Execution Report: Robert Morrow

Robert Brice Morrow, 47, was executed by lethal injection on 4 November 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the abduction and murder of a 21-year-old woman.

On 3 April 1996, Lisa Allison left her parents' home in Liberty to take her father's car to a car wash. She did not return. A fisherman found her body the next morning, floating in the Trinity River. Her throat had been cut, and she had been severely beaten. The autopsy indicated that she died from a combination of several skull fractures and a severed jugular vein.

Allison's car was also found. Hair and blood samples taken from the car matched Morrow, who lived about two miles from where the car was found. Allison's blood was also found in the car.

Morrow was arrested on 29 July. At his trial, a friend of his, Dane Schisler, testified that he dropped Morrow off across the street from the car wash shortly before Allison disappeared. Brad Keaton, another acquaintance, testified that he saw Morrow walking down the road that night. Keaton testified that Morrow had scratches on his arms and a considerable amount of blood on his clothing. Morrow told Keaton that he had been in a car wreck.

Bryan McNeill testified that he was cleaning his truck at the car wash on 3 April, and he saw Lisa Allison there. After he finished vacuuming, he pulled his truck to a pump at the gas station next to the car wash. He then saw a car across the street let out a man on the side of the road, and the man proceeded to walk toward the car wash. A short time later, McNeill heard a short scream come from the car wash. He saw the man laying on top of Lisa Allison in the passenger side of her car. He then watched as the man got up and Allison slid behind the steering wheel. The man sat down in the passenger seat, and the two drove off in the direction of the Trinity River. McNeill testified Allison did not appear to be struggling, so he reasoned that she and the man were girlfriend and boyfriend, and the short scream he heard was unimportant. McNeill testified that he did not get a good look at the man's face, nor did he see his hands at any time, but McNeill's physical description of the man did match Morrow.

A co-worker of Morrow's testified that Morrow had told him prior to the murder that it would be easy to abduct a woman from a service station and take her money and jewelry. Morrow added that he would also have sex with her, and then "take care of her."

Morrow testified that he had nothing to do with the crime.

Morrow had a previous conviction for forgery and was sentenced to five years' probation. After violating the terms of his probation, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison. He served 20 months of that sentence from 1981 to 1983 before being released. Morrow also had served time in Louisiana and South Carolina for burglary, grand larceny, and carrying a weapon illegally. He also had misdemeanor convictions for marijuana possession, marijuana delivery, and failure to identify a fugitive.

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