0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11- AUTOMATED VOICE ON PHONE:- This is a free call from...
0:00:11 > 0:00:13- ON PHONE:- Stacey Johnson.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15...an inmate at...Varner Unit.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57She was laid out on the bed,
0:00:57 > 0:01:04the TV was turned all the way up to cover the sound of her screams.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17It's not a race against anything, my goodness, it's been 25 years.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It's pretty much like a slaughter line,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23and, and it's... It's just inhumane.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It's...
0:01:32 > 0:01:36The rush to use this drug is bad for the dignity that they're
0:01:36 > 0:01:37trying to do eight in ten days,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40but it's also a terrible idea because it's a terrible drug.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45Midazolam has a history of being involved in botched executions.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52A lot of the focus has been on the drugs being used,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55will they cause cruel and unusual punishment?
0:01:55 > 0:01:57That awaits to be seen.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00If it lasts for an hour or whatever,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02I really just really truly don't care.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13Tonight, the families of the victims are on the Governor's mind.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17The justice they were hoping to get, they will once again not.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23The Department of Corrections' attention now shifts to the
0:02:23 > 0:02:25executions that are scheduled for Thursday.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36PHONE RINGS
0:02:58 > 0:03:03What's coming up right here is, er, Varner Unit and Varner Supermax.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10These buildings right here, this is where, um, Stacey's been housed.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Stacey's my husband, er, he's on death row.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17He's scheduled to be executed on April 20th.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30Does anybody need a coffee here?
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Four days, four days.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Four days.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45And they said even though it was a short time,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47it's still probably about the longest four days of our lives.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52You know, of course, first my biggest fear
0:03:52 > 0:03:54is him getting executed.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56But what would be my...
0:03:56 > 0:03:58..my second fear is, you know, him being executed
0:03:58 > 0:04:02but still turns out to be innocent.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07And that the state of Arkansas executed an innocent man
0:04:07 > 0:04:10that's been proclaiming his innocence since day one.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Stacey Johnson has been on death row for 23 years now.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20He's convicted for violently killing Carol Heath in 1993 in De Queen.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22He beat, strangled and slit Heath's throat
0:04:22 > 0:04:25while two children in the house hid.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27After the long legal battle,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31the victim's family just wants Johnson to admit his crimes.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36I saw him kill my mother.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39I believe that he is the one
0:04:39 > 0:04:42that took the knife to my mother's throat.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47I believe that he is the one who strangled my mother.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50I believe with all my heart he's the one that broke in
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and started beating my mother.
0:05:00 > 0:05:06That's, um, my mom and I when I was about four
0:05:06 > 0:05:09when she was pregnant with my brother.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14This is the picture that was taken two weeks before she was killed.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18And she's very young.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20She was 25 years old.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Her and I used to dance a lot to country music
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and whatever came on the radio.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34Um, the day of my birthday she called into the radio station
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and requested Billy Ray Cyrus, Achy Breaky Heart
0:05:38 > 0:05:42and we danced to it, um, the correct way.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46That's one of my best memories with my mom, um...
0:05:48 > 0:05:53She was actually murdered that night, the night of my birthday.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Stacey Johnson came over.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16He had been acquainted with my mom...
0:06:17 > 0:06:20..and something was going on at the door.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24My mom got up and I got up because I was thirsty for water
0:06:24 > 0:06:27and I just couldn't believe what I saw.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32He came in and he started beating my mom up.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36And my mom was fighting back really hard.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39She was screaming, "Get off of me!"
0:06:45 > 0:06:49She was maybe 5'1 and she weighed 109 pounds.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55And I was just standing there in the hallway.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00At six I didn't understand.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05I had a two-year-old brother...
0:07:07 > 0:07:09..and I had to make sure he was hid and quiet.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17This is going to be it here.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33My sister said she hid me in a closet, and I don't remember that.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39I just, uh, the only memory that comes to mind in that house
0:07:39 > 0:07:41is seeing my mother on the floor.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50I saw him take something to her throat.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54Something sharp.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02There was so much blood.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10There was just so much blood, all over the place.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27The police report said there was, uh,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31there was two children's footprints in the blood.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42I was two when it happened, and she's never really been in my life.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47There isn't really a place that I ever...
0:08:47 > 0:08:50..I ever get the feeling of her being with me other than going
0:08:50 > 0:08:56and visiting her grave, and I guess I could speak to her there.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04I don't get a reply, but it makes me feel better to go and I get to share
0:09:04 > 0:09:08my feelings with her, even though I'll never know how she feels back.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Stacey Johnson has always insisted that he was innocent.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable
0:09:39 > 0:09:43and when you have a child witness, uh, that's a major issue.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45That was part of the case.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58The child psychologist who spoke to the child during the course
0:09:58 > 0:10:00of this, at the time Ashley Heath was I think,
0:10:00 > 0:10:01like, five or six years old.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04And she done testing with Ashley Heath,
0:10:04 > 0:10:09and she stated plain and simple that she don't believe that the
0:10:09 > 0:10:12child witnessed the murder that actually took place.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14That she saw a traumatic...
0:10:14 > 0:10:16You know, her mom dead,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18which would be traumatic for any child
0:10:18 > 0:10:21or anyone in that particular point to see.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25However, she stated herself that she don't believe that she
0:10:25 > 0:10:26witnessed a murder.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30That's why I say there is lot of things in this case that was
0:10:30 > 0:10:32done, that needs to be solved.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36There are other issues, too, that have some significant problems as well.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37There's the DNA issue.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40The DNA was tested, and this...
0:10:40 > 0:10:42We're talking about back in the '90s,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45when DNA was nowhere near as precise as it is now.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50And we asked for retesting and were explicitly denied,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52uh, by, by the courts.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56So, when you have a situation where you have a serious
0:10:56 > 0:11:00question of the competency of the child who testified against him,
0:11:00 > 0:11:05when DNA testing is denied, what do they have to hide?
