Robert Paul Vance passed away on December 16, 1987, due to a mail bomb sent to his home.
Robert Paul Vance was a federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. His life came to a tragic end when he was killed by a mail bomb that was sent to his home in Mountain Brook, Alabama. The bomb exploded when he opened the package, also seriously injuring his wife, Helen. The attack was part of a series of mail bombings carried out by Walter Leroy Moody Jr., who had a grudge against the legal system. Moody was eventually arrested, tried, and convicted for the murder of Vance and other related charges. He was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection in 2018. The assassination of Robert Paul Vance was a shocking event that highlighted the risks judges can face and led to increased security measures for government officials.