1
00:00:08,603 --> 00:00:12,043
[intense pulsating music playing]
2
00:00:15,763 --> 00:00:20,083
[man] I'd say it was a big deal,
but it was a… a very sobering event.
3
00:00:22,723 --> 00:00:26,843
It was nearing five o'clock
in the afternoon
4
00:00:26,923 --> 00:00:30,003
and, uh, I drove out to the airport.
5
00:00:32,763 --> 00:00:35,323
Then I saw the airplane out on the tarmac.
6
00:00:37,203 --> 00:00:40,163
Nobody really knew
exactly what had happened
7
00:00:40,243 --> 00:00:43,323
other than that
this guy had robbed a pharmacy.
8
00:00:44,483 --> 00:00:47,043
And he had a young hostage
inside the plane.
9
00:00:47,123 --> 00:00:49,443
[dramatic sting, music continues]
10
00:00:49,523 --> 00:00:51,803
I think everybody was kinda learning
as they went along,
11
00:00:51,883 --> 00:00:54,483
not knowing exactly what was gonna happen.
12
00:00:56,923 --> 00:00:59,163
It was very, very quiet.
13
00:01:01,443 --> 00:01:03,323
Until there was gunfire.
14
00:01:03,403 --> 00:01:05,083
[dramatic sting, music continues]
15
00:01:19,363 --> 00:01:22,483
[man] Not that many things happen
in a small town like this.
16
00:01:24,003 --> 00:01:28,443
We've had some homicides,
you know, in and around the area,
17
00:01:28,523 --> 00:01:29,963
but this was a big deal.
18
00:01:32,643 --> 00:01:35,403
Everybody was shocked
by what had taken place.
19
00:01:37,763 --> 00:01:40,803
[music fades]
20
00:01:42,723 --> 00:01:44,603
[theme music playing]
21
00:02:05,843 --> 00:02:08,963
[eerie music playing]
22
00:02:16,803 --> 00:02:22,043
[woman] There we go.
One, two, three, four, five…
23
00:02:23,003 --> 00:02:24,083
[man] Thank you.
24
00:02:24,163 --> 00:02:27,003
See, I never would've got that.
[chuckling]
25
00:02:28,763 --> 00:02:29,723
[grunts]
26
00:02:30,723 --> 00:02:32,283
[low grunt]
27
00:02:44,763 --> 00:02:47,323
[David] My name is David Cameron Keith.
28
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I'd never committed a violent act
in my life before that day.
29
00:03:01,763 --> 00:03:03,443
[music continues]
30
00:03:08,043 --> 00:03:09,723
It was the worst day of my life.
31
00:03:09,803 --> 00:03:14,523
The worst decisions of my life
led to that moment, but… [inhales]
32
00:03:14,603 --> 00:03:15,803
…it is what it is.
33
00:03:15,883 --> 00:03:19,763
It's not something I can take back
just because I'm sorry for it.
34
00:03:23,683 --> 00:03:25,563
[music fades]
35
00:03:29,283 --> 00:03:31,163
[gentle music playing]
36
00:04:00,403 --> 00:04:01,443
[David] My dad?
37
00:04:02,283 --> 00:04:03,843
He was an excellent man.
38
00:04:03,923 --> 00:04:08,083
He was an excellent attorney.
He just wasn't much of a father.
39
00:04:10,643 --> 00:04:11,883
He drank a lot.
40
00:04:13,203 --> 00:04:16,883
He was one of those functional alcoholics.
41
00:04:16,963 --> 00:04:18,403
Very functional.
42
00:04:19,963 --> 00:04:23,123
And they talk about preachers' kids
gettin' in trouble
43
00:04:24,003 --> 00:04:26,203
just because they're preachers' kids.
44
00:04:26,283 --> 00:04:28,883
The same is probably true
with attorney kids.
45
00:04:30,963 --> 00:04:33,483
We were not really well supervised.
46
00:04:36,563 --> 00:04:42,523
I tried alcohol when I was eight,
nine years old, if not sooner,
47
00:04:42,603 --> 00:04:44,803
because my father had parties.
48
00:04:44,883 --> 00:04:46,403
Cocktail parties.
49
00:04:48,043 --> 00:04:51,363
I probably got drunk a couple of times
in front of them,
50
00:04:51,443 --> 00:04:54,203
but I don't remember them
ever disciplining me.
51
00:04:58,763 --> 00:04:59,923
I was just…
52
00:05:02,923 --> 00:05:05,443
[clicks teeth] …furniture,
if you will. [laughs]
53
00:05:21,803 --> 00:05:24,443
It didn't make me feel
like I was too wanted.
54
00:05:26,723 --> 00:05:28,603
And I got into drugs.
55
00:05:30,683 --> 00:05:37,083
Drugs just made it easier
to bear some of those emotional traumas.
56
00:05:38,483 --> 00:05:44,203
It started off with, let's say,
the… the usual drugs, like marijuana.
57
00:05:45,523 --> 00:05:49,683
But I didn't have to go too much longer
58
00:05:49,763 --> 00:05:54,603
to get really involved
with needles and amphetamines.
59
00:05:55,603 --> 00:06:00,683
I was just… growing up difficult
until 20 years old.
60
00:06:00,763 --> 00:06:07,683
After that… I was a little bit more
involved in the criminal side of life.
61
00:06:09,523 --> 00:06:12,483
And never took advantage
of the surroundings
62
00:06:12,563 --> 00:06:16,523
and of the life we'd been given
and do something with it.
63
00:06:18,043 --> 00:06:19,523
I put a needle in my arm.
64
00:06:20,323 --> 00:06:21,883
That's what I did with it.
65
00:06:21,963 --> 00:06:23,403
[disgusted sigh]
66
00:06:30,603 --> 00:06:33,523
[unsettling music playing]
67
00:06:53,003 --> 00:06:54,963
[David] That period of my life
68
00:06:56,483 --> 00:06:58,083
went from bad to worse.