0:11:05 > 0:11:07What is the problem?
0:11:07 > 0:11:11And so, I would ask that you recommend to the Governor,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13uh, that he grant clemency.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Like I said, the DNA evidence needs to be tested.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20All I'm asking for from all of you is just the opportunity
0:11:20 > 0:11:24and the chance, just to get my case back in court to where
0:11:24 > 0:11:28I can have the chance to have my case heard by someone who
0:11:28 > 0:11:32will give me a fair, impartial trial. That's all I want.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33OK, all right.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36With that, uh, this, uh, interview will conclude.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37Thank you very much.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44There was some DNA that was associated with him, uh, found.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48And so, we're trying to get the courts to retest it, uh,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52and hopefully the testing will, uh, exonerate him.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53We'll have to see.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11You ever met a lawyer who was on time?
0:12:11 > 0:12:15I had to buy my daughter a new trampoline for her birthday.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The wind blew it off, the one that we had.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27It's a funny feeling about the... the death penalty.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32Do I want to go out and really watch this man be put to death? No.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36You're a prosecutor, this is your job.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40That's just the necessary evil.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50This is the 180-page motion they filed on Thursday...
0:12:51 > 0:12:53..that I had to respond to by Friday,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57that they turned round and filed a response on Friday night.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02This was for new DNA testing, and, uh, it's...
0:13:03 > 0:13:05He's had DNA testing twice.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08I mean, how many times do you want to have it tested?
0:13:08 > 0:13:13We truly believe it's nothing but a stall tactic to stop the execution.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Uh, the evidence in this case, we believe is overwhelming,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18and has been since day one.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23The hair that was found with the body of Carol Heath, that was
0:13:23 > 0:13:28an African-American hair, was tested and the DNA from that hair compared
0:13:28 > 0:13:33to the DNA sample taken straight from Stacey Johnson matched.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37The problem with that in terms of using it as evidence is
0:13:37 > 0:13:39he was known to have been a social guest.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44The fact that Stacey Johnson's DNA is somewhere in the Heath house
0:13:44 > 0:13:46doesn't necessarily prove a whole lot
0:13:46 > 0:13:48because he's known to have been there.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52I mean there was some Caucasian hairs found.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- INTERVIEWER:- On the body, or... - On the body, yeah.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Why were they not tested?
0:13:56 > 0:13:58We don't know.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01But they should be.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03A few miles from the murder scene,
0:14:03 > 0:14:08the police found the victim's purse and a green shirt.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12On that shirt was blood,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16and the DNA testing on it came back to be Carol Heath's.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20The prosecutor claimed it was Stacey Johnson's shirt
0:14:20 > 0:14:22and Stacey Johnson says it wasn't his shirt.
0:14:22 > 0:14:29It was in that shirt that, supposedly, a cigarette butt was found.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32On that cigarette butt was a saliva that was tested,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36um, and it was tested to be, uh...
0:14:37 > 0:14:39..one out of every 28 million
0:14:39 > 0:14:44African-Americans that that DNA would be his DNA.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48The problem with that is the submission sheets are not as
0:14:48 > 0:14:53precise on that, there was another cigarette butt that was found
0:14:53 > 0:14:58in the home and it appears to us that the two may have been confused.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01And if he had smoked a cigarette there,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05that doesn't prove anything, proving something that's not in
0:15:05 > 0:15:10dispute, which was that he had been a social guest at the residence.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12He has no evidence to prove he's innocent.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15I don't know of any piece of evidence or any testimony
0:15:15 > 0:15:19he's ever asserted, other than the changing testimony of his client,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21that his client is innocent.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29The assailant apparently bit her on the breast,
0:15:29 > 0:15:34er, and if you're biting someone you're going to leave saliva.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36The DNA testing was done at that time
0:15:36 > 0:15:41and no profile of any person was obtained.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46Now, there is much more precise testing available now,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48more DNA testing needs to be done.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52This is something we had sought previously in both state
0:15:52 > 0:15:54and federal courts and have been turned down.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58This evidence has the chance of exonerating Stacey Johnson.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02So, we're asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to get
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Stacey Johnson's, uh, execution stayed
0:16:05 > 0:16:08so we can pursue subsequent DNA testing.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12- INTERVIEWER:- What are the chances that Stacey's lawyer
0:16:12 > 0:16:15will be able to get this motion passed for DNA testing?
0:16:15 > 0:16:17I honestly think zero.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30I think that if they've done that kind of a crime to deserve the death penalty,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33they need to go ahead and be put to death in a mannerly way,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37and make sure that they are very guilty of what they've done.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44- If you know for a fact that they killed somebody, yes... - That's what I was going to say.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- ...but if it's, uh, like shaky evidence then maybe...maybe... - Then no.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49..maybe then, you still get convicted.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I don't think they should kill the person.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57The American court system is a just system.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01I imagine that there has been someone executed that was innocent.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07But I would say that there... Those are far and few between.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Where are we now, Jeff?
0:17:25 > 0:17:26In my conference room.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28So, what happens in here?
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Well, I try to get some work done in here.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33So, I see people, uh, you know, like a lot of lawyers,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36you try to impress your clients a little bit.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40So, I've hung up some of the awards and things that I've achieved
0:17:40 > 0:17:44over the years in the office, which I think it probably...
