Richard Townes Jr. for a robbery murder.

Richard Townes Jr. for a robbery murder.

45 year old Richard Townes Jr. was executed by lethal injection in Virginia on Tuesday January 23rd, 1996. There was a 22-minute delay while medical personnel searched for a vein large enough to insert the needle into.

The drugs were injected through the top Townes’ right foot after unsuccessful attempts to insert the needle in his arms. Townes whispered something unintelligible moments before he was executed at the Greensville Correctional Center.

The U.S. Supreme Court had earlier rejected his requests for a stay and Gov. George Allen refused clemency.

Townes was convicted of shooting Virginia Goebel, a 32-year-old mother of two, to death with a 45 calibre handgun, during a robbery of a Virginia Beach convenience store on April 14, 1985. He took $186.13 from the cash register.

The shooting was apparently to prevent Virginia Goebel identifying him. A previous customer, Dorothy Moore, entered the store around 2:00 a.m. and noticed a man standing at the back of the store. As she left she noticed that he was watching her too. Virginia Goebel’s body was discovered just before 5:00 a.m.

Evidence implicating Townes came primarily from three sources. First, a state firearms expert determined that an empty shell casing found next to the victim's body matched empty casings from a gun traceable to Townes.

Second, Dorothy Moore, was able to positively identify Townes via photos and a line-up as the man she had seen in the store on the night of the murder. Thirdly there was evidence from Townes's cellmate at the Virginia Beach jail, who claimed that Townes had admitted the murder.

Townes represented himself at trial after dismissing two court-appointed attorneys in a protest over the low pay given to lawyers who represent indigent clients.

During the sentencing phase of his 1986 trial, Townes offered no mitigating evidence, questioned no witnesses and did not address the jury.

Townes might have avoided a death penalty and got a sentence of life without the possibility of parole if he had told jurors he was ineligible for parole because of 29 previous felony convictions, including a 1976 incident where he held a taxi driver at gunpoint for six hours in a hostage situation before shooting him four times in the back.