69
00:07:00,963 --> 00:07:02,163
I was a dope fiend.
70
00:07:03,803 --> 00:07:07,723
I wasn't working.
We had no plans of working.
71
00:07:08,483 --> 00:07:11,363
I was burglarizing drugstores at night,
72
00:07:11,443 --> 00:07:15,723
and selling the proceeds
to people in Spokane.
73
00:07:16,523 --> 00:07:18,883
There was nothing violent about it.
74
00:07:18,963 --> 00:07:21,283
I was a delinquent, if you will.
75
00:07:23,323 --> 00:07:24,923
That was my activities.
76
00:07:25,523 --> 00:07:29,043
And that should have provided
the necessary income, but it didn't.
77
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I was using too many of the drugs.
78
00:07:37,843 --> 00:07:40,283
I knew one thing, I had to pay the rent.
79
00:07:40,923 --> 00:07:43,523
I had to be able to pay for food.
80
00:07:44,083 --> 00:07:46,883
A wife and three kids can't be…
81
00:07:48,763 --> 00:07:53,763
We can't be, uh,
living materially with no income.
82
00:07:57,323 --> 00:08:00,763
I just knew I had to do something
I hadn't done before.
83
00:08:04,643 --> 00:08:06,723
[music fades]
84
00:08:08,363 --> 00:08:10,843
[ominous music playing]
85
00:08:16,003 --> 00:08:17,963
[David] So I went out that morning,
86
00:08:18,763 --> 00:08:21,723
drove around western Montana looking for
87
00:08:22,483 --> 00:08:28,363
a store that looked "comfortable,"
if one could use that word.
88
00:08:36,003 --> 00:08:38,843
[ominous rumble]
89
00:08:43,803 --> 00:08:45,323
I robbed the drug store there.
90
00:08:45,403 --> 00:08:48,683
I didn't think I'd do-- did a good job,
so I raced out of town.
91
00:08:51,283 --> 00:08:55,683
I get out back on 93
and a police car tries to pull me over.
92
00:08:57,803 --> 00:09:00,923
I'd just been out of prison
for a couple of months at that point,
93
00:09:01,603 --> 00:09:06,403
and instead of submitting to that arrest,
94
00:09:06,483 --> 00:09:11,403
I drove my car into a parking lot
of a small convenience store.
95
00:09:13,203 --> 00:09:15,363
And I ran into the store.
96
00:09:17,643 --> 00:09:19,763
I was looking for a shield.
97
00:09:19,843 --> 00:09:21,963
I don't know how I came up
with these thoughts.
98
00:09:22,043 --> 00:09:24,883
I'd never done this kind of thing before.
99
00:09:28,403 --> 00:09:33,163
I came through the door and I saw
a movement off the corner of my eye,
100
00:09:34,123 --> 00:09:38,603
and I knew that whoever was making
that shadow in the corner of my eye
101
00:09:38,683 --> 00:09:42,483
wasn't going to be my shield,
so I fired a gun in that direction.
102
00:09:42,563 --> 00:09:43,923
[gunshot]
103
00:09:46,043 --> 00:09:50,683
And then I put my gun
on the back… back of the head
104
00:09:50,763 --> 00:09:56,203
of a smaller…
what turned out to be a 13-year-old boy.
105
00:09:58,403 --> 00:10:01,443
[intense pulsating music builds]
106
00:10:06,483 --> 00:10:09,323
We get in the boy's father's pickup truck.
107
00:10:13,203 --> 00:10:17,283
And some police procession
pretty much followed us to the airport.
108
00:10:17,363 --> 00:10:19,083
[faint sirens wailing]
109
00:10:20,083 --> 00:10:24,523
[David] I was trying to escape.
And been trying to escape for hours.
110
00:10:26,563 --> 00:10:28,563
[intense pulsating music intensifies]
111
00:10:36,123 --> 00:10:41,163
[David] The police sheriff agreed
to provide me with a plane and a pilot
112
00:10:41,243 --> 00:10:43,243
in exchange for the kid.
113
00:10:45,243 --> 00:10:49,883
And I thought, if I got in the plane
and the plane took off,
114
00:10:49,963 --> 00:10:53,603
that the pilot
would take me over the Rocky Mountains…
115
00:10:55,443 --> 00:11:00,803
I would have let the pilot free
and I would have gone on my merry way.
116
00:11:00,883 --> 00:11:02,723
Yeah right, merry way.
117
00:11:02,803 --> 00:11:05,323
No more wife, no more kids.
118
00:11:05,403 --> 00:11:08,203
All that stuff
had been going through my head.
119
00:11:16,763 --> 00:11:18,043
[David] At the airport,
120
00:11:18,123 --> 00:11:21,363
there was police cars
all around the airplane,
121
00:11:21,443 --> 00:11:24,003
you know,
backed off a hundred yards or so.
122
00:11:26,643 --> 00:11:29,683
The pilot was there
on the ground with the plane.
123
00:11:41,043 --> 00:11:45,043
I had no intention
of killing that first hostage, the child.
124
00:11:46,363 --> 00:11:49,683
I'd been thinking
that as soon as I let go of the kid,
125
00:11:49,763 --> 00:11:52,963
I'm going to be shot
and my life is gonna be over.
126
00:11:53,603 --> 00:11:55,683
Well, for some reason that didn't happen.
127
00:11:58,483 --> 00:12:00,483
[music continues]
128
00:12:05,123 --> 00:12:07,123
Once we got in the plane,
129
00:12:08,363 --> 00:12:12,123
I had my gun on the pilot, a new hostage.
130
00:12:13,563 --> 00:12:18,723
And I was hopeful that maybe
I would actually live through this night.
131
00:12:18,803 --> 00:12:20,523
That nobody would get shot.
