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The Last Twelve Weeks

42:05 recording · EN · 8 speakers

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Brief overview

Death penalty lawyer Greg Warchuk has 87 days and a new witness to stop David Wood's execution.

  1. A witness stayed silent for 30 yearsGeorge Hall said nothing while on parole, fearing the authorities would send him back to prison, and spoke only once it ended.
  2. Untested DNA is the defense's strongest cardRetesting a piece of a victim's clothing turned up male DNA that was not David Wood's, and Texas has refused to test the 100-plus remaining items.
  3. Access, not evidence, is the bottleneckGreg cannot get five minutes with the incoming DA, and the one journalist who offered to help ends up working for him.
Executive Summary AI
  • The Daily shares the first episode of The Last 12 Weeks, a five-part Serial Productions series with The Marshall Project, hosted by reporter Maurice Chamas, following death penalty lawyers trying to stop a Texas execution.0:14
  • In the fall of 2024, George Hall — imprisoned with David Wood in the late 80s and silent for 30 years while he was on parole — signed a sworn declaration saying El Paso police drove three inmates around town, fed them case files and offered money or less prison time to snitch on Wood, and that the two who testified were rewarded with $13,000 in reward money and a dropped capital murder charge.2:02
  • Retired detective John Guerrero lays out the original case: six bodies found in the desert northeast of El Paso in 1987, Wood identified through the nickname Skeeter, orange fibers, a rape conviction on Judith Kelling's identification, and jailhouse testimony that brought a death sentence after a jury deliberated less than 90 minutes.11:41
  • Meeting the team in mid-December 2024 at the El Paso County Courthouse, Greg has exactly 87 days, retesting that found male DNA on a victim's clothing that was not Wood's, more than 100 untested pieces of evidence, and a plan to get incoming DA James Montoya to take the case back from the Texas Attorney General — but Montoya ambushes him with a no in under two minutes.20:36
  • KVIA anchor Stephanie Valle offers to get Greg a meeting and tapes an interview, then says the file is corrupted and her computer is being wiped, and days later announces on Instagram that she is going to work for Montoya — leaving the team 67 days and a fresh round of investigation.35:19
Key Quote
“Well, I don't know a goddamn thing.”
— George Hall4:31
Key Quote
“What I have to live with is, can I live with myself knowing that I know two people, fabricated testimony to get a guy executed, and I don't say anything about it.”
— George Hall7:24
Key Quote
“None whatsoever. None. None.”
— John Guerrero11:31