00:00:12
what's it like when one of your friends
00:00:13
on death row is Led away to be
00:00:16
executed well you spend you know years
00:00:20
and years and months and months and
00:00:21
hours of every day with a person you
00:00:24
talk every day hey what are you doing
00:00:25
and you know let's eat something let's
00:00:27
make something to eat and you know and
00:00:30
he eventually comes by one day and like
00:00:31
hey I got to go
00:00:33
man and you know when he leaves and
00:00:35
turns his back and walks down them steps
00:00:37
he ain't coming back they're going to
00:00:39
kill
00:00:44
[Music]
00:00:45
him about an hour's Drive south of
00:00:48
Chicago in the state of Indiana is one
00:00:51
of America's oldest and most notorious
00:00:54
maximum security
00:00:57
prisons the majority of the 00 inmates
00:01:01
here are serving long sentences for
00:01:04
unspeakable
00:01:06
crimes and when I came at you I wasn't
00:01:09
just going to stick you an inch I was
00:01:11
going to run something all the way
00:01:12
through you get out of
00:01:18
here 12 are due to be executed on the
00:01:22
orders of the
00:01:25
state for 2 weeks I was given privileged
00:01:29
access to this dark and forbidding
00:01:32
world I do deserve to be executed bottom
00:01:35
line that I ain't going to candy coat it
00:01:38
I deserve to be
00:01:40
executed welcome to Indiana's state
00:01:46
[Music]
00:01:52
prison thank
00:01:55
you my introduction to the prison was
00:01:58
dramatic the who runs it superintendent
00:02:01
Bill Wilson agreed to take me to death
00:02:05
roow so this is actually the entrance
00:02:08
this is the actual entrance and and it's
00:02:10
uh two floors uh we only have 12 men on
00:02:14
on the row right
00:02:22
now you have to sign yourself in
00:02:25
mhm the superintendent comes to death
00:02:28
row every week to check on how the
00:02:30
inmates are
00:02:32
coping superintendent these are the
00:02:35
pictures of people on death row correct
00:02:37
uh these are the 12 gentlemen that are
00:02:39
on death row um and it shows their cell
00:02:41
location so that staff never have to
00:02:43
question where they're at no staff
00:02:45
members are allowed on the unit when the
00:02:47
offenders are out so the offenders
00:02:50
actually will secure themselves in the
00:02:51
cells uh and then their cell doors will
00:02:54
be closed or opened as they need to come
00:02:55
in or out do you like any of these
00:02:57
people like um they're all they're all
00:03:02
different in many ways and I
00:03:04
I am respectful of of who they are what
00:03:08
they are um would I call them my friends
00:03:12
no but there's some characters here that
00:03:15
have some personality characteristics
00:03:17
that you would say are
00:03:22
likable he knows them all by name and
00:03:26
they know him mcmanis had always amazed
00:03:29
me how clean that's sell is keep it up
00:03:31
lot of time in here I
00:03:33
know that in trouble yeah all right wils
00:03:39
hey how's your
00:03:40
eyes you've been over to Medical at all
00:03:43
yeah
00:03:47
[Music]
00:03:49
okay on guys I'm all right how are you
00:03:52
just one
00:03:54
second how you been I'm all right you
00:03:57
I'm doing all right how you doing hi
00:04:00
it's tension High not for me
00:04:03
okay I'm good all
00:04:06
right Richie what's up all this Mr
00:04:11
Richie's wife I believe is from England
00:04:13
which part of England is she from St Al
00:04:16
uhhuh in hotf show yeah yes yeah I met
00:04:20
her about four years ago on a pin pal
00:04:23
and we hit it off instantly and uh she
00:04:27
came over visited couldn't get enough up
00:04:29
and married me how often do you get a
00:04:32
chance to see her every weekend do you
00:04:34
mind do you mind doing this oh no no not
00:04:36
at all yes it is very very
00:04:39
unconventional though
00:04:41
because the end game in this
00:04:43
relationship is one that you know and
00:04:45
she knows
00:04:48
well yeah kind of cuz a lot of guys can
00:04:53
get off DE rope a a lot of us are
00:04:55
getting off death Rad but cases like
00:04:57
mine and like another gentleman back
00:04:59
here
00:05:00
you know we we didn't kill no women or
00:05:02
kids we we were charged with shooting a
00:05:05
cop a police officer and they just don't
00:05:07
let guys like us no matter if you got
00:05:10
good issues in your case or not legal
00:05:12
issues to let you off to let you off
00:05:14
death Road it doesn't matter you know
00:05:16
what I mean she knows that and she
00:05:18
married you I know I I found something
00:05:21
now see I was a stupid kid at 19 and 20
00:05:26
I made very poor decisions I would make
00:05:29
decisions
00:05:30
I would do things without without uh
00:05:32
thinking about them and I didn't give a
00:05:34
damn about the consequence at all that
00:05:37
kid to me now 32 years old that kid's
00:05:41
gone I'm not saying I'm
00:05:43
rehabilitated you know you're not saying
00:05:45
that no I'm not but I am cuz I'd be