132
00:12:24,603 --> 00:12:28,083
Pilot takes about a half an hour
trying to start the plane.
133
00:12:28,883 --> 00:12:32,163
But while this… while this was going on,
134
00:12:32,963 --> 00:12:34,763
unbeknownst to me,
135
00:12:35,723 --> 00:12:38,763
other sheriff's deputies
were underneath the plane
136
00:12:38,843 --> 00:12:40,883
letting the air out of the tires.
137
00:12:42,203 --> 00:12:44,563
That plane wasn't going to go anywhere.
138
00:12:53,363 --> 00:12:55,363
[somber music playing]
139
00:12:58,523 --> 00:13:03,203
[David] The negotiating process had me
leaning out the doorway of the plane,
140
00:13:03,283 --> 00:13:05,803
talking to these-- to the sheriff.
141
00:13:08,243 --> 00:13:10,523
And one time when I leaned out,
142
00:13:10,603 --> 00:13:13,763
the sniper that was perhaps 50 yards away,
143
00:13:13,843 --> 00:13:15,843
thought he had a clear shot at me.
144
00:13:17,443 --> 00:13:19,043
So he shot me.
145
00:13:19,123 --> 00:13:20,443
[gunshot]
146
00:13:34,723 --> 00:13:36,483
[David] I'd been severely wounded.
147
00:13:38,483 --> 00:13:40,923
I could tell that this wasn't going well.
148
00:13:43,803 --> 00:13:45,923
I was going to be dead pretty quick.
149
00:13:48,203 --> 00:13:50,803
My life was going to be over.
150
00:13:54,003 --> 00:13:56,803
I thought to myself,
"I'll shoot the pilot."
151
00:13:58,123 --> 00:14:00,243
"'Cause I don't want to go alone tonight."
152
00:14:01,803 --> 00:14:05,803
I didn't want the loneliness, just…
153
00:14:07,083 --> 00:14:08,163
[exhales]
154
00:14:08,763 --> 00:14:14,843
It wasn't a well-thought-out,
spiritual, or anything, concept.
155
00:14:18,723 --> 00:14:21,323
Just, uh, I didn't want to go alone.
156
00:14:30,083 --> 00:14:31,363
[gunshot]
157
00:14:43,803 --> 00:14:45,603
[ominous rumble]
158
00:14:51,203 --> 00:14:53,043
[somber music continues]
159
00:14:53,123 --> 00:14:55,003
[David] After I shot the pilot,
160
00:14:56,163 --> 00:14:59,883
I put down my gun
and started backing out of the plane.
161
00:15:01,763 --> 00:15:03,763
And that was my last conscious memory.
162
00:15:06,723 --> 00:15:11,283
I believe I got shot at the doorway
of the aircraft when I got out.
163
00:15:11,923 --> 00:15:15,083
I was shot point-blank
in the back of the head.
164
00:15:16,003 --> 00:15:19,243
Most people don't live when
they're shot in the back of the head.
165
00:15:20,363 --> 00:15:22,483
Here I am, 38 years later.
166
00:15:23,283 --> 00:15:25,563
[laughs] Imagine that.
167
00:15:25,643 --> 00:15:28,563
That I could laugh about this? I'm sick.
168
00:15:28,643 --> 00:15:29,643
Huh?
169
00:15:53,163 --> 00:15:55,883
I regret it with every ounce of my body.
170
00:15:57,323 --> 00:16:01,523
It may not sound
like there's much regret in me.
171
00:16:02,443 --> 00:16:03,883
Believe me, there is.
172
00:16:05,683 --> 00:16:06,883
[sighs]
173
00:16:10,043 --> 00:16:11,883
I didn't wake up that morning
174
00:16:13,123 --> 00:16:16,723
thinking that I would go out
and kill somebody that day.
175
00:16:17,683 --> 00:16:20,403
I wish I would have stopped and said,
"Wait a second."
176
00:16:20,483 --> 00:16:22,403
But… no.
177
00:16:24,963 --> 00:16:26,043
There was…
178
00:16:26,603 --> 00:16:30,923
The feeling…
The feeling chip was not activated,
179
00:16:31,003 --> 00:16:33,483
like Delta on Star Trek.
180
00:16:34,163 --> 00:16:35,243
Jesus.
181
00:16:38,683 --> 00:16:40,043
I wish I would have cared.
182
00:16:40,883 --> 00:16:45,403
Emotions had never really
been a part of my adult… adult life.
183
00:16:45,483 --> 00:16:47,603
And they weren't really a part of it then.
184
00:16:50,723 --> 00:16:53,603
I don't like looking too deeply at myself.
185
00:16:55,043 --> 00:16:58,523
I shouldn't say I don't like it.
I just don't usually do it.
186
00:17:00,643 --> 00:17:02,483
There's not much to like there.
187
00:17:08,803 --> 00:17:10,763
There's nothing right about it.
188
00:17:17,963 --> 00:17:19,683
Well, that's really not true.
189
00:17:19,763 --> 00:17:24,603
What was really right about it
was the pilot volunteering for that child,
190
00:17:24,683 --> 00:17:26,603
to take the place of that child.
191
00:17:27,603 --> 00:17:31,083
That was about the only right thing
that happened that day.
192
00:17:32,763 --> 00:17:36,763
If I could fake up tears right now,
I would.
193
00:17:38,323 --> 00:17:39,483
But I can't.
194
00:17:51,243 --> 00:17:52,883
[music fades]
195
00:17:57,443 --> 00:17:59,443
[birdsong]
196
00:18:07,243 --> 00:18:10,443
[gentle piano music playing]
197
00:18:16,283 --> 00:18:17,483
[man] I miss my father.
198
00:18:18,923 --> 00:18:21,843
It's almost funny to say after 38 years.
199
00:18:24,483 --> 00:18:28,723
Whenever you lose your parents,
you miss 'em. You know, at whatever age.
