18 July 2018 :

Robert Van Hook, 58, White, was executed. Van Hook was convicted of the February 18, 1985 murder of David Self, 25, after the 2 men in the bar. He was found six weeks later in Florida and confessed to the murder. In an interview with police shortly after his arrest, Van Hook admitted to the killing and said: "My objective was to lure a homosexual to whatever place I could with intentions to rob the person." Court records show Van Hook had been robbing gay men since he was 15. He was convicted and sentenced to death in August 1985. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Appeals Court set aside Van Hook’s death sentence in 2009 (see APRIL 18, 2006) after attorneys argued mitigating evidence about Van Hook’s childhood and family life was not presented at trial. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision later in 2009 (see NOVEMBER 9, 2009) noting that Van Hook had a history of luring men in gay bars with the intention of robbing them. Van Hook becomes the 1st inmate to be put to death this year in Ohio, the 56th since Ohio resumed executions in 1999, the 14th inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1,479th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.