Florida Death Row Inmates James Raulerson & Robert Austin Sullivan Electric Chair Interview 12/3/76 — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00There are 80 men on death row at the
2. 0:02Florida State Prison located near Stark
3. 0:04in the north central part of the state.
4. 0:06Like Gary Gilmore, most of them, 78,
5. 0:08have been convicted for first-degree
6. 0:10murder.
7. 0:11But unlike him, almost none of the men
8. 0:13here want to die.
9. 0:15And according to a prison official, few
10. 0:16of the condemned prisoners believe they
11. 0:18will be executed since their attorneys
12. 0:20keep telling them they won't be.
13. 0:2226-year-old James Raulerson was
14. 0:24convicted of killing a Jacksonville
15. 0:26police officer during a robbery and has
16. 0:27been on death row for 15 months. He sees
17. 0:30the Gilmore execution as
18. 0:32precedent-setting and finds
19. 0:33inconsistencies in public attitudes
20. 0:35toward death row inmates.
21. 0:37The way I look at it is like I expect
22. 0:40society is going to have to kill uh
23. 0:43five, six, maybe 10 people before they
24. 0:46stop and realize that uh
25. 0:49what we're doing is we're killing
26. 0:50people.
27. 0:51And it's just like we're supposed to be
28. 0:53one of the most enlightened societies
29. 0:55and uh
30. 0:56what it is is like they're saying,
31. 0:58"Well,
32. 0:59killing someone is the most brutal thing
33. 1:01in the world and that we really value
34. 1:03life and we're going to kill you to
35. 1:05prove it."
36. 1:06Former motel executive, 28-year-old
37. 1:08Robert Sullivan was convicted of killing
38. 1:10a Homestead Motel manager in 1973. He's
39. 1:14rated as the most intelligent of the
40. 1:15condemned men.
41. 1:17Some people would say, "Well, you were
42. 1:18found guilty of killing another human
43. 1:21being, therefore you should pay for it
44. 1:23in this way."
45. 1:26I've heard yes.
46. 1:27What your reaction when to that?
47. 1:30Well, um that's an eye for an eye, tooth
48. 1:33for a tooth philosophy, I suppose. Um
49. 1:36I just do not feel that the state should
50. 1:40um
51. 1:41commit legal murder, which in in the
52. 1:44final analysis is what an execution is.
53. 1:47Tomorrow, a further look at death row.
54. 1:50Ike Seamans, Channel 4 News at the state
55. 1:52prison in Stark.
56. 1:55The state prison located near Stark in
57. 1:57North Central Florida is not a pleasant
58. 1:59place. It's dark, overcrowded, and
59. 2:02understaffing prevents many inmates from
60. 2:04getting much-needed rehabilitation.
61. 2:06But most of the men in these wings are
62. 2:07encouraged about one thing: Someday
63. 2:10they'll get out.
64. 2:11This is Wing R inside Florida State
65. 2:13Prison. It's better known as Death Row.
66. 2:17Here there are 80 condemned men who are
67. 2:19locked in their cells 6 days a week. 47
68. 2:22are white, 33 are black, 11 are from
69. 2:24Dade County.
70. 2:26Their average age is 29. Their average
71. 2:28IQ is 101.
72. 2:30Their past are varied, but at one time
73. 2:32or another they all have a common
74. 2:34thought about their future: Death by
75. 2:36electrocution.
76. 2:37We don't prepare a man for death.
77. 2:39We do have counselors working very
78. 2:41closely with them.
79. 2:43Uh classification specialist
80. 2:45are attempting to help assist them in
81. 2:47meeting their personal needs at this
82. 2:48time.
83. 2:50But uh I think that overall
84. 2:53their their general outlook is at the
85. 2:55present time is good.
86. 2:5678 of the Death Row inmates are killers.
87. 2:59Most believe the threat of the death
88. 3:00penalty would not have stopped them.
