1
00:00:21,523 --> 00:00:24,243
When I look back at the life
that I've lived…
2
00:00:27,243 --> 00:00:28,683
it wasn't a life at all.
3
00:00:33,443 --> 00:00:34,803
I've never been a bad person.
4
00:00:36,803 --> 00:00:39,763
I've always been misunderstood,
5
00:00:41,043 --> 00:00:43,363
because I didn't understand myself.
6
00:01:00,723 --> 00:01:01,883
I've hurt people.
7
00:01:02,923 --> 00:01:04,443
I've hurt people real bad.
8
00:01:05,963 --> 00:01:08,483
But I've never killed anyone, before.
9
00:01:10,123 --> 00:01:14,083
That's something that
I… have to live with every day.
10
00:01:30,243 --> 00:01:33,043
It took me a few years in prison…
11
00:01:35,723 --> 00:01:38,003
to accept the fact
that I had killed somebody.
12
00:02:37,883 --> 00:02:42,483
Even though I'm… being punished right now,
13
00:02:43,123 --> 00:02:45,163
I continue to punish myself for it.
14
00:02:46,243 --> 00:02:50,763
The individual that is sitting
in front of you right now…
15
00:02:53,403 --> 00:02:55,763
would not take responsibility
for anything,
16
00:02:57,003 --> 00:02:57,843
back then.
17
00:03:08,723 --> 00:03:10,803
I didn't care about responsibility.
18
00:03:12,483 --> 00:03:14,243
Only thing I cared about was
19
00:03:15,883 --> 00:03:17,603
eat, sleep, and getting high.
20
00:03:25,523 --> 00:03:28,883
I was born in 1963 in Rochester, New York.
21
00:03:34,163 --> 00:03:36,643
It was very urban and challenging.
22
00:03:39,843 --> 00:03:45,763
During those times, it was really rough
on single parents, and kids in general.
23
00:03:50,083 --> 00:03:53,043
Me and my brothers and sisters,
we were all close.
24
00:03:53,643 --> 00:03:57,563
If one of us was missing,
it was like a missing part of the puzzle
25
00:03:57,643 --> 00:03:59,603
and things just wasn't right.
26
00:03:59,683 --> 00:04:05,163
And, particularly, that part of the puzzle
that was missing most of the time was me.
27
00:04:20,323 --> 00:04:24,443
When I was enrolled in school,
they were always saying that
28
00:04:24,523 --> 00:04:29,483
I was aggressive,
or I had a learning disability.
29
00:04:31,683 --> 00:04:33,283
I had no problem learning.
30
00:04:34,123 --> 00:04:36,123
I did have a disability though.
31
00:04:51,083 --> 00:04:53,683
When I was six years old,
they put me on medication
32
00:04:55,443 --> 00:04:56,803
'cause I had an incident
33
00:04:57,323 --> 00:05:00,803
where a teacher had took my pants down
in front of the whole class
34
00:05:00,883 --> 00:05:02,323
and hit me with a ruler.
35
00:05:03,163 --> 00:05:05,683
This ruler had a brass plate.
36
00:05:05,763 --> 00:05:08,763
I'm a… I'm a child. I'm crying, whatever.
37
00:05:08,843 --> 00:05:13,163
And, uh, after she hit me a few times
with the ruler,
38
00:05:13,243 --> 00:05:15,203
she sent me back to my desk.
39
00:05:16,203 --> 00:05:19,483
She turned around,
I picked up a chair and I threw it at her.
40
00:05:21,403 --> 00:05:23,083
And then I ran out of the class.
41
00:05:24,723 --> 00:05:29,123
And that was the actual first recording
of my blackouts.
42
00:05:30,683 --> 00:05:35,203
'Cause when my mother
asked me about it, I didn't remember it.
43
00:05:46,483 --> 00:05:50,843
When I was off medication
is when I was going through the blackouts.
44
00:05:52,243 --> 00:05:55,283
They would last anywhere
from two hours to three weeks.
45
00:05:59,203 --> 00:06:01,163
I wouldn't know what I was doing.
46
00:06:02,883 --> 00:06:05,643
But everybody else would think
that I was acting normal.
47
00:06:08,203 --> 00:06:12,203
And I would be very destructive.
I would be very violent.
48
00:06:13,923 --> 00:06:15,083
Very defensive.
49
00:06:35,603 --> 00:06:36,483
I would say
50
00:06:36,563 --> 00:06:39,363
the majority of my life
I spent on the streets.
51
00:06:40,323 --> 00:06:41,883
I got into a lot of trouble,
52
00:06:42,723 --> 00:06:46,683
breaking into buildings,
doing what I had to do to survive.
