On March 8, 2012, Christine McClaine witnessed the execution of her brother Robert Charles Towery by the state of Arizona. Robert was 47 years of age at the time of his execution. He was convicted and executed for the robbery and murder of 68-year-old Mark Jones on September 4, 1991, in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Randy Barker was Robert’s accomplice during the crime and received a prison sentence for his part in the crime. Randy was released in 2001. Robert spent the last 20 years of his life on Arizona’s death row. Robert had an extremely difficult and sad childhood, having endured, along with his two sisters, an unspeakable amount of abuse from their mother. He became addicted to drugs in his attempt to escape the extreme abuse that he endured. Christine stood by her brother throughout the trauma of his youth, as well as the decades of pain that he suffered during his time on death row, as he fought for his very life.
In the video link above, Christine appears as a guest on the show "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell" at HLN. In this video segment, you will see Christine talking about the painful experience of witnessing her brother's execution. In the link below, Christine provides a detailed description of the way she was broken by the agonizing experience of witnessing her brother's execution:
Broken- A Witness to the Execution
The video link provided below by Al Jazeera focuses on a series of botched executions. In this video, Christine appears as a guest, talking about the way that her brother's execution was botched.
Al Jazeera: On Death Row: Botched Executions (Christine McClaine is a guest)
The following link by BBC is a podcast in which Christine is a guest, sharing the challenges of having a loved one on death row.
BBC Podcast: The Other Side of Death Row (featuring Chrisine McClaine)
The link below takes the reader to a diary that Christine's brother, Robert Towery, wrote during his last 30-days before his execution, while he was under an active death warrant, on death watch. Two other witnesses that I interviewed for my proiect, Dale Baich (Robert's attorney) and Michael Kiefer (journalist) were instrumental in helping to get Robert's final words in this diary published.
Death Watch Diary- by Robert Towery
On March 28, I sat down with Christine at her home in Portland, Oregon to talk with her about her witnessing experience. The account that she provided, not only of the horrific experience of watching her brother Robert be executed by the state of Arizona, but also of the history of severe abuse that he experienced throughout his childhood, along with the extreme abuse she and their sister endured, was clearly an incredibly traumatizing experience for her. The time that Robert languished on death row held Christine hostage, often leaving her feeling as though she was locked up with him. You can watch Christine and her sister Patricia share the abuse they all endured as children in the link below, at the clemency hearing that was held for her brother just 6 days before his execution:
Robert Towery's Clemency Hearing March 2, 2012