00:05:49
bullshitting you I'm not going to sit
00:05:51
here and lie to you I I'm the kind of
00:05:53
guy that does need to be in prison why
00:05:56
are you the kind of guy who needs to be
00:05:58
in prison because I'm the kind of guy if
00:05:59
I get fired from a job and I can't find
00:06:01
a job I'll do it the legal way try to
00:06:03
get a job and I can't find a job uh and
00:06:06
I can't pay my bills I'll go get a gun
00:06:08
and I'll pay my
00:06:09
bills and I won't think no nothing about
00:06:11
it it won't bother me at
00:06:13
all you've describe the person you are
00:06:17
but how do you see your life looking
00:06:20
down the line where does it where does
00:06:22
it go where does it end
00:06:24
up
00:06:26
man either in a box or doing a life
00:06:29
sentence on in
00:06:32
population that's my choices right there
00:06:35
doing a life sentence or being in a
00:06:37
box and I got to watch my wife grow old
00:06:40
through these
00:06:55
bars out in the general population
00:06:58
convicts allowed yard time 2 hours
00:07:02
Recreation every
00:07:04
day save for taking showers and meals
00:07:07
this is their only opportunity to mix
00:07:10
and to make
00:07:15
allies have you been here a long time 27
00:07:19
years how many 27 years 27 years
00:07:34
I was heading to the administrative
00:07:36
segregation unit with Lieutenant
00:07:40
Gillespie the men here are among the
00:07:42
prison's most
00:07:44
[Music]
00:07:46
dangerous this is um Sergeant Fagan this
00:07:49
is his
00:07:54
unit get out of here
00:08:01
many of the offenders here are gang
00:08:03
members drug dealers and sexual
00:08:07
predators everything they do is
00:08:09
monitored and carefully
00:08:13
controlled could you tell me what this
00:08:16
list of names is all about all right
00:08:18
this every cellhouse in Indiana State
00:08:20
Prison has one of these the idea behind
00:08:23
this is to make sure we know where
00:08:24
everyone's at what they're doing who
00:08:27
they are why they're here etc for for
00:08:31
example if someone would accidentally
00:08:33
take out 508 and 509 together and let's
00:08:37
say they you know 508 owes 509 money so
00:08:41
509 is mad about it and they get put in
00:08:43
the shower together the door is locked
00:08:45
and he has he has a weapon on him 508
00:08:48
could lose his life look at that you
00:08:51
know just because someone made that
00:08:53
mistake so that's why it's important to
00:08:54
really understand this board do you feel
00:08:57
that you must be constantly vigilant
00:09:00
these guys have nothing but time okay
00:09:01
we're going home so we're thinking about
00:09:03
going to dinner with the wife going to
00:09:04
dinner with the mom whatever you know
00:09:06
these guys have nothing but time they're
00:09:08
sitting here you know and they these
00:09:10
guys they're smart they don't forget so
00:09:12
let's say you made a mad two weeks ago
00:09:15
you forgot all about it they don't so
00:09:17
let's say you're sitting here minding
00:09:19
your business doing something they can
00:09:20
come up behind you and assault you yeah
00:09:23
you got to you got to be awake you got
00:09:24
to be under
00:09:27
toes hey
00:09:31
the offenders in this unit are locked
00:09:33
down for 23 hours a
00:09:36
day and when they're allowed out for
00:09:38
their 60-minute break they're kept apart
00:09:42
in individual steel
00:09:50
cages one of the men is 38-year-old
00:09:53
Ronald L
00:09:57
Sanford by any measure and in any prison
00:10:00
Community his is an exceptional
00:10:15
story when did when did you come here to
00:10:18
Indiana State Prison oh well I came here
00:10:20
in 1989 at the age of 15 years old uh I
00:10:24
was actually convicted of the crime that
00:10:25
I'm here for at the age of 13 years old
00:10:28
um so and what was the crime double
00:10:31
homicide so I committed a double
00:10:33
homicide at the age of 13 years old at
00:10:35
the age of 15 my case had ran his U
00:10:38
course through the court and I was
00:10:40
sitting here to this prison in 1989
00:10:42
double homicide at the age of 13 13 yes
00:10:47
sir
00:10:49
that's very very young it's tragic uh to
00:10:52
say the least and it is very young
00:10:54
absolutely it's um it's unheard of you
00:10:56
know
00:10:58
um why
00:11:01
it's unspeakable to say the least uh
00:11:03
even reflected on it almost 25 years
00:11:06
later uh in August it'll be 25 years
00:11:09
since that crime took place it's uh it's
00:11:11
still very Vivid it's still very
00:11:13
poignant it still resonates and it still
00:11:15
has the same amount of uh tragic
00:11:18
elements involved in it now as it did
00:11:20
then and it will always be with me for
00:11:22
the rest of my life always say it's like
00:11:23
an arbitros around my neck no matter
00:11:25
where I what I where I go or what I do
00:11:26
for the rest of my life it'll always be
00:11:28
with me
00:11:29
what were the circumstances which led up
00:11:32