53
00:06:48,683 --> 00:06:53,763
Every time you're under arrest
or taken into custody,
54
00:06:54,803 --> 00:06:58,443
you're taken to a juvenile facility.
55
00:07:01,603 --> 00:07:03,683
I think I went to about ten of them.
56
00:07:04,803 --> 00:07:08,203
These were places
that were supposed to help me,
57
00:07:08,923 --> 00:07:11,403
but they did more harm than they did good.
58
00:07:12,883 --> 00:07:17,443
And this progressed into being a prisoner.
59
00:07:26,163 --> 00:07:29,603
Between 20 and 30,
I spent seven and a half years in jail.
60
00:07:32,523 --> 00:07:35,043
Most of the time it was real petty stuff.
61
00:07:47,243 --> 00:07:51,163
My habit was somewhere very high.
62
00:07:54,163 --> 00:07:58,243
I was trying to control my blackouts
with alcohol and drugs.
63
00:08:00,723 --> 00:08:02,243
One minute you think you're in control,
64
00:08:02,323 --> 00:08:04,763
the next thing they're in control of you.
65
00:08:07,243 --> 00:08:10,723
I was scared of myself,
'cause I felt myself getting worse.
66
00:08:11,643 --> 00:08:13,803
The blackouts were lasting
longer and longer.
67
00:08:16,523 --> 00:08:18,123
And I just had no control.
68
00:08:33,603 --> 00:08:36,763
I was 37 years old
at the time the crime happened.
69
00:08:38,403 --> 00:08:40,883
I had just got done smoking crack.
70
00:08:44,043 --> 00:08:46,643
I really don't know what I'm doing,
where I'm going.
71
00:08:48,843 --> 00:08:50,323
I'm in the bookstore now.
72
00:09:31,483 --> 00:09:33,923
They told me
that I had killed somebody.
73
00:09:35,243 --> 00:09:37,883
They say I gave them a statement.
74
00:09:39,963 --> 00:09:41,363
True enough. Yeah, I did kill him.
75
00:09:44,283 --> 00:09:45,723
I don't remember none of that.
76
00:10:28,803 --> 00:10:31,123
The fact
that he could take a life,
77
00:10:32,363 --> 00:10:33,723
I couldn't understand it.
78
00:10:38,763 --> 00:10:41,403
It hurt me because that's my brother.
79
00:10:44,883 --> 00:10:46,803
It was real devastating.
80
00:10:51,763 --> 00:10:55,683
My name is Toni Walker-Coleman,
and I am James's sister.
81
00:11:06,683 --> 00:11:11,603
This is the only family family picture
we have with James in it.
82
00:11:12,123 --> 00:11:13,843
We don't have too many pictures
83
00:11:14,843 --> 00:11:16,163
of James.
84
00:11:18,683 --> 00:11:21,243
He was our little
chubby teddy bear brother.
85
00:11:22,643 --> 00:11:25,123
You know, he liked to laugh
and everything.
86
00:11:26,483 --> 00:11:29,123
My mother made the best
out of what she had.
87
00:11:30,203 --> 00:11:33,883
Good days were excellent,
but then there were dark days.
88
00:11:36,003 --> 00:11:37,483
She used to drink a lot.
89
00:11:38,163 --> 00:11:43,043
Sometimes we just never knew
what person was coming home.
90
00:11:45,163 --> 00:11:48,643
He was the one
that would get the worst of it all.
91
00:11:49,603 --> 00:11:52,403
You know, she would get
the extension cord at him,
92
00:11:53,203 --> 00:11:55,603
or whatever was in front of her.
93
00:11:56,643 --> 00:11:59,643
You know, but…
When she was under the influence, so…
94
00:12:01,603 --> 00:12:03,243
And then he would run away.
95
00:12:07,003 --> 00:12:09,603
Sometimes he would run away
for a week or two.
96
00:12:10,283 --> 00:12:13,203
Sometimes during that time,
he would get in trouble.
97
00:12:15,723 --> 00:12:20,963
He went to boys' homes, stuff like that,
until he graduated to jail.
98
00:12:23,163 --> 00:12:25,083
He just always was locked up.
99
00:12:25,683 --> 00:12:28,963
I can't remember a time
100
00:12:30,763 --> 00:12:35,763
when he stayed home a full year
without going back.
101
00:12:40,323 --> 00:12:43,043
I think they call that institutionalized.
102
00:13:10,523 --> 00:13:16,723
As a kid, every time
you're under arrest or taken into custody,
103
00:13:17,643 --> 00:13:21,123
you're taken to a juvenile facility,
104
00:13:23,243 --> 00:13:25,803
where in the '70s, early '80s,
105
00:13:27,003 --> 00:13:32,483
these facilities were ran
by ex-convicts and child molesters.