200
00:18:32,363 --> 00:18:36,283
I'm George Shryock.
I'm the son of Harry Lee Shryock.
201
00:18:40,843 --> 00:18:43,443
The long-term effects of what happened
202
00:18:44,363 --> 00:18:47,803
to… his death and… and, uh…
203
00:18:47,883 --> 00:18:51,323
[hesitates] …were very hard
for all of us. For all the family.
204
00:18:53,163 --> 00:18:57,603
Our grandchildren, his grandchildren,
our children. They missed him.
205
00:18:58,283 --> 00:19:01,083
You know, we knew him.
We still know who he was.
206
00:19:01,603 --> 00:19:02,443
They don't.
207
00:19:04,123 --> 00:19:07,123
I wish my boys
would have had, uh, his influence.
208
00:19:08,803 --> 00:19:13,043
So, that's a… That's a regret. So…
209
00:19:20,723 --> 00:19:23,843
Well, my father came
from a humble background in Ohio.
210
00:19:24,883 --> 00:19:30,003
He'd always, growing up, had visions,
almost Peter Pan-like, of flying.
211
00:19:31,003 --> 00:19:34,243
And, uh, and so when he was 20,
212
00:19:34,323 --> 00:19:37,923
he… he joined the Air Corps Cadet program.
213
00:19:41,083 --> 00:19:43,523
My father spent 30 years in the military
214
00:19:43,603 --> 00:19:48,003
in three theaters of combat
in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
215
00:19:48,963 --> 00:19:50,523
But he retired at 51.
216
00:19:52,763 --> 00:19:55,963
Of course, he was decorated
for seeing a lot of combat.
217
00:19:59,323 --> 00:20:00,923
He was really a good pilot.
218
00:20:05,323 --> 00:20:07,323
[music continues]
219
00:20:16,843 --> 00:20:20,643
[George] He left this note on the counter
'cause my mom wasn't home.
220
00:20:22,043 --> 00:20:24,123
She went by Dee and he went by Lee.
221
00:20:27,963 --> 00:20:30,643
"A hostage situation south of town."
222
00:20:32,443 --> 00:20:35,283
"I have to fly the sheriff
down to look it over."
223
00:20:36,283 --> 00:20:37,123
"Lee."
224
00:20:57,003 --> 00:21:01,163
I experienced a lot of anger
for a few years.
225
00:21:02,883 --> 00:21:06,523
My wife thinks I'm still really angry.
I can't say that I'm really angry.
226
00:21:06,603 --> 00:21:13,443
I'm neutral. It's just, Keith has to deal
with himself and his maker in his own way.
227
00:21:15,443 --> 00:21:17,523
He's obviously highly intelligent.
228
00:21:17,603 --> 00:21:20,283
He could have made
moral and ethical decisions,
229
00:21:20,963 --> 00:21:22,643
when he came to age.
230
00:21:23,803 --> 00:21:28,003
And, uh, as far as his remorse…
231
00:21:28,083 --> 00:21:32,323
It's difficult for me to believe,
uh, given his history.
232
00:21:34,323 --> 00:21:39,043
Keith was hell-bent. This was…
this didn't happen just that day.
233
00:21:39,123 --> 00:21:42,283
It was a ten-year collision path
with destiny.
234
00:21:56,723 --> 00:21:59,883
[acoustic guitar playing]
235
00:22:08,443 --> 00:22:12,803
[man] It's an individual decision
to forgive one person for their acts.
236
00:22:14,763 --> 00:22:19,883
Some people can't forgive and some people,
is a way to cleansing the soul.
237
00:22:25,803 --> 00:22:28,923
My brother is a result of his childhood.
238
00:22:31,323 --> 00:22:33,643
He wouldn't be what he is today
239
00:22:33,723 --> 00:22:36,763
without his childhood
setting him on that path.
240
00:22:42,523 --> 00:22:47,043
My name is Bruce Keith,
and I'm the older brother of David Keith.
241
00:22:57,603 --> 00:22:59,723
[music fades]
242
00:23:00,883 --> 00:23:04,523
[Bruce] When I saw him in the hospital
with the tubes, and the wires,
243
00:23:04,603 --> 00:23:07,403
and the, uh, screens
with the heartbeat on,
244
00:23:07,483 --> 00:23:12,443
it's pretty daunting to look at when it's,
you know, a close relative, certainly.
245
00:23:12,523 --> 00:23:15,683
And you might see it on TV
once in a while,
246
00:23:15,763 --> 00:23:20,083
but when it's in your real life,
right in your face, it's difficult.
247
00:23:25,083 --> 00:23:28,323
[poignant music playing]
248
00:23:35,483 --> 00:23:38,723
Nobody knew
if he was really going to live or die.
249
00:23:38,803 --> 00:23:41,123
I mean, he was on a life support system,
250
00:23:41,203 --> 00:23:46,003
and then the next thing I heard was,
he's got a trial date.
251
00:23:46,763 --> 00:23:50,843
Because you don't try somebody
that's rehabbing from trauma.
252
00:23:50,923 --> 00:23:54,563
You have to wait
until they can defend themselves a bit.
253
00:23:55,483 --> 00:23:57,603
He had a lot of pressure on him
254
00:23:57,683 --> 00:24:03,083
to show up before a judge after
this horrific thing, and face the music.
255
00:24:33,123 --> 00:24:37,243
When he stood up in court
and pled guilty to his charges,
256
00:24:37,323 --> 00:24:39,483
I understood why he did that.
257
00:24:41,203 --> 00:24:43,483
As part of taking responsibility.
258
00:24:46,803 --> 00:24:52,763
Sitting in the courtroom and listening
to the judge, uh, pronounce sentence,
259
00:24:52,843 --> 00:24:57,523
I remember the words of the judge
quite distinctly. He said,
260
00:24:57,603 --> 00:25:00,483
"Son, you've really
broke the bank on this one."
