Full Transcript for “Catch Me If You Can” Triple Murderer Chooses Death By Firing Squad

and trying to get away with what he was doing, which didn't signal that this was what they were saying. They said, this was just give you a It might change the reason he did what he did, but it doesn't change that he did it, and he's still responsible. 00:03:08 Speaker 2: Correct someone who is so severely brain damaged to have that kind of thought and planning and the decision to take it up, not just obviously killing three people, but then taunting authorities. 00:03:19 Speaker 3: That takes a certain level of. 00:03:21 Speaker 2: Brain power that they were saying, you can't you can't just pass this off as fetal alcohol syndrome. 00:03:25 Speaker 3: It's not gonna fly with us. 00:03:27 Speaker 2: But he is actually being executed for a specific killing. He killed Willard TJ. Tiet Jen in his home. This happened in two thousand and four, and when you hear what he did, it's pretty heinous. Investigators say that Bryant actually burned TJ's eyes with cigarettes after he shot him, and then took his blood and painted catch me if you can and other taunting messages for investigators and police after he killed this man. He also this was a detailed dipped a potholder made by his daughter when she was a child in his own blood and left it there. And there was also reports of a chilling phone call because TJ's daughter was calling him. She couldn't get him to answer. She was calling him several times, and finally, according to authorities, Bryant answered the phone and what he said to her is disturbing. 00:04:23 Speaker 3: She testified. 00:04:24 Speaker 2: His daughter at trial said that she testified a strange voice finally answered and said you can't I killed him. 00:04:32 Speaker 3: And she replied, this isn't funny. 00:04:34 Speaker 1: Here were you? 00:04:34 Speaker 2: And he said I'm the prowler and she said, excuse me, who are you? And she said, he just repeated I'm the prowler. 00:04:42 Speaker 1: Again. This is not that case where people are questioning and wondering and guilt and evidence mishandled and didn't get the right to turn. This isn't one of those things, like you said, he's being executed for a specific crime, but he's taken at least three he confirmed killed, but he was talking about you killed more. 00:05:03 Speaker 3: Yes, exactly. 00:05:03 Speaker 2: So prosecutors say, right now, what they know of is he shot and killed two men that he was giving rides to. So essentially it sounds like they may he may have picked them up, but they needed a ride, and according to police, when they stepped out of his truck to use the restroom, he shot and killed them for no apparent reason. So and they talk about how this truly terrorized this area of South Carolina, Sumter County over a period of five days. But the execution is for that specific case. You were asking me, is he now considered a serial killer? Is what is the classification for somebody who does this sort of thing? And I actually looked up the FBI criteria. It was interesting. I didn't

realize this. Do you know the difference between a mass murder, a spree killer, and a serial killer. 00:05:57 Speaker 1: It's time. It's just a matter of how much time passes. We know what a mass killing. Everybody's familiar with that at this point. A spree killing is a short period of time, a serial killer is a longer period of time, and that's kind of it. 00:06:10 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I didn't realize it. Obviously it's two or more to have, obviously being more than just a typical homicide, but I didn't realize. Yeah, it's the cooling off period that they describe as the difference between a spree killer and a serial killer. A serial killer actually takes as much as a month off in between killings. A spree killer just is on a role, so to speak to lack of a better term, And so this happened over a five day period of time, and so they technically are referring to him as a spree killer. I was not familiar with the distinction among those three types of killers. When we come back, we're going to talk about We mentioned he chose the firing squad, so did two other inmates. That doesn't seem like something someone would choose, but there is a very real reason why these inmates chose to die by firing squad, and we'll tell you why and how it's all going to take place, and continuing our conversation about what is happening right now, actually in South Carolina as you're listening to this, forty four year old Stephen Bryant has chosen to die by firing squad scheduled at six pm Eastern time tonight on Friday. 00:07:28 Speaker 3: He lost all of his appeals. 00:07:31 Speaker 2: This is somebody who police say is a spree killer, killed at least three people, but is dying over a very specific murder of. 00:07:41 Speaker 3: A man. It was a heinous killing. Willard TJ. 00:07:44 Speaker 2: Tanjin in his own home and taunted authorities by writing messages in his victim's blood on the wall for them to see. But he has chosen to die by firing squad. The third man, as we mentioned, to die by fire squad in the state of South Carolina. The last one we saw was in April, and before that in March, and before that, the firing squad had not been used since twenty ten. But there's a reason why it's back, and that is because South Carolina was among those states that had trouble getting the drug that they needed to perform lethal injections. And then of course there was all of that controversy about how humane it was that the drugs were being given in the wrong order, or weren't the right amount, or weren't the right drugs, and so that inmates who were being executed were dying in a cruel and unusual way. That it was they were suffering, so to speak. I didn't realize this. South Carolina had a long hiatus, did you. They just reinstated the death penalty last year, or at least resumed executions last year. 00:08:51 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's in a dozen years. They at least they've held off. That's a that's a pretty good build up of death row inmates if your stop executions.