106
00:13:34,963 --> 00:13:38,643
You're supposed to be safe,
but you feel like you're being farmed out
107
00:13:39,283 --> 00:13:41,363
to different families to abuse you.
108
00:13:47,843 --> 00:13:49,443
I internalized a lot of it,
109
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'cause at first I thought it was my fault.
110
00:13:55,923 --> 00:14:00,603
Thought they were doing this because of
whatever bad reasons, whatever I'd done.
111
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And, uh, first I implode,
112
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then I explode.
113
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And the rest I just forget.
114
00:14:14,843 --> 00:14:16,763
That's where the blackouts come in at.
115
00:14:17,523 --> 00:14:20,723
It seems like
that's pretty much the pattern for that.
116
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If I didn't succeed
in hurting myself enough,
117
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then I would hurt somebody else.
118
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That was powerful.
119
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That was powerful.
120
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And, uh, I heard some things
I never heard before.
121
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And there was a lot of realization.
122
00:14:56,683 --> 00:14:58,683
I know he's been through a lot.
123
00:14:58,763 --> 00:15:02,883
So that was just more added on.
124
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He was wrong for what he did.
125
00:15:09,243 --> 00:15:14,163
But who are these responsible individuals
that did not do their job?
126
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Nobody stepped in.
127
00:15:17,563 --> 00:15:21,563
Instead, they just let it
just build up and build up inside him,
128
00:15:21,643 --> 00:15:25,603
and just waited for him
to create his next episode in life,
129
00:15:26,603 --> 00:15:28,843
that led him to where he is right now.
130
00:15:30,843 --> 00:15:33,963
And I don't think a lot of people
take notice of that.
131
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They see a criminal.
132
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And we see…
133
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a person that grew up in hard times
134
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and needed a lot of love…
…and attention.
135
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That's what we see.
136
00:16:29,003 --> 00:16:30,563
My name is Joe Dominick.
137
00:16:31,083 --> 00:16:34,443
I've been involved in
between 200 and 250 homicide cases
138
00:16:34,523 --> 00:16:36,003
over the course of my career.
139
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This case makes my top ten.
140
00:16:40,163 --> 00:16:42,843
It's not just the violence
that was used in the case,
141
00:16:42,923 --> 00:16:45,123
it's kind of the totality
of the circumstances
142
00:16:45,203 --> 00:16:46,203
that were involved, so…
143
00:16:49,643 --> 00:16:51,883
What I can tell you
about the victim in the case, uh…
144
00:16:51,963 --> 00:16:54,843
Mr. Curry was--
There wasn't a lot of information on him.
145
00:16:55,603 --> 00:16:57,723
Uh, I would describe him as a loner.
146
00:16:59,723 --> 00:17:02,123
We actually couldn't reach out
to any family members.
147
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His last moments
were probably horrendous for him.
148
00:17:08,603 --> 00:17:13,043
Somebody came up behind him
and took a box cutter,
149
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and cut him from ear to ear.
150
00:17:18,523 --> 00:17:20,403
At some point he bleeds out and he dies.
151
00:17:20,483 --> 00:17:24,283
I can't think of, probably,
a worse death than that, honestly.
152
00:17:33,003 --> 00:17:35,483
James Walker's demeanor
when we brought him in for the interview
153
00:17:35,563 --> 00:17:38,883
was-- That was the eerie part
of the case for me.
154
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Because he was so, like, calm and casual
155
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about this, like, violent crime
that he had committed,
156
00:17:46,963 --> 00:17:50,763
and it was just…
It was just an unusual confession.
157
00:18:02,283 --> 00:18:04,363
You know, he asked
for a pack of cigarettes,
158
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and we gave him some cigarettes
159
00:18:06,523 --> 00:18:11,483
and he kinda just opened up
and started telling us how it came to be
160
00:18:11,563 --> 00:18:13,683
that he had killed, uh, Mr. Curry.
161
00:18:15,523 --> 00:18:18,603
While I'm sitting there talking to him,
I'm like, "This guy is pleasant enough."
162
00:18:18,683 --> 00:18:21,403
But it's like I'm looking at pure evil.
163
00:18:23,923 --> 00:18:26,283
You know, this guy is pure evil.
164
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Just to sit there
165
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and to tell you the details
about how he killed this victim.
166
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It's just, I don't know.
It was just something
167
00:18:37,243 --> 00:18:40,603
that always stuck with me
because it was just so bizarre.
168
00:18:47,803 --> 00:18:52,763
As far as James Walker saying that he was
emotionally disturbed during the crime,
169
00:18:52,843 --> 00:18:56,563
is… is not something that I buy.
I didn't buy it then. I don't buy it now.
170
00:19:19,643 --> 00:19:25,443
All right, so this video is from the CCTV
that we retrieved from the store.
