HOUSTON (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a convicted triple murderer who won a new punishment trial after coming within a day of execution eight years ago.
Mark Robertson now has been on death row for more than 20 years for the 1989 slaying of 81-year-old Edna Brau at her home in the 9300 block of Hathaway Street in Northwest Dallas. He also has two life terms for killing Brau's 19-year-old grandson Sean Hill and convenience store clerk Jeffery Saunders, also 19.
In 2003, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted Robertson's scheduled execution after lawyers argued jurors should have been allowed to consider his troubled childhood when they decided in 1991 on the death penalty.
Another jury in 2009 again voted to condemn him. The Monday ruling caps the 43-year-old Robertson's direct appeal from that trial, but other appeals are likely.
