I'm not sure if this has been posted, but according to the blog on Charley Project, Ulysses Roberson has been convicted of the second-degree murder of his son Alexander Sol Olive. Alexander was the son of Judy Olive, who was a member of Roberson's cult, and the case was featured on UM on December 9, 1992.

http://charleyross.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/ulysses-roberson-convicted-of-second-degree-murder/

Charli-Ann

Wow, well good deal. I mean while there was no body, I am 99.9 percent sure Alexander is dead which is very sad. So a 2nd degree murder conviction huh? Well whenever Roberson is sentenced he will be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. That is a life sentence with a minimum mandatory of 15 years to serve before eligibility for parole.

I imagine the 2nd degree murder conviction was a compromise verdict. It usually is. I imagine some jurors wanted 1st degree but some were not comfortable convicting him of that since it could not be proven the crime was pre-meditated. I imagine the 1st degree jurors went along with 2nd degree because they were afraid if a hung jury happened that he might be acquitted by another jury altogether.

Besides, with 2nd degree murder he still gets a life sentence, he just is eligible for parole sooner. Probably the only drawback to this verdict is that he is eligible for parole at all but you cannot win them all. If he had been convicted of first degree murder AND the special circumstances than he would have been sentenced to either LWOP or death. Had they not been able to agree on special circumstances than he would have got 25 to life. However since he was acquitted of first degree murder but convicted of 2nd degree murder the special circumstances went away. But I would say, the odds of this guy ever getting out of prison are very slim. California does parole lifers but a child killer getting out? I do not think he is going anywhere.