Life Before Exectution | Indiana’s Death Row Inmates: Part Two | Real Stories

I've never believed in to death-penalty myself but when I think about what you do I begin to understand why people feel it should be the appropriate sentence for crimes like yours do you understand that I do deserve to be executed bottom line dying on a candy-coated I deserve to be executed [Music] about an hour's drive south of Chicago in the state of Indiana is one of America's oldest and most notorious maximum-security prisons the majority of the 1900 inmates here are serving long sentences for unspeakable crimes and when I came out here I wasn't just gonna stick you an inch I was gonna run something all the way through twelve are due to be executed on the orders of the state hi for two weeks I was given privileged access to this dark and forbidding world stealing cookies has a seven-year-old kid boy in school turned into a 20 year old kill macaque planning herself on death row it went from stealing cookies to shooting a cop welcome to Indiana State Prison my second week at the prison began back on death Road the 12 men here are locked in their cells for 23 hours a day we are given a single hours recreation taking his is Frederick Bell his crime the murder of a mother and her young daughter there could be next on the list to be executed is this your exercise routine yeah it's my recreation right now [Music] and how's the cat that's my girls looks particularly well-fed always what's your exercise routine well it usually consists of the leg press machine or going outside or hitting the weights or sitting there calling somebody your loved ones and your family on the telephone you know are you just sit up there like I was doing just writing a letter right my girl over in Germany so is she in Germany doing while she's in Germany probably right now getting ready to fix supper so does she uh her name is Susan and she's a she's a very beautiful person it must be strange having a relationship when you're a so far away and when you are in the circumstances that you are ain't no ain't gonna sugarcoat it most of us probably won't get off death row will be executed or will die from our appeals running out of you know whatever health reasons or whatever I hope maybe one day I might get off but the reality and the truth of that I probably won't there's like 16 levels to death row appeals from the start all the way to the finish and that's not including clemency asking the governor for you know please grace and which stage they you at I'm on 13 I've been here seven years my appeals have been going since then and I'm kind of rapid on mine that's what tells me I don't know if I'll get off for now it sounds from what you say and what you admit to yourself that time is running out yeah it is it is that's the reality of my situation when your time runs out you know you're handcuffed you just strapped down you stick a needle in your arm and they kill you my sound cold but that's the reality the last man to be given a lethal injection that Indiana State Prison was Matthew Eric wrinkles convicted of killing his wife and two relatives he spent 14 years on death row [Music] on the night of December the 11th 2009 wrinkles was put to death in this building [Music] superintendent Bill Wilson who presides over all executions at Indiana State Prison is taking me to its death chamber so these are the steps which an inmate who's about to be executed would take into this into this area correct there's a process or a timeframe in which we do everything but yes approximately between 4:00 and 5:00 the night of the execution we would bring the offender over here and he would be housed in a holding cell until the time of the execution as the appointed time for the execution draws nearer the prisoner is kept under close observation this is usually a very quiet time for the offender though some make themselves preoccupied with the television others just sit here and meditate and are very quiet for the last few hours my job is one single event and that's to put this man to death that's that's very a surreal moment in time now a new overnight the state has executed an Indiana man convicted of killing his wife and two of her relatives Matthew wrinkles died by lethal injection just after 1:00 this morning a jury convicted him of killing his wife her brother and sister-in-law inside their Evansville home back in 1994 police say he wore camouflage and face paint when he broke into the home and shot them about a half dozen people stood outside the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City last night protesting this execution and he did not try to appeal or as how do inmates react right at this at this point every every execution that I've been a part of every offender has done it differently most have always has at this point they've they've accepted their their their station their position the the process and that's happening one of them the the first execution that I was ever a part of the offender turned to us and and apologized to us about having to put us in this place and he basically said I'm sorry you guys have to do this do people resist I mean there's not very much to resist with handcuffs all around and being tied up to the gurney the only time I've ever had any resistance was one offender was passive he didn't actually participate in in movement he didn't have participate in getting on the bed so we had to actually carry him from from the holding cell and on to the execution but are there any any words exchanged what what do you say well we do everything we can to make sure that the offender's comfortable we do talk to him we make sure that he understands where we're at