so winds go into his body he's taken out that he was innocent on his last words as last. give me something to think about as execution and it place some doubt there there was one young man in particular washington jr. he was five tell society back then that he was innocent to get no one really paid no attention. in one thousand nine hundred three earl was arrested in culpepper virginia and brought in for questioning he thought it was for a burglary he had committed. by different. and will use it as data. and they then know i want to quote. call kept. the death penalty.

after intense questioning police officers extracted a confession from her for the brutal rape and stabbing murder of a one thousand year old mother of three. at his trial experts testified that earle had an i.q. of only sixty nine and was extremely suggestible casting doubt on his confession. despite inconclusive evidence the jury found guilty and the judge sentenced him to death. he was taken to mecklenburg a supermax prison in virginia. he was scared to death he was tempted he didn't want to come out of so. he's mentally retarded he can read you can write i walk in to the cell and canadian thing mangled or come see what you want that was earl the whole time he was on the road he was. scared to have it.

all as they were for me my mom derrick and see if i want to swim suit. them ot was an aide to see the mom would have me. two weeks before earl's date of execution the guards came to transport him to the death house in richmond. a charity mob put him in a way saying handcuffs shackles and they walk him out. literally drugging him out and me everybody's banging on the door to hear that the casa guards. joe reached out to his caseworker marie deans to see if anything could be done. i called mary in a panic as i was. out of this god or not but i don't think you did i'll break this god knows what's going on when early arrived at the death house he was handed over

to jerry i received ariel from mecum bear and when he came in i gave him a good trade into the infirmary he was given a complete physical. at that time we only had. death by electrocution chair so he didn't have a choice you could hurt you know you had led to the one through to your home and have a deeper hole we got with the he said he was getting really from. when i had a grandmother willow want me to go out go oh yeah if you know nothing or no way. working day and night joe and marie secured a rare stay of execution marie was convinced that earl had been pressured into falsely confessing my work was mentally retarded defendants and i know that this was a what we would call a coerced confession whether of course psychologically or some other way did you

kill that woman knows. but you told the police that you did. it why did you tell the police that you did it. how i know you don't know you understand then that you were being. accused of a murder. they didn't understand most. new d.n.a. tests proved earl was not the murderer he was moved off death row but he remained in prison for ginia law at the time did not allow the introduction of new evidence . gerry heard little about what happened to earl his focus was on preparing for the next execution. one year after the boston marathon bombing

a memorial service brought everyone together for the first time. when we walked. down the road to the site. ron and i and christie stopped at each site and said a prayer. a week later karen and ron united with survivors at the two thousand and fourteen boston marathon. i they cheered their friend celeste in a symbolic run across the finish line. i am angry at what he did and when i see my friends and they struggle and i see other survivors. i don't want my decision to be based on how angry i get in those instances. that

fall judge will tool announced the trial would be held in boston. and we have two choices we can either let him stay alive and have his interaction and have his joys. or put him to die. and have that be the end of that. they don't get to see their little boy playing baseball anymore or reading him a story at night and in this young man is in jail and he's reading stories that he likes he's got books available to him that he enjoys or he meets with his sisters and gets to see pictures of their children growing up and i just don't think it's fair that they have had their their joys taken away from them and he still it is able to experience that. karen decided to attend the trial.

i want to be there to see. justice. in philadelphia nearly four years after vicki instils daughter shannon was murdered the police got a lead. in two thousand and would there been a series of assaults started to employees in fort collins colorado they put out a report to police agencies all across the united states. from shannon's case to fort collins. the d.n.a. was a match. the suspect was married and employed at an air force base. about eight o'clock that night twenty third day of april. two thousand and two this fellow and his wife walked into the police station and by midnight that night they

had a full confession for the dozen different cases. the man they arrested was twenty nine year old troy graves philadelphia's elusive center city rapist. graves was accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of murder in the death of shannon schieber. the prosecutor was district attorney lynn abraham. the prosecutor in the city of philadelphia who is known as a pretty deadly d.a. in other words she put more people on death row then any other prosecutor in pennsylvania and probably any a large number around the country. graves was found guilty and the district attorney wanted the death penalty but the she bers did not. it meant they would have to fight for the life of their daughter's killer we had said to each other and consulted with our very large families that what we do if they ever caught