0:17:44 > 0:17:47All the other stuff I have here probably sort of detracts
0:17:47 > 0:17:49from the impact of what's on the wall.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55This one was, uh, I was involved in the so-called
0:17:55 > 0:17:59West Memphis Three case which was a very, uh, controversial case.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01A number of movies have been made about it.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05And I was fortunate enough to be asked to be part of the defence team
0:18:05 > 0:18:11for Jessie Misskelley, and that's Jessie here, and this is me there.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17In 1993, three little boys, about eight years old, didn't come home
0:18:17 > 0:18:22after dark and the next day their bodies were found in this
0:18:22 > 0:18:24sort of low lying creek-like area.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27And they were nude,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30and they were tied together, and they had, they'd been killed.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35There was obviously a great, uh, desire to find the people who....
0:18:35 > 0:18:37..who allegedly did it
0:18:37 > 0:18:41and a lot of pressure on the West Memphis Arkansas Police Department.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46So, they settled on several teenagers,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53and decided that they were suspects.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Echols in particular liked to wear black
0:18:56 > 0:19:00and listened to music that was, shall we say, not mainstream.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04So, they decided that, well, maybe the bodies had evidence of
0:19:04 > 0:19:10Satanic rituals on them and a lot of bogus pseudo-evidence was
0:19:10 > 0:19:13introduced against them, and they ended up being convicted.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Echols was sentenced to death, the other two were sentenced to life.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23A number of people all over the country that had become appalled by
0:19:23 > 0:19:29uh, what passed for justice in, uh, in north-east Arkansas at the time.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34And over the course of time they were able to bankroll a
0:19:34 > 0:19:39systematic attack on the convictions that I was honoured to be a part of.
0:19:39 > 0:19:45In 2011, which is when this picture was taken,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48they walked out of the courthouse free.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53All right, we're going to sing that together.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55This Little Light Of Mine, y'all ready?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58# This little light of mine
0:19:58 > 0:20:02# Oh, I'm gonna let it shine
0:20:02 > 0:20:04- CROWD JOINS IN:- # Oh, this little light of mine
0:20:04 > 0:20:07# I'm gonna let it shine
0:20:07 > 0:20:11# This little light of mine
0:20:11 > 0:20:13# I'm gonna let it shine
0:20:13 > 0:20:18# Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. #
0:20:18 > 0:20:20APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:20:24 > 0:20:27- Good afternoon. - CROWD:- Good afternoon.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32We're here today to make a clear call to Governor Hutchinson
0:20:32 > 0:20:35to stop the executions.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40All our voices are needed to get this message very clearly heard.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Now I introduce Damien Echols.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45CHEERING
0:20:51 > 0:20:54You know for, uh, 18 years and 76 days,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58that's how long I was trapped in hell here.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02The local politicians tried to execute me.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Even when DNA testing came out that excluded me
0:21:05 > 0:21:09and the other two men that they had convicted from the scene of the crime,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11they still kept trying to kill me.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14After DNA testing came out, I sat on death row for two more years
0:21:14 > 0:21:16while they tried to figure out how they could kill me
0:21:16 > 0:21:18and not have to admit they had made a mistake.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25These people would have murdered an innocent person without
0:21:25 > 0:21:26a second thought if it meant that they could
0:21:26 > 0:21:29further their political careers or keep their jobs.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30You know that's the level of...
0:21:30 > 0:21:33..of corruption that's inherent within the system.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40They may very well win this battle, you know
0:21:40 > 0:21:43we're all here today to try to keep the state from killing people.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47They may go through with it despite our best efforts,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49despite everyone here doing everything they can.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51They may still very well do it.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54I just want to say that I salute you,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57I stand in solidarity with you, thank you so much.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58And...
0:21:58 > 0:22:01APPLAUSE
0:22:03 > 0:22:04Thank you.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Let me, uh, just real quick.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13One of the men who is responsible for saving my life, I just
0:22:13 > 0:22:17wanted to say a couple of words, because this is someone who kept me
0:22:17 > 0:22:20from being killed, this is someone who stepped up to the plate when
0:22:20 > 0:22:24I was where these guys are now, and uh, did everything he could for me.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28So, my brother, this is my brother, Johnny Depp.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Oh, my God!
0:22:38 > 0:22:39What?!
0:22:41 > 0:22:46I'm proud to be here and I'm proud to stand in absolute solidarity,
0:22:46 > 0:22:52and absolute support for my dear brother, Damien,
0:22:52 > 0:22:58who, uh, who at one time as you all know was, uh,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02sacrificed here into unbearable purgatory.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10Whether you believe in the death penalty or not, there's a wrong
0:23:10 > 0:23:14thing to do and there's a right thing to do, the right thing has been done.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Cheers. Thanks for having me.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20CHEERING
0:23:29 > 0:23:34As the legal limbo continues, the Department of Corrections is moving forward planning for two executions.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Stacey Johnson and Ledell Lee.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49After 21 years on death row, Ledell Lee maintains his innocence.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53In February of 1993, 27-year-old Lee robbed
0:23:53 > 0:23:57and strangled 26-year-old Debra Reese in her Jacksonville Home.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59He was sentenced to death two years later.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Prosecutors say Lee committed violent crimes against five women,
0:24:02 > 0:24:03all in Jacksonville.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07His victims' ages ranged from 17 to 70.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13As a prosecutor, there's only a handful of cases in a long career
0:24:13 > 0:24:16that you even consider the death penalty on.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20And in my 27 years of prosecuting, um, this is the one case that I've
0:24:20 > 0:24:24received the death penalty on, and I've prosecuted many, many murders.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31I think there are some offences that you can commit, some acts
0:24:31 > 0:24:34so heinous that you can't come back from that.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Ledell Lee lost his right to live among us
0:24:38 > 0:24:41in a free society, and he...
0:24:41 > 0:24:43..he deserves the punishment he receives.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Ladies and gentlemen,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Ledell Lee is not an ordinary killer.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Ledell Lee is a super predator.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04A super predator that doesn't kill to eat,
0:25:04 > 0:25:10he kills for fun, he kills for thrill, he kills for the social...
