Death Row Inmate Delivers a Final Blow With His Final Words

Hey, folks, it is Wednesday, April twenty second, and a family that waited thirty six years for justice finally saw the man responsible for their loved ones death executed last night.

Was that closure? Not exactly?

When you hear his final words and with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.

Rose.

There's always a fascination with final words. I'm always usually a little surprised at it. And you know what, Robes, this is. Is this the last thing a family wants to hear in this moment when you're finally watching the person be punished for what they did to your family.

No, in a very simple way to respond to you, I think this was an opportunity for peace, for closure, and instead, last night Chadwick Scott Willisey gave the family of the woman he was convicted of viciously murdering anything butt closure. In fact, he left them with questions, he left them with pain.

It was a final blow.

And yes, there is a that's that man. That's no other way to put it. We haven't gotten it. And you tell me, Robes, we'll get into the crime. Because we've been talking about this story and this execution coming up, and once again it happened in Florida there, fifth of the year, eighth in the country. But robes this case. Have you seen a reaction from the family yet? Before we get into it is what I want to ask. Have you seen them react to what he said in the descrit.

I have not seen any reaction to what he said, only that they had been waiting for this day for thirty six years.

And a reminder here, folks, again, this was nineteen ninety correct. Neighbor walks in on him robbing her home. He beats her, ties her up, takes her debit card, goes to the bank, gets her money out, comes back like he tied her up. He essentially tortured woman and then lights her on fire. She died or do I have it right? Smoke in elation?

Her cause of death was smoking elation. Yes, she was bludgeoned first, then strangled with the telephone cord, got her pin number with that torture, and then not only did he set her on fire. For whatever reason, this part of the story just stood out to me. The fact that he took the time to set a fan, to plug it in, and to like blow the fan on her as he set her on fire. To ignite or to further fan the flames to kill her. And yes,

She was alive when she was set on fire. So what we're talking about is not necessarily a case where people were beating some drum of this man's innocence at all. But one person who was is.

Him Chadwick Scott Willis.

That willisye is the guy who has maintained his innocence. However, Robes and his appeals here in the last few days and weeks leading up to execution, he was making appeals, but he wasn't arguing for new evidence or arguing for his innocence.

No, he says he's innocent, but he had never offered any proof for any sort of explanation or any other theory where he was beating that drum to say, hey, let me out because I didn't do this.

No, he was trying.

To stop the state from executing him based on their execution practices, based on the lethal injection protocol. It was technical, not evidentiary that he was trying to basically stop his execution.

All right, so as we lead now, this all now leads us up to letting you set the stage for last night and his last words. Execution schedule for six o'clock apparently went off without a hitch, no issues anything, they are reported, but always of interest what the final words will be. There were members of the family of this victim who were there last night to witness so robes and his opportunity, as they always give them to

Yes, he began by apologizing to his own family and friends. Then he urged his brothers on the row to stay strong the other guy's on death row. And then here's what he said, turning to the victim's family. I hope this brings you peace. If it does, that's good. But this is not right. I would never kill my friend, and we were friends. That's tough to hear.

God bless America out of the.

Man who a jury of his peers convicted for the brutal murder of your mother, and he turns to you directly and says this ain't right and.

Says I didn't do it, and his last opportunity to speak on this earth he leaves with I didn't do it.

I don't know how that sits.

Maybe the family that just rolls off them and they know but rogues in that last moment. Why would he take them that. I don't know what that does to the family. I'm very curious to hear their reaction.

I would never kill my friend, and we were friends. Even if you believe with one hundred percent of every fiber of your being that you believe he is guilty. You saw the legal process play out over many, many decades, and the consensus was always the same that he, in fact, yes, killed this poor woman, Marla Sather, in her own home.

Maybe not well, no, no, that's the thing what I would feel, even if it's a point one percent of doubt, that's too much to have to deal with that.

That what is it? What was in his mind is psyche that moment.

Why and you have to wonder an innocent man, I stopped your last breath.

It's your last breath, mate, it wasn't me.

Is the last thing he wants to say after thirty six years on death row and.

The whole I hope this gives you peace, but it ain't right. That's dripping and sarcasm.

I don't know, no, you d It feels.

Like why would he so if he really does hope his death gives this family peace, but then says this isn't right.

I would never kill my friend and we were friends.

That just negates everything you just said beforehand, because you did anything but give them peace. You now just disrupted any piece they might have thought they had.

And maybe he didn't.

I'm just looking at it from my perspective, and look, they may hate this man and have been waiting for this day for so long that whatever he said just fell on deaf ears.

And I hope that's the case.

But still to just have that be your final I feel like that was a final f you. And anyone who was capable of doing what a jury convicted him of doing would certainly be capable of giving a final blow to the family before he.

