- Apr 14, 2003
- 7,489
- 1,319
- 72
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Protestant
- Marital Status
- Single
- Politics
- US-Democrat
People who don’t believe that executions can stop further murders, and other crimes, should take a look at the criminal career of Paul Eugene Rowles (1948-2013). He first raped and killed Linda Fida, 20, in 1972, at an apartment complex in Miami. Her husband found her dead, naked body in the bathtub. Rowles got into her room while she was in the laundry room, waited, then brutally raped her before stabbing her to death. He was arrested in April 1972, shortly after the crime. He was convicted in 1976 and sentenced to life in prison.
Despite being sentenced to “life” for an outrageous attack, he was released on parole in December of 1985. He had served about 13 years from the time of his arrest to the date of his parole.
Although Rowles was not tied to the crimes for many years afterward, we now know that he raped and killed Elizabeth Foster, 21, in 1989, and Tiffany Sessions, 20, in 1992. Both were stabbed to death. Both crimes were committed in Gainesville, Florida, and both were students at the University of Florida.
In May of 1994, Rowles broke into an apartment in Clearwater, Florida, and held a 16 year old girl hostage for hours before she escaped, running stark naked from the scene. I don’t believe her name has been released. Had she not managed to escape, she too would almost certainly be another dead victim. Rowles was convicted and sentenced to 19 years for the Clearwater rape, and perhaps more important, his parole was revoked, sending him back to prison for life.
In 1999, an innocent man was extradited from Wisconsin, where he was serving time, indicted, and almost convicted of the murder of Elizabeth Foster. A judge realized that the case didn’t make sense and threw it out in a decision that was unpopular at the time.
DNA evidence linked Paul Rowles to the rape/murder of Elizabeth Foster 25 years after it happened. Rowles is also definitively linked to the rape/murder of Tiffany Sessions by notations in his private notebook. He died of natural causes in a prison hospital in 2013.
Paul Rowles is responsible for the rape/murder of three young college students who had bright futures ahead of them. He was convicted of the lengthy rape of a teenage girl. Some believe, or suspect, that the actual count is considerably higher. What we do know is that Paul Rowles should have been executed after the psychopathic murder of Linda Fida. That execution would have saved the lives of at least two young college students, and at least one girl from being held for hours by a rapist.
Florida does have the death penalty. Oddly enough, the trial judge isn’t necessarily to blame for Rowles not being executed after the murder of Linda Fida. Exceeding its powers, the US Supreme Court banned all executions shortly after the arrest of Paul Rowles. After the SC threw out capital punishment laws in all states that allowed it, it took years for legislatures to pass new laws. Florida law on life sentences hadn’t caught up with the new situation. Why isn’t the Supreme Court ever blamed for the consequences of its ill-considered actions?
Links
Paul Rowles | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
and
25 years later, cops name suspect in disappearance of Tiffany Sessions
Despite being sentenced to “life” for an outrageous attack, he was released on parole in December of 1985. He had served about 13 years from the time of his arrest to the date of his parole.
Although Rowles was not tied to the crimes for many years afterward, we now know that he raped and killed Elizabeth Foster, 21, in 1989, and Tiffany Sessions, 20, in 1992. Both were stabbed to death. Both crimes were committed in Gainesville, Florida, and both were students at the University of Florida.
In May of 1994, Rowles broke into an apartment in Clearwater, Florida, and held a 16 year old girl hostage for hours before she escaped, running stark naked from the scene. I don’t believe her name has been released. Had she not managed to escape, she too would almost certainly be another dead victim. Rowles was convicted and sentenced to 19 years for the Clearwater rape, and perhaps more important, his parole was revoked, sending him back to prison for life.
In 1999, an innocent man was extradited from Wisconsin, where he was serving time, indicted, and almost convicted of the murder of Elizabeth Foster. A judge realized that the case didn’t make sense and threw it out in a decision that was unpopular at the time.
DNA evidence linked Paul Rowles to the rape/murder of Elizabeth Foster 25 years after it happened. Rowles is also definitively linked to the rape/murder of Tiffany Sessions by notations in his private notebook. He died of natural causes in a prison hospital in 2013.
Paul Rowles is responsible for the rape/murder of three young college students who had bright futures ahead of them. He was convicted of the lengthy rape of a teenage girl. Some believe, or suspect, that the actual count is considerably higher. What we do know is that Paul Rowles should have been executed after the psychopathic murder of Linda Fida. That execution would have saved the lives of at least two young college students, and at least one girl from being held for hours by a rapist.
Florida does have the death penalty. Oddly enough, the trial judge isn’t necessarily to blame for Rowles not being executed after the murder of Linda Fida. Exceeding its powers, the US Supreme Court banned all executions shortly after the arrest of Paul Rowles. After the SC threw out capital punishment laws in all states that allowed it, it took years for legislatures to pass new laws. Florida law on life sentences hadn’t caught up with the new situation. Why isn’t the Supreme Court ever blamed for the consequences of its ill-considered actions?
Links
Paul Rowles | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
and
25 years later, cops name suspect in disappearance of Tiffany Sessions