0:25:10 > 0:25:13..psycho-social depravity of it.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Let me take you to February 9th of 1993.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21The Sunnydale neighbourhood of Jacksonville.
0:25:21 > 0:25:2426-year-old Debra Reese, she'd been married about six months.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27She lived at 212 Cherry,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31with her husband, Billy, who was a long-distance truck driver,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33and her seven-year-old son from a previous relationship.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Her son, who's here today, who the last time I saw
0:25:35 > 0:25:37wasn't any taller than this podium.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42Her husband, Lee, was in his truck about 10am or so,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46and Debra didn't know it yet but Debra at that point had been chosen.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Cos she was being watched.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52There's a knock on the door.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Ledell Lee forces his way into the house.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00She was beaten so badly that
0:26:00 > 0:26:03she was struck in the head alone over 20 times,
0:26:03 > 0:26:07and on the back and the front of her head, there are gaping, separate,
0:26:07 > 0:26:1220 wounds delivered with a tyre thumper.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16And when the police were called she was laid out on the bed.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21The TV was turned all the way up...
0:26:23 > 0:26:25..to cover the sound of her screams.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32The modus operandi of the Debra Reese crime was
0:26:32 > 0:26:36so similar to other Sunnydale crimes that the Jacksonville Police
0:26:36 > 0:26:38reopened several rape and murder cases.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43The blood that was taken during the course of the Debra Reese investigation in 1993
0:26:43 > 0:26:46was sent to the Arkansas Crime Lab
0:26:46 > 0:26:52and the Christine Lewis, Jennifer Perkins, Lilly Dodd and Avis Smith cases were all solved.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54It's Ledell Lee's calling card.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56He's DNA.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00And he's a hunter, that's why I brought you this map.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07So Ledell Lee's story starts back in 1989 in the Sunnydale neighbourhood.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10There started to be a series of very serious, um,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12rapes and murders in that area.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17The first point is the case where a young woman was abducted from this,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20uh, number one house.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Number two, is the rent house where that young lady's body was found,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27and she actually had a shoe string tied around her neck.
0:27:27 > 0:27:33Number three was the 1990 teenager that was raped and beaten.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Number four location, the 50-year-old victim was abducted just between
0:27:37 > 0:27:42the tracks and the school, was drug down this alley and was raped.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47Number five, um, is the residence of the 70-year-old woman, um,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50who he knocked on her door, strangled her, raped her
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and beat her so badly that she was paralysed.
0:27:53 > 0:27:571993, of course, the Debra Reese case.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58That's number six here.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Number seven, is where Ledell Lee's mother lived
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and number eight is where Ledell Lee lived.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06He didn't have a vehicle,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09so he was known to walk back and forth between these two.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15But this map shows Mr Lee's hunting grounds.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18He was...he was a predator and he prayed on the people of
0:28:18 > 0:28:21the Sunnydale neighbourhood of Jacksonville.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29My mother was everything to me.
0:28:38 > 0:28:44My family has lived in the shadow of this event our entire lives.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48And I'm asking you and begging you
0:28:48 > 0:28:52to please let us have some closure, let this end.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Let us step out from the shadow.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Deny his clemency pleas.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05The case before you is the worst that I have experienced.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09The horror endured by the Reese family, the horror endured
0:29:09 > 0:29:15by Jennifer Perkins, Avis Smith, Lilly Dodd, Christine Lewis and their families
0:29:15 > 0:29:22can only be fairly met by the condemnation of Mr Lee to death.
0:30:02 > 0:30:08You do not carry out, uh, the death penalty in an arbitrary and capricious manner.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13The Attorney General will advise that, uh, those eight individuals have exhausted
0:30:13 > 0:30:16their appeals, they've made all the requirements of due process
0:30:16 > 0:30:20and fairness, and that they're ready to have their sentence carried out.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22And so, because I received those eight names I set them.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Most importantly, though, you have to look at the victims that are
0:30:29 > 0:30:33so often forgotten, uh, that they have gone on for decades
0:30:33 > 0:30:35without the penalty of the jury being carried out.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57So many people have told me that we're alike, um...
0:30:58 > 0:31:01If I have the same hair colour as my mom they call me Carol.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07That's why my hair's hot red or pink or whatever it is right now
0:31:07 > 0:31:11cos I didn't feel like looking like her.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15INTERVIEWER: Why don't you want to look like your mum?
0:31:16 > 0:31:19I look in the mirror and see a ghost.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24I don't... I don't want to be a ghost.
0:31:30 > 0:31:36I have terrors where Stacey Johnson is just chasing me and chasing me,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39and I wake up screaming and I...
0:31:40 > 0:31:46I just... I'm scared, and I want to know he's dead.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33I did talk to one place in regards to your cremation.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37uh, we're looking at like 1,157.
0:32:37 > 0:32:38- STACEY ON PHONE:- Oh, man.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43But the thing is, they want me to pay that up front.
0:32:44 > 0:32:51I mean, I would be able to do that but that would kind of wipe me out.
0:33:09 > 0:33:10OK.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16- She's right here.- I'm right here.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18You're talking to me at the same time.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Uh, a little bit better.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26A little, you know still stressed a little bit,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29a little worried still but a little bit better.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Most definitely better than yesterday.
0:33:59 > 0:34:00Yeah, OK.
0:34:24 > 0:34:25Yeah. Somewhat.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Well, I believe I think I have an idea now.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26Next, the son of the victim.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34My name is Jonathan Erickson, uh...
0:35:34 > 0:35:38It's been 23 years, 11 months and 23 days.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41I go every day and I add another day to the calendar.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43As far as I see it,
0:35:43 > 0:35:47since this has happened there hasn't really been any justice served.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52I don't understand why this needs to take so long, the evidence
0:35:52 > 0:35:55was laid before the courts, the courts and the juries made
0:35:55 > 0:35:59their decision, the punishment was death and I think it needs to go...