171
00:19:26,163 --> 00:19:30,283
And what it's gonna show is James Walker
getting his courage up to do this robbery.
172
00:19:33,323 --> 00:19:35,243
Uh, this is the victim, James Curry.
173
00:19:35,323 --> 00:19:37,003
He's standing behind the counter,
174
00:19:37,083 --> 00:19:40,883
and this person over here
is James Douglas Walker.
175
00:19:43,123 --> 00:19:46,323
So they're just shooting the breeze,
nothing happening.
176
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Well, tomorrow, I don't have to work.
177
00:19:49,643 --> 00:19:52,883
And he's there
for a good part of three hours.
178
00:19:54,843 --> 00:19:57,883
I think he's kinda biding his time
until the right moment.
179
00:19:58,803 --> 00:20:01,123
I'm gonna fast-forward a little bit here.
180
00:20:02,123 --> 00:20:03,403
And you'll see
181
00:20:04,563 --> 00:20:06,963
James Curry is going to leave the booth.
182
00:20:08,483 --> 00:20:10,843
And here he goes.
This is Curry leaving the booth,
183
00:20:11,403 --> 00:20:13,483
and then that's when
the murder's gonna occur.
184
00:20:16,123 --> 00:20:18,563
This thing happens real quick,
blink of an eye.
185
00:20:19,723 --> 00:20:21,723
In fact, it's happening right now.
186
00:20:23,603 --> 00:20:26,283
James Curry's life
just got taken away from him.
187
00:20:32,203 --> 00:20:33,483
Here comes Walker.
188
00:20:38,323 --> 00:20:39,803
He gets into the booth,
189
00:20:40,363 --> 00:20:42,523
and now he's going to go through
the cash register.
190
00:20:43,443 --> 00:20:45,763
So, there must be something
with this cash register,
191
00:20:45,843 --> 00:20:47,803
where there's another drawer
that he can't get in,
192
00:20:47,883 --> 00:20:49,563
because he opens the top drawer.
193
00:20:49,643 --> 00:20:51,803
-And there's nothing in there.
194
00:20:57,643 --> 00:20:59,043
How you open it?
195
00:20:59,123 --> 00:21:02,323
Now he yells to James Curry,
"How you open it?"
196
00:21:03,163 --> 00:21:06,843
which… I think James Curry
was probably already dead at that point.
197
00:21:10,523 --> 00:21:12,683
He's wiping down the cash register,
198
00:21:14,003 --> 00:21:15,523
and eventually he leaves.
199
00:21:18,083 --> 00:21:21,883
So to say that, you know, he was deranged
and didn't know what he was doing
200
00:21:21,963 --> 00:21:27,003
at the time that he commits this robbery
is basically BS, right?
201
00:21:28,683 --> 00:21:32,083
It wasn't about anything else
other than committing this robbery.
202
00:21:32,163 --> 00:21:34,003
That's it. Plain and simple.
203
00:21:38,483 --> 00:21:42,923
This particular crime wasn't
a one-time thing for James Walker.
204
00:21:44,203 --> 00:21:48,403
He's cut people in the past
and that's kind of his MO.
205
00:22:15,843 --> 00:22:20,283
It was traumatic. It was horrific.
206
00:22:25,643 --> 00:22:27,923
It's something that never leaves you.
207
00:22:33,883 --> 00:22:37,563
I learned to deal with it,
but that doesn't mean I'm going to forgive
208
00:22:38,243 --> 00:22:41,883
what happened and how it changed me
and what it took from me.
209
00:22:58,963 --> 00:23:04,203
It was around- 30,- 40 in the morning,
and that's when everything happened.
210
00:23:08,003 --> 00:23:12,243
I heard his voice behind me
and it felt like a punch,
211
00:23:13,003 --> 00:23:15,083
like a, you know, light tap or something.
212
00:23:15,163 --> 00:23:19,643
I thought he was joking around
until I looked down and saw
213
00:23:19,723 --> 00:23:22,683
there was a pretty good size
puddle of blood there.
214
00:23:25,843 --> 00:23:28,163
He looked at me
and said he was gonna kill me.
215
00:23:29,643 --> 00:23:32,643
It was just pure coldness and no heart.
216
00:23:32,723 --> 00:23:35,923
No… anything, just,
"I'm going to kill you."
217
00:23:39,763 --> 00:23:42,683
I felt like this was it,
218
00:23:43,883 --> 00:23:46,123
and I just…
219
00:23:48,363 --> 00:23:54,603
I told him that I have a daughter
that's going to be born in October…
220
00:23:56,323 --> 00:23:58,243
…and I said,
"All I want is to see my daughter."
221
00:23:58,323 --> 00:24:01,523
"Take whatever you want out of the store,
out of the register."