a ball we would stick to our present and off someone was going to want to put to death we were going to argue for a life without the possibility of parole. the district attorney voiced her disagreement and outrage. the district attorney there became very very upset she became very public with her and with her opinion and she said i don't care what the schieber said the death penalty was the appropriate sentence for their daughter's murder. why would they not want. for vicki in cill the answer was clear. we just can't let this anger this natural human anger and pain overwhelm us and make us so then full and hateful because it would just over time destroy us and we know that. vicki and still received piles of hate mail the cues in them of not loving their

daughter. you know if you can't stand by your principles when it's difficult they're not your principles. several years past before jerry learned that washington was not guilty. it had to be like fifteen to twenty executions at that girl was it leads from death row that i found out that he was he was innocent as it were out as best as a close call and you know he came within days in how to execute an innocent person . our criminal justice system spent posed to be the best in the world. make those mistakes and yet when you see a person like earl washington. something happened here. in the aftermath of the oklahoma city bombing in one thousand nine hundred five congress passed legislation

to escalate death sentences the result was a dramatic increase in executions by one thousand nine hundred nine jerry was putting to death more than one person a month. and a death certificate reads. death by almost i. you know don't make sense i don't want to be consider a person desk a minute i'll miss i but that's what every. apple. sixty two executions and the only killer that accuracy was myself and i refuse to look into the mirror. he nearly took the life of her washington and couldn't help but wonder if there were others. research now shows that for every nine executions there is one inmate found innocent and exonerated.

one out of ten who might have been mistakenly put to death.

usually when we have brought about a situation within a conflict we be it me or the three decides to go cia the first people to rush into the us into the end of all endowed to fall. and as soon as we depart this force is suddenly a skill i doubt it until as it is budget. nearly two years after the bombing the trial was about to begin. karen left her home in new hampshire early to arrive for the opening statements. it was the first

time she had scenes are naiads since the arraignment. inside the courtroom karen and the other survivors were seated just twenty feet away he refused to look at them. the defense team would make the case that zacarias are najaf was unduly influenced by his older brother. the prosecutors would argue that he was fully responsible for his actions. many victims shared their experiences including the father of eight year old martin who described having to choose between comforting his dying son and saving his daughter. over the next four weeks karen and other survivors relive the horror of the bombing they reached out to each other for support. coming to court it was amazing how quickly and how close we all got it with where like

a family. but her husband ron stayed away. since the bombing run has changed it's a hard thing to watch the man that you. struggle so desperately and be so angry he's just not the same as he was before federal jury convicted to heart sinai and all thirty counts he was facing for the boston marathon bombing just eleven hours the jury found our native guilty of all charges now they would decide if he should be put to death. the survivors were divided. karin's friend celeste was for a death sentence. the richards not wanting to go through years of appeals but decided against it. it's a long tough process to really examine. why you feel what you feel. you really have to look at yourself. pretty hard to decide.

as soon as vicki and sil learned the identity of the man who raped and murdered their daughter vicki wanted to know more. i want it i want to know why i want to stand what he did why was this going forward like that what was going on where was his background with that you have to talk to his mother and wanted to understand who he was vicki located troy graves mother and gave her a call we're on the phone together for many many hours in tears just tear sobbing with each other i said but just to understand what you are going there i want to share with what i'm going through and maybe we can help each other and learn from each other and just come to some kind of peace with all this because god you must be going through a terrible time to wash your son and you know and she says oh this is schieber i murdered your daughter. grooves mother blamed herself for her son's actions.

and i said i don't think of what when he said she said it got more and more violent and i. and my kids would come to me and it's say please money let's go this is a bad danny's bet i was telling them i can't i don't have a job i don't have you know education i can't support you oh my god how can i be angry. vicki began meeting with inmates on death row. she discovered a system of victims on all sides we can just hear she and say mom and dad now that you know about the system the terrible flaws in the bias the racial the geographic bias of cost cost issues they don't get the lawyers just all that i can or not you know what you can to do upon. they began advocating across the country and quickly found that many people thought all victims wanted the death penalty. they say that