in the process we we constantly are encouraging him to ask questions or just trying to be there for him once he's placed on the gurney he's allowed to give a final statement an actual death warrant is read to him so that he understands again why he's in this position and at that point then we start the execution process [Music] [Music] maybe I know every week on average nine new prisoners arrive at Indiana's state prison the majority are young men many will spend the rest of their lives behind bars take meds there we go lieutenant Gillespie takes me to cell house c2 which some of the new arrivals are assigned it's the largest block Indiana State Prison it holds almost 400 offenders nearly all convicted murderers see Charles 23 this is I'm Sergeant Zimmermann how do you do I'm Trevor the gun he's pretty much runs the house yeah it's just after lunch and inmates are returning to their cells [Applause] I can just see chap stroking the cap down there yes how did he come by that cat well we have a program a pet program here at the Indiana State Prison that based on conduct history and each offender and put a request in and they come by it as a privilege yes or definitely a privilege oh yes there's not a right definitely a privilege and so the thing is what it does it gives them a sense of responsibility helped medicate that so to speak you know that that temperament that stretch that they may have throughout the day are not being able to talk to their loved ones of family members so the cat replaces that which they that don't have or loss on the outside they're interested in your cat hello are you doing I'm Trevor McDonald had it nice to meet you so you've named them Roscoe yes it's a she oh she actually sorry forgive me I I kind of put an order in for right yeah we put on the list for Kent you asked they asked you what kind of catch you want a male or a female I expected a male because I put in for a male cat so I bought all this stuff and got it all ready even named it because I knew what I never wanted to name him and then about a month later I realized it wasn't a boy I couldn't change your name then that's good it was and Raskin it is rascal it was and rascal it is and you think it's changed the way you look at your time here well it helps me get through my time you know like I said if I have bad days or you just don't think you can take any more come on and she starts meow and she's like my kid I've raised her since she was a little bitty kid I love her like she's my kid you use the would home well this has been home for the last 24 years so really then you know over half my life so I'll be 45 in August been here since I was 20 and how long do you expect to be here well right now I get out in November 2014 2004 0 2014 that's a long time real long time I'll be 72 years old 22 72 is a long time the worst part is losing the family here that you love all your loved ones everybody ever loved me that never turned her back on those are the ones that are gone now my mama died just a few years ago the worst thing that ever had the pain of that memory must haunt you it crushes me every day I keep a photo of her up on my up on my wall she's the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning and maybe we have a look at it this man thank you that's that's your life yes my mother and this is a picture that she had sent me of a cross and she wrote on the back she says put this on your wall where you can always see it but mom and I keep that right there denis lair will spend more than 50 years in this prison that's par for the course for most men you coming to terms with that seems almost impossible there must be people here who stand no chance of ever getting out true how do they cope with that realization I believe it is an individual thing once you come to the realization and to the fact that possibility that's a chance that I'm gonna spend all my entire life in the department's of Corrections so those offenders who come into the realization of that an embrace that are the ones that continue to live their lives the best way they can you talk about their embracing it you use the word embrace yes but must be very difficult to do that to come to terms with the fact that this is it they're never getting out yeah so many feelings I've talked about sort of young ones and that's the problem that we have with the with the young offenders truly I've not embraced their they say it's a time frame within one to five years a high end of eight years that our offender fully realized of the fact that he's going to be in for the rest of his life and do people ever abandon all hope and give up when they realize that this is it this is the end they're never getting out yes unfortunately you have offenders suicides in the department of the corrections and it's predominately those offenders who realize that there's no more hope [Applause] [Music] the closest any prisoner comes to life on the outside is the prison barber shop [Music] it has an appearance of near normality convicts who work in it are among the most trusted in the institution john sawatya is serving life with no possibility of release his own bone how long have you been coming here for your haircut sir John I've been coming for about seven years he was living in my cell house so when I came in it was just kind of a normal face to see so I sat down and he's been cutting my hair ever since John Deasy a fussy fussy person that his haircut though an officer is not lieutenant is the next wing so he likes to hide it tight but I was kind of put in check by a certain person in his life that doesn't like it real high tired she likes it never failing so I take care of what is why the six days a