261
00:25:12,563 --> 00:25:14,523
[indistinct voice]
262
00:25:14,603 --> 00:25:19,003
How many, uh, people have ever heard
of two death penalties
263
00:25:19,083 --> 00:25:20,963
getting handed out in the same courtroom?
264
00:25:23,083 --> 00:25:26,083
I think David's, uh, punishment
265
00:25:27,603 --> 00:25:33,203
as handed down by the judge,
was not the… the right thing.
266
00:25:33,283 --> 00:25:37,403
I don't think, uh, killing anybody
267
00:25:37,483 --> 00:25:40,443
is a… a worthwhile endeavor.
268
00:25:42,323 --> 00:25:45,803
I don't know
if I even processed it for years.
269
00:25:46,363 --> 00:25:47,243
But…
270
00:25:49,803 --> 00:25:52,243
[voice breaks] You certainly know
you'll never see him again,
271
00:25:52,323 --> 00:25:54,283
except behind bars.
272
00:26:06,683 --> 00:26:09,963
He chose the guilty path
because he knew he did it,
273
00:26:10,043 --> 00:26:13,603
so he's being honest
with himself and with the court.
274
00:26:14,803 --> 00:26:17,963
He'll never… never not be sorry for it.
275
00:26:20,483 --> 00:26:24,243
He understands
that he brought it all on himself.
276
00:26:24,323 --> 00:26:27,523
He understands he's paid a heavy price
for his actions.
277
00:26:28,123 --> 00:26:30,963
So, is he a danger to society?
278
00:26:31,043 --> 00:26:32,483
I hardly think so.
279
00:26:34,243 --> 00:26:37,363
I would really like to see him
released and thrive.
280
00:26:38,523 --> 00:26:39,883
It's possible.
281
00:26:44,683 --> 00:26:48,803
[rhythmic music playing]
282
00:27:03,643 --> 00:27:06,523
[man] There's not a question
of an innocent person here.
283
00:27:07,043 --> 00:27:08,963
There's no question who did it.
284
00:27:09,483 --> 00:27:11,603
There's not mistaken identity.
285
00:27:13,363 --> 00:27:16,403
But it's like they say,
the Irish don't see black and white
286
00:27:16,483 --> 00:27:19,163
because they see
all the colors in between.
287
00:27:19,243 --> 00:27:23,443
That's my problem, I see all the colors
in between in a story like this.
288
00:27:26,283 --> 00:27:27,603
My name is Jim Manley.
289
00:27:27,683 --> 00:27:30,763
I'm the district court judge
for the 20th Judicial District,
290
00:27:30,843 --> 00:27:35,523
which is the jurisdiction
in which this case was handled.
291
00:27:37,003 --> 00:27:40,083
[haunting music playing]
292
00:27:48,723 --> 00:27:52,403
David Cameron Keith
was sentenced to death in this courtroom,
293
00:27:52,483 --> 00:27:54,003
at that table over there.
294
00:27:57,163 --> 00:28:01,043
When the sentence was announced,
295
00:28:01,123 --> 00:28:05,483
I don't remember him uttering any sounds
or making any scene or…
296
00:28:06,403 --> 00:28:08,803
or showing much emotion.
297
00:28:10,003 --> 00:28:12,363
Through every step of the procedure,
298
00:28:12,443 --> 00:28:15,883
he sat here and was stoic,
299
00:28:16,723 --> 00:28:18,883
and you would have never guessed is
300
00:28:18,963 --> 00:28:21,963
that this serious a sentence
hanging over his head.
301
00:28:25,923 --> 00:28:29,203
It's almost unheard of
for somebody to plead guilty
302
00:28:29,283 --> 00:28:32,923
if they know that the death penalty is
on the… on the table.
303
00:28:33,003 --> 00:28:34,283
Unless they want to die.
304
00:28:36,203 --> 00:28:40,803
So it was surprising.
But on the other hand, he had no defenses.
305
00:28:42,243 --> 00:28:46,523
The homicide crimes did meet
the criteria for the death penalty.
306
00:28:47,643 --> 00:28:54,083
As long as human society has existed,
there's been a need for retribution, and…
307
00:28:55,603 --> 00:28:57,323
I understand that part of it.
308
00:28:57,403 --> 00:28:58,523
On the other hand,
309
00:28:59,083 --> 00:29:05,363
the existence of the death penalty
doesn't really reduce homicides.
310
00:29:05,883 --> 00:29:12,243
However, if I have to follow
the letter and the spirit of the law,
311
00:29:12,323 --> 00:29:14,643
as the legislature hands it down…
312
00:29:16,763 --> 00:29:20,443
I very well might sentence him
to the death penalty today.
313
00:29:20,963 --> 00:29:25,643
Even though, personally, I don't really…
I'm not really in favor of it.
314
00:29:30,563 --> 00:29:33,763
[somber music playing]
315
00:29:59,763 --> 00:30:03,603
[James] Governor Swindon studied the file,
talked to everybody involved,
316
00:30:03,683 --> 00:30:07,603
went over to the prison,
sat down eye-to-eye with him
317
00:30:07,683 --> 00:30:09,883
and talked to him for some time.
318
00:30:10,403 --> 00:30:16,363
And at that time, it's my understanding
David Cameron Keith had become a Christian
319
00:30:16,443 --> 00:30:19,683
and was going around
talking to high school groups
320
00:30:19,763 --> 00:30:22,243
about crimes, and drugs,
321
00:30:22,323 --> 00:30:26,203
and convinced the Governor
that he was remorseful.
322
00:30:29,043 --> 00:30:32,243
The Governor weighed all of that
and commuted his death sentence
323
00:30:32,323 --> 00:30:35,803
to life in prison
without possibility of parole.
324
00:30:37,123 --> 00:30:39,683
First time I ever remember
a Montana governor
325
00:30:39,763 --> 00:30:42,203
commuting a death sentence like that.
