussion described that Nave alleged ineffective assistance of counsel in multiple instances, and it addressed procedural default and exceptions. It also addressed Nave’s actual innocence arguments under Schlup v. Delo and Sawyer v. Whitley standards, and it discussed claims about ineffective assistance of post-conviction counsel and alleged conflict of interest involving public defender offices.

Ineffective assistance of counsel claims discussed

The appellate discussion described ten alleged instances of ineffective assistance that the district court had found sufficient to grant habeas relief, including:

• Failure to request a severance of the counts
• Failure to secure or present evidence of Nave’s long history of substance and alcohol abuse and lack of intent
• Failure to perform an adequate voir dire
• Failure to advise Nave about then-existing Missouri marital privilege
• Failure to present evidence of prior substance and alcohol abuse at the penalty phase
• Failure to object to evidence about the impact of the crimes on the victims
• Failure to object to the prosecutor’s comments regarding the possibility of parole
• Failure to interview or prepare Richard Beeman before calling him to testify
• Failure to present an adequate closing argument at the end of the penalty phase
• The cumulative effect of the above-mentioned errors

Prosecutorial closing argument on parole

The appellate discussion included the prosecutor’s penalty phase closing argument that referenced probation and parole and the lack of guarantee that a defendant would not come out again. It quoted the prosecutor’s argument in part, including the statement:

I don't necessarily think that the probation is bad or that parole is bad, but there comes a time when probation is expected, when mercy is the rule and when mercy is the order of the day and it's to be expected. Then it's not mercy, it's not mercy any more, it's just plain weakness and it's a system right now where twenty-five years doesn't mean twenty-five years; where life doesn't mean life. Now, I'm not going to have a chance to get up and answer Mr. Ossman after he finishes speaking to you. I expect Mr. Ossman is going to try [to] tell you that in this instance that life without eligibility for probation or parole for fifty years will guarantee you that Emmett Nave never comes out again, but there is no such guarantee.

Other convictions and parole history

Nave had prior criminal history and parole events described as follows:

• Joyriding probation in Denver, Colorado.
• Soliciting for an Act of Prostitution in Denver, Colorado with a sentence of 90 days in jail.
• Joyriding convictions with a one-year jail sentence in Denver, Colorado.
• Simple Robbery in Denver, Colorado resulting in an indeterminate sentence to the Colorado State Reformatory.
• Burglary in Los Angels, California resulting in 120 days sentencing.
• Forcible Rape and Armed Robbery with a Dangerous and Deadly Weapon in Liberty, Missouri resulting in two concurrent life sentences.
• Burglary in California with a four-year sentence in March 1979.
• Missouri parole revocation in November 1981 following Nave’s California conviction.
• Parole in Missouri on March 14, 1983 for his Missouri conviction a second time.

Parties and identities mentioned

• Emmett Clifton Nave — defendant.
• Geneva Roling — landlady and victim; her son later discovered her body; she was shot ten times, with the fatal bullet fired into her skull at point-blank range.
• Nave’s wife — drove Nave to the hospital; was threatened with death if she did not drive him and help him obtain drugs; testified in support of Nave’s diminished capacity defense.
• Demoral and Valium — drugs sought and used during the hospital incident and later forced injections.
• Still Hospital / Still Regional Hospital — hospital involved in the drug demand and hostage-taking.
• Jefferson City Police Department — officers responded to the shooting at 303 Marshall.
• Richard Beeman — witness discussed in post-conviction proceedings regarding intoxication testimony.