week the barbershop is John sir what cos well it's his escape at the end of his working day the mundane reality of prison life is dormitory earth and here we are yes wait machines and stuff like that this is the west side the west side yes sir yes listen aku and here we are West 51 John this is a privileged relatively privileged part of this this institution oh yes sir but how do you find the fact that you have no no privacy I mean you're living cheek by jowl here with everybody else oh no there's there's plenty of privacy we have this wall here this wall here and this wall here that's plenty of privacy at that that's all you have yes sir that's enough I mean when when you realize that that man whatever he does or that man or anybody else has nothing to do with me and I don't want to have anything to do with them so this is my cell this is my cube this is my life and that's that's that's all I need and what kind of trouble did you get into I just just happened to commit this one murder it was that's it that's the only time I've been in trouble I got busted for marijuana one time but that was it and that was that was a slap on the wrist that was a misdemeanor and that was it and then after that I committed this murder and I I took the lives of two innocent people solvers - I'm guilty what were the circumstances John in which you took the lives of two innocent people there was a there was a gentleman that I grew up with and he knew another guy well-beings that I was a dolphin this man presented pictures of my mother my father and my brother my mother in the yard with her - Alice my father coming out of the ice machine and my brother getting out of his car in our driveway and he said as easy as it is to take these pictures of your family that's how easy it is to kill I can kill these people that was my family and I lost it I don't know where I went but I lost it and I he says this is what I want done and I took the lives of two people when he said to you this is what I want done what did that mean - to take the lives of these two people because he was trying to take over the tickets lottery tickets within this year at worth in Garrity and I didn't know any better and when he I thought he was I thought he was a big-time hoodlum and I was scared I was scared more from my family than I was my life I take your point about about being a you know worried about the lives of your own family but then you could have reported him to the police I know you thought never came to my mind far never came to my mind I don't know why I don't know why so John woman what was the arrangement about taking the lives of two innocent people what inducements did he offer did he did he offer to pay you yes there was there was a pay but it was it was minimal I can't remember if it was 700 or 800 dollars it was it was no money whatsoever but you know I was just satisfied that nothing was going to happen to my family that was the main thing you were offered money yes to kill yes now movers there's no excuse yes I mean it's it's me what you did is what might be termed horrendous a contract killing I mean you were you were paid to do it yes sir took the lives of two innocent people did you know these innocent people no sir no sir and how did you kill them they were stabbed to death Wow set $700 yes [Music] [Music] the 12 men on death row are linked by a common fate [Music] one day they'll formally be told precisely when their lives will end [Music] when that day and that hour arrives superintendent bill Wilson will carry out the orders of the state of Indiana [Music] mr. McDonald this is mr. Allen how do you do mr. Allen glad the weather changed the superintendent makes a weekly visit to the prisoners on death row the last man he sees today is Frederick Baer who killed the mother and her daughter this is the last cell on the on the row NOS set on the blow you can see mr. bear has an infatuation with one of England's most famous people she a lifelong love of Mines it's like 10 11 years old when I saw her getting married - first time - Charles I followed her all my life why because of her heart what she represents she's just one of those people like Mother Teresa all right Jesus for that matter you know just makes an impact on it well not only one part but the whole part of the whole world so that's my second love your cat yes superintended what's your relationship with mr. bear like how would you describe it I'd say we have a great relationship as far as a superintendent an offender with the death row offenders in particular our destinies are are our course in life will throw us in the same event and as a result I think it's important that I get to know these guys as well as I can or as well as they allow me and mr. bear's been one of the offender's that we've had some really solid conversations about life where we're at why we're here how our destinies have actually led us to this point where at one particular juncture we'll will participate in the same event that event that you talked about is that you will preside over his execution correct mr. bear what do you think of the superintendent having - having made in the compassionate way as he described it that cultivated that relationship with you but in the end he will be the one to take your life it's not actually mr. Wilson's taking my life the state of Indian that's thinking my life it's a good guy he's some fair person he'll listen he'll understand and he'll exercise judgment on what he has to do fairly he's not discriminatory towards anybody and I got a respect how do you deal emotionally with the fact that you know you will eventually preside over his execution his death I've come to grips with it by virtue of