Fr. Rene Robert devoted his life to helping the less fortunate in and around the tight-knit community of St. Augustine, Florida. But, in 2016, he was kidnapped and murdered by 28-year-old Steven Murray—an ex-felon he had been trying to help. Just as prosecutors began seeking a death sentence for Murray, Fr. Rene’s friends discovered a document he had signed 20 years earlier which stated, in part, “Should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person responsible for my killing not be subject to the death penalty, no matter how heinous their crime.” Although prosecutors dismissed the document as having no legal standing, the discovery ignited a grassroots movement led by residents of St. Augustine who wanted the courts to accept Fr. Rene’s wishes and spare his killer’s life.
