Hey, folks, it is Tuesday, March seventeenth, and Florida it's scheduled to carry out its fourth execution of the year tonight, and it's for a crime that made national headlines and ultimately changed the way nine to one point one operators function in the state of Florida.
And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes. In terms of how long people spend on death row, this is actually, first of all, point out a case that happened pretty quickly to go from conviction to execution.
Yes, he was convicted in two thousand and nine, the crime was committed in two thousand and eight, and yes, less than twenty years on death row is actually a speedy period of time between conviction and execution.
These days, unheard of, it seems almost this is really certain under two decades, that's something.
Yes, and this was a tremendous case. It's interesting when we have been covering a lot of these executions, many times we will focus on the inmate who is being executed, correct his appeals, his claims of innocence, and he due process that was denied him. This story, in so many ways, is more about the victim and what happened because of the crime, and.
We should certainly point out that should always be the case, that should always be the focal point. But this one for unique reasons that you'll hear hear why this crime made national headlines. It's understandable now and robes. Michael Lee King is the name. He's fifty four years old years old now, but he is scheduled to die by lethal injection tonight. They do a three drug cocktail down there
in Florida, but's supposed to happened around six o'clock. We do end up seeing robes usually by six fifteen, six' twenty that we get final confirmation of the. Deaths but this is always it's something we go through in this, country almost, ceremony it feels sometimes and the steps that are, taken but just will always want. Acknowledgeable these are solemn moments and times that we are executing someone and usually
always the case because they killed someone. Else so this is these always difficult days and certainly for the families.
By all, accounts and tonight in the execution chamber this will be a packed room because the victim in this case at the time was just twenty one years. Old her Name denise Amber. Lee she was a mom of a toddler and an, infant and her, husband almost twenty years, later has still spent almost every day of his life fighting for, change fighting for, justice and he will be in that execution chamber witnessing the death Of, king alongside
her oldest, son her, mother her, father her. Sister so many members of her family all say they plan to be there.
Tonight, yeah and they're all. Different sometimes some of these go so, long they've lasted so, long and it's up to forty years sometimes that most of the family members and people who are closer affiliated with the the cases are already passed. On but this is one that's Again, robe it's just so rare that we see something like.
This and this is one that the year, Started it was not on the, books, right there are only so many in the country that we had executions, planned and we knew robes along the way that more death warns would be, signed and we know That desanta's down In florida is not shy about signing. Them and this is one he, SIGNED i believe In, february and it has been scheduled and here we Go florida on pace again this.
Year, yes this Is DeSantis's i believe thirty second. Execution it will be the fourth For florida this. Year and it's interesting because the husband said he wanted to explain. First he, SAID i don't want to have to think about this guy. Anymore but he said when he got the word That DeSantis signed his death and gave him an execution, date to excuse me, specifically he said he was excited and he wanted to explain that word because he, said all of us are going to be there For.
DENISE i don't want to be. There it's not something that you grow up THINKING i want to see an execution. Someday that's not SOMETHING i think we're all necessarily excited to be a part. Of BUT i think we're definitely excited to know That king is not going to be alive, anymore and that this is and that he's going to be off this. Earth it's a light at the end of the, tunnel and closure is not something we're ever
going to, get but it makes. Sense just it's a, relief so to, speak that this man who took so much away from this family won't be on this earth. Anymore you.
Know the other thing we often hear about, Families, yes having that, finality but what they've had to deal with oftentimes for ten twenty thirty forty, years, appeals core, hearings, delays parole board, hearings keeps showing up for. It it becomes a part of their entire. Life what's the latest on the. Case where do we have to show up now to try to get resolution or get what the court system says is, justice which is an. Execution, YEAH i think about that.
TOO i was just actually going through all the still photos from the trial and it really brought it. Home just to see the emotion from the friends and family Of denise in the, court reacting to all the, witnesses and certainly Seeing Michael king's face there as the. Defendant
it brought it. Home but imagining living through reliving this horrific, crime which we will get, into and then you finally get the guilty, verdict you finally get the sentencing where he is sentenced to be, Executed but as you point, out it's not. Over it, continues and it goes on and on and, on and if you're committed to seeing this. Through oftentimes family members do show up to every hearing they show up to every court. Hearing they show up to make sure that they see this through to the.
