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The Questionable Conviction of David Robinson
Exclusive investigative report by the Southeast Missourian
Southeast Missouri State University

This project made possible by the support of Southeast Missouri State University. Among its award-winning departments are Criminal Justice and Sociology, Mass Media and Social Work.

Learn more

David Robinson has served 16 years of a life sentence for the murder of Sheila Box. But did he do it? Two witnesses have recanted, and another man confessed to the murder. As Robinson’s appeal has now reached the Missouri Supreme Court, Robinson continues his “Life Without” freedom, his family and … parole. Watch our exclusive investigative video series and examine the details of this perplexing case.

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    Full video
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    Chapter 1: The Basics
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    Chapter 2: Who is David?
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    Chapter 3: The Confession
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    Chapter 4: Albert Baker
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    Chapter 5: The Alibi
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    Chapter 6: Going forward
Mosby investigation
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Lying police? Missing files, lost evidence: Newspaper investigation reveals glaring contradictions in David Robinson case
By Bob Miller and Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian
An extensive examination of public records relating to the investigation of a 2000 Sikeston, Missouri, murder has revealed potential perjury by a detective; missing evidence from state prosecutors' files; missing investigative documents from police archives; and a police department's nonexistent investigation into a suspect who later confessed to...
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Witnesses make claims of police corruption in Box/Robinson case
By Bob Miller and Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian
David Robinson is now into his 17th year of incarceration for a murder to which another man confessed on tape in 2004. Robinson was convicted almost exclusively on the testimony of two jailhouse informants, men who were admitted drug addicts and had an incentive -- whether perceived or real -- to testify in exchange for prison leniency...
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Sikeston detective's files about murder suspect missing from DPS
By Tyler Graef and Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian
Interview summaries, evidence reports and an unknown quantity of other documents involving Romanze Mosby, who was a suspect in the 2000 murder of Sheila Box, are missing, lost or being withheld by the Sikeston, Missouri, Department of Public Safety...
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Interview tapes of murder suspect missing from AG office, defense unaware of their existence
By Tyler Graef and Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian
Recordings of interviews in the Sheila Box murder case are missing from the Attorney General's Office. The recordings are evidence in an ongoing case that will go before the Missouri Supreme Court in August. They are records required for permanent safekeeping because they involve a Class A felony conviction, according to the Secretary of State's...
Robinson and Mosby Timeline
Robinson and Mosby Timeline
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    Robinson, Sikeston settle case for $8M on wrongful imprisonment (5/16/20)
    Two years ago this week, David Robinson walked out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center after being freed hours after the recommendation of then-Missouri Attorney General (now U.S. senator) Josh Hawley that charges be dismissed. Robinson's release ended a long legal battle freeing him from a life sentence for first-degree murder without the possibility of parole...
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    Sikeston official: City reaches $8 million settlement with David Robinson (5/15/20)
    David Robinson and the City of Sikeston, Missouri have reached a settlement agreement, according to a statement released by Sikeston city manager Jonathan M. Douglass. "The City of Sikeston's insurance carriers have reached a settlement with David Robinson related to his incarceration in 2001," the release stated. ...
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    Sikeston city contends not responsible in wrongful arrest, conviction case (9/7/19)
