Convicted Robber Asks Judge For Maximum Sentence

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Some people have trouble staying out of jail. Roy Murphy has trouble getting in.

The 43-year-old Missouri man, accused of trying to rob a convenience store, asked a judge last week to sentence him to seven years — the maximum sentence — because he prefers life behind bars, according to the Columbia Tribune.

“I’ve been out for a year. I’ve got nothing and I don’t know how to make it on the outside,” he said, according to UPI.com.

The career criminal admitted that he entered a convenience store in November with the express purpose of demanding money from the cash register so he could get thrown back in the slammer.

Judge Patrick Robb, however, turned Murphy down, handing him the lighter sentence of four years.

Murphy’s problem: He was too polite.

“I went in there to rob the store clerk, but she wouldn’t open the drawer,” Murphy said, according to NewsPressNow.com

“I said, ‘Could you open the register, please.’”

Had Murphy used physical force rather than good manners when he robbed the St. Joseph store, he might have gotten the maximum sentence he so badly wanted, StlToday.com reports.

Murphy had a camouflage ski mask in his possession, but was not wearing it. He told the clerk he’d be happy to wear it if it would make his arrest more likely to happen. Then, before fleeing the crime scene, he told his victim: “Please call the police.”