be near him. She has largely dropped from view in recent years, so perhaps her claims of being motivated by love and compassion for Harris are real.
The sensational and dramatic nature of the Harris/ Polzin love affair still attracts media attention, most noticeably from British newspapers such as The Guardian.
Bibliography
Mina, Denise. "Why are women drawn to men behind bars." 12 January 2003. guardian.co.uk/world. Newspaper Column. 29 January 2013.
Murderpedia. "Bobby Lee Harris." n.d. murderpedia.org. Online Encyclopedia Entry. 29 January 2013.
Robinson, Bryan. "Woman Explains Love for Death Row Prisoner." 19 January 2001. abcnews.go.com. Online News Article . 29 January 2013.
Thompson, Estes. "Woman Falls in Love with Killer in Benetton Ad." n.d. abcnews.go.com. Online News Article. 29 January 2013.
Rosalie Bolin: The Death Penalty Foe W ho Married a Serial Killer
A social worker and opponent of the death penalty is supposed to be opposed to all forms of killing. Yet socialite turned social worker and death penalty foe Rosalie Martinez married a notorious serial killer on Florida’s death row. What’s most bizarre is that Martinez, a successful businesswoman and the mother of two daughters, divorced her husband, a prominent attorney, in order to marry the killer, Oscar Ray Bolin.
Rosalie Bolin met her future husband while working on the defense of one of his murder cases as a public defender. Bolin is famous in Florida and beyond for being tried and convicted of the same murder, that of Natalie Blanche Holley, at least three times. Twice in 1991 and 1999, Bolin was sentenced to death for Holley’s murder, but both cases were overturned on appeal. In 2005, another jury found Bolin guilty of second degree murder and sentenced him to life for the same crime.
Bolin is now trying to get the third conviction thrown out with the help of Rosalie, who is a death penalty mitigation specialist. In other words, she has the perfect job for the spouse of a notorious serial killer. Bolin received the death sentence for the rape and murder of two other women, Stephanie Collins and Terri Matthews, in 1986.
A Celebrity in Her Own Right
Unlike most serial killer wives who tend to be obscure and keep a low profile, Rosalie Bolin is something of a celebrity in her own right. She is an experienced lawyer who was part of the defense team for Casey Anthony, the Florida woman who became a celebrity after her daughter’s suspicious death.
Rosalie is also the regional director of the Florida Capital Resource Center. Her biography on the center’s website paints a picture that is very different from that of the average serial killer groupie. Bolin is a successful business woman who owns at least two businesses, Able Court Reporting and Criminal Special Investigation Inc. Her biography claims that she has been involved in 700 murder cases in all 20 counties in the state of Florida. Her expertise is even recognized by the Federal Courts, which appointed her to a federal death penalty case in the Middle District of Florida.
In 1995, Rosalie Martinez sacrificed both her marriage to a prominent attorney and her job at the Hillsborough County public defender’s office for Oscar Ray Bolin. She spent so much time on Bolin’s defense that her bosses at the defender’s office fired her. Rosalie then made headlines by marrying Oscar Ray Bolin in prison on national TV.
Opposites Attract
Rosalie first met Oscar in 1995 when two guards with shotguns escorted her to his cell on Florida’s death row. Prison authorities were not taking any chances with Oscar because they considered him an escape risk and knew him to be a smooth talking conman. Rosalie, who was scared at first, began to feel sorry for his isolation and loneliness.
Rosalie Martinez left a very comfortable and affluent lifestyle for Oscar Ray Bolin. Her husband, top criminal defense attorney Victor D. Martinez, is a member of one of Tampa’s oldest families.
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