222
00:24:01,603 --> 00:24:03,723
"I don't care.
I just want to see my daughter."
223
00:24:04,363 --> 00:24:06,763
And suddenly, very surprisingly,
224
00:24:06,843 --> 00:24:08,243
and to this day, I still…
225
00:24:08,323 --> 00:24:10,683
It still baffles me,
he just suddenly stopped,
226
00:24:12,043 --> 00:24:16,803
and… told me
to just wait there ten minutes.
227
00:24:19,603 --> 00:24:20,683
Then he just left.
228
00:24:28,243 --> 00:24:31,643
The police told me they caught him
about 15 minutes later,
229
00:24:31,723 --> 00:24:36,963
walking down the street
with a big bag of loose quarters
230
00:24:37,803 --> 00:24:39,363
that was taken from the store.
231
00:24:43,523 --> 00:24:46,043
I went to the bathroom
to check the wounds,
232
00:24:46,123 --> 00:24:50,603
and I pulled a rather large piece of glass
out of my throat
233
00:24:50,683 --> 00:24:52,363
from the broken beer bottle.
234
00:24:56,403 --> 00:25:00,843
I have a very large scar
here on the throat.
235
00:25:02,963 --> 00:25:08,163
I also have another scar on the chest
where the skin was just ripped off.
236
00:25:11,643 --> 00:25:14,723
Uh, all said, about 13 different wounds.
237
00:25:39,083 --> 00:25:41,803
I just-- I couldn't understand it.
No one could explain it to me,
238
00:25:42,363 --> 00:25:44,203
why he was prosecuted that way.
239
00:25:44,883 --> 00:25:47,443
I got no answers on it
when I questioned it.
240
00:25:49,443 --> 00:25:52,963
I can't help but think that maybe
if he would have been in jail longer,
241
00:25:53,803 --> 00:25:57,483
the guy he killed would have
been alive still, with his family.
242
00:26:49,523 --> 00:26:52,763
I had a message for Mr. Walker
the first time I met him,
243
00:26:54,803 --> 00:26:59,163
and that's that I was
going to give him every opportunity
244
00:27:00,283 --> 00:27:02,003
to change the path of his life.
245
00:27:02,963 --> 00:27:04,643
But it was still his choice.
246
00:27:17,243 --> 00:27:21,283
My main concern in supervising Mr. Walker
was his substance abuse.
247
00:27:21,963 --> 00:27:25,803
Because that is directly related
to his propensity for violence,
248
00:27:25,883 --> 00:27:28,763
and deeply enrooted
in his criminal conduct.
249
00:27:34,083 --> 00:27:36,683
About a month and a half
into his parole supervision,
250
00:27:36,763 --> 00:27:39,523
he reported to me like he was supposed to,
251
00:27:39,603 --> 00:27:41,163
a routine office report,
252
00:27:41,243 --> 00:27:45,043
and he did disclose to me
that he had relapsed over the weekend.
253
00:27:47,523 --> 00:27:51,403
I told him, "Go right over
to your drug treatment counselor,
254
00:27:51,483 --> 00:27:55,483
come up with a plan,
intensive plan, and call me from there."
255
00:27:55,563 --> 00:27:59,123
And he did it.
He did exactly what I asked him to do.
256
00:27:59,643 --> 00:28:01,603
He went directly to his treatment provider
257
00:28:01,683 --> 00:28:05,683
and they did. They came up
with an intensive treatment plan
258
00:28:05,763 --> 00:28:08,203
to deal with his re… relapse.
259
00:28:10,083 --> 00:28:12,083
And then I never heard from him again.
260
00:28:24,483 --> 00:28:27,083
The next time I saw James Walker
261
00:28:27,163 --> 00:28:29,163
was when he was in custody.
262
00:28:31,443 --> 00:28:35,843
James came across very,
uh, defeated, extremely quiet.
263
00:28:36,603 --> 00:28:42,323
Uh, even his… his body language
was that of just sadness.
264
00:28:43,403 --> 00:28:47,003
Almost as if he had realized
he just destroyed his life.
265
00:28:48,523 --> 00:28:51,403
But again, focused on the fact
that he destroyed his life,
266
00:28:51,483 --> 00:28:52,723
not the life he took.
267
00:28:56,323 --> 00:28:58,843
I can't say that I regret helping him.
268
00:28:59,483 --> 00:29:00,603
I hope I never do.
269
00:29:00,683 --> 00:29:03,963
I hope I never regret
trying to help people.
270
00:29:05,603 --> 00:29:09,243
But he chose
not to accept the help that he was given.
271
00:29:09,323 --> 00:29:10,803
So, that's on him.
272
00:29:11,443 --> 00:29:14,643
I think his blackouts, if they're real,
273
00:29:14,723 --> 00:29:17,003
um, are because he chooses.
