In the quiet community of Cottonton, Alabama, the evening of September 15, 1984, was shattered by an act of violence that would resonate for decades. Hugh Simms Kite, a 63-year-old white male and the proprietor of Kite's Grocery and Bait Store, a local gathering place on Alabama 165, was in the process of closing for the night. His wife had called, requesting he bring home a bag of ice.
As a ten-year-old helper waited inside the store, Kite went around to the back of the building where his truck was parked. It was there that he was shot three times with a. 38-caliber revolver and robbed of his wallet.
Several weeks after the murder, Robert Lee Tarver, Jr., a Black man and a paroled ex-convict, was arrested and charged with the robbery and murder of Hugh Kite. The subsequent legal proceedings would prove to be contentious. The prosecution sought the death penalty. During the 1985 trial, the Russell County prosecutor used most of his peremptory strikes to remove African Americans from the jury pool, resulting in a jury composed of eleven white members and one Black member. Tarver was ultimately convicted of capital murder. A key witness against Tarver was his co-defendant, Andrew Lee Richardson.
Despite the jury's recommendation of life imprisonment without parole, the trial judge overrode their decision and sentenced Robert Lee Tarver, Jr. to death. Tarver's appeals process was lengthy, with his attorneys arguing that racial bias played a significant role in the jury selection, a claim that was ultimately procedurally barred because it had not been raised by his original trial lawyer. They also questioned the credibility of Andrew Richardson's testimony, suggesting he testified in exchange for a lenient sentence. After years of appeals, Robert Lee Tarver, Jr. was executed. He maintained his innocence up to the end.