Dies, more than I guess you could argue, right rogues.

But here's the other thing. Has he said any of this before last night? Has there been any effort to have outreach to the family, been anything in court where he was screaming about his innocence. I would never do that.

I don't know.

It's just just come now, don't know so what I'm saying. I set that up to say. Maybe the family heard that and thought, yeah, typical, Yeah that's possible. We expected that from him, and they just rolled or right on.

But you know, there are just some things, even if you don't think they're true, even if you believe they aren't true, that just linger in your head.

And that's just what I fear for the family.

I hope that that doesn't happen, but I know if it were me, it probably would.

But we this it out to us Robs because we have been keeping an eye a lot on executions in the record pace that Florida has been on or it listens last year, but it's fascinating to hear some final words and they can make a difference. And we juxtaposed what we had last night with recent ones that we saw robes in which it wasn't just us that heard his final words. The family heard it, and the family said it was meaningful to hear what he said.

Yeah, so this does matter.

Yes, this one that really stood out, and this was basically, if any person who has been convicted and is on death row and is about to be sentenced to death, and is it about to meet his or her maker, Ciedric Rix, he did it right. March eleventh, twenty twenty six. He murdered his girlfriend and her son, nearly killed her other son, but spirit his own infant son. What he said in his final words was remarkable. We'll read it for you, just in juxtaposition of what we just heard

I'm sorry.

Family themselves said I made a difference. Mike didn't, didn't have didn't want their hearts necessarily to some killer. But Robes, that's closure that they got, admitted what he did, said, he's sorved for what he did. He was now given that justice for what he did. Finally, that's kind of a finally that Robes that to hear them say that was meaningful made me now pay attention to final words and why the ones from last night hit so hard, like, come on, you.

Ass exactly, and look you think about these folks and I don't know how many of them are religious. In fact, it should be pointed Willisy didn't meet with the spiritual advisor, so he may not have any sort of connection to any religion or any spiritual afterlife thoughts, and so maybe that's why he was able to just go out with an f you.

But it did.

It is notable when you read these or you hear these final words, I do feel my whole body relaxed, like I don't have skin in the game, and I feel peace, not peace just for the family, but peace for that person who is going on, moving on, passing on to something else. There's I would imagine a real burden that's lifted off of their shoulders when they admit it, when they apologize for it, when they ask for forgiveness.

And if they'd have done that sooner, maybe they could have saved their lives. But they're trying to stay out of prison in the first place, where ropes nobody admits too much of it.

Has anyone ever?

Do people get the death penalty for No, you don't get the death penalty when you confess.

Typically that is that is why people plead guilty, because they put the death penalty off the table. They instead get life in prison. It's the folks who've refused to admit. It's the folks who've refused to plead guilty, those are the ones who end up on death row.

Correct.

Charles Victor Thompson was another This was the first execution of the year. And again Robes another person here who used the words sorry in final words.

Yeah, his final words. This is January twenty eight, twenty twenty six. There are no winners in this situation. He did say his execution creates more victims and traumatizes more people twenty eight years later. But I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry for what happened, and I want to tell all of y'all I love you, and that keep Jesus in your life.

Just keep Jesus first.

A lot of guys fine religion behind bars, and I think it's genuine. I think it's authentic many times. So this is a guy who killed his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Another horrific crime. But in the end, that's what he had to say. Ronald Palmer Palmer Heath, this was a pretty vicious crime. This is the one in Flits, Florida, right. He murdered a traveling salesman. Short and sweet, but still the words sorry got in there.

Yes, it was.

I think they said nine words that delivered a powerful impact for the victim's family.

He just said, I'm sorry. That's all I can say. Thank you. Right, that's enough.

The guy Cedric you just mentioned, he had a long statement. He said a lot, and it was impactful. But just the two words I'm sorry didn't have to explain a whole lot. It still meant something.

It does.

Man, that's incredible. Well, folks, stay here. We've been sharing. Yeah, some final words from folks executed this year. But what do you remember what Ted Bundy said? Do you remember what some other high profile, even famous killer said in their final words?

Will remind you? Stay here?

All right?

We continue here on Amy and TJ following last night's execution in Florida. Final words coming from a condemned killer. Of those final words were I didn't do it. I would never do it. And it had just been here discussing rogues the impact they could possibly have on a family. We haven't heard from that family just yet of the impact, if it had any at all. But I forgot some of these. You looked up some of these from the past,

I do not why do not? Do we not know? Is this a thing? And I just forgot what John Wayne Gay.