0:35:59 > 0:36:00..go as planned.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Thank you very much.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10These, ladies and gentlemen, are Stacey Johnson's
0:36:10 > 0:36:12disciplinaries in the prison.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16158 of them.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23On 12-11-2016, Stacey Johnson attempted to stab
0:36:23 > 0:36:27a Correctional Officer with a shank as that officer
0:36:27 > 0:36:32slid his food tray through the slot in his door, and he told
0:36:32 > 0:36:37the officer he would "F him up." He wasn't as polite as I am today.
0:36:37 > 0:36:43On 11-25-2016, Stacey Johnson yelled out, quote,
0:36:43 > 0:36:48"We need to put a knife in Officer Wells. I'm sick of her.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51"I can choke the shit out of her.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54"That bitch needs to be dead."
0:36:54 > 0:37:00On 9-17-2016, Stacey Johnson crudely
0:37:00 > 0:37:05and vulgarly talked to the same Officer Wells and told her that
0:37:05 > 0:37:10if he wasn't behind this door, "I would cut off your F-ing neck".
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Then again, he wasn't as polite as I am here today.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19Stacey's no angel coming from where he's come from
0:38:19 > 0:38:22and being out there in the street, you know.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26He's done some things he's not proud of, but, you know, he's done
0:38:26 > 0:38:31a lot in his life, but he's said that this was just not...not the one he's done.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Looking at the evidence and reading through his case
0:38:37 > 0:38:40and just knowing him as a person, and, you know, what he's told me
0:38:40 > 0:38:44about his past, you know, it's just something personally that
0:38:44 > 0:38:46I feel inside of my gut that he didn't do it.
0:38:51 > 0:38:59God forbid he doesn't get this clemency or a stay and he has to be executed, um...
0:39:00 > 0:39:02It is my greatest hope
0:39:02 > 0:39:05and wish that the drugs actually do work the way they're supposed to.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07I don't want him to suffer at all.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09I don't want him to suffer.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12If he's going to die, I don't want him to suffer.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18The IV team will first administer two syringes containing midazolam,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22a sedative that is supposed to make the inmate unconscious.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Once that is determined, the second drug will be administered -
0:40:26 > 0:40:28vecuronium bromide - a paralytic.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32Then comes the third and final drug, two syringes
0:40:32 > 0:40:36of potassium chloride, ultimately causing the inmate's heart to stop.
0:40:36 > 0:40:42It is generally said that the two latter drugs would cause torture
0:40:42 > 0:40:49unless the inmate is rendered totally unconscious by drug number one.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53The problem is midazolam has a history of not working and has been
0:40:53 > 0:41:00the apparent cause of several botched executions around the country.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05It is contrary to what we would expect in a civilised society.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Does your car work every time you get into it?
0:41:11 > 0:41:15Yeah, there you go. How many times do you get into that and how many years do you keep your car?
0:41:15 > 0:41:18There are going to be times your car's not going to start,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21there are going to be times that, uh, you just say you're deer hunting
0:41:21 > 0:41:24and your gun does not go off.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29Can I say 100% that every one of these executions are going to go as planned?
0:41:29 > 0:41:31No. Things happen.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34The world's not perfect.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51He was moved from the Varner Supermax
0:41:51 > 0:41:55to the Cummins Unit where the actual death chamber is.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Today was the very last day that we could see him
0:42:02 > 0:42:07before the scheduled execution tomorrow, God forbid it happens.
0:42:07 > 0:42:08Um, so...
0:42:11 > 0:42:14We don't know if we're going to see him alive again.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20There was a lot of hugging and tears and crying.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24He thanked me for the wonderful years that we had together.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30Um...
0:42:34 > 0:42:35I'm sorry.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47And that we was praying that, uh...
0:42:50 > 0:42:51..we'd get the outcome that we wanted
0:42:51 > 0:42:54as far as the Supreme Court and the DNA.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59We're praying that the Arkansas Supreme Court would actually
0:42:59 > 0:43:05give us that stay in order to have the DNA retested.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Um...
0:43:08 > 0:43:10I have to cut this...
0:43:10 > 0:43:12- I'm going to have to cut this, this is... Yeah.- OK.
0:43:14 > 0:43:15Hello.
0:43:17 > 0:43:18Yes.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28Oh, boy!
0:43:32 > 0:43:35I'm sorry, my glasses. These are happy tears now.
0:43:36 > 0:43:37Oh.
0:43:39 > 0:43:40These are happy tears.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46Jeff just called me, the Arkansas Supreme Court gave him the stay on the DNA.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Oh, Judy, Judy, Judy, did you really?
0:43:48 > 0:43:50We got a stay!
0:43:51 > 0:43:54OK. Thank you, thank you.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00- I can't wait to tell him this.- Um, I know.- I can't wait to tell him this.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05- RECORDING ON PHONE:- An inmate at Cummins Unit. You may start the conversation now.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09- Hello.- Hey.- Hello.- Hello.
0:44:09 > 0:44:10- Hello.- Hello.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Yes, are you happy too?
0:44:15 > 0:44:17- You got the news? - You got finally got the news?
0:44:20 > 0:44:22Oh, wow.
0:44:35 > 0:44:36RUSTLING
0:44:37 > 0:44:39Are you eating?
0:44:40 > 0:44:41Yes.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59OK.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09There's a church around every corner.
0:45:09 > 0:45:14Thank God for that. That's what America is missing, if we had more God in our lives,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17we wouldn't have to worry about putting people to death.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25Killing people is a no-no, and it's perfectly all right with God
0:45:25 > 0:45:28if we put them to death like he says in the good book.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31The Bible says, "Thou shall not kill".
