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Victim’s Mother ‘Disgusted’ Over Death-Row Inmate’s Online Prison Art

POLK COUNTY (KFSM) — A mother says she is outraged after discovering her daughter’s killer has prison art online. “When I clicked on it, I was beyond disgusted,...

POLK COUNTY (KFSM) — A mother says she is outraged after discovering her daughter’s killer has prison art online.

“When I clicked on it, I was beyond disgusted,” said Rebecca Petty. “I was pretty angry.”

Petty said she found the drawings a couple days ago. They belong to her daughter’s murderer Karl Roberts. In a letter posted on the website, Roberts writes about one picture symbolizing “an empty life in confinement… it portrays shame, remorse and guilt of having done wrong.”

In another letter, he writes to two art curators. He said he wants them to sell his work for their purposes, but apparently slips in a money order just in case they want to give the proceeds to Roberts.

“If he wants to sit in a cell and draw pictures and do all that is one thing,” Petty said. “It's another thing to say that you the art curator whoever you are can sell this and keep the money or here's a money order send it back to me from my commissary.”

In May of 1999, Roberts raped and strangled his niece Andria Brewer. Petty explained Roberts was her ex-husband’s brother. Brewer’s body was found near Cove. A Polk County jury convicted Roberts of capital murder 17 years ago and records show he told the judge he wanted to die.

“This is a capital case that's just been lost in the appeals process for many years,” Petty said.

Petty said Roberts was supposed to be put to death in 2004, but it did not happen.

“I saw that the laws weren’t very victim friendly,” she said.

Now Petty is a state representative who fights for the rights of crime victims and children.

She goes to all of Roberts hearings, including the one going on this week (May 15-17) at the Polk County Court House. A defense team is trying to exchange Roberts’ death sentence for life in prison.

“I don't feel like it's going to be overturned, but the possibility of that would be very disheartening because I trust our jury system, I trust the system,” Petty said.

Meanwhile, Petty said she is working with the Department of Corrections to find out if the Roberts prison art being on the internet is even legal.

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