[intense pulsating music playing]
[man] I'd say it was a big deal, but it was a... a very sobering event.
It was nearing five o'clock in the afternoon
and, uh, I drove out to the airport.
Then I saw the airplane out on the tarmac.
Nobody really knew exactly what had happened
other than that this guy had robbed a pharmacy.
And he had a young hostage inside the plane.
[dramatic sting, music continues]
I think everybody was kinda learning as they went along,
not knowing exactly what was gonna happen.
It was very, very quiet.
Until there was gunfire.
[dramatic sting, music continues]
[man] Not that many things happen in a small town like this.
We've had some homicides, you know, in and around the area,
but this was a big deal.
Everybody was shocked by what had taken place.
[music fades]
[theme music playing]
[eerie music playing]
[woman] There we go. One, two, three, four, five...
[man] Thank you.
See, I never would've got that. [chuckling]
[grunts]
[low grunt]
[David] My name is David Cameron Keith.
I'd never committed a violent act in my life before that day.
[music continues]
It was the worst day of my life.
The worst decisions of my life led to that moment, but... [inhales]
...it is what it is.
It's not something I can take back just because I'm sorry for it.
[music fades]
[gentle music playing]
[David] My dad?
He was an excellent man.
He was an excellent attorney. He just wasn't much of a father.
He drank a lot.
He was one of those functional alcoholics.
Very functional.
And they talk about preachers' kids gettin' in trouble
just because they're preachers' kids.
The same is probably true with attorney kids.
We were not really well supervised.
I tried alcohol when I was eight, nine years old, if not sooner,
because my father had parties.
Cocktail parties.
I probably got drunk a couple of times in front of them,
but I don't remember them ever disciplining me.
I was just...
[clicks teeth]...furniture, if you will. [laughs]
It didn't make me feel like I was too wanted.
And I got into drugs.
Drugs just made it easier to bear some of those emotional traumas.
It started off with, let's say, the... the usual drugs, like marijuana.
But I didn't have to go too much longer
to get really involved with needles and amphetamines.
I was just... growing up difficult until 20 years old.
After that... I was a little bit more involved in the criminal side of life.
And never took advantage of the surroundings
and of the life we'd been given and do something with it.
I put a needle in my arm.
That's what I did with it.
[disgusted sigh]
[unsettling music playing]
[David] That period of my life
went from bad to worse.
I was a dope fiend.
I wasn't working. We had no plans of working.
I was burglarizing drugstores at night,
and selling the proceeds to people in Spokane.
There was nothing violent about it.
I was a delinquent, if you will.
That was my activities.
And that should have provided the necessary income, but it didn't.
I was using too many of the drugs.
I knew one thing, I had to pay the rent.
I had to be able to pay for food.
A wife and three kids can't be...
We can't be, uh, living materially with no income.
I just knew I had to do something I hadn't done before.
[music fades]
[ominous music playing]
[David] So I went out that morning,
drove around western Montana looking for
a store that looked "comfortable," if one could use that word.
[ominous rumble]
I robbed the drug store there.
I didn't think I'd do... did a good job, so I raced out of town.
I get out back on 93 and a police car tries to pull me over.
I'd just been out of prison for a couple of months at that point,
and instead of submitting to that arrest,
I drove my car into a parking lot of a small convenience store.
And I ran into the store.
I was looking for a shield.
I don't know how I came up with these thoughts.
I'd never done this kind of thing before.
I came through the door and I saw a movement off the corner of my eye,
and I knew that whoever was making that shadow in the corner of my eye
wasn't going to be my shield, so I fired a gun in that direction.
[gunshot]
And then I put my gun on the back... back of the head
of a smaller... what turned out to be a 13-year-old boy.
[intense pulsating music builds]
We get in the boy's father's pickup truck.
And some police procession pretty much followed us to the airport.
[faint sirens wailing]
[David] I was trying to escape. And been trying to escape for hours.
[intense pulsating music intensifies]
[David] The police sheriff agreed to provide me with a plane and a pilot
in exchange for the kid.
And I thought, if I got in the plane and the plane took off,
that the pilot would take me over the Rocky Mountains...
I would have let the pilot free and I would have gone on my merry way.
Yeah right, merry way.
No more wife, no more kids.