0:45:31 > 0:45:35So, it depends on, I guess, what Testament you're going with,
0:45:35 > 0:45:37the Old Testament or the New Testament,
0:45:37 > 0:45:39but either way is wrong, either way.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Killing somebody for killing somebody, that's...
0:45:42 > 0:45:44That's not Christian.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47My personal opinion about the death penalty
0:45:47 > 0:45:49comes from my faith in Christ.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52I think that it's something that Jesus wouldn't support, you know.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57He's going to try and reach each and every one of us until the end.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00The problem I find is with the idea that we would
0:46:00 > 0:46:03cut off someone's time to know Jesus and be saved.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11I believe that
0:46:11 > 0:46:13regardless of what someone's done,
0:46:13 > 0:46:16we're all better than the worst thing we've ever done.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20And in Ledell's case, even if the state believes he's guilty,
0:46:20 > 0:46:22you shouldn't kill him regardless.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25It's not saying I'm agreeing that he's guilty
0:46:25 > 0:46:30because he's always denied that he's guilty, but as his attorney,
0:46:30 > 0:46:33the number one goal is to make sure he's not executed, because if he's
0:46:33 > 0:46:38not executed, you've got a lot more time to try and prove his innocence.
0:46:41 > 0:46:46All right, inmate Ledell Lee is going to wave his appearance here today.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49So, uh, Mr Short you may proceed.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51- All right. Thank you very much. - You bet.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55Erm, you now first I want to speak to the fact that he is absent.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on it.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00I was appointed seven months ago.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03At no time during those seven months was it
0:47:03 > 0:47:07indicated that he would be on the next execution schedule.
0:47:07 > 0:47:12Uh, and ultimately it was discovered that he
0:47:12 > 0:47:16was on the execution schedule, uh, by the news.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18Um, I was not provided a letter,
0:47:18 > 0:47:23not provided an e-mail, a fax, any notification,
0:47:23 > 0:47:26but I was told on February 27th
0:47:26 > 0:47:30as everyone was, that he was set to be executed.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33The following day I was provided notification that I had
0:47:33 > 0:47:37until March 11th to draft him a clemency petition, OK?
0:47:37 > 0:47:40So, we're talking approximately ten days.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44Now, most prosecutors would find that was insufficient time to
0:47:44 > 0:47:47prepare to have any witnesses available,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50to have any meaningful response.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52But somehow the man's life is at stake
0:47:52 > 0:47:58and ten days to prepare is due process, is fairness.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04And Ledell Lee's far from ignorant, in fact he is very intelligent,
0:48:04 > 0:48:05and he's been going...
0:48:05 > 0:48:08..he's been through the legal process enough to know
0:48:08 > 0:48:10what strikes him as fair and what strikes him as not fair.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13And there's nothing about having ten days
0:48:13 > 0:48:16to plead for a man's life that's fair.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21At his trial, Ledell had a lot of problems believing
0:48:21 > 0:48:24that his attorneys had his best interest at heart.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30One of Ledell's attorneys told him essentially, "You should take
0:48:30 > 0:48:35"a plea deal of life in prison," implying that he's guilty.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40And I think Ledell took exception, as anyone would in his position,
0:48:40 > 0:48:43and wanted a new attorney put on his case.
0:48:43 > 0:48:48The court not only disagreed that a new attorney should be put on his case,
0:48:48 > 0:48:53his trial judge actively interfered with getting him a new attorney.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Based on those issues
0:48:56 > 0:48:59and the fact that he stands by his innocence, I'm...
0:48:59 > 0:49:01..I'm going to ask that it be commuted to a life sentence.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07Jesus never said, "I'm going to stop trying to save you,"
0:49:07 > 0:49:10and he never said, "This is the endgame."
0:49:10 > 0:49:13I mean, he saved another man on the cross.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Today is Thursday. It's your school day forecast,
0:49:21 > 0:49:23mostly clear right now,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25and 64 degrees at the moment, but you know what?
0:49:25 > 0:49:27It's going to be warming up. In fact, we'll get into those
0:49:27 > 0:49:3080s this afternoon, mid 80s. It's going to be a warm one.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33The first execution scheduled to be at 7 o'clock tonight.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35As of this morning, no individual stay
0:49:35 > 0:49:38has been granted for Ledell Lee.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Meanwhile, last night the Arkansas Supreme Court granted
0:49:40 > 0:49:42a stay of execution for Stacey Johnson.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45The additional testing in this case could prove his innocence.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said
0:49:47 > 0:49:50she is going to appeal this to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53And we are firing on all cylinders at the Attorney General's office
0:49:53 > 0:49:56and will continue to do so to ensure that these families,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59these victims...justice again is carried out.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06- RECORDING:- Call from an inmate at Cummins Unit.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09This call is subject to recording and monitoring.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11You may start the conversation now.
0:50:11 > 0:50:12Hello.
0:50:12 > 0:50:13Oh, man.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14What's wrong?
0:50:36 > 0:50:42Uh, right now the Attorney General has filed appeals with
0:50:42 > 0:50:45the Supreme Court on your stay, uh...
0:50:45 > 0:50:47Jeff is responding back.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51Uh, we are hoping that they'll come back with
0:50:51 > 0:50:54the same decision that they gave you yesterday.
0:51:08 > 0:51:09Hey, it's Ashley.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12Do we head to the prison like normal?
0:51:13 > 0:51:15OK, I'm just making sure.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18I'll see you at 4.30.
0:51:18 > 0:51:19Bye.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25We are carrying on like it is a normal day,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29and he's going to get executed.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32We have up until midnight to fight for it.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36He's absolutely 100% guilty.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39There's not a doubt in my mind.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42I know what I saw.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08- SAT-NAV:- In .4 miles, turn left...