the reason we have to keep the death penalty here is because that's what murder victims' families want that's going to give them peace that's going to give them justice and we come in and say. not quite enough we've been through this and this isn't the way he looks sharp or you guys. are and. so you have to you have to learn to live with this hole in your heart. either we can continue to do well on it and then of well up the misery and sustain that misery that. that we incurred because of what was going on or are we can we can try and force things to change to the extent we can they countered their grief by sharing their story and providing testimony that would influence death penalty legislation. losing a loved one to murder it's a tragedy on imaginable proportions this all happened to her testimony helped

maryland become the eighteenth state to repeal capital punishment i've told my daughter story now twenty two different states and i have seen the tremendous effect of this whole system on murder victims' family members. in an ongoing tribute to the memory of their daughter vicki and still continue their efforts to end the death penalty. in boston nearly three weeks had passed since our nail was found guilty but the federal jury had yet to make a decision about whether he should be put to death. karen went to the courthouse nearly every day. over the course of the trial she had become one of the main spokespersons in media contacts for the survivors. but for now there was nothing to do but wait.

a minute suddenly a text from a clerk inside alerted her that the jury was close to a decision. they're going to be coming al of it starting any time now i would prefer it be you know and the death penalty just because i think that's the fair thing the right thing. is awful if that is. i think it's the just thing that's what i hope. and we are coming on the air because the jury deciding the fate of boston marathon bombers are hard and i have has reached a verdict. they have sentenced him to death. news of the verdict traveled fast that you know that there is still a long road ahead but right now it feels like we can take a breath and thank you. actually breathe again you know without even realizing it holding his breath and once the verdict came in like now we can start here

no point. with son lives fate sealed karen began the long drive home. i don't think it evens the score i don't think that it teaches anybody anything. i don't believe that it's going to be a deterrent to the next young man who has anger but i just think that that's nothing no other choice in my mind that is fair. after seventeen years and sixty two executions jerry's time as executioner came to an abrupt end. in the midst of preparing for another execution he was subpoenaed by

a grand jury and accused of money laundering gerry claimed he was innocent but the court found him guilty. the sunday after his sentencing gerry's long held secret about his role as executioner became public. they printed in the paper they said a man to carry out execution orders for this data but ginia was found guilty once i was out i mean i'm exposed so i gotta come forward i got a camel why is this in the truth about this fair. why me know all because i didn't tell you i don't want you to have to go through what happened go to. jerry served his time he learned that earl washington received a full pardon and after seventeen years was finally released from prison about four percent of the guys that have executed and they stuck out that they were innocent

so in an apple or earls case you know a place doubt here to find out that innocent people were there on death row. after serving his time jerry worked hard to rebuild his life. he began speaking out against the death penalty one of the few executioners to do so we need to do that we need to change and i didn't enjoy killing people so what can we do to prevent these things from happening. gerry thought often about her washington if i ever get to see him i want to say oh you know i'm sorry but i'm glad that things didn't go in a way there was plan to go and i'm glad to see you on a side because i can apologize to you after that take your life you know at that i pad biden that's it. i'm glad i didn't get it test it so i apologize to the name

thanking the way i thought she was guilty. jerry decided to visit europe to talk with him face to face. though it had been many years jerry and earl swapped stories and quickly we discovered a shared custody that's all you know one day i was mad and i was in a. i'm going to ritual follow swing through ok that's what it led to yeah you know i wonder would we're going to you know went through your mind not doing it he was innocent oh mama he did the whole war she aborted raise your blood get me through which are just. this is

a good thing that i didn't give it you know because i'll bring it to whether he didn't do anything wrong. and also isn't it something that i would have to face. but to see him crossing that bridge in to meet him in hollywood this is a bit of. a myth. you don't know because you're much too.

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when to me is that and there have none removed can you. hear me. him in nashville then santa most and. i played for many years so i know the. football isn't only about what happens on the pitch school it's about the passion from the fans. to the twenty million. it's an experience like. i want to share. with.

dale i've been at the fifo world cup series fourteen goals with colombia eliminating poland in the last of sunday's fixture. and it has been a day to remember for england and the panama fans despite a heavy defeat. the tournament is seeing some two million fans come to celebrate football but one brazil fan goes viral over his newfound passion for russia. and taking a look at other stories making headlines this week gather for an emergency summit on migration and the crisis continues to sow discord within the block.