274
00:29:17,083 --> 00:29:18,803
He chooses not to address
his mental health,
275
00:29:18,883 --> 00:29:21,163
he chooses not to address
his substance abuse,
276
00:29:21,243 --> 00:29:24,843
and then uses that
as an excuse to, basically,
277
00:29:24,923 --> 00:29:27,203
slash and kill people
and do violent things.
278
00:29:28,003 --> 00:29:31,283
So I don't buy that this is not his fault.
279
00:29:31,363 --> 00:29:34,603
It's completely his fault
and completely up to him.
280
00:30:01,883 --> 00:30:04,843
James Walker never had a chance.
281
00:30:07,123 --> 00:30:10,203
Someone who's endured
a childhood full of trauma
282
00:30:10,283 --> 00:30:15,603
and untreated mental illness
and escalating substance abuse,
283
00:30:15,683 --> 00:30:18,363
it affects how they handle stress.
284
00:30:19,443 --> 00:30:23,163
It makes them
susceptible to falling into urges
285
00:30:24,003 --> 00:30:26,803
and committing awful, horrible crimes.
286
00:30:45,643 --> 00:30:46,563
I'm Bill Easton.
287
00:30:46,643 --> 00:30:50,083
I'm a lawyer here in Rochester,
and I represented James Walker.
288
00:30:54,403 --> 00:30:57,723
I am definitely a bleeding heart.
Uh, proud of it.
289
00:31:01,163 --> 00:31:04,323
When I met James
and began to represent him,
290
00:31:04,403 --> 00:31:08,163
we immediately, uh,
went out to get as many records
291
00:31:08,243 --> 00:31:10,763
and to dig into his background
292
00:31:10,843 --> 00:31:12,403
as deeply as we could.
293
00:31:14,243 --> 00:31:17,163
And within six weeks,
294
00:31:17,243 --> 00:31:20,923
we had come across just an overabundance
295
00:31:21,003 --> 00:31:24,563
of records showing a childhood
that was just traumatic.
296
00:31:36,483 --> 00:31:40,443
James was one of seven children,
uh, born to his mother
297
00:31:41,323 --> 00:31:42,883
from seven different fathers.
298
00:31:43,763 --> 00:31:49,323
His childhood was marked
by abuse, neglect,
299
00:31:49,403 --> 00:31:52,283
uh, an utter lack of parental guidance.
300
00:31:53,603 --> 00:31:55,883
The details here are frightening.
301
00:31:57,803 --> 00:31:59,803
"When he was 16 months old,
302
00:31:59,883 --> 00:32:04,643
an unidentified adult
placed James on a burning stove."
303
00:32:04,723 --> 00:32:09,443
"James was admitted to the emergency room
with second and third degree burns
304
00:32:09,523 --> 00:32:13,283
branded on his buttocks
in the shape of a grill mark."
305
00:32:18,163 --> 00:32:22,763
And there was just a history of violence
in his family of people being killed.
306
00:32:24,323 --> 00:32:27,243
James's father was
an intimidating, violent man
307
00:32:27,323 --> 00:32:30,323
and was, uh, shot and killed
308
00:32:30,403 --> 00:32:33,003
when James was, uh, 15 years old.
309
00:32:34,363 --> 00:32:40,363
So he grew up in a family that was shaped
and misshaped by violence.
310
00:32:44,723 --> 00:32:46,923
He had what we call mitigation.
311
00:32:47,683 --> 00:32:50,763
It's not a defense
or an excuse to the crime,
312
00:32:50,843 --> 00:32:53,483
but it puts the crime in context.
313
00:32:55,003 --> 00:32:57,723
We set forth why the death penalty
314
00:32:57,803 --> 00:33:01,563
would be inappropriate punishment
for James Walker.
315
00:33:12,643 --> 00:33:14,723
You know, there are many people
316
00:33:14,803 --> 00:33:18,243
that are afflicted
with alcoholism or drug addiction,
317
00:33:18,323 --> 00:33:20,963
and many children are the
product of a broken home.
318
00:33:21,043 --> 00:33:23,123
Others are raised by alcoholic parents.
319
00:33:23,203 --> 00:33:27,283
Some experience incarceration of a parent
or violence in their family.
320
00:33:27,363 --> 00:33:29,443
A few lose parents to violence.
321
00:33:30,483 --> 00:33:34,363
But what's extraordinary about this case
322
00:33:34,443 --> 00:33:38,203
is not one single factor,
but James had all of these.
323
00:33:40,403 --> 00:33:44,483
This is a man whose life
was horribly warped,
324
00:33:44,563 --> 00:33:49,003
and he succumbed to factors
that we all would have succumbed to
325
00:33:49,083 --> 00:33:50,683
if we were in his position.