to the incident which led you in prison
00:11:34
at the age of 15 uh me and a friend had
00:11:37
basically uh plan to get money to go to
00:11:38
a
00:11:39
fair and to do so we're going to cut
00:11:42
grass and we went to a home basically
00:11:45
and they said they didn't want the grass
00:11:47
cut and rather than continue on the vein
00:11:49
and go to the next home we decided to
00:11:51
push into the home essentially and it
00:11:53
ended in a double homicide it's that
00:11:55
simple and uh for our complicity in that
00:11:57
crime I was sentenced to17 years 170 you
00:12:01
got a sentence of 170 years yes sir
00:12:04
however you cut
00:12:06
that you not going to get out of here
00:12:09
I'm El before parole when I turn 100
00:12:11
years
00:12:12
old have you ever thought about all the
00:12:16
things that you have missed that other
00:12:18
15y olds go through as part of their
00:12:21
normal lives absolutely I've never been
00:12:24
to the prom I've never driven a car I've
00:12:26
never had a driver's license I've never
00:12:27
filed tax returns uh uh I've never been
00:12:31
on an airplane I've never traveled
00:12:34
abroad yeah should I continue my life
00:12:37
has been lived in this prison and it
00:12:39
seems as though I've been in this prison
00:12:40
so long that I've never been free uh 25
00:12:43
years in prison you know it's a long
00:12:46
time especially when you come in at the
00:12:48
age of 15 yeah really Ariel thank you so
00:12:52
much for talking to me thank you for
00:12:53
taking the time I appreciate you
00:13:01
my first meeting with Sanford was a
00:13:03
shock but there were more disturbing
00:13:06
cases at Indiana State Prison
00:13:33
[Music]
00:13:38
one of The Oddities of the American
00:13:40
prison system is that an inmate can
00:13:42
spend 20 years on death row exhausting
00:13:45
the appeals process before he's
00:13:49
executed in all that time convicts are
00:13:51
confined to this cell block and have
00:13:54
little contact with the rest of the
00:13:57
prison Paul McManus killed his wife and
00:14:00
two young daughters Mr mcmanis the first
00:14:03
thing I noticed about your cell that is
00:14:06
terribly clean very different from any
00:14:07
of the others right why is that um I
00:14:11
feel if I don't use it in a month then I
00:14:13
probably don't need
00:14:14
it yeah but it's it's it's more than
00:14:17
that isn't it it's it's uh particularly
00:14:19
clean well me personally I I don't read
00:14:22
or right so I have a lot of time in my
00:14:24
hand so so I clean cuz I don't write
00:14:26
letters I don't read books there's only
00:14:28
so much on TV you can watch before they
00:14:30
show repeats so it gives me a lot of
00:14:32
time so I just take pride and clean
00:14:34
myself was your life before you came to
00:14:37
prison very similar were you very very
00:14:39
tidy person then not so much I worked a
00:14:42
lot so I was always busy so I like to
00:14:43
stay busy it keeps my
00:14:45
mind so it works both ways I guess you
00:14:49
know I keep busy in here but I'm pretty
00:14:50
well done all I can do in here I might
00:14:52
have to move to a different Cale and do
00:14:53
the same thing but I've been here over a
00:14:56
decade so I'm just now getting it where
00:14:58
I like it does being on death row take a
00:15:01
physical emotional toll on you oh it's
00:15:04
definitely up and down definitely
00:15:06
definitely now I did weigh 250 lb uh
00:15:11
almost almost 2 years ago and now I
00:15:13
weigh 166 now I have a pictures of them
00:15:17
if you would like to see them um I got
00:15:19
them right here matter of
00:15:20
fact
00:15:23
yes and you see the difference so this
00:15:26
is um it's all me this is all you so you
00:15:30
you you lost a lot of weight
00:15:32
right as as as is you know it's it's
00:15:35
depression a little bit uh you know and
00:15:37
and it's also just uh I mean it's like I
00:15:40
said it's it's a roller coaster it's up
00:15:42
and
00:15:42
[Music]
00:15:56
down McManus sees more of Indiana State
00:15:59
Prison than the other men on Death
00:16:02
roow he's a diabetic and is allowed a
00:16:05
daily visit to the prison
00:16:08
hospital the authorities must treat him
00:16:11
although they will in all probability
00:16:13
put him to death one
00:16:15
[Music]
00:16:23
day well here we are out of death row
00:16:26
and into the sunlight is this the only
00:16:28
chance you get to to mix with the rest
00:16:30
of the general prison population yes we
00:16:33
don't have a lot of contact with them so
00:16:35
it is nice to be able to come out and
00:16:37
see people that you've uh maybe been
00:16:39
locked up with that are not on the road
00:16:41
no more um and every once in a while you
00:16:44
can you know have a little bit of
00:16:46
contact with that person just for a
00:16:48
brief second were you on any kind of
00:16:50
medication like insulin before you came
00:16:52
you came to prison absolutely none zip
00:16:56