00:09:00 Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, So they had an unintentional, as how they described it, thirteen year hiatus. 00:09:05 Speaker 3: They couldn't get the drugs needed for lethal injection. 00:09:08 Speaker 2: The companies didn't or certain companies didn't want to provide it, who had certain feelings about the death penalty. 00:09:14 Speaker 1: A lot of places had these problems that combined with court rulings about this being cruel and unusual, so they just held off. A lot of folks stopped. So, yeah, they started giving inmates the option of a firing squad, and they have been taking that option. It was this, it was a firing squad. It was electric chair or lethal injection and he needed to give an answer because they were going to pick for them, and they were going to pick the old school method. It defaults to the electric chair if you don't pick something, So we chose the firing squad. Look, we've seen several reports and I'm sure he's aware of them as well as lawyers are, that some of those lethal injections, even in this year, recent years, they sound horrible. They sound like a horrible experience. Look, dyeing like this has to be uncomfortable to a certain degree, but they just it seems like there's a lot of pain and discomfort in those. 00:10:08 Speaker 2: Yes, by all accounts, because when you have these executions, you have witnesses, and so they come out, they speak to reporters and they tell people what they saw. And we have seen numerous reports over the years of reporters describing inmates suffering before they die. Now, we also there was an issue with the firing squad. 00:10:27 Speaker 1: Correct, Yeah, they if you miss the target, if you will, there was one there, it's designed to actually just shred and rip the heart apart as quickly as possible for you to die. But if you're off a little bit, which was the allegation, I can't remember which one it was, but yes, it took someone longer to die because it had to go through more of a process of filling up the lungs with blood. And it was a longer death because it didn't hit the target. So you got three people there firing at a target on right smack dab on the heart and fifteen feet away volunteers. 00:11:03 Speaker 2: They say they are now do all three have bullets or does just one have bullet? And among the three they don't know which one fired the fatal shop. 00:11:11 Speaker 1: I believe they're all loaded. That's something we see right in movies. 00:11:15 Speaker 3: Yes, that's why I was saying that we all. 00:11:18 Speaker 1: Three of these I believe are live rounds. 00:11:21 Speaker 2: Yes, and the fact that the state also has an electric chair is quite aery. Now this is in Colombia. This is the exact I don't know if it's the exact same room, and I don't know where they do the firing squo, but this is where I witnessed a lethal injection in Colombia. At god, this had to be back in the early nineteen nineties, but certainly it is. You take a vow of silence, you take a bus out to this separate facility, and it is a solemn event, regardless of how you feel about the death penalty. This is something that everyone takes seriously who takes part in this type of execution. But outside of South Carolina, I didn't realize this. Do you know how rare, rare firing squads have been? 00:12:03 Speaker 1: Yeah, only Utah has carried it out only before South Carolina started this year, and I think it was three since seventy six. 00:12:11 Speaker 3: Yes, and you just nailed it. 00:12:12 Speaker 2: Yes, only three prisoners in the United States have been executed by firing squads since yeah, nineteen seventy seven, and they were all in this state of Utah and most recently, yeah, twenty ten. So this year has been a heck of a year for South Carolina using that firing squad three different times, happening again today, and you know, it's it's a I can't imagine being asked. And we've had folks who say they want one method of execution and then get scared because they hear a story, there's a report there have been so many executions this year that they try to change their mind and the state won't let them. Once you've made your call about what or how you want to die, you kind of have to stick with it. 00:12:55 Speaker 1: And