326
00:30:49,003 --> 00:30:54,083
It's my understanding David Cameron Keith
has presented a number of faces
327
00:30:54,843 --> 00:30:58,403
to… to different people
over a period of time.
328
00:30:59,403 --> 00:31:02,723
I don't know
which is the real David Cameron Keith.
329
00:31:04,043 --> 00:31:10,003
But, if he is indeed sincere,
and remorseful about what he did,
330
00:31:10,603 --> 00:31:16,163
and if the victim's family,
uh, is consulted,
331
00:31:16,243 --> 00:31:20,803
I wouldn't object to him
being released on parole at this point.
332
00:31:31,803 --> 00:31:33,803
[music fades]
333
00:31:37,843 --> 00:31:39,963
[faint birdsong]
334
00:31:42,363 --> 00:31:44,083
[gentle piano music playing]
335
00:32:01,403 --> 00:32:02,523
[woman] Hmm.
336
00:32:04,883 --> 00:32:08,483
When I think about Dad, I'm proud.
337
00:32:09,163 --> 00:32:12,803
I'm not proud of the mistakes he made
but I'm proud that,
338
00:32:13,723 --> 00:32:16,723
through it all, he… he loved us,
339
00:32:17,243 --> 00:32:19,923
in whatever capacity he could.
340
00:32:22,683 --> 00:32:26,723
[man] I don't believe he was
a violent person in any…
341
00:32:26,803 --> 00:32:29,243
any part of his being, uh,
342
00:32:29,323 --> 00:32:33,763
but I have seen people
with drug addiction backed into a corner
343
00:32:33,843 --> 00:32:38,003
and virtually do anything they can do to…
344
00:32:38,083 --> 00:32:41,123
get their fix
to be able to deal with… with life.
345
00:32:43,003 --> 00:32:46,243
I know… [hesitates] …without a doubt,
346
00:32:47,283 --> 00:32:51,803
that it wasn't premeditated.
It wasn't out of malice, it was…
347
00:32:53,843 --> 00:32:58,923
"Oh my God, I'm freaking out here
and I don't know what to do."
348
00:33:17,363 --> 00:33:23,443
[Cameron] This is probably the only, like,
real photo that I have of me and him.
349
00:33:23,523 --> 00:33:25,763
We actually got this photo enlarged,
350
00:33:25,843 --> 00:33:29,283
that we have on our stairway
going upstairs.
351
00:33:32,643 --> 00:33:35,683
I've only got to know him being in jail.
352
00:33:36,563 --> 00:33:40,443
Even though he's been in prison
the whole time, he's been great to me.
353
00:33:42,803 --> 00:33:48,083
For somebody that's been incarcerated
as long as he has been incarcerated,
354
00:33:48,163 --> 00:33:52,523
I've never seen somebody so positive,
355
00:33:52,603 --> 00:33:58,163
and still wanting to make a difference,
and still wanting to be,
356
00:33:58,723 --> 00:34:03,283
uh, you know, part of my life,
and learn things that I like,
357
00:34:03,363 --> 00:34:05,443
and, you know, get pictures of my kids.
358
00:34:08,323 --> 00:34:10,563
We pretty much talk on a weekly basis.
359
00:34:13,843 --> 00:34:20,003
Everybody, regardless of their mistakes,
deserves a chance.
360
00:34:20,083 --> 00:34:23,123
They are humans, regardless.
361
00:34:26,283 --> 00:34:29,003
[Cameron] I think he's served the time
that he's served for the crimes
362
00:34:29,083 --> 00:34:32,123
that he's done, but, uh,
363
00:34:32,843 --> 00:34:35,763
I also understand
that he took somebody's life away.
364
00:34:37,523 --> 00:34:39,563
[Traci] I never really thought
about the victims
365
00:34:40,203 --> 00:34:41,243
until now.
366
00:34:42,203 --> 00:34:45,083
Uh, I don't know, because it was…
I was nine,
367
00:34:45,683 --> 00:34:47,563
and I didn't have the capacity
368
00:34:47,643 --> 00:34:52,603
to even think about, you know,
the victims in all of this.
369
00:34:55,763 --> 00:34:58,843
[Cameron] But if they ever met him
or spoke with him,
370
00:34:59,443 --> 00:35:02,243
I think they… [hesitates]
…they would forgive him.
371
00:35:10,443 --> 00:35:11,923
[music fades]
372
00:35:16,283 --> 00:35:18,603
[soothing music playing]
373
00:35:26,483 --> 00:35:30,683
[man] David Keith, I found him
to be interesting to talk to.
374
00:35:32,363 --> 00:35:35,883
I've been around people
who commit homicides
375
00:35:35,963 --> 00:35:40,123
and, you know,
he didn't fit the profile for that.
376
00:35:42,203 --> 00:35:44,563
If you met David in a restaurant downtown,
377
00:35:44,643 --> 00:35:48,763
you'd think he's a fairly normal,
pretty intelligent guy.
378
00:35:51,723 --> 00:35:56,083
He wasn't a dumb young man.
He just made bad choices.
379
00:35:58,483 --> 00:36:03,403
I'm Dennis Jones, and I was correspondent
for the Missoulian Newspaper.
380
00:36:05,443 --> 00:36:10,683
I covered the David Keith, Harry Shryock
situation that devolved at the airport,
381
00:36:10,763 --> 00:36:14,923
and, uh, continued to follow that case
until it was resolved.
382
00:36:17,123 --> 00:36:21,243
David said it was just a bad day,
which is an understatement.
383
00:36:38,003 --> 00:36:41,003
I talked with David in numerous interviews
384
00:36:41,083 --> 00:36:44,843
and we continued to have a relationship,
in terms of him-- wrote me notes.
385
00:36:46,443 --> 00:36:49,843
I wasn't aware
that any other people interviewed him.