326
00:34:38,843 --> 00:34:43,203
I was very disappointed in James
when I found out what he had done.
327
00:34:46,083 --> 00:34:49,963
You don't have the right to take life.
That belongs to God.
328
00:35:02,883 --> 00:35:07,523
I'm Theodore Walker,
and I'm the firstborn of seven siblings.
329
00:35:14,403 --> 00:35:18,523
I was about 22
when I finally gave my life to the Lord.
330
00:35:23,203 --> 00:35:28,643
We didn't have what some folk considered
the best of life.
331
00:35:28,723 --> 00:35:30,603
I mean, we had to make do.
332
00:35:33,203 --> 00:35:37,923
We would put sugar on bread, and, uh,
you know, just to make a meal.
333
00:35:39,643 --> 00:35:41,723
It was a tough bringing-up.
334
00:35:44,483 --> 00:35:51,043
You know, I… I hustled and I sold weed
and cocaine, things like that.
335
00:35:54,443 --> 00:35:58,043
But I think he took it
a little more extreme than me,
336
00:35:58,123 --> 00:36:00,923
far as the robbin' and things like that.
337
00:36:04,483 --> 00:36:08,163
My brother James
always had a physical presence about him.
338
00:36:09,083 --> 00:36:13,003
If he got upset, that young man
was somethin' to deal with.
339
00:36:16,403 --> 00:36:21,803
I would say from the age of eight
is when it really started manifestin'
340
00:36:21,883 --> 00:36:25,603
where couldn't nobody do nothin'
with him when he got angry.
341
00:36:28,443 --> 00:36:32,963
He became a different person,
and he really acted out of control.
342
00:36:33,043 --> 00:36:36,963
Like, you're not stopping him.
He's not hearing you. He's gone.
343
00:36:44,003 --> 00:36:47,883
In the back of my mind, I always felt
James was gonna go too far,
344
00:36:47,963 --> 00:36:49,003
to no return.
345
00:36:51,403 --> 00:36:55,363
I never brought it up front
'cause I didn't want to believe that,
346
00:36:55,443 --> 00:36:58,163
but the signs pointed to it.
347
00:37:20,723 --> 00:37:24,443
My blackouts was me
and my mother's best kept secret.
348
00:37:27,523 --> 00:37:32,963
She didn't want the other kids to know
that I had these type of problems.
349
00:37:33,683 --> 00:37:37,323
And she didn't want me to think
I'd be treated like I was different.
350
00:37:40,123 --> 00:37:44,403
I always had a home,
but when I'm sliding in my blackouts,
351
00:37:45,283 --> 00:37:46,723
and sliding out of them,
352
00:37:47,923 --> 00:37:49,603
I would occasionally
353
00:37:50,603 --> 00:37:53,083
wake up in places
where I didn't know where I was.
354
00:37:54,203 --> 00:37:58,243
I'm a kid. I'm supposed to be home
with my brothers and sisters.
355
00:37:59,643 --> 00:38:01,683
And I'm waking up behind a building.
356
00:38:03,443 --> 00:38:07,203
And I can't even go home
'cause I don't know where I'm at.
357
00:38:09,403 --> 00:38:14,123
I was afraid. I never knew what was going
to happen or when it would happen.
358
00:38:14,723 --> 00:38:19,723
It took place because somebody
yelled at me, or somebody abused me.
359
00:38:23,283 --> 00:38:26,123
I wouldn't remember anything
'cause I didn't want to remember.
360
00:38:39,803 --> 00:38:43,003
Absolutely phenomenal, what I heard.
361
00:38:44,443 --> 00:38:45,843
He opened up his heart.
362
00:38:47,843 --> 00:38:50,083
That helped me understand now
363
00:38:50,163 --> 00:38:54,123
what I've experienced with him
when he had his blackouts,
364
00:38:54,803 --> 00:38:57,603
you know, because I thought he was just…
365
00:38:57,683 --> 00:39:01,323
That's just James, you know,
'cause he was always a tough character.
366
00:39:04,763 --> 00:39:09,163
But now we know
that he was actually not remembering
367
00:39:09,763 --> 00:39:11,363
what he had just did.
368
00:39:13,963 --> 00:39:17,123
He never shared a lot…
a lot of his personal stuff.
369
00:39:17,203 --> 00:39:18,403
He bottled it in,
370
00:39:19,003 --> 00:39:22,803
but this James here,
that's talking on here now,
371
00:39:22,883 --> 00:39:24,443
he's a changed James.
372
00:39:25,963 --> 00:39:28,163
Yeah. It's a little emotional for me…
373
00:39:30,243 --> 00:39:31,643
to be honest with you.