that makes sense because a lot of preparation has to go into this, and that makes sense that general might kind of remember which state. But yeah, he made the argument he chose lethal injection, but he he uses that as a grounds of trying to get clemency. Was saying, hey, there was a lot of information I didn't know about this ahead of time. Well that's just sol at that point, but yeah, it's it's some of the details about the experiences some folks have and how long they've been alive afterwards, how long they were uncomfortable, the way their bodies were gyrating, heads going up. One guy even said that Buck can't remember the quote, but we told them, hey, I am in pain. This hurts so bad while it's going on. So the firing squad is terrifying. I would prefer you all to shoot me in the heart then to go through just a. 00:13:43 Speaker 3: Needle in my arm. 00:13:46 Speaker 2: That goes to show the level of fear that has now arisen around lethal injection. 00:13:52 Speaker 3: But I thought it was pretty interesting. 00:13:53 Speaker 2: A couple weeks back, and again, we have been covering executions quite extensively because there have been a record nonumber of executions this year. It is staggering the number we have had this year versus in years past. But one judge, in reading an appeal from someone trying to say, hey, can you commute my death penalty to life in prison saying in citing this unfair pain, this cruel, unusual punishment, and the judge said, if you're going to die, you have to expect a reasonable amount of pain that comes with death. You can't escape it. So that was not an argument in her mind, and I thought it was actually a fairly logical point she's making. If you are going to die, most people don't get to die without pain. You are not any you know, any different than anyone else. This is expected, This is what comes with death. 00:14:42 Speaker 1: Cruel and unusual doesn't mean comfortable, And that's you have to We're deciding to kill somebody, and I want to make sure you're as comfortable as possible. I know, here's a nice pillow. Now it's not exactly so that judge, the one you're talking about, I remember, and all these arguments and all this stuff we read. It was very plain spoken and I appreciated it. 00:15:02 Speaker 2: Yes, And sometimes that's what it takes you've got, you know, all of these You've got lengthy appeals processes for all of these inmates to try and make sure that their due process was correctly and stated. However, it's you see these last minute appeals. No one wants to die. Very few people go into that death chamber, even though they've committed the crimes they've done, Even those who have admitted the heinous crimes that they have committed. Very few do we see anyone just go in and say I deserve this, let's get this over with. They fight like hell to the very end to try and stop it overwhelmingly. 00:15:33 Speaker 1: But I know you remember too. It was the guy. He's the only one in Floyda. It was the one before this one. He's the only guy in Florida this year to skip all of the appeals. He just said, Nah, well can't remember his name. But he's the only one involved this year who has done that. 00:15:51 Speaker 2: Wow. 00:15:52 Speaker 1: So yes, it's incredibly rare, and why yeah, you think, But when it comes to the end, when your time is up, you can see these folks are fighting to stay alive. They are human nature. 00:16:01 Speaker 3: It is human nature. That's a good way to put it. 00:16:03 Speaker 2: But yes, so far forty two people and he will be number forty three. Last year, by the way, twenty five in all of twenty twenty four. So this has been an exceptional year and we've been bringing you all the details. 00:16:17 Speaker 1: Believe it's five I think scheduled for December, so. 00:16:21 Speaker 3: We have more to come. 00:16:23 Speaker 2: But we'll see what twenty twenty six springs. But there are a lot of folks who are already scheduled. We've already seen the list growing for next year. This is not going away anytime soon, regardless of how you feel. This is how we deal with our most violent offenders in this country. And with that everyone, thank you for joining us. I'm am Roboch alongside TJ. 00:16:42 Speaker 3: Holmes. Hope you have a nice night.