All that stuff had been going through my head.
[David] At the airport,
there was police cars all around the airplane,
you know, backed off a hundred yards or so.
The pilot was there on the ground with the plane.
I had no intention of killing that first hostage, the child.
I'd been thinking that as soon as I let go of the kid,
I'm going to be shot and my life is gonna be over.
Well, for some reason that didn't happen.
[music continues]
Once we got in the plane,
I had my gun on the pilot, a new hostage.
And I was hopeful that maybe I would actually live through this night.
That nobody would get shot.
Pilot takes about a half an hour trying to start the plane.
But while this... while this was going on,
unbeknownst to me,
other sheriff's deputies were underneath the plane
letting the air out of the tires.
That plane wasn't going to go anywhere.
[somber music playing]
[David] The negotiating process had me leaning out the doorway of the plane,
talking to these... to the sheriff.
And one time when I leaned out,
the sniper that was perhaps 50 yards away,
thought he had a clear shot at me.
So he shot me.
[gunshot]
[David] I'd been severely wounded.
I could tell that this wasn't going well.
I was going to be dead pretty quick.
My life was going to be over.
I thought to myself, "I'll shoot the pilot."
"'Cause I don't want to go alone tonight."
I didn't want the loneliness, just...
[exhales]
It wasn't a well-thought-out, spiritual, or anything, concept.
Just, uh, I didn't want to go alone.
[gunshot]
[ominous rumble]
[somber music continues]
[David] After I shot the pilot,
I put down my gun and started backing out of the plane.
And that was my last conscious memory.
I believe I got shot at the doorway of the aircraft when I got out.
I was shot point-blank in the back of the head.
Most people don't live when they're shot in the back of the head.
Here I am, 38 years later.
[laughs] Imagine that.
That I could laugh about this? I'm sick.
Huh?
I regret it with every ounce of my body.
It may not sound like there's much regret in me.
Believe me, there is.
[sighs]
I didn't wake up that morning
thinking that I would go out and kill somebody that day.
I wish I would have stopped and said, "Wait a second."
But... no.
There was...
The feeling... The feeling chip was not activated,
like Delta on Star Trek.
Jesus.
I wish I would have cared.
Emotions had never really been a part of my adult... adult life.
And they weren't really a part of it then.
I don't like looking too deeply at myself.
I shouldn't say I don't like it. I just don't usually do it.
There's not much to like there.
There's nothing right about it.
Well, that's really not true.
What was really right about it was the pilot volunteering for that child,
to take the place of that child.
That was about the only right thing that happened that day.
If I could fake up tears right now, I would.
But I can't.
[music fades]
[birdsong]
[gentle piano music playing]
[man] I miss my father.
It's almost funny to say after 38 years.
Whenever you lose your parents, you miss 'em. You know, at whatever age.
I'm George Shryock. I'm the son of Harry Lee Shryock.
The long-term effects of what happened
to... his death and... and, uh...
[hesitates]...were very hard for all of us. For all the family.
Our grandchildren, his grandchildren, our children. They missed him.
You know, we knew him. We still know who he was.
They don't.
I wish my boys would have had, uh, his influence.
So, that's a... That's a regret. So...
Well, my father came from a humble background in Ohio.
He'd always, growing up, had visions, almost Peter Pan-like, of flying.
And, uh, and so when he was 20,
he... he joined the Air Corps Cadet program.
My father spent 30 years in the military
in three theaters of combat in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
But he retired at 51.
Of course, he was decorated for seeing a lot of combat.
He was really a good pilot.
[music continues]
[George] He left this note on the counter 'cause my mom wasn't home.
She went by Dee and he went by Lee.
"A hostage situation south of town."
"I have to fly the sheriff down to look it over."
"Lee."
I experienced a lot of anger for a few years.
My wife thinks I'm still really angry. I can't say that I'm really angry.
I'm neutral. It's just, Keith has to deal with himself and his maker in his own way.
He's obviously highly intelligent.
He could have made moral and ethical decisions,
when he came to age.
And, uh, as far as his remorse...
It's difficult for me to believe, uh, given his history.
Keith was hell-bent. This was... this didn't happen just that day.
It was a ten-year collision path with destiny.
