On April 22, 1992 the murder of Ms. Annetra Jones rocked the small town of Hamilton in northern Alabama.
David Lee Roberts, a mentally-ill 26 year old, was soon the prime suspect in Ms. Jones’ murder.
The Crime
By 1992, Mr. Roberts was a 26-year-old man, who had already been evidencing signs of severe mental illness for eight years. He was also living with and working for Windal Satterfield, a locally infamous crook, who took cruel advantage of David’s mental vulnerabilities and fierce loyalty to his family.
On April 22, 1992, emergency first responders found Annetra Jones, Mr. Satterfield’s girlfriend, shot to death in Mr. Satterfield’s smoldering home. After killing her, Ms. Jones’ assailant poured flammable liquid on her body and on the floor in the den, then set fire to a piece of paper he had placed under the couch. In the bedroom in which Roberts had stayed, which was in the basement of Satterfield’s house, the assailant set another fire, causing major damage to the room and sending smoke throughout the house. When the authorities arrived, they found Windal Satterfield sitting on the front porch.
The day prior, Satterfield had been on trial for burning down a furniture store he owned to collect insurance proceeds. Ms. Jones and Danny Roberts, David’s father, were prosecution witnesses who had agreed to testify against Satterfield in his arson trial.
Satterfield, an accused arsonist, had the most obvious motives to kill Ms. Jones.
Ms. Jones was scheduled to testify against Satterfield in his arson trial in Lamar County on April 23, 1992.
Ms. Jones had provided a statement in the Lamar County arson case, which incriminated Satterfield.
As a result of Ms. Jones’ murder on April 22, 1992, the Lamar County arson case against Windal Satterfield and Gary Knight was delayed for several months.
Trial Outcomes
Mr. Roberts was convicted for the capital murder of Annetra Jones.
Before trial, the District Attorney offered a plea deal: life without the possibility of parole. However, David did not learn of this offer until the day his trial was set to begin. Unfortunately, David declined the offer—under the influence of his delusional thinking and due to the failures of counsel.
The jury, after hearing the evidence, recommended a life without parole sentence.
Despite this, the trial judge overrode the jury’s decision and sentenced David to death—a practice that was later abolished in Alabama due to concerns over fairness and abuse.
Judicial Override and the Sixth Amendment
Mr. Roberts’ case is a textbook example of judicial override undermining the jury’s role. This practice has been widely criticized as:
Violating the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees a defendant the right to a trial by jury.
Allowing judges, often elected officials, to impose death sentences for political gain.