374
00:39:41,403 --> 00:39:43,883
I'm a better person now
than I was before.
375
00:39:48,203 --> 00:39:51,203
From the day of arrest,
I have been on medication.
376
00:39:53,323 --> 00:39:58,123
I have not committed
a violent act against myself,
377
00:39:59,723 --> 00:40:00,803
or anyone else…
378
00:40:03,163 --> 00:40:04,443
in over 20 years.
379
00:40:05,683 --> 00:40:10,043
I'm gonna need medication and maybe
a therapist for the rest of my life,
380
00:40:11,283 --> 00:40:14,963
and it's not because of the crime
that was committed.
381
00:40:15,883 --> 00:40:18,483
I needed this
before the crime was committed.
382
00:40:35,483 --> 00:40:37,563
He chooses
not to address his mental health,
383
00:40:37,643 --> 00:40:39,923
he chooses not to address
his substance abuse,
384
00:40:40,003 --> 00:40:42,043
and then uses that as an excuse
385
00:40:42,123 --> 00:40:45,443
to, basically, slash and kill people
and do violent things.
386
00:40:46,483 --> 00:40:47,963
The fact of the matter is
387
00:40:49,643 --> 00:40:50,763
when I needed help,
388
00:40:52,283 --> 00:40:53,363
I asked for it.
389
00:40:57,883 --> 00:41:02,043
I'd tell the counselor and the therapist,
"This is what I'm going through,
390
00:41:02,123 --> 00:41:04,043
and I don't have my medication."
391
00:41:05,963 --> 00:41:07,963
"Okay, uh, come back next week."
392
00:41:10,563 --> 00:41:14,323
So it's not like
I turned completely to drugs.
393
00:41:16,523 --> 00:41:20,203
Being off my medication,
I just lost all touch with reality.
394
00:41:23,723 --> 00:41:26,283
But I'm sitting here in front of you now.
395
00:41:27,923 --> 00:41:29,203
I'm not that person.
396
00:41:30,283 --> 00:41:32,283
I will never be that person again.
397
00:41:33,843 --> 00:41:36,963
And I'm no longer ashamed to say,
"Hey, I need some help."
398
00:41:42,843 --> 00:41:45,083
Why do you think
you committed
399
00:41:45,163 --> 00:41:49,283
two near-identical attacks
on men who worked in adult bookstores?
400
00:41:49,843 --> 00:41:52,283
Well, to be totally honest,
401
00:41:52,363 --> 00:41:56,123
because when I was a child
growing up in the streets,
402
00:41:56,203 --> 00:42:00,043
those… those people in those places
were the ones that hurt me the most.
403
00:42:02,363 --> 00:42:03,363
Simple as that.
404
00:42:05,923 --> 00:42:07,963
If you was downtown,
405
00:42:08,043 --> 00:42:09,723
you could find something to eat,
406
00:42:10,243 --> 00:42:12,243
you could find clothes,
you could do whatever.
407
00:42:13,643 --> 00:42:14,963
But it was these people
408
00:42:16,203 --> 00:42:20,683
that use those things as a carrot
to harm children,
409
00:42:21,403 --> 00:42:23,603
and I was one of those children
that they harmed.
410
00:42:27,843 --> 00:42:31,403
Mentally, I see the people that hurt me,
411
00:42:33,523 --> 00:42:35,003
and I did what I did.
412
00:42:36,243 --> 00:42:37,443
Hmm.
413
00:42:43,523 --> 00:42:46,203
He never shared
a lot of his personal stuff.
414
00:42:46,283 --> 00:42:47,563
He bottled it in.
415
00:42:48,923 --> 00:42:51,883
But this James here,
that's talking on here now,
416
00:42:52,483 --> 00:42:54,203
he's a changed James.
417
00:42:56,083 --> 00:43:00,843
That's progress, and I got
to take every little bit I can get
418
00:43:01,483 --> 00:43:03,163
when it come to my brother.
419
00:43:05,443 --> 00:43:12,123
And I want to give him all of the
positive reinforcement that I can give him
420
00:43:14,483 --> 00:43:18,363
to keep on doin'
what he doin', you know. Don't change.
421
00:43:23,443 --> 00:43:25,643
Well, that was very difficult
to listen to.
422
00:43:27,603 --> 00:43:29,483
That-- Just hearing his voice
423
00:43:30,963 --> 00:43:35,723
made 20 years
of struggle and change worth it.
424
00:43:37,203 --> 00:43:41,643
For me to be the person that I am now,
that was like my reward.
425
00:43:47,003 --> 00:43:49,883
You know, I feared myself
for a very long time,
426
00:43:50,683 --> 00:43:52,203
because I didn't know myself.
427
00:43:52,843 --> 00:43:56,003
But now that I do,
there's nothing to fear.