For Release: June 25, 2008
Contact: J. Tucker Martin or David Clementson
Email: tucker.martin@oag.state.va.us or dclementson@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-2071
Statement of Attorney General Bob McDonnell on Execution of Robert Yarbrough
“Robert Stacy Yarbrough was executed tonight for the 1997 murder of 77-year old Cyril Hugh Hamby. On the evening of May 8, 1997 Yarbrough and an accomplice robbed Mr. Hamby’s convenience store on U.S. Route 1 in Mecklenburg County. Yarbrough then brutally murdered Mr. Hamby. It was a gruesome crime that took the life of an innocent man. Cyril Hamby was known for his warmth and generosity. His murder left his family devastated.
“The jury verdict of guilt and sentence of death in this case have been reviewed and upheld by the trial court, U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, Virginia Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States. Governor Kaine has declined to intervene. Tonight justice has been served. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Mr. Hamby’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all his friends and family.”
