Arizona Convict Fights for the Right to Die

FLORENCE, Ariz. – Robert Comer made his last public appearance strapped to a wheelchair, wearing nothing but a sheet across his lap.

Known as the most dangerous man on Arizona's death row, the convicted kidnapper, rapist and murderer was sentenced to die that day 13 years ago.

Now, inmate number 67-121 says he wants to drop his appeals and go straight to his execution, but a federal appellate court may not let him.

By most accounts a danger to everyone around him, while in prison Comer has repeatedly beaten the toughest security of any prison in America, and has been caught with weapons capable of maiming or killing.

He has crafted a rope-strength noose woven with toilet paper. He formed a makeshift bludgeon by peeling paint from his cell and cementing the pieces with saliva. He carved a weapon from a steel desk using only the flint from a disposable cigarette lighter, which he admitted was to attack his lawyer.

Jeffrey Hood, warden at the Arizona State Prison in Florence, Arizona where Comer is on death row, said the prisoner is still dangerous.

"His ability to fashion weapons from virtually any material whatsoever and his demonstrated willingness to employ those weapons either against other inmates or, of greater concern to us, against our staff, is well-documented," he said.

Comer has named his created weapons "Bonzai" after a fellow death row inmate executed in 1999. Prison guards, who search his cell every night, have found "Bonzai-1" and "Bonzai-3." A third possible weapon has never been found.

"He likes to play little games," said Officer Mark Lamas. "He gives us hints where something might be- and there's actually nothing there."

Sometimes, Lamas can't get him out of his mind.

"Even when I'm at home I'm thinking about him," he said.

Others are also wary of Comer.

"I'll admit it," said Deputy Warden David Cluff. "He scares me."

After initially appealing his death sentence, Comer has since said he would prefer to die and claims to have never challenged his sentence. His lawyers and other death penalty opponents are trying to keep him alive.

Thus far, the courts have provided him with a stay of execution. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused in June of last year to discard his appeal, ruling that a lower court must determine if Comer is mentally competent to decide his own fate.

The judges ruled Comer's life in prison may have made him insane, supported by wild accusations the convicted killer has made. In several letters to various courts and state officials, Comer has alleged a conspiracy exists to keep him alive.

"We have grave concerns that a mentally disabled man may be seeking this court's assistance in ending his life," Judge Warren J. Ferguson wrote.

In her dissent, Judge Pamela Ann Rymer also said a lower court should decide if Comer is sane, but said the court went too far in suggesting he had shown signs of insanity.

Others agree Comer knows what he is doing.

Ray McCarthy, an investigator with the Department of Corrections in Phoenix, said Comer knows exactly what he's doing.

"He can manipulate the system. He's very bright, very street smart. And he's very calculating," McCarthy said.

Cluff agrees.

"That is his high," Cluff said. "Feeding off the fear of individuals."