End and the end is supposed to be. Tonight but this all started back In january of two thousand and. Eight these, two as far AS i could, understand this was. Random he drove by and saw her at her house with her kids at the. Time what was a baby?
One, yes. One she had a two year Old noah and six month Old, adam and she was cutting the hair on the front porch of her two year. Old and that he was apparently driving by looking for an easy, target and he Saw denise on the porch cutting her young son's hairy.
Man life is just, unfair, right this the randomness of life and crime and something like. This she was doing, nothing was nothing you could tell this woman to do any differently that wouldn't have put her in the danger just from some dude driving.
By.
This, yeah you're literally in a neighborhood on your own front porch with your children in the middle of the. Day they, say this was broad daylight In. Florida you would never even be on guard or think you had anything to look out. For and so he actually kidnapped her at. Gunpoint he put the kids in the house and locked the door so they were. Safe he left them, unharmed but he took her and tied her, up put
her in the back of his, car and took. Off but the story gets even, like, oh it's so chilling when you see all the different times she could have been. Saved there was a point in which she even got his phone and was able to call nine one.
One this was AND i don't know if they got. CLARITY i never heard that fully. Explained but, yeah she's in the, vehicle she is held, captive she is tied, up and again he did take. Her he, kidnapped took her back to another, house left her, bound and raped this. Woman this was a, severe, awful awful, crime ends up taking her somewhere shooting. Her DO i have it right in the, face, Yes, okay so this is a horrific.
Crime the issue, here which has been front and center robes is the behavior or the lack of proper training of nine one one dispatchers while all this was going, on because there are at least two separate occasions. Robes while she was in the trunk of this man's held. Captive she has a cell phone trying to call nine one.
One someone else here's. Her another motorists also tries to call nine one, one and for some reason authorities or law enforcement at the time couldn't piece this together and save this.
One it's actually head. Scratching but there were a total of four nine one one calls over a period of a pretty short period of, time including yes From denise, herself and then nine to one one call was played in court during the trial where you have this young. Woman so apparently he goes into this house to get basically a shovel to bury, her and this is just so she has a quick moment she's tied, up she manages to get her for his, phone dials nine one
one and, says, please my name Is. Denise i'm married to a beautiful husband AND i just want to see my kids. Again so she ends up having to drop the, phone leaves it connected to the nine one one operator where you can hear her, SAY i just want to see my, Family please let me. Go she's begging To Michael. King you can hear this in the nine one one, Call god help. Me and for six minutes the call goes on and the dispatcher is asking her for her,
name her, location what her address. Is she obviously can't, talk and while this is going, on someone else's calling nine one. One they see her in the back of
the car bank. Screaming someone else called heard her. Screaming this is just a mind boggling to know that people are giving the description of the car where it, is and somehow there was a disconnect and police who were actively searching for her weren't connected with the nine one one dispatchers who were getting these calls describing the scene about what was happening and where she.
Was it's, LOOK i it's hard to. CRITICIZE i know it's complicated stuff law. Enforcement this is, complicated but broke from the from the standpoint of you've got at least a six minute. Call we've seen this scene in movies plenty of, times have we, not, ye someone calls for help and needs to try to give us say something about What the argument is that the nine to one one operator wasn't trained well enough and didn't understand well enough what that emergency situation was and to get the
proper people involved and to connect. Dots you got this many nine to one one. Calls nobody has pieced. Together these have come together in pretty quick, secession and they're talking about the same thing and describing the same. Car we have an, emergency all hands on, deck there is someone in imminent danger and. Robes i'm not criticizing BECAUSE i wasn't, there but plenty of others criticized that this was not handled well and something needed to be.