386
00:36:50,443 --> 00:36:53,443
They had access to him as much as I did,
387
00:36:53,523 --> 00:36:57,283
but it got to the point where
he wouldn't talk to anybody else,
388
00:36:57,363 --> 00:36:58,363
except me.
389
00:37:00,883 --> 00:37:04,523
He wrote a lot of personal things
in his letters about his feelings
390
00:37:04,603 --> 00:37:07,443
and very… very transparent.
391
00:37:08,123 --> 00:37:12,483
And they all seemed to be,
you know, pretty honest.
392
00:37:12,563 --> 00:37:17,323
I don't think he was trying
to, uh, to impress anybody.
393
00:37:18,243 --> 00:37:22,723
I do think he, uh, was remorseful
for what he'd done.
394
00:37:22,803 --> 00:37:27,643
I think a lot of it had to do probably
with him trying to express his guilt.
395
00:37:39,043 --> 00:37:41,603
[David, on recording]
Hell, I've been lying to myself for,
396
00:37:42,763 --> 00:37:45,643
what, a dozen years?
397
00:37:46,243 --> 00:37:48,723
Lying to everybody else about it,
actually.
398
00:37:49,643 --> 00:37:51,803
Pleading guilty, taking the trial on,
399
00:37:52,403 --> 00:37:54,803
I was just trying
to throw my mercy on the court
400
00:37:54,883 --> 00:37:58,403
and hoped that I'd get
a little leniency as a result.
401
00:38:00,003 --> 00:38:03,563
The judge wouldn't have to waste
all that time, and money, etcetera.
402
00:38:04,243 --> 00:38:07,083
Maybe he wouldn't give me a death penalty,
403
00:38:07,163 --> 00:38:08,723
because I was surely guilty.
404
00:38:10,723 --> 00:38:13,003
It was all about me, myself, and I.
405
00:38:16,163 --> 00:38:18,483
Have I been sufficiently punished?
406
00:38:19,443 --> 00:38:23,243
Well, the courts
don't seem to think so. And…
407
00:38:25,803 --> 00:38:27,763
I don't know what to say about that.
408
00:38:27,843 --> 00:38:31,323
I sincerely think
that I've been over-punished.
409
00:38:32,523 --> 00:38:36,243
You haven't seen that bullet hole
in the back of my head, but…
410
00:38:36,923 --> 00:38:39,643
I was shot point-blank
in the back of the head.
411
00:38:41,283 --> 00:38:44,843
For some reason,
that just doesn't seem to be right.
412
00:38:46,203 --> 00:38:48,083
But, sour grapes.
413
00:38:48,723 --> 00:38:50,723
I put myself in that position.
414
00:38:51,883 --> 00:38:53,803
And it is what it is.
415
00:38:58,563 --> 00:39:02,283
Well, it's the first time I've heard
David Keith in a long time.
416
00:39:02,363 --> 00:39:07,483
Uh, if I'm hearing it correctly,
was that he said
417
00:39:08,323 --> 00:39:09,643
he was gonna
418
00:39:10,363 --> 00:39:13,243
try to stay off death row
by pleading guilty.
419
00:39:14,923 --> 00:39:17,283
Now, he said that's his motivation.
420
00:39:17,363 --> 00:39:20,963
Back then, he made it sound like
he was going to assume responsibility.
421
00:39:24,683 --> 00:39:25,523
You know,
422
00:39:26,483 --> 00:39:29,363
there are some sidebars to… to everything.
423
00:39:29,443 --> 00:39:34,323
Maybe that was partly true
that he wanted to assume responsibility,
424
00:39:34,403 --> 00:39:39,563
but at the same time, it was a
manipulative kind of thing to,
425
00:39:39,643 --> 00:39:40,603
as he said,
426
00:39:40,683 --> 00:39:42,283
"keep me off of death row."
427
00:39:43,483 --> 00:39:45,403
It sounds almost like he's, uh,
428
00:39:47,083 --> 00:39:49,003
you know, gone back in time.
429
00:39:52,203 --> 00:39:54,043
Sounds a little more aggressive
430
00:39:54,603 --> 00:39:58,123
now that he's had a lot of time
to think about it, you know.
431
00:39:59,963 --> 00:40:01,123
He's on a different page.
432
00:40:01,203 --> 00:40:06,243
He's thinking about David Keith,
not Mr. Shryock and his family.
433
00:40:08,123 --> 00:40:10,483
And to that extent, it is disappointing.
434
00:40:21,283 --> 00:40:23,283
[somber music playing]
435
00:40:55,123 --> 00:40:57,203
[David, on recording]
There's nothing right about it.
436
00:40:58,003 --> 00:40:59,963
That's really not true.
437
00:41:00,043 --> 00:41:05,003
What was really right about it
was the pilot volunteering for that child.
438
00:41:06,003 --> 00:41:09,283
That was about the only right
thing that happened that day.
439
00:41:10,523 --> 00:41:14,043
If I could fake up tears right now,
I would.
440
00:41:15,803 --> 00:41:17,003
But I can't.
441
00:41:18,923 --> 00:41:24,123
I regret killing Mr. Shryock
from the bottom of my heart.
442
00:41:24,203 --> 00:41:29,763
It's not something that I had intended
even… five seconds earlier.
443
00:41:31,603 --> 00:41:35,683
Because I wasn't planning on shooting
somebody at that moment in time.
444
00:41:36,243 --> 00:41:37,603
I was trying to escape,
445
00:41:38,403 --> 00:41:40,603
and been trying to escape for hours.
446
00:41:46,083 --> 00:41:50,643
David Keith said, "I wasn't trying
to hurt anybody, I was trying to escape."
447
00:41:51,603 --> 00:41:53,083
It's a little hard to believe.
448
00:41:58,163 --> 00:42:01,803
In one day, he held up
a drug store at gunpoint.