meeting with my religious leaders of my particular church and how did the church feels about it I've also asked God for forgiveness for my feebleness in the fact that I may not always understand what his intentions are for us what I do know is that man has been allowed to create laws we enforce those laws and up to and including the death penalty if I don't understand because I can't because I'm human of what God's true intentions are then I ask for forgiveness for that feebleness I say this with some trepidation but it seems that between you both you have made peace with each other about what's to happen inevitably yeah I don't know that we ever had to say that we've been at peace with one another but I think we've had we've made the effort to understand where each other are in the process and and how our lives are intertwined and a one on sale one single day will have the most effect on one another he he will always be a part of my life and and I then of his at some point I put myself on the path to put him in the position to do what he has to do again affecting somebody else's life years later by one or several acts of stupidity and undescribable things that I've done in my past shamefully regretfully as much as I love that cat and adore her and almost one side step of worshiping her I would give her up to undo what I've done thanks I now spent almost two weeks at Indiana's state prison [Music] convicts here face acres of time and limited horizons and a routine that can be crushing in its monotony but that can change in an instant I've been alerted to an incident in cellhouse Sea this CCTV footage shows a prisoner being dragged along the range after he'd been badly beaten how badly was the victim beaten up he was beaten up I could say pretty bad you know when I got there I actually thought he was deceased because he wasn't moving at all you thought he was dead pretty much yes because I had to get his door open his door was already unlocked because he's a fireman you know firemen are out during the day he was out and his door was closed at the time I had to get his padlock off because he was like get in there I touched in a move I mean he finally showed me that he was responsible and one thing about it his light was out so whoever did it they wanted to make sure that we didn't see it you got to be prepared for anything and everything that situation yesterday it could have been me getting walked out on a gurney next out of somebody else you have to be ready for it all the prisoners in this block will now be locked in their cells for 24 hours a day it's an obvious safety measure the prisoners see it as punishment I went to see how Dennis Lehr who I had met earlier was coated hey Dennis how are you not too bad how things how would you describe the atmosphere on the cellblock when there is a lockdown like this people don't like it I mean people have their families coming up and there's there's no way that they can notify their family tell them not to come up to visit like right now I've got a cousin her stepson in the hospital I've made your surgery other day I don't know what happened no there's no way for me to contact home so I don't know if he lived or died you know it was a like life or death situation I had to sit here and I have to wait until I come off flight down find out what happened how many times has that happened to you since you've been here oh it's happened a lot I mean I've been on stretches back in 90 90 or 91 we always lockdown for like 11 months straight how do you cope with being locked down for that period of time you got to deal with it you find something to do - too busy you don't keep busy keep yourself occupied might go crazy you know what some guys do now I'm lucky I've got a TV got rascal in there so you know she she owes me past my time I got my guitar how does Roscoe cope with being adopted I don't think she likes it I think she wants to get out on a rage but uh she said that bars now so I think uh I think she wants that get out on the range and run around the restrictions apply to her as well oh absolutely yeah she can't come out either you know yes she wants out - its it's hot on her too [Music] my time at this prison was coming to an end [Music] [Music] I was surprised that so many prisoners talked about the possibility of freedom one day perhaps is the only way to survive a long sentence even if freedom is an impossible dream before I left I asked for one last meeting with Fredrick bear in his death row cell I made a final visit to death row I asked to see Frederick Baer who might well be the next man to be executed at Indiana State Prison his crime still provokes outrage and disgust among the other killers here one afternoon in February 2004 he talked his way into a house and killed a mother and her four-year-old daughter by cutting their throats bear who lives in Indianapolis and was arrested there last night was working in Madison County on a construction site he says he got lost and that's why he was near the Clark hole when he was arrested he strenuously denied any involvement in the horrific crime I'm not a violent person I cry when a freaking butterfly gets hit on the windshield that's out soft and sentimental area because I love life why would I want to destroy life I was driving up and down that road like the the witnesses said and everything yeah that was me I was driving up down the road I was aggravated I was high I'm not gonna lie but am i cold sadistic murderer Reiko Oh a girl's throat a five-year-old girl's throat I love kids but that was eight years ago hi good how you doing I wonder when I could begin by asking you what you remember about your life growing up it's a normal childhood