Done, yes there WERE i believe three different dispatchers involved from the same county taking in these phone, calls and the fact that nothing was coordinated and no usable information was related to police who were actively searching for her led to significant. Change when we come, back we will talk about What lee's family has done in her honor and how they have made life saving changes to make sure something like this never happens. Again and welcome back
everyone to this episode Of amy AND. Tj there is Another florida execution happening. Tonight it is the fourth of the year For, florida the thirty second execution For Governor. DeSantis but this story was something that captivated the country nearly twenty years ago When Denise lee called nine one one for help after she had been kidnapped and, raped
was bound and was fearing for her. Life she along with several other people who witnessed her in the back of this car calling nine one, one and yet police only found her body two days, later naked in a shallow gray they've fatally shot in the. Face and, so, yes her family wanted. Change they sued the. COUNTY i believe they got around one point two million. Dollars but they founded The denise Amber Lee foundation to improve nine one one training and it. Changed it changed how nine
one one dispatchers are trained in the state Of. Florida it changed their mode of. Operation so trying to do their best to make sure this kind of scenario could never happen.
Again, yeah and they passed legislation down there In florida specifically with her name in her, honor to make sure something like, this like you, Said, robes nine to one one operator was this was sure mistakes and things get made all the. Time this was such a glaring what the hell when the story was laid out that that was very difficult for the, family you, know to deal with knowing that there were who's to say if she
could have been ultimately. Saved but, Man, robes there was a, chance there was a, chance given all that was going. On she called nine one one and begging somebody please save my, life and she. Doesn't, yeah that's.
Tough yet one of the drivers who, called who was, following actually was on the phone with nine one one for nine. Minutes you start thinking about this and it's hard to imagine how this. Happened BUT i thought it was really chilling what her husband. Said he, said nine one one dispatchers are the first. Link if they don't, work nothing else. Does if you think about, that we all know if we were in some scary emergency. SITUATION i always, think you know, what as long AS i
have my, PHONE i can call nine one. One that is your connection to, Safety that is your connection to, help that is your connection to staying. Alive and if that doesn't, Work he's, right nothing else.
Does we've seen a lot and we do watch a lot of, cases crime stories covered a lot of, them and nine one one calls come into play and quite frankly and quite often really impressed by one how cool they, are how professional they are in the midst of. Chaos and we were just doing this yesterday with The Corey richands. Trial they were playing a nine to one one call that person was working so hard to save a man's life by trying to get someone to help, him which
the wife ultimately. Didn't but still it makes me think of it because we were just having this conversation about how excellent nine when one operators are sometimes.
Oh my, god they are calm when everyone else is, panicking and, like they save lives every single. Day this is just an example of when things went wrong and one of the changes that was. Made nine one one operators now must have more than two hundred hours of, training and so they increased the training hours they increased just their ability to react and to know how to HANDLE i cannot imagine that job where little you have to distinguish between print calling what's a real, emergency what's?
Not making those decisions in real time or seconds. Matter that is a tough job THAT i cannot imagine the stress level waking up and going to bed each day and night knowing that lives hang in the balance based on your.
REACTION i give them credit because the other part they have to do sometimes. Rope they have to be kind and caring but. Firm, right somebody's, Crying BUT i need you to do this. THING i know you're upset and they have a. Balance it sounds like they are well trained and a lot of the ONES i, hear BUT i guess they don't get enough credit sometimes. Road but this is a point to. Make, yeah nine one one operators needs some, love because from WHAT i have heard and, experience they do pretty damn good.
Job, yes, absolutely Thank, God Thank god for the nine one one operators out. There but we will certainly be watching what happens this. Evening. Again king's execution is scheduled for six pm this. Evening he will die by lethal. Injection right, now we've been keeping this, count but two hundred and forty nine inmates currently on death row in the state Of, florida and there are already two more executions on the books in the state Of florida in
the coming. Weeks James Aaron duckett is scheduled to die On march thirty, first And Chadwick Scott willisey is scheduled to die On april twenty, First so that puts the number at six right now For. Florida but you can be Sure Ron DeSantis is looking ahead Beyond, april and we will of course keep you updated on all of. This We thank you as always for listening to us every. One I'm Amy roebock ALONGSIDE. Tj. Holmes we'll talk to you.
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