uh now you know I I take quite a few
00:16:58
pills
00:16:59
and the insulant shot
00:17:02
um it it all comes down to the food and
00:17:05
also how you you know you have your ups
00:17:06
and downs where you gain weight and then
00:17:08
stuff like that so I mean that does play
00:17:10
a
00:17:16
factor all my friends are WR with
00:17:19
me what's what's nice about well here's
00:17:22
a nice thing about being a diabetic is
00:17:24
that you do get to get out and and come
00:17:26
over to the hospital daily and then to
00:17:28
be around regular people it's nice
00:17:35
yeah put you back to
00:17:37
noral all right all right thank you see
00:17:40
you
00:17:56
later the rest of the prison is dis inly
00:17:59
different from the oppressive Gloom of
00:18:01
death
00:18:06
row lunchtime in cellblock Sea prisoners
00:18:11
have a chance to spend time in the open
00:18:20
air they can also earn privileges some
00:18:24
have jobs and can request a haircut
00:18:27
twice a month
00:18:35
all the barers are
00:18:37
convicts Rick perish is serving three
00:18:40
life sentences plus 10 years I must say
00:18:44
walking into this place is one of the
00:18:46
most extraordinary experiences I've had
00:18:48
for a long time you wouldn't have
00:18:49
thought that this was a barber shop or
00:18:52
in a in a Maximum Security Prison well
00:18:54
we we work hard to keep it unique uh in
00:18:59
here cuz we like the atmosphere we like
00:19:01
uh being able to come in here and relax
00:19:03
it's neutral territory for gangs for
00:19:06
officers I mean if you come to the
00:19:08
barber shop and you're a gang member
00:19:10
would you start trouble with a guy
00:19:11
that's standing here with a pair of
00:19:12
shears in his hand like this I know I
00:19:15
wouldn't I suspect not too that's why
00:19:18
there's no trouble in here there's still
00:19:20
though this feeling of unreality about
00:19:23
people with instruments like these in a
00:19:26
Maximum Security Prison I've been here
00:19:28
37 years we've never had an incident in
00:19:31
the barber shop we've never had an
00:19:32
incident with the shears never had a
00:19:34
problem you've been here since the' 70s
00:19:36
that's a long time January 75 long time
00:19:40
yeah yeah well you know if you do it a
00:19:42
day at time like most of us do you do
00:19:45
time a day at time uh sometimes an hour
00:19:48
of time sometimes a minute of time
00:19:50
whatever it takes to get through uh then
00:19:52
you look up one day and 37 years have
00:19:55
went by
00:20:00
there you go young man you have a good
00:20:03
day thank
00:20:05
you Rick what are we looking at here
00:20:08
little history of the penitentiary and
00:20:10
the barber shop the shop was uh
00:20:12
remodeled in August of 76 and that's the
00:20:14
first picture taken in this shop is that
00:20:18
you there yes it is AUST so this is your
00:20:20
wall yeah I'm uh I'm all over the wall
00:20:23
cuz it is my wall and this and you
00:20:26
you're Pumping Iron here yeah that was
00:20:28
uh uh probably 20 years ago when I was
00:20:32
uh uh eating anything it didn't move and
00:20:34
pumping iron at the same time so this is
00:20:38
a catalog of your life in pictures yeah
00:20:41
cuz you can see uh you can see the
00:20:43
progress from what I look like in 76 up
00:20:46
here to where I'm at right
00:20:49
now here that's the newest picture what
00:20:54
emotions uh do they invoke wish and I
00:20:58
were was out there doing it right
00:21:01
wishing I could start all over again at
00:21:05
uh 29 30 years of age and not make the
00:21:09
mistakes I
00:21:11
made but you get past after 37 years you
00:21:14
better be past all that you know have
00:21:16
your head screwed
00:21:18
on you
00:21:19
know make the best of what you have but
00:21:22
the pictures are constant reminders yeah
00:21:25
what
00:21:26
was you know that's like you know all of
00:21:28
us that got here were violent criminals
00:21:30
to get here what was your violent crime
00:21:33
Rick uh I'm in here for kidnap robbery I
00:21:36
pulled a robbery and uh the car I had uh
00:21:40
wouldn't start so I commandeered a
00:21:42
vehicle and there was three people in
00:21:44
it all the pictures here you have it on
00:21:47
mounted on cardboard yeah it's on
00:21:49
cardboard so if I ever get out I can
00:21:51
take it with
00:21:52
me that's what uh that's what it's for I
00:21:55
fold it up and take it with me as a
00:21:58
reminder
00:21:59
you don't want to go back
00:22:02
[Music]
00:22:31
[Music]
00:22:37
down
00:22:39
200 camera
00:22:45
crew I went back to the administrative
00:22:47
segregation unit to see Ronald L Sanford
00:22:52
again his Story haunted me a killer when
00:22:56
he' barely entered his teens
00:23:03
RL hi how you doing how you doing I'm
00:23:05
all right up
00:23:15
good how do you get accustomed
00:23:17
to life in this environment it takes
00:23:21
some getting used to uh it's tough it
00:23:23
was a young man on the Range there very
00:23:25