89. 3:0228-year-old Robert Sullivan attended the
90. 3:04University of Miami and managed motels.
91. 3:07In 1973, he killed a manager of a
92. 3:09Homestead motel he used to work at
93. 3:11during a robbery.
94. 3:13An accomplice said Sullivan wanted to
95. 3:14commit the perfect crime.
96. 3:16Um the vast majority of people who do
97. 3:19commit crimes
98. 3:21that might be sentenced to die either
99. 3:25are a passion type of murder or they do
100. 3:28not believe that they're going to be
101. 3:30caught. So, whatever the sentence is
102. 3:32going to be, it's not going to deter
103. 3:34anyone. Or if it is, going to be a very,
104. 3:36very small portion of people.
105. 3:38Tomorrow on News Weekend, condemned men
106. 3:40on Death Row face the unfaceable: The
107. 3:42electric chair.
108. 3:44Ike Seamans, Channel 4 News at the state
109. 3:46prison in Stark.
110. 3:50From the Death Row exercise area, it can
111. 3:52be seen. The convicts call it Old
112. 3:55Sparky.
113. 3:56Into the three-legged oak chair is
114. 3:58strapped the condemned prisoner. His
115. 4:00chest, arms, legs, and torso are bound.
116. 4:03Electrodes are attached to his shaven
117. 4:05legs, arms, and scalp.
118. 4:07The 12 strangers there to witness the
119. 4:08electrocution are the last thing to be
120. 4:10seen by the man as the hood is lowered
121. 4:13over his head.
122. 4:14Then, 2,400 volts of electricity are
123. 4:17sent rippling through the body.
124. 4:19Two more cycles are conducted, but the
125. 4:20first was enough.
126. 4:23This fate could be in store for the 80
127. 4:25men on death row. 11 are from Dade
128. 4:27County.
129. 4:28That's a It's a very difficult thing to
130. 4:31think about. One of the things I try not
131. 4:33to dwell on is um
132. 4:35all that often.
133. 4:36Do you ever think about it?
134. 4:37Definitely. It's hard not to think about
135. 4:39it. Um I have There's no way I would
136. 4:44like to
137. 4:46like to die, and certainly not be
138. 4:48executed in the electric chair.
139. 4:50Have you thought about it a lot?
140. 4:52No, very little, really.
141. 4:55I mean, the most it is is just like us
142. 4:56sitting here thinking that uh
143. 4:59one day, James, you're going to grow old
144. 5:00and you're going to die.
145. 5:02Death is just a way of life. So, dying
146. 5:04in the electric chair doesn't really
147. 5:05scare me. It's you know, no big deal.
148. 5:08Interestingly enough, privately, few of
149. 5:10the men who work with the condemned
150. 5:12prisoners are in favor of capital
151. 5:13punishment. Florida State Prison
152. 5:15Superintendent B.J. Leverette has never
153. 5:17been associated with an execution in 16
154. 5:20years of prison work.
155. 5:21As an
156. 5:22objective individual,
157. 5:25I think that uh
158. 5:26it will be uh something that uh
159. 5:29that I don't look forward to. To say
160. 5:31that I like part of what I have to do, I
161. 5:32I don't think that I would like it.
162. 5:34Of course, just as if the other things
163. 5:36that I don't like about my job
164. 5:39that I have to do in this type of
165. 5:40business.
166. 5:41But, uh I will fulfill this
167. 5:43responsibility.
168. 5:45It is still not known when or if the
169. 5:47first execution in Florida since 1964
170. 5:49will occur since most of the death row
171. 5:51inmates are deeply involved in the
172. 5:53courts appeal process. And if that
173. 5:55fails, they have one more chance. They
174. 5:57can ask the governor and his cabinet to
175. 5:59commute their sentence. And the cabinet
176. 6:01will on December 8th consider new
177. 6:03clemency procedures.
178. 6:05Ike Seamans, Channel 4 News at the state
179. 6:07prison in Stark, Florida.