I mean I I was adopted by my dad about five years old a wonderful guy you know didn't have to but he loved us anyway and he adopted me and my brother and life was okay it was a rough didn't know as life went on that a lot of the views and stuff would start but alcoholism and stuff played a part in that and then my sister passed and life sort of fell apart after that but I mean I learned a lot of good things before that and you know hard knocks hard lessons but you know we all have a hard life one way or another so I'm not the only one who's been beaten and all that you know so but relatively normal just to some certain extent you know do you remember the first time you broke the law yeah I was uh I've been a thief all my life that's all I've been that's all I've ever been is I'm not proud of that fact but that's all it is you know I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for you I'm a thief I saw I've always been a thief I started stealing Matchbox cars when I was in a kindergarten and then it graduated you know stealing cars Matchbox cars from the store shoplifting and stuff and I graduated from that stealing money you know then stealing is stealing all my life when you look back what is it you would say that set you on the road to crime stealing and drugs and so on it's a hard question after my sister passed away life sort of fell apart and I kind of gave up she was like the big figure in my life I sort of just gave up and I stopped caring because you know somebody it's nice as she was it could be done that way and I ended up being sort of the same people that you know did to her what I've done to others to get here tell me about the incident that landed you on death row what I do to get here on death row yep I broke in the house I walked up and under the ruse of being lost I walked in and I knocked on the door asked to use the phone if somebody you know if nobody answered the door then I would break in the house nobody was home so I knocked on a door and a little kid answered the door and so my first thought was could I use your phone you know throw it off her mom came to the door and I asked to use the phone being withdrawing for meth and they doesn't see my face you know I was just really wasn't there my intentions was the raper and I couldn't go through with it but and I'd already gone too far and to to back out now I know where I was headed I was headed back to prison and I guess I just thought that uh if I killed them nobody would never know and so I cut their throats I cut both of their throats helped me to understand that you went in with intention of raping the mother but you ended up killing both of them including slitting the throat but was she four years of age three four years of age sounds like you already know more than what I have to tell you yes she was a four years old the mother was 24 years old mother's name was Corey and the daughter's name was Jenna I was a cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch [Music] you you remember their names yeah through my paperwork I didn't know him then but I know them now through my paperwork I know everything about them not everything about the mine well my calendar in my date book I've got there on my calendar marked for their birthdays ain't birthdays yeah I mean they're a part of my life and I'm a part of theirs was as they like it or not they didn't want me in their life i intruded in their life yes but you know you're not a part of their lives because they have they've gone on they've that that they're died they've been killed right I'm a part of their their family's lives I've killed a little kid in a most horrendous way in the worst possible way that could be imagined you just don't know I wake up from that still and it's seven years eight years almost now I'll be here on death row well no this is seven years I'll be here on death row seven years and I still wake cold sweat when I think of what I've done especially to that little girl she was at the beginning of her life and I stopped that how do you think I feel about that no you can't even imagine how I feel I can't I can't I've never believed into death penalty myself and I've I've always been against it and I probably still am but when I think about what you do I begin to understand why people feel it should be the appropriate sentence for crimes like yours do you understand that I do deserve to be executed bottom line dying on a candy-coated I deserve to be executed by the laws governing this state of Indiana I deserved to be executed over there and and and the death penalty was put in place for people who did what I've done what you did right I mean there's no way around it if a person does what I've done they should be executed bottom line that's according to the laws of the state of Indiana I eventually took my leave of Indiana State Prison and the 1900 men confined within his worlds but the memory of what I saw and heard here would stay with me for the rest of my life [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Real Stories

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Rating: 4.7890534 out of 5

Keywords: Real Stories, interview with a murderer, real stories documentaries, Meeting America's Death Row Inmates, Documentaries, Documentary Movies - Topic, death row inmates, death row documentary, Full length Documentaries, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary, Full Documentary, 2017 documentary, trevor mcdonald, BBC 3, Amazing Stories, death row, BBC documentary, prison, BBC Three documentary, Death Row: Inside Indiana State Prison, BBC Three

Id: 0__XpC6c-bQ

Length: 45min 20sec (2720 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 30 2017