Pilcher's Trial: Guilty Or Inhumane?

Background
On April 9th, 1974, a young woman at the age of 17 was found in a farmhouse in Blakesburg, Iowa. Her name was Mary Jayne Jones, and she had been sexually assaulted and shot in both her heart and head at close range with a high-powered rifle. Miss Jones was originally from North Carolina, but had moved to Iowa to assist her expectant sister, Mrs. Pat (Jacque) Williams, but decided to stay. At the time, she was working at Henry’s Drive-in restaurant in Ottumwa, Iowa. Mary was living with one of her coworkers, Lynn Guyette, and was dating a man named Art. Her landlord, Roy Ware, said that he received a letter dated April 9th containing a rent check and notice of Lynn living there, and Mary’s family in North Carolina also received a

Pilcher’s trial began on January 14th, with Judge Richard Meadows presiding. Unfortunately, on January 30th, Judge Meadows had to declare a mistrial, as jurors were incapable of reaching a verdict. The second trial began on September 9th, 2014, with Pilcher pleading guilty to second-degree murder on September 16th. For second degree murder, Pilcher was sentenced to 10-years in jail, but could be out of prison in five years. The DNA of Robert Pilcher was not the only profile created, as there were profiles of two other individuals who were not able to be identified. There were also hairs and fingerprints found at the crime scene that could not be linked to Pilcher and remained unidentified. An alibi was established by Pilcher for the day of the murder, as he was apparently working at Jaycees circus office, but after 40 years, crucial witnesses were no longer alive and memories became foggy. Pilcher also argued that the semen stains were from a previous sexual encounter, and there was little other physical evidence directly linking him to the crime. However, a former girlfriend of Pilcher’s testified to him stating that he previously offed somebody, and a brother-in-law testified that Mr. Pilcher reached out to him after he had gained information about the re-opening of Mary Jayne Jones’ case and stated that he was not proud of his past and that he may be going to