young man maybe 19 20 years old he's um
00:23:28
exhibiting psychosis they took him to
00:23:30
see the psych the psychologist because
00:23:32
uh he's having trouble adapting this is
00:23:34
an abnormal environment for a human
00:23:36
being certain you know these are
00:23:37
essentially cages and I think that we
00:23:39
stay in them 24 hour 23 hours a day come
00:23:42
out for an hour a day uh it's it's
00:23:44
taxing may may I have a look in your
00:23:46
cell about absolutely have a look at
00:23:48
some of the books absolutely you you
00:23:50
absolutely May so yes you mind opening
00:23:55
up I'd just like to have a look yes sir
00:23:58
you can you can take whatever down you
00:24:00
want to take
00:24:04
down and war against the week what what
00:24:07
what's that about Eugenics Eugenics yes
00:24:10
sir America's attempt to make a master
00:24:12
race essentially and and and this one is
00:24:15
the Tree of Life what that's about yes
00:24:17
uh it's cabala actually it's it's more
00:24:19
um um metaphysics
00:24:22
essentially those those deep questions
00:24:24
about man where he comes from where
00:24:26
we're going and Who We Are yes I see
00:24:29
that you have in addition to your books
00:24:31
you have some of your own writing on the
00:24:33
walls here strength well-being and
00:24:36
health yes just something I try to focus
00:24:39
on um if if there's anything I I I want
00:24:42
to stay my mind on is as I always say is
00:24:44
something Progressive so being strong
00:24:46
and having a a a good disposition and
00:24:48
being in good health with certain
00:24:50
certain things I definitely want to uh
00:24:52
focus on and you have written here no no
00:24:54
man is your enemy no man is your friend
00:24:57
every man is your teacher yes sir I'm
00:25:00
also standing here and I
00:25:02
think the these are the parameters of
00:25:05
your of your existence existence
00:25:07
absolutely these four
00:25:09
walls it's a pretty isolating place it
00:25:13
really is if you see it as such it's
00:25:16
isolated only to the extent that you you
00:25:18
you think it is you know I mean those
00:25:20
books allow for a great escape and for
00:25:23
uh to be able to leave uh the confines
00:25:25
of the wall
00:25:27
so but I'm only in here for a few
00:25:29
minutes and I I feel it as such I feel
00:25:33
it I feel the feel everybody in this
00:25:35
building feels the the the the um the
00:25:38
confinement that we're suffering uh here
00:25:40
you know you don't you put an animal in
00:25:42
a cage for too great of a length of a
00:25:44
time it goes crazy you know how much
00:25:45
more so humans you know so
00:25:55
[Music]
00:26:07
this is what Sanford looked like when he
00:26:09
came here at the tender age of
00:26:17
15 his murder of two elderly women in
00:26:21
1987 netted him the meager sum of $5
00:26:25
[Music]
00:26:29
on that vile act he must reflect for the
00:26:32
rest of his
00:26:33
[Music]
00:26:42
[Applause]
00:26:46
life Downs
00:26:55
[Music]
00:26:59
prison life moves to the Relentless and
00:27:02
monotonous beat of an unchanging
00:27:05
[Music]
00:27:16
routine some inmates get the chance to
00:27:19
relieve the tedium by
00:27:23
working at the end of his shift Rick
00:27:26
Parish the barber returned turns to
00:27:28
what's called an honor cell to which
00:27:31
only the most trusted prisoners are
00:27:34
assigned and they're all two man cells
00:27:36
two man
00:27:38
cells this is my cell
00:27:41
here Rick who opens the doors is that
00:27:44
control by the computer up in the office
00:27:47
there's a computer controls uh all the
00:27:50
doors controls our water may I coming to
00:27:53
yourself sure please thank
00:27:56
you and this is yourself
00:27:58
Mike hi mikee I'm Trevor McDonald nice
00:28:00
to meet you how you how long have you
00:28:02
been sharing a cell with r care oh about
00:28:05
2 and a half years isn't that about
00:28:07
right that's correct so which which is
00:28:10
your side oh oh this is your side it
00:28:13
strikes me to that there has to be a a
00:28:16
rather clear division of what's yours
00:28:19
and what's mik's that's uh that's Mike's
00:28:22
cabinet over there yeah and he has all
00:28:25
his commissary and stuff in there this
00:28:27
is my cabinet here and I have uh uh my
00:28:30
commissary and things in here but in
00:28:32
general we're sharing a space you have
00:28:35
to try to give the other person their
00:28:37
privacy if he's doing something and he's
00:28:39
up walking around I try to stay over
00:28:41
there and he does the same for me you
00:28:44
know just you know try to take turns
00:28:46
doing things cuz it is Close Quarters so
00:28:50
this is an improvement from any other
00:28:52
part of the prison you've been you've
00:28:54
been in regular sell house you've seen
00:28:57
how they live over there there you've
00:28:59
heard the noise you hear how quiet it is
00:29:02
it stays quiet like this most times and
00:29:05
uh sure you have to put up with another