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Where the hell are we?
0:52:12 > 0:52:13I don't know.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15It's not going to be on this road.
0:52:15 > 0:52:16I don't have any signal.
0:52:17 > 0:52:18I don't either.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20You don't have any signal here.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24Don't yell. You're not helping us find our way out of here.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30Mom, I need my anxiety medicine, please.
0:52:30 > 0:52:31Where is it?
0:52:31 > 0:52:33In Cindy's purse.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Yeah, Cindy's purse.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46OK, I think I've figured out what we did.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49I think we turned right when we should have turned left,
0:52:49 > 0:52:51so we were going in the opposite direction.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53We might be going the wrong way.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55Maybe we needed to go back the other way.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01SHE CRIES
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Damn it, Melissa is already there!
0:53:09 > 0:53:11Ashley, it's OK.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15It doesn't matter if she gets there before you do or not. It's not about...
0:53:15 > 0:53:18Well, obviously, she can follow directions.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20- We followed directions, Ashley. - Ashley Elizabeth.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22I'm not going to get to where I need to be.
0:53:22 > 0:53:23Ashley, calm down.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26- Before I... - Do I need to take you back home?
0:53:26 > 0:53:28This is a...
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Stop! You need to take a deep breath and calm down.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08As far as I'm aware from the news that I've read on my phone,
0:54:08 > 0:54:10that, uh, currently all executions are a go.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22It's almost like they're not willing to look at
0:54:22 > 0:54:25if this person is actually innocent or guilty.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28They just want some type of blood spilled,
0:54:28 > 0:54:30and want to call it justice.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31MOBILE VIBRATES
0:54:31 > 0:54:34- It's Jeff. - Oh, it's Jeff.
0:54:36 > 0:54:37Hello?
0:54:37 > 0:54:39Yes.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43OK. We've still got it?
0:54:43 > 0:54:45We still have the stay.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47So, we got it, she can't go any further?
0:54:51 > 0:54:52OK.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56- OK.- OK?
0:54:56 > 0:54:58- Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. - OK.
0:55:00 > 0:55:01Oh.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04Oh, Jesus.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06So this is it, it goes no further.
0:55:06 > 0:55:07This is it.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09Whoo!
0:55:12 > 0:55:16Stacey Johnson has a stay of execution that has not been
0:55:16 > 0:55:19lifted and from what it appears, it's going to stay that way.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24So, there will be one execution tonight. Unless things change,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27you can expect Ledell Lee to be put to death.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30Everything's a go, folks at the prison are telling me
0:55:30 > 0:55:31that everything is in place,
0:55:31 > 0:55:36and they are set to execute Ledell Lee at seven o'clock tonight.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43We have received notice that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has
0:55:43 > 0:55:49issued a temporary stay on Ledell Lee's execution until 8.15pm.
0:56:03 > 0:56:08This is right now why, um, Ledell Lee is alive.
0:56:08 > 0:56:09It's a temp,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12it's a stay from the Supreme Court of the United States.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15He has roughly six cases we believe pending...
0:56:15 > 0:56:18- Right.- ...at this point, and that is really it.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21That is the last place that you can take your case...
0:56:25 > 0:56:29I'm Brandy Davis, the cousin of Ledell Lee Davis, I'm here to
0:56:29 > 0:56:30protest against the execution.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32I want him to stay alive tonight.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35It's wrong, it's wrong,
0:56:35 > 0:56:38and we have to answer to somebody for doing this to them.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44I call them legal murderers, you're taking someone's life
0:56:44 > 0:56:48and I just believe that thou shall not kill,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52and that one day they're going to face another judge and they're
0:56:52 > 0:56:56going to be held accountable for the killing that they've done.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11This is giving me a good taste of what I'm in for Monday night with my brother.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21I'm Jack Jones' sister, so he's set to be executed, uh,
0:57:21 > 0:57:25Monday night, um, with Marcel Williams.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29So, um, I'm out here, I wasn't intending to come out here tonight.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32I had a visit with Jack today and decided to stay here
0:57:32 > 0:57:36and support people that I can totally relate with. So, I'm here to show my support,
0:57:36 > 0:57:40um, to Ledell's family, I'm here to support Stacey's wife
0:57:40 > 0:57:44and daughter just to show people everywhere that there's
0:57:44 > 0:57:48someone that's getting ready to face the same thing that's going on tonight, on Monday,
0:57:48 > 0:57:50um, what we go through out here.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03May I have your attention, please?
0:58:07 > 0:58:08All right.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14The information that I have at this point indicates that the
0:58:14 > 0:58:17stay has been lifted by the Supreme Court.
0:58:17 > 0:58:21Uh, so, uh, we will begin the process of carrying out
0:58:21 > 0:58:23the sentence of Ledell Lee.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27Uh, once that sentence is carried out I will be notified,
0:58:27 > 0:58:30and I will come back to the podium and notify the pool accordingly.
0:58:47 > 0:58:53What we know about the injection protocol, there are two vials first of the midazolam
0:58:53 > 0:58:57and then if he's unconscious they will move to the next step.
0:58:57 > 0:59:00There is a lot of attention now on how well
0:59:00 > 0:59:03and effective it works, and how long it takes.
0:59:03 > 0:59:08In a couple of those disturbing botched executions, it took hours.
0:59:08 > 0:59:12The hope for all involved is that
0:59:12 > 0:59:15it certainly doesn't take that long once the process begins.
1:00:09 > 1:00:14At 11.21pm, the condemned arrives in the execution chamber.
1:00:15 > 1:00:17BELL TOLLS
1:00:17 > 1:00:19The condemned is restrained.
1:00:21 > 1:00:23At 11.27pm...