449
00:42:01,883 --> 00:42:03,203
He stole narcotics.
450
00:42:03,723 --> 00:42:05,403
He evaded capture.
451
00:42:06,043 --> 00:42:09,003
He attempted homicide,
shooting at a store owner.
452
00:42:09,083 --> 00:42:12,083
He kidnapped his son,
held him at gunpoint.
453
00:42:12,163 --> 00:42:15,043
Took my father hostage, uh…
454
00:42:15,123 --> 00:42:18,283
[hesitates] …and committed homicide.
All in one day.
455
00:42:19,123 --> 00:42:23,043
And that's just to cap off
a ten-year career as a sociopath.
456
00:42:23,683 --> 00:42:27,403
Literally in crime for a decade,
in and out of prison.
457
00:42:28,243 --> 00:42:29,123
On parole.
458
00:42:29,883 --> 00:42:33,323
But he talked
his way out of those things, uh…
459
00:42:33,923 --> 00:42:37,883
So, he spent a lifetime
honing these criminal skills.
460
00:42:38,563 --> 00:42:41,563
And, it had to end in tragedy.
461
00:42:45,003 --> 00:42:46,843
Does he believe his remorse?
462
00:42:46,923 --> 00:42:48,683
That would be a good question.
463
00:42:49,203 --> 00:42:54,003
Uh, for somebody with such
sociopathic tendencies,
464
00:42:54,083 --> 00:42:56,243
and… and who's fairly glib,
465
00:42:56,923 --> 00:43:01,043
and… and, uh, and obviously articulate.
466
00:43:01,123 --> 00:43:02,203
Is it believable?
467
00:43:02,843 --> 00:43:05,563
You know, I'm… It really isn't to me.
468
00:43:06,283 --> 00:43:07,483
He's a real con guy.
469
00:43:08,123 --> 00:43:12,803
And… and if he could make a play
to get some special dispensation
470
00:43:12,883 --> 00:43:17,003
and get the governor to make
some change in his sentence, he'd do it.
471
00:43:27,243 --> 00:43:30,123
[haunting music playing]
472
00:43:35,963 --> 00:43:40,003
[David] To the day I die,
I'll be sorry for killing Mr. Shryock.
473
00:43:41,923 --> 00:43:45,243
More than half my life
has passed since that day.
474
00:43:46,843 --> 00:43:51,523
I've wasted so much
of my time and energies…
475
00:43:52,643 --> 00:43:54,083
in a prison.
476
00:43:54,803 --> 00:43:59,843
Yet, I deservedly needed to be punished,
but this…
477
00:44:00,883 --> 00:44:02,683
I can do other things.
478
00:44:11,963 --> 00:44:16,963
I'd like to be able to be a witness
to my grandchildren,
479
00:44:17,683 --> 00:44:19,843
so they'd never go as far off track.
480
00:44:21,683 --> 00:44:23,363
I can be honest with people.
481
00:44:25,203 --> 00:44:28,923
And want to be honest with them,
I can, I want to be honest.
482
00:44:38,003 --> 00:44:39,963
[George, on recording]
Does he believe his remorse?
483
00:44:40,043 --> 00:44:41,803
That… that would be a good question.
484
00:44:42,883 --> 00:44:46,283
For somebody with such
sociopathic tendencies,
485
00:44:46,363 --> 00:44:48,603
and… and who's fairly glib,
486
00:44:49,243 --> 00:44:53,003
and… and, uh, and obviously articulate.
487
00:44:53,683 --> 00:44:56,163
[hesitates]
488
00:44:56,243 --> 00:44:57,843
[clicks teeth] Is it believable?
489
00:44:58,363 --> 00:45:00,763
I'm… It really isn't to me.
490
00:45:05,203 --> 00:45:09,483
I'm thinking a sociopath would
probably be a good description of me.
491
00:45:11,203 --> 00:45:15,363
But, I was a completely different
human being back then.
492
00:45:17,203 --> 00:45:19,163
That doesn't excuse what I did,
493
00:45:19,763 --> 00:45:22,203
but I think I've paid the penalty for it.
494
00:45:24,043 --> 00:45:26,043
If I could take it back, I would.
495
00:45:27,043 --> 00:45:29,163
But we all know that can't happen.
496
00:45:35,443 --> 00:45:38,963
I can honestly say that,
from the bottom of my heart,
497
00:45:39,643 --> 00:45:40,683
I am sorry.
498
00:45:42,603 --> 00:45:44,083
[exhales]
499
00:45:45,763 --> 00:45:47,923
[ragged breathing, clicks teeth]
500
00:45:51,683 --> 00:45:53,483
Mm, sorry, I just…
501
00:45:54,243 --> 00:45:57,963
There are some things,
I know when, if I try to force words out,
502
00:45:59,643 --> 00:46:02,243
it's gonna be a crying fest.
503
00:46:03,323 --> 00:46:04,643
[voice breaks] And…
504
00:46:06,203 --> 00:46:12,283
I don't desire
anybody to take pity on me, etcetera.
505
00:46:13,123 --> 00:46:14,723
I'm a changed man.
506
00:46:15,843 --> 00:46:19,603
Society shouldn't have to support me
for the rest of my life.
507
00:46:19,683 --> 00:46:21,523
Give me a chance to do so.
508
00:46:24,123 --> 00:46:26,843
[melancholic music playing]
509
00:46:48,843 --> 00:46:53,003
What I've missed out on in life
could fill a book.
510
00:46:54,403 --> 00:46:56,203
Probably a hundred times over.
511
00:47:00,723 --> 00:47:02,243
You, me, everybody.
512
00:47:03,403 --> 00:47:04,843
We all make mistakes.
513
00:47:05,963 --> 00:47:08,323
Don't waste your life like I did.
514
00:47:15,803 --> 00:47:17,883
[closing theme music playing]