question no. it's been too many times when i've seen you know us dobbed to see each city's hospital toast. seven million. terrorists you know attacking civilians it's been terrible really i'm more hopeful now than i was a few months back and they have little deal was a glimmer of hope and in the end all of this. during his years serving his region is chief executioner jerry was here in the swear they were innocent. when you hear

a person going to be sticking out that he was innocent to the last civilians going to his body he's taken out that he was innocent on his last words as last. give me something to think about as the execution and it place some doubt there there was one young man in particular washington jr. he was trying to tell society back then that he was innocent to get no one really paid no attention. in one nine hundred eighty three earl was arrested in cope up or virginia and brought in for questioning he thought it was for a burglary he had committed. a question by different. data. and they know i want to quote. call kept moral.

was going to dump and. after intense quit. police officers extracted a confession from earl for the brutal rape and stabbing murder of a nineteen 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 supermax prison in virginia. he was scared to death he was tempted he didn't want to come out of the cell. he's mentally retarded he couldn't read you couldn't write i walked in to the cell and

if you needed entering bangle door 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 again see the promise when mr. moti 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 walked him out. literally drug him out and me everybody's banging on the door here that the proselyte ards. joe reached out to his caseworker marie deans to see if anything could be done.

i called marie in a panic and set out. all of this god did 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 receive earl from mecum ber and when he came in i gave him a good turn into the infirmary he was given to complete this. at that time we only had. death by electrocution chair so he didn't have a choice. you know how do you know how you had led to the one through to your home and in the day put all we got was the he said he was getting really from. what i have been. and that became mother will no longer want me to go i go on you know my own away 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 with mentally retarded defendants and we know that this was a what we would call a coerced confession whether it was course psychologically or when someone did you kill that woman no. but you told the police that you did. yes why did you tell the police that you did it. i don't know you no no no 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 virginia law at the time the not allowed the introduction of new evidence . jerry heard little about what happened to earl his focus was on preparing for the next execution.

one year after the boston marathon bombing the morial 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 side and said a prayer. a week later carolyn 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. and we have two choices we can either let him stay alive and have his interaction and have his joyce. 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 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 it came within days and how to execute an innocent person. criminal justice system spin posed to be the best in the world. i don't think we make those mistakes and yet when you see a person like girl washing. something happen 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 per month. the death certificate reads. death by almost. you know don't make sense i don't want to be consider person committed. but that's what

every. six to two executions and the only kill that aca was myself and i refused to look into the mirror. 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. hillary clinton so civility can only return when the democrats are back in power former obama a.g. eric holder this point and new phrase when they go low we kick them without a doubt both statements can be dismissed as political banter as the midterms loom

but it would seem no one can play much virtue in civility in this environment. this is crude oil. soup they need to actually physically pulled it out of there and he would have well well well well well. there's a lot of money with the oil and with that comes. a lot of a lot of people from all over the country. if you don't make a hundred thousand dollars a year. as a minimum there's an issue. here in the. they were all six dollars a day hard work the workers not used. and so they want to relieve their stress and how do they relieve their stress these men moved back out like he's

a man that comfort many. people have been murdered up here people can raise their massive drug issues up here you have a boom you have everything else that comes along with money. vickey begin 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'll get their lawyers just all that it can go on not you know what he's going 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 what that's going to give them peace that's going to give them justice and we come in and say he's not quite been through this and this isn't the way. if you lose child porn he dies. 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. that we incurred because of what was going on and 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 nails 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 it be you know and the death penalty just because i think that's a fair thing that 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 are hard and i have has reached a verdict. they have sentenced him to death. news of the verdict traveled fast thank 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 you can hold your breath at once and heard a king and like now we can start here no point.

with son lives fate sealed karen begin 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 jury 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 you see the men that 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 them all why is this in the truth about this here. 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 napa earle's case you know a place down 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 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 at that take your life you know after i had biden that's it. i'm glad i didn't get a chance to hit so i apologized for the name thanking the way i thought she was

guilty. jerry decided to visit her 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 fall and spring street ok that's what it looked each year you know i won the wood we're going to you know went through your mind not doing it he was innocent all moema hit it all we're here she's a bloody raise your blood get me through. 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 head face. but to see him cross in that region to meet him in hollywood is that if you have. him that. you don't know because you're not much use.

join me every thursday on the alec simon show and i'll be speaking to us from the world of politics. i'm sure i'll see that. it's been too many times. dogs to see each city's hospitals.