00:29:07
human being but it's worth it it's worth
00:29:09
the
00:29:12
sacrifice Rick's honor cell does not
00:29:15
insulate him from one Stark reality
00:29:18
death row is within shouting distance in
00:29:21
the same
00:29:24
block what is it like to live so close
00:29:28
to death row well I just block it out I
00:29:31
don't I don't pay any attention to it
00:29:33
I'm a barber and I won't even go over
00:29:34
there and cut hair cuz I don't want to
00:29:36
get to know any of them you know you
00:29:39
lose enough friends uh through attrition
00:29:41
in here as it is without uh them being
00:29:44
on death road so I I don't even want to
00:29:47
get familiar with
00:29:48
them why don't you want to get familiar
00:29:50
with them because uh uh you get friendly
00:29:53
with them you get to know them they get
00:29:56
executed you know you lost another
00:29:58
friend does the mood change
00:30:01
perceptibly just before an execution in
00:30:05
the the days before an execution yeah it
00:30:08
gets even quieter you know everybody
00:30:10
knows uh last one I think was Wiggles he
00:30:14
stopped here hollered down through there
00:30:17
I'll see you
00:30:18
fellas he said that yeah he hollered
00:30:22
out everybody's usually awake we used to
00:30:26
uh midnight we used to beat on the bars
00:30:29
and how many times has that happened
00:30:31
since youve been here how many
00:30:32
executions have there been since you've
00:30:34
been here I've never kept track like I
00:30:36
said I try not to dwell on it so keeping
00:30:39
track of them would uh there'd be too
00:30:41
many as far as I'm
00:30:48
concerned Rick Parish says he's never
00:30:51
kept track of the number of
00:30:54
executions someone on death row
00:30:57
obviously
00:31:01
[Music]
00:31:06
has every one of the 12 men on Death Row
00:31:09
will one day be told the date and time
00:31:13
of his
00:31:14
[Music]
00:31:25
execution that common fate in inspires
00:31:28
unusual
00:31:33
[Music]
00:31:38
friendships John Stevenson was a member
00:31:40
of an organized criminal
00:31:43
gang he assassinated three
00:31:47
people Benjamin Richie who had met
00:31:50
before killed a police
00:31:52
officer hi how you doing pretty good man
00:31:55
you've been all right yeah good to see
00:31:56
you yeah how you doing good to see you
00:31:58
good you two uh in adjoining sales how
00:32:02
long have you been friends about 11
00:32:04
years since I got here on death row he
00:32:07
was already here when I got
00:32:08
here how did this friendship come about
00:32:11
what what what Drew you to each other's
00:32:14
friends well just we got the same
00:32:17
interest I mean we play our music loud
00:32:19
we we play video games we work out play
00:32:22
basketball eat together if [ __ ] goes
00:32:25
down we whoop [ __ ] ass together
00:32:28
that's you know that's how our
00:32:29
friendship came about does that mean you
00:32:32
have a lot in common yeah well I thought
00:32:34
we
00:32:35
did you're not sure anymore no no I'm
00:32:39
just I'm just kidding I don't want you
00:32:40
two friends to argue about that no we're
00:32:41
not going to argue what it no I mean if
00:32:44
if anything we always argue but we've
00:32:46
never come to blows over nothing like
00:32:48
[ __ ] [ __ ] you and then half hour later
00:32:50
hey what we eating tonight you know it's
00:32:52
over yeah it don't matter it don't mean
00:32:54
nothing I'm always right in the end so
00:32:57
[ __ ]
00:32:59
he's the voice of reason you're the
00:33:00
voice of Anger from what you say
00:33:01
absolutely yeah you know is that right
00:33:03
he keeps a leash on me yeah you know
00:33:05
like I'd rather lash out at somebody
00:33:07
like when I first met boy and he he
00:33:09
hated me cuz I was just a straight up
00:33:12
[ __ ] I be in your face [ __ ] you you
00:33:14
know come on in the shower and let's
00:33:16
fight and I calmed way down since then
00:33:19
yeah most of the police that couldn't
00:33:20
stand my ass and I got alled around
00:33:23
older cats and they calm me down from
00:33:26
your point of view what's this
00:33:27
friendship based on we heard from Richie
00:33:30
what he he thought about trust trust in
00:33:32
each other you
00:33:34
know and you know basically that's you
00:33:38
know trust like if [ __ ] goes down I got
00:33:40
his back he's got mine see that's why
00:33:42
they moved us cuz he got into it with a
00:33:45
dude up here in here and uh almost
00:33:47
killed him the police had to come in and
00:33:49
stop it and uh after they broke it up
00:33:53
and everything Administration got wind
00:33:55
that I was going to try to kill the dude
00:33:57
because he cut my buddy with a knife and
00:33:59
so they moved me and my buddy taex here
00:34:02
to the back and moov dude up in the
00:34:03
front by himself so nobody can get to
00:34:05
the dude within the first two weeks of
00:34:07
being on death row I watched a man get
00:34:09
murdered in front of me get stabbed up
