Shoot Me! – Chuckie Rumbaugh’s In Court Suicide Attempt (February 24, 1983)

 

February 24, 1983.  Amarillo, Texas.  Charles Rumbaugh was 25 years old at the time, but he was determined 25.  He liked things on his terms and on his schedule, and it people weren’t willing to cooperate with him, well, he might just have to take matters into his own hands.  And so when his lawyers persuaded a federal judge to stay his execution for a murder that Rumbaugh had committed when he was just 17, Charles Rumbaugh decided that he would take matters into his own hands.  If the state of Texas wouldn’t execute him, he’d find someone else to do it.  And so on this Thursday morning, an hour into a hearing before federal judge Mary Lou Robinson to determine his competency to waive his appeals, Rumbaugh decided to act.  Pulling out a homemade blade, he moved toward Deputy US March Olen McClendon yelling, “Shoot me!” And that’s exactly what Olen did.

But this was just the one more in a long stream of Rumbaugh misdeeds and crimes.  Listen to today’s podcast to get the full background on what led young Chuckie Rumbaugh to seek suicide by cop.

Episode Notes:

Newspapers.com Clippings on Courtroom Shooting (Page 1) (Page 2)

Newspapers.com Clipping on Retrial

Local Radio Station News Post

5th Circuit Review of Judge Robinson’s Competency Finding(includes description of courtroom shooting).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Department of Corrections Inmate Page