mitch rutledge was on death row before his sentence was overturned. >> i came here in 1981.i did approximately a little -- eight years on death row. came off 1989. reversal from the alabama supreme court find the d.a. said there's no such thing as life without parole and gave me a new sentencing hearing. the jury recommended life without parole. the judge went along with it. i'm guilty. there was a man, he was shot and robbed. >> by? >> by me. >> on december 23rd, 1980, rutledge and two friends carjacked a van from a 28-year-old man. after robbing him, rutledge then shot the man five times, killing him instantly. the victim's wallet contained $20. when rutledge arrived on death row at 22, the threat of execution pushed him to the edge. >> life on death row, to me, was a very traumatic experience. i stayed in the cell 23 hours a day. i felt lost, confused, devastated. and knowing that you're going to die, that they sent you there to die, it have an even more vicious effect on your mentality and that death was definitely next. i went through a mental stage where i like to lost