00:34:11
42 times dispatched instantly and that
00:34:15
was my wake up to death row like if you
00:34:19
you come here you want to be a bully you
00:34:21
want to take [ __ ] from people this is
00:34:24
what's going to happen to you and dude
00:34:27
was just
00:34:29
butcher although you witnessed something
00:34:32
so
00:34:33
horrendous you still sound pretty angry
00:34:37
but see here's the thing if you show any
00:34:40
sign of weakness in here the Sharks will
00:34:43
Circle I won't be a
00:34:47
victim I'll be one of the Sharks W I
00:34:51
think the sharks are going to circle
00:34:52
regardless
00:35:24
[Music]
00:35:35
[Music]
00:35:39
the average sentence at Indiana State
00:35:41
Prison is 52
00:35:44
years in Britain that might seem like
00:35:47
two life sentences but it's infinitely
00:35:50
preferable to having an execution order
00:35:53
hanging over your head hello
00:35:57
[Music]
00:35:59
Lieutenant buen has taken me to eblog to
00:36:02
meet one prisoner who has escaped the
00:36:04
death
00:36:05
[Music]
00:36:07
penalty what's up Harrison how you
00:36:10
doing Trevor this is uh offender
00:36:13
Harrison I've known uh offender Harrison
00:36:15
for probably around 6 years uh I knew
00:36:18
him here and also he was uh on death row
00:36:21
before how was it that you managed to
00:36:24
move from Death Row um which is not a
00:36:29
particularly Pleasant environment to
00:36:31
this which is comparatively the court
00:36:33
much more pleasant the court ordered me
00:36:34
a new trial and they gave me years
00:36:37
instead of the death
00:36:39
penalty so how did you get that new
00:36:42
trial judge that was in my trial was
00:36:45
biased so they ordered a new trial and
00:36:49
instead of taking the whole thing I just
00:36:50
went ahead and took the deal which was
00:36:52
150 years 150 years it's a long time in
00:36:57
it
00:36:59
that's a very very long time indeed in
00:37:00
other words I'll die in
00:37:02
here no way I can make out no way I'm 62
00:37:07
now my outdate is
00:37:10
66 so there's just no way in the world I
00:37:13
can I can make it out there are people
00:37:15
who might think that there's not a lot
00:37:16
of difference between being on death row
00:37:19
and having been given 150 years at the
00:37:23
age of
00:37:25
62 there like you said there's still
00:37:27
hope there there there's no hope on
00:37:28
death
00:37:29
row once they put you to death that's
00:37:32
it there's no more wondering what's
00:37:35
going to happen there's no more trying
00:37:37
to work your way out of it there's no
00:37:38
more there's nothing still in a way a
00:37:41
kind of death sentence it is a death
00:37:43
sentence but you got a lot more freedom
00:37:46
out here and you might as well take the
00:37:48
freedom and live your life out here and
00:37:51
having a job and being able to work and
00:37:54
go to the CH Hall and go to the chapel
00:37:56
and do that going to sit up here and
00:37:58
just wait to die how long were you on
00:38:00
death road 18 and 1/2
00:38:03
years what was it like to spend so long
00:38:07
knowing that you faced
00:38:10
execution it was very very hard very
00:38:14
hard it's hard to do it up on XO sitting
00:38:17
there waiting for your last your last
00:38:19
meal your last day not knowing when it's
00:38:22
going to come why were you on death row
00:38:25
I said I killed three people
00:38:29
but I was up
00:38:30
there you would probably have been
00:38:33
executed executed yes had the date been
00:38:36
set for that yes I had about 2 months
00:38:39
that was a pretty close-run thing yes
00:38:42
what was that moment like for you when
00:38:45
you heard that you had avoided execution
00:38:49
it was a it was a great moment was a
00:38:52
great moment even though I still got a
00:38:53
lot of time to do like you said where
00:38:56
there's life There's
00:39:05
[Music]
00:39:14
Hope as he said James Harrison will not
00:39:17
leave this prison alive but he knows
00:39:21
he'll never be strapped to a gurnie and
00:39:23
given a lethal injection just after
00:39:26
midnight
00:39:30
like most of the inmates Harrison now
00:39:32
enjoys the strange
00:39:34
freedom of not knowing the date and time
00:39:37
of his
00:39:38
[Music]
00:39:43
death
00:39:46
stand before leaving the prison at the
00:39:49
end of my first week I asked to see
00:39:52
Benjamin Richie
00:39:54
again but this time face to
00:40:01
face in the year 2000 he shot and killed
00:40:05
the
00:40:07
policeman at the time Richie was on
00:40:09
Parole for
00:40:15
[Music]
00:40:20
burglary hi with less of the bado he
00:40:24
showed in the company of his friend I
00:40:26
wanted to hear his his view of his life
00:40:29
and his
00:40:30
crime talk me through the incident which
00:40:34
led you to be here well my crime is
00:40:39
shooting a police officer and killing
00:40:42
me and uh it started off you know pretty
00:40:46
harmless as a a theft crime me and my
00:40:49
friends would ride around and carjack
