The Last 12 Hours of Robert Alton Harris | California Gas Chamber Execution

Before dawn on April 21, 1992, Robert Alton Harris was strapped into San Quentin's gas chamber. Then a phone rang, and nobody in the room knew what would happen next. One of the 49 witnesses at the glass was the detective who arrested Harris 14 years earlier, without knowing what Harris had done to his son. This is the full story of Robert Alton Harris: the 1978 abduction of two teenage boys in San Diego, how police solved the case within hours, a trial where he told two different stories under oath, 13 years of appeals, and the final 12 hours when four court stays and a Supreme Court order decided whether California would carry out its first execution in 25 years. You'll also learn what happened to the lawsuit Harris filed days before his death, and why a decision being weighed in Sacramento right now still connects back to his case. WATCH TO THE END to find out what the detective did when Harris looked at him through the glass. QUESTION FOR YOU If you were the governor with 563 death sentences on your desk, would you commute all, some, or none? Tell me in the comments, and where you're watching from. If this story held your attention, like the video and share it with someone who follows true crime. NEW HERE? Subscribe for the next case. Every video is built from court opinions and contemporaneous reports, not rumor. SOURCES People v. Harris (1981), Harris v. Vasquez, Gomez v. U.S. District Court (1992), Fierro v. Gomez (1996), California Department of Corrections records, and 1992 reporting from the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, UPI and AP. This video covers a real double murder and an execution. It is handled factually, and viewer discretion is advised. #RobertAltonHarris #TrueCrime #SanQuentin #TrueCrimeDocumentary