1:00:25 > 1:00:28..the intravenous catheters are inserted.
1:00:28 > 1:00:30BELL TOLLS
1:00:32 > 1:00:36At 11.39pm, the witnesses enter the viewing room.
1:00:36 > 1:00:37BELL TOLLS
1:00:41 > 1:00:46At 11.44pm, the curtains to the viewing room are opened.
1:00:46 > 1:00:47BELL TOLLS
1:00:53 > 1:00:54BELL TOLLS
1:00:54 > 1:00:58The director asks the condemned inmate for his final words.
1:01:02 > 1:01:04No final words are spoken.
1:01:04 > 1:01:05BELL TOLLS
1:01:07 > 1:01:11At 11.45pm, the chemicals are administered.
1:01:17 > 1:01:18BELL TOLLS
1:01:29 > 1:01:33At 11.56pm, the coroner pronounces death.
1:01:46 > 1:01:48PHONE RINGS
1:02:10 > 1:02:11Everybody ready?
1:02:15 > 1:02:18A lethal injection was administered at 11.44pm
1:02:18 > 1:02:21and the coroner pronounced Ledell Lee
1:02:21 > 1:02:26dead at 11.56pm this 20th day of April,
1:02:26 > 1:02:30carrying out the sentence of the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas,
1:02:30 > 1:02:34entered on October 16th, 1995.
1:02:58 > 1:03:02His eyes closed over a process of about two or three minutes.
1:03:02 > 1:03:04You could...
1:03:04 > 1:03:09They dropped and then became closed and they did not open again at any point other than when the...
1:03:09 > 1:03:12..they were opened by the coroner doing the check.
1:03:12 > 1:03:14Do you believe he experienced any
1:03:14 > 1:03:17undue pain or suffering in this process?
1:03:17 > 1:03:19Not from what I could see.
1:03:20 > 1:03:23I'd have to agree with that statement as well.
1:03:26 > 1:03:28It seems like he lost consciousness pretty quick
1:03:28 > 1:03:30and then shortly after that, uh,
1:03:30 > 1:03:34the other drugs were administered and then death soon followed.
1:03:34 > 1:03:37A lot of issues about the drug midazolam.
1:03:37 > 1:03:40No problems with it tonight, that's for sure.
1:03:40 > 1:03:44Ledell Lee was executed, the first execution in Arkansas in 12 years.
1:03:55 > 1:03:57That's pretty unprofessional right there.
1:03:59 > 1:04:00Just laughing and high fiving.
1:04:02 > 1:04:06It's crazy. Joking around, punching each other.
1:04:53 > 1:04:58The ADC staff carried out their responsibilities extremely well, uh,
1:04:58 > 1:05:04and more importantly tonight, the family of Debra Reece, uh, who was
1:05:04 > 1:05:08taken from them back in 1993, will go to sleep with
1:05:08 > 1:05:11the justice, uh, they
1:05:11 > 1:05:15were seeking, and, uh, the closure that they've been looking for.
1:05:16 > 1:05:18That's all I have.
1:05:34 > 1:05:36One of the last things I said to Ledell,
1:05:36 > 1:05:39you know when I was kind of choked up was that I was...
1:05:39 > 1:05:43..I was sorry I couldn't do more because the truth is, you know,
1:05:43 > 1:05:45there's always more I could have done.
1:05:45 > 1:05:49I could have taken fewer cases, uh, outside of his case
1:05:49 > 1:05:52and worked more on his case and maybe the outcome would be
1:05:52 > 1:05:56different, and those thoughts are going to stay with me forever.
1:05:59 > 1:06:03Ledell Lee made this conscious decision to be evil.
1:06:03 > 1:06:05There's no excuse for that,
1:06:05 > 1:06:09because there have to be some bright lines in our society where we
1:06:09 > 1:06:12hold people personally responsible and accountable.
1:06:12 > 1:06:16And that's what the death penalty did in this case with Ledell Lee.
1:06:20 > 1:06:24You feel kind of bad, cos we got the stay, nothing happened to
1:06:24 > 1:06:29Stacey, but yet at the same time, there's sadness because Ledell
1:06:29 > 1:06:33lost his life, and it could have been us, it could have been us.
1:06:35 > 1:06:38I honestly don't know what to think right now, you know,
1:06:38 > 1:06:42I'm just looking at everything and I'm just saying to myself,
1:06:42 > 1:06:45you know, just get rid of the death penalty, period.
1:06:45 > 1:06:47You know, I believe in justice but, uh,
1:06:47 > 1:06:49I don't believe death is justice.
1:07:01 > 1:07:09I didn't realise it for a second and then they said that he got a stay again, and then, uh...
1:07:10 > 1:07:11..my mind immediately went black.
1:07:15 > 1:07:18It was devastating.
1:07:18 > 1:07:20I drove straight up to the cemetery
1:07:20 > 1:07:24and there's an oak tree that they buried my mother next to.
1:07:26 > 1:07:28I spent about an hour and a half in the dark.
1:07:29 > 1:07:34I needed to say something, even though nothing can really be said.
1:07:43 > 1:07:45I thought that I'd failed her.
1:08:12 > 1:08:16The pictures show her on the passenger side of her vehicle,
1:08:16 > 1:08:21and a black male driver of the vehicle.
1:08:24 > 1:08:25I'm so sorry.
1:08:30 > 1:08:36I am going to be present when the state murders my brother.
1:08:38 > 1:08:42This was one of the worst crimes I ever worked, uh,
1:08:42 > 1:08:44because of the young girl involved.
1:08:44 > 1:08:51Lacey said to him, "Please don't hurt my mamma," and Jack told her,
1:08:51 > 1:08:55"I'm not going to hurt your mamma, I'm here to hurt you."