00:40:51
people and take their rims from their
00:40:52
cars from them and my buddy's car was
00:40:56
already full so I decided let's get a
00:40:59
van or a truck and we fill it up with
00:41:01
some rims and take it back and we go
00:41:03
sell
00:41:04
everything I got in a highs speed chase
00:41:07
and wrecked into a house and jumped out
00:41:09
and took off running I was trying to get
00:41:11
away you know but the cop was young and
00:41:14
he was on my
00:41:15
ass
00:41:17
and I thought maybe if I you know take
00:41:20
my gun out and fired a couple
00:41:24
times it scar him cuz you know he's a
00:41:26
beach scoll player police officer it's
00:41:27
kind of a good neighborhood like how
00:41:29
many times has he been shot at you know
00:41:31
you know if that bullet would have
00:41:34
hit just less than half of an inch lower
00:41:37
he'd be alive today and i' I'd probably
00:41:40
have a long lengthy prison sentence but
00:41:42
I wouldn't be on death row man how were
00:41:45
you apprehended how were you caught well
00:41:48
I actually got away uh I made it back
00:41:51
actually a few blocks away to some
00:41:53
family's house and a girl I was seeing
00:41:55
and got away and uh I didn't know I
00:41:58
killed him until I got back to the house
00:41:59
and seen it on the news and that just
00:42:02
destroyed me I knew I hit him in the
00:42:04
backyard but I didn't know I it was he
00:42:06
was dead right I fell asleep the next
00:42:09
thing I know I wake up and hear my buddy
00:42:10
says they're
00:42:12
outside I wake up and it was like in the
00:42:14
movies you see a whole bunch of red dots
00:42:17
from their guns going in and out the
00:42:19
windows and I was like yeah it's bad man
00:42:22
I told him go ahead and go out leave the
00:42:25
house and I didn't know what I was going
00:42:27
to do I didn't have no gun I couldn't
00:42:29
fight no more so I just gave up what
00:42:31
went through your mind when the court
00:42:35
pronounced you
00:42:38
guilty I was trying to portray a tough
00:42:40
guy in court so when they gave me the
00:42:42
depth sense I laughed at him and the
00:42:45
prosecutor told everybody that's the
00:42:47
voice of evil which I I would agree at
00:42:50
the time
00:42:51
yeah you know I deserved the death
00:42:53
penalty I was young and and didn't care
00:42:56
about anybody at all but
00:42:58
myself or anything and uh I deserve that
00:43:02
I deserved that sentence at the
00:43:03
time and uh yeah I just pretty much
00:43:07
laughed at them when they gave it to me
00:43:08
but then you know when I was by myself
00:43:11
it really sunk in like man you're more
00:43:14
than likely going to be executed one day
00:43:16
and it just it hit me hard you know so I
00:43:18
put my face in my pillow and you know
00:43:20
what I
00:43:21
mean cried a little bit
00:43:23
and was it inevitable that sooner or
00:43:26
later you would end up in a place like
00:43:29
this always knew as a kid I'd probably
00:43:32
end up in
00:43:34
prison
00:43:36
yeah it's it's it's it's it's weird
00:43:39
because when I was a kid I was I was
00:43:41
fascinated with prison movies every time
00:43:43
we drive by prison I would wonder what
00:43:45
are those guys doing what's it like in
00:43:47
there what are they up to you know what
00:43:49
I
00:43:49
mean why should I care I'm a kid why
00:43:52
should I care but I cuz I just always
00:43:54
knew I was going to end up in there cuz
00:43:56
I just had problem with the rules with
00:43:58
authority
00:44:01
and as you can see I'm here because of
00:44:03
that uh because you kill the police
00:44:06
officer you face execution if it does
00:44:09
come to that would you face that moment
00:44:11
with deep regret with remorse or with
00:44:21
Defiance I would I would I would
00:44:23
definitely regret regret it and
00:44:25
definitely have remorse
00:44:28
but I'd also have a little Defiance like
00:44:31
why are you killing me you said
00:44:32
killing's wrong but yet you're
00:44:34
premeditatedly strapping me to this
00:44:36
table and you're going to poison me to
00:44:38
death you're going to kill
00:44:40
me and uh that's what I would uh you
00:44:44
know
00:44:50
resent so these
00:44:53
are the steps which an inmate who is
00:44:55
about to be executed with take into this
00:44:58
into this area
00:45:00
[Music]
00:45:01
correct next time I talked to the man
00:45:04
who could be next in line to be
00:45:08
executed when you sit here now on death
00:45:10
row and you reflect on what you
00:45:13
did what do you
00:45:19
think I deserve to be
00:45:21
[Music]
00:45:24
here I meet Rosal the cat
00:45:28
well I expected a male cuz I put in for
00:45:30
a male cat and then about a month later
00:45:33
I realized it wasn't a boy and a killer
00:45:37
who never knew his
00:45:39
victims you were offered money yes to
00:45:43
kill
00:45:44
yes yes sir
00:45:47
[Music]
00:45:51
[Laughter]
00:45:54
[Music]
00:45:56
[Applause]
00:45:59
[Music]
00:46:25
[Music]