    The City of Sikeston, Missouri, was not responsible for the actions of its former public safety director Drew Juden in the wrongful arrest and conviction of David Robinson, an attorney for the city has argued. The city, Juden and former detective John Blakely are defendants in a federal civil suit brought by Robinson. Each defendant is represented by a different attorney. Each defendant, however, is asking the judge to dismiss the suit on various grounds...
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    Documentary on David Robinson to be released on Amazon Prime (3/19/19)
    Filmmaker Steve Turner’s documentary “The Past is Never Dead” on the exoneration of David Robinson for the 2001 murder of Sheila Box will premiere on Amazon Prime on May 17, Turner announced Monday. Robinson was convicted in 2001 of the Sikeston, Missouri, murder of Box on the word of two jailhouse informants who later recanted...
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    David Robinson has filed suit against City of Sikeston, former police officers in his wrongful conviction (3/12/19)
    David Robinson and his attorneys filed a blistering lawsuit Monday alleging multiple examples of witness intimidation, conspiracy and several direct and indirect actions over a decade leading to the wrongful conviction and continued incarceration in a Sikeston, Missouri, murder case. These actions kept Robinson in prison for 17 years prior to his exoneration...
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    David Robinson case documentary to screen Oct. 15 in Cape (9/26/18)
    Filmmaker Steve Turner’s documentary “The Past is Never Dead,” a chronicle of the David Robinson murder exoneration, will be screened at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 in Rose Theater on Southeast Missouri State University’s campus. Robinson was convicted in 2001 of the Sikeston, Missouri, murder of Sheila Box on the word of two jailhouse informants who later recanted...
The basics of the case
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Chapter 1, the confession
By Ben Kleine ~ Southeast Missourian
In August 2004, Butch Johnson, an investigator with the Missouri Public Defender's office, sat down with 21-year-old Romanze Mosby in an interview room at South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri. Johnson sought to elicit information that could help his client, David Robinson, then 36, of Sikeston, Missouri...
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Chapter 2, the star witness recants
By Ben Kleine ~ Southeast Missourian
The lawyers for David Robinson expected Albert Baker, 40 at the time, to recant under oath at an appeal Nov. 5, 2004. Two months prior, Baker had sat down and talked with investigator Butch Johnson. He did not submit to be recorded, and he did not sign an affidavit. But Baker agreed to recant and offered remorse for lying and pinning Sheila Box's...
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Chapter 3, a second witness recants his testimony
By Ben Kleine ~ Southeast Missourian
David Robinson's secondary education was supplemented with time behind bars. One of the lessons of which he was aware was to be careful what you say and who you say it to in the Scott County Jail. "I know how Scott County roll," Robinson says. "They like doing that jailhouse-informant thing."...
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Chapter 4, Robinson's shaky defense
By Ben Kleine ~ Southeast Missourian
David Robinson fidgets a bit as he puts on the microphone for his second interview with reporters. The setting is the same as his first interview, the family room at Jefferson City Correctional Center. Robinson meets with a reporter and two photographers without restraints. He wears gray sweats and a white T-shirt. He has been afforded some...
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Chapter 5, the fallout
By Ben Kleine ~ Southeast Missourian
Nobody involved knew much about Sheila Box. David Robinson says he never had heard her name until he was charged with her murder. Albert Baker testified he had seen her buy crack with two children in a Suburban on July 4, 2000 -- a month before her killing -- but did not know her name...
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Chapter 6, Why is Robinson still in prison?
By Ben Kleine ~ Southeast Missourian
By the end of the evidentiary hearing May 15, 2015, the lawyers for David Robinson thought they had presented an ironclad case for actual innocence. The two witnesses in the case had recanted under oath, and they had a confession from a man who was not their client. Robinson's lawyers, Jim Wyrsch and Jonathan Potts, said Robinson's case was the...

