a young man in particular washington jr. he was five tell society magazine 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. to question a the buy different. and will use it at us data. and they than no i want to quote. to which call kept. the death penalty. after intense questioning police officers extracted a confession from earl 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 couldn't read he couldn't 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 did it means that the problem is once or. almost he was an aide to see the mom would had 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 hank i shackles and they walk him out. literally drugging him out and me everybody's banging on the door or that the casa guards. joe reached out to his caseworker marie deans to see if anything could be done. i called her in a panic as i was. out of this god did or not but i don't think he did i'll bet this god knows what's going on when early arrived at the death house he was handed over to jerry i receive earl for 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 as a one to cheer home and have a day but all we got was the he said he would get integrated from. dental. in the daytime whether willow want me to go out go on 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 i know that this was a what we would call a coerced confession whether of course psychologically or some other way that you kill that woman knows. but you told the police that you did. it why did you tell the police that you did it. i don't 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. 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 paul judge will tool announced the trial would be held in boston. but we have two choices we can either let him stay alive and have

his interaction and have his joys. or put him to death and have that be the end of it. 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 is able to experience that. care and 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 would there been a series of assaults started to you please in fort collins colorado they put out a report to police agencies all across the new united states. so they sent from shannon's case to fort coord. the d.n.a. was a match. the suspect was married in. employed at an air force base. about eight o'clock that 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 were caught of all 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 were they not one. 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 small and hateful because it would just over time destroy us and we know that. vicki and sil 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 principal.

several years past before jerry learned that washington was not guilty. it had to be like fifteen to twenty executions at that girl who was released from death row that i found out that he was he was innocent as it were out that's as close calling you know he came within days in how to execute an innocent person. alchemical justice system supposed to be the best in the world. make those mistakes and yet when you see a person like earl washington. something happened there. 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 person deaths committed all messiah but that's what every. apple. sixty two executions and only kilobit akon scene 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.

what politicians do subtly to. put themselves on the laws. to get accepted or rejected. sold you want to be fuzzy culture. somehow want to. have to like to beatrice to see what the forecast three of them all can't be good good laughs i'm interested always in the lawyers in the college. class for shit. please.

please. to protect him he said. up and up and hit. him in the front. yard she will review this for those who. want to talk into this. was that. he did it i disbelieve it. and that a lot of it i didn't about come out i was good but i'm about the same as art but i was up the money into. his head in the muck i left my money how much. to say to each other that they're all right so this is a long. haul but what should be made. other people must go home

as i was on the upper. lip that. i. feel so. safe. 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. we were inside the court room karin and the other survivors were seated just twenty feet away he refused to look at them. the defense team would make the case that so cars are naiads 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 ron has changed and 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 and i have 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. this 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 what you have to talk to his mother and i can't stand how he was located troy graves mother and gave her

a call were you were on the phone together for many many hours in tears mysterious sobbing with each other i said but just to understand what you were 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 yourself you know and she says oh this is cheaper i. agree was mother blamed herself for her son's actions and i said i don't think and when he when he said she said it got more and more violent and i. and my kids would come to me and it say please money lets go of 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 could 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 cause cos if they don't get their lawyers just all that i can or not you know what you can 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 and we've been through this this isn't the way you loose chop 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 john of well up the misery and sustain that

misery. that we incurred because of what was going on or are we can we can try and force things to change 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 is a tragedy on imaginable proportions this all happened for 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. you mean suddenly a text from a clerk inside alerted her that the jury was close to a decision. they're going to be coming ellen starting any time now i would prefer it be you know and that m.p. just because i think that's a fair thing the right. as awful if that is. i think it's the just thing that's what i'm hoping. and we are coming on the air because the jury

deciding the fate of boston marathon bombers will harden i have has reached a verdict. they have sentenced him to death. news of the verdict traveled fast they know that there is still a long road ahead but right now it feels like we can take a breath and. actually breathe again you know without even realizing all the crap and once the word came in like now we can start here no point. was surnames fate sealed karin 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 jerry'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 give them

a why is this in the truth about this fair. why me know all because i didn't see 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 earle's case you know placed 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 jerry thought often about 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 to way they was planned 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 after i pad biden that's it. i'm glad i didn't get a chance to hit so i apologize to the name thank in a way i thought she was guilty. jerry decided to this era 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. lie in him one day i was a member and i was in a fight. i want to ritual follow soaring through ok that's what it led to two years you know i won the world we're going to you know went through your mind not doing it he was innocent oh mama get it all warm and she would want to raise your blood get me through the kitchen just. this is a good thing that i didn't give it you know because i'll bring it to wed he didn't do anything wrong. and also isn't something that i would have to face. but to see him crossing that bridge in to meet him and how do you listen to. him if. you don't know because you want my shoe.

a little. bit.

a little. bit. lol. with me guess manufacture come sentenced to public wells. when the ruling classes some protect themselves. in the final

larry go around to listen to the woman so. we can all middle routes to. the real news room. and now finally an adult woman also to pick up a little now positive but at the taliban keep the front. line and if you leave you would be that easy to find a friend that i had in me. plus is that going to see the city live people. getting. killed i thought it might have been my little bit of a wonderful enough that i little bit out of the fact that i don't have money coming over as much of the woodwork to mop up to get

a job but it. says it is london life blues. some forces of the. sea say. the sea. you can do no problem. with. the. lose it. like that. if. you can. get.

the headlines here on r t international moscow accuses un chiefs of secretly preventing their own agencies from helping to revive it syria's conflict economy. teenage girl who escaped her and slave men from i saw in iraq claims she then came face to face with her captor in germany where she had fled for safety. and an american defense manufacturers photo publicity stunt backfires as twitter users send in some home truths about companies bombs in yemen. can find all of those stories over on our website r.t. dot com we'll be back with your world news update in around an hour's time with my colleague kevin owen but right now it's a time right here on our international for cross talk but if you're watching in the u.k. or.