Prosecution Will Not Seek Death Penalty in the Rafael Robb Case

Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who evidently intends to prosecute the case himself, announced on Thursday that the Commonwealth will not seek the death penalty in the case of Penn professor Rafael Robb, who is accused of brutally bludgeoning his wife to death. Interesting decision. Castor said that its not a death penalty case because there are no aggravating factors present. Not that I am a cheerleader for the death penalty, but the brutality of the killing would seem to me to be an aggravating factor. Unless Castor knows something of which I am not aware.

Penn Professor to Stand Trial for Wife’s Alleged Murder

The Inquirer reports that University of Pennsylvania professor Rafael Robb will stand trial for his wife’s murder after a preliminary hearing was held this week. Although there is a natural – if unfair – tendency to suspect a spouse when a woamn is killed, this case poses some interesting problems. Police have found neither a muder weapon, nor the bloody clothes that Robb presumably wore when he killed his wife. No slam dunk here, I’d say. But then, I said the same thing about Craig Rabimowitz.