I did not know this at all. I actually was fascinated looking up. I tried to think of some of the more famous, notorious killers who've been executed over the decades. And John Wayne Gacy one of the most notorious serial killers. How many dozens and dozens of little boys as he dressed up as a clown, tortured, sexually, assaulted, murder. This is as vicious as it gets. He was executed May tenth, nineteen ninety four. He had three words for his final words, and they were kiss my ass.

I mean, okay, that's tough. I mean he followed, he stayed in on brand, didn't he.

So I actually was thinking I would prefer that to what we heard yesterday from uh, from Willisey, who said this is not right. I would never kill my friend, we were friends, giving that to the family versus kiss my ass.

Give me kiss my ass. Now I can hate you even more.

Like it's not he's not denying it, he's not asking for forgiveness. Fine, but I kind of feel like, yeah, he stayed on brand, the vicious killer that he was.

It doesn't make you feel bad at.

All, you you know it.

It's kind of u and I feel I don't feel so bad about saying I hope he burns in hell.

Right, That's exactly what that lends you to feel after someone says something like that, who was convicted of doing the worst of the worst of the worst to so many families. His final words, kiss my ass. I was blown away by that, babe. I had no idea. I had no idea. Those were John Wayne Gacy's final words. All right, Ted Bundy. He was executed January twenty fourth,

Oh yeah, they're still counting they yeah, yeah, there's still about it.

They're still tying him to murders, just one recently this month, based on new DNA technology where they were able to actually close some cases of unsolved murders that he was always suspected of, but now we know he actually committed. So his final words he directed towards his attorneys who were there in the room. Interesting, he said, I'd like you to give my love to my family and friends.

That's it. Interesting. Yeah, charming till the end.

Damn he stayed on brand too, didn't he? And creeps you out, like why did he say that? I guess there's mystery and injury even around that.

He probably said it with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, because that's what he was known for being, charming, being just a lovely person who no one would suspect had this horrific, dark, sociopathic side to him. So, yeah, that is on brand as well. Now I think the next one, Timothy McVeigh, also on brand. He was executed executed June eleventh, two thousand and one, obviously for the Oklahoma City bombing.

What would you think? Have you looked at what his final words were?

Yet, he was a militant dude, and he was so to think of his mind. He probably went out with a bang. He probably went out with a well, maybe not a scripture, but something from a manifesto somewhere.

Okay, I don't know you're on track.

Oh yeah, because I didn't think you looked at this one, Timothy McVeigh.

And again I covered this.

I remember this day when we woke up the next morning and we covered it. I still did not remember.

This is what he said. It matters not how straight.

The gate, how charged with punishments the scroll I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.

So it's a poem.

It rhymed fate scroll soul, you know what I You know, I didn't look up to see if he was quoting someone, but those were his final words, and again dramatic, you would think, wanting to there's a there's a feeling of self importance right to that, I would say, And that would fit exactly with what Timothy mcvaye's last word.

Yes he quoted.

It's the eighteen seventy five poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley. So yes, it's a declaration of resilience, self mastery and defiance. And that is exactly what you would expect from someone like Timothy McVeigh for his final words.

Do you have any idea we're so we all fear death, and part of fearing death is fearing how we're going to die, And I'm fascinated. Well, you can't even sit and fat and try to piece together what would be the last words you had if they knew you were going to be your last I don't know, if you knew they.

Were going to be your last, right.

It would be a message of love. It would be a message of love.

I mean, obviously, I know these men aren't known for that side of themselves. And to your point, they were all on brand, and maybe we just have to acknowledge that last night, Chadwick Willisey stayed on brand.

I was the last thing I'll leave you you with as because I found you know me, I started doing research on this stuff, and there's been a lot of studies on people's last words, and they say it's surprising that they don't usually express a fear of death in

Of public executions.

Yes, they think yes, But everybody just give an opportunity to say something, and so we have it, we continue it. Research has revealed as surprisingly strong predominance of positive emotional sentiments and death row inmates last words accompanied by expressions of love, affection, apologies, and religion reflecting death row inmates existential communication concerns in their final minutes of life. It's like, wow, that makes sense.

It does.

And I think those are people who believe they are going somewhere and they need to make amends, hoping to go somewhere, not downward but upward. And there are those like Chad mcwillosy who take the opportunity to basically just put up a middle finger.

Or was he also ropes taking a chance to rewrite possibly his legacy. He is still going out by saying I'm innocent, He's still going out? Is he telling himself? That is he trying to tell? So anybody who will listen, this thing that goes in line with your existential communication concerns in your final minutes.

He cared what people thought of him exs till in the very end, is till the very end of the very end?

All right?

With that? Everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Roboch alongside TJ.

Holmes. We will talk to you soon. Morning run is coming up.