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Editorial: Insight on reporting the 'Life Without' series
Today, our newspaper begins a series of stories on the murder conviction of David Robinson. It is a long story. We will present it over four days in print, and in six parts in video. Robinson was convicted of shooting Sheila Box on Aug. 5, 2000. Our investigation began, in some respects, in 2009, when the case was first brought to the attention of...
Kezer: Truth matters, victims matter, David Robinson matters
By Josh Kezer
Editor's note: Josh Kezer was wrongly convicted for the 1992 murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless in Scott County, Missouri. Judge Richard G. Callahan, now the 47th United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, declared his "actual innocence" in 2009. For more coverage of Kezer's exoneration, please go to semissourian.com/lawless. For...
Column: What does the AG's office believe? Innocence or a wild conspiracy?
By Bob Miller
The State of Missouri's case against David Robinson is in shambles. The prosecution's star witness has recanted his testimony. A second witness, who was never credible in the first place, has recanted his testimony. And, before killing himself, another man confessed on audio tape that he killed Sheila Box.
Photo Gallery: David Robinson Freedom March
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, along with supporters, make a stop in the parking lot of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters prepare to march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Betty Sharp chants along with fellow protestors outside the Sikeston Department of Public Safety on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters make a stop outside the Sikeston Department of Public Safety on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com People gather together in prayer on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Ivory Robinson walks along Main Street on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Ivory Robinson, left, Jennett McCaster, center, and Larry McClellon listen to music on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, left, praises during a group prayer on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com A tearful Justin Robinson, David Robinson's brother, embraces his mother, Jennett McCaster, right, and another family member on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, left, praises during a group prayer on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com A tearful Eddie Moon walks away after showing his support for David Robinson and his family on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com A tearful Eddie Moon walks away after showing his support for David Robinson and his family on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Friends and family gather one-by-one to show their support to Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com A tearful Bridgett Patterson watches as friends and family lineup to show their support for her mother, Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, and her family on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, tears up while embracing Trinidy, left, and Alaysia Cox on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com A tearful Justin Robinson, David Robinson's brother, embraces his mother, Jennett McCaster, right, and another family member on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Poochie Robinson holds Justice Robinson as they watch supporters surround Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 before the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson supporters march through the streets of Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, during the David Robinson Freedom March.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Bridgett Patterson, David Robinson's sister, jokes with Larry McClellon in Sikeston, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, after the David Robinson Freedom March.
Photo Gallery: David Robinson and Family
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, and David Robinson's nephew, Maliek Patterson, visit outside McCaster's Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Justin Robinson holds then seventh-month-old Justice, outside his mother's Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, is seen during an interview with the Southeast Missourian outside her Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Justin Robinson, David Robinson's brother, poses for a portrait outside their mother's Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Agnes Mason stands outside the house at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri in September. Mason was at the house for a fish fry on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Dora Yarber sits outside her home at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri in September. Yarber hosted a fish fry on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Ella Sumlin sits outside the house at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri in September. Sumlin was at the house for a fish fry on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Agnes Mason poses for a portrait outside the house at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri in September. Mason was at the house for a fish fry on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Denise Mills poses for a portrait in Sikeston, Missouri in September. Mills said she was at her uncle's house at 333 Dixie Street for a fish fry on Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson states he was at a fish fry at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson states he was at a fish fry at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Gloria Faye Marshall sits on the picnic table outside the house at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri in September. Marshall was at the house for a fish fry on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Gloria Faye Marshall poses for a portrait outside the house at 333 Dixie Street in Sikeston, Missouri in September. Marshall was at the house for a fish fry on the night of Aug. 5, 2000.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, is seen during an interview with the Southeast Missourian outside her Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, is seen during an interview with the Southeast Missourian outside her Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, listens as her son Justin is interviewed by the Southeast Missourian about his brother outside McCaster's Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, holds then seventh-month-old Justice Robinson outside her Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Jennett McCaster, David Robinson's mother, is seen during an interview with the Southeast Missourian outside her Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Justin Robinson holds then seventh-month-old Justice, outside his mother's Sikeston, Missouri home in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson's family poses for a photo outside his mother's Sikeston, Missouri home in September. Pictured from left to right, back row, Justin Robinson, Bridgett Patterson, Kingston Patterson, 3, Marcus Robinson and Larry McClellon; Middle row, Jamia Robinson, then seven-month-old Justice Robinson, Monica Robinson, Jennett McCaster, Jamonica Robinson: front row, Maliek Patterson.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Larry McClellon, David Robinson's uncle, poses for a portrait in Sikeston, Missouri in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson poses for a portrait in the visiting area inside Jefferson City Correctional Center in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson sits in the visiting area inside Jefferson City Correctional Center during an interview with the Southeast Missourian in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson poses for a portrait in the visiting area inside Jefferson City Correctional Center in September.
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    LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com David Robinson poses for a portrait in the visiting area inside Jefferson City Correctional Center in September.
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