[acoustic guitar playing]
[man] It's an individual decision to forgive one person for their acts.
Some people can't forgive and some people, is a way to cleansing the soul.
My brother is a result of his childhood.
He wouldn't be what he is today
without his childhood setting him on that path.
My name is Bruce Keith, and I'm the older brother of David Keith.
[music fades]
[Bruce] When I saw him in the hospital with the tubes, and the wires,
and the, uh, screens with the heartbeat on,
it's pretty daunting to look at when it's, you know, a close relative, certainly.
And you might see it on TV once in a while,
but when it's in your real life, right in your face, it's difficult.
[poignant music playing]
Nobody knew if he was really going to live or die.
I mean, he was on a life support system,
and then the next thing I heard was, he's got a trial date.
Because you don't try somebody that's rehabbing from trauma.
You have to wait until they can defend themselves a bit.
He had a lot of pressure on him
to show up before a judge after this horrific thing, and face the music.
When he stood up in court and pled guilty to his charges,
I understood why he did that.
As part of taking responsibility.
Sitting in the courtroom and listening to the judge, uh, pronounce sentence,
I remember the words of the judge quite distinctly. He said,
"Son, you've really broke the bank on this one."
[indistinct voice]
How many, uh, people have ever heard of two death penalties
getting handed out in the same courtroom?
I think David's, uh, punishment
as handed down by the judge, was not the... the right thing.
I don't think, uh, killing anybody
is a... a worthwhile endeavor.
I don't know if I even processed it for years.
But...
[voice breaks] You certainly know you'll never see him again,
except behind bars.
He chose the guilty path because he knew he did it,
so he's being honest with himself and with the court.
He'll never... never not be sorry for it.
He understands that he brought it all on himself.
He understands he's paid a heavy price for his actions.
So, is he a danger to society?
I hardly think so.
I would really like to see him released and thrive.
It's possible.
[rhythmic music playing]
[man] There's not a question of an innocent person here.
There's no question who did it.
There's not mistaken identity.
But it's like they say, the Irish don't see black and white
because they see all the colors in between.
That's my problem, I see all the colors in between in a story like this.
My name is Jim Manley.
I'm the district court judge for the 20th Judicial District,
which is the jurisdiction in which this case was handled.
[haunting music playing]
David Cameron Keith was sentenced to death in this courtroom,
at that table over there.
When the sentence was announced,
I don't remember him uttering any sounds or making any scene or...
or showing much emotion.
Through every step of the procedure,
he sat here and was stoic,
and you would have never guessed is
that this serious a sentence hanging over his head.
It's almost unheard of for somebody to plead guilty
if they know that the death penalty is on the... on the table.
Unless they want to die.
So it was surprising. But on the other hand, he had no defenses.
The homicide crimes did meet the criteria for the death penalty.
As long as human society has existed, there's been a need for retribution, and...
I understand that part of it.
On the other hand,
the existence of the death penalty doesn't really reduce homicides.
However, if I have to follow the letter and the spirit of the law,
as the legislature hands it down...
I very well might sentence him to the death penalty today.
Even though, personally, I don't really... I'm not really in favor of it.
[somber music playing]
[James] Governor Swindon studied the file, talked to everybody involved,
went over to the prison, sat down eye-to-eye with him
and talked to him for some time.
And at that time, it's my understanding David Cameron Keith had become a Christian
and was going around talking to high school groups
about crimes, and drugs,
and convinced the Governor that he was remorseful.
The Governor weighed all of that and commuted his death sentence
to life in prison without possibility of parole.
First time I ever remember a Montana governor
commuting a death sentence like that.
It's my understanding David Cameron Keith has presented a number of faces
to... to different people over a period of time.
I don't know which is the real David Cameron Keith.
But, if he is indeed sincere, and remorseful about what he did,
and if the victim's family, uh, is consulted,
I wouldn't object to him being released on parole at this point.
[music fades]
[faint birdsong]
[gentle piano music playing]
[woman] Hmm.
When I think about Dad, I'm proud.
I'm not proud of the mistakes he made but I'm proud that,
through it all, he... he loved us,
in whatever capacity he could.
[man] I don't believe he was a violent person in any...
any part of his being, uh,
but I have seen people with drug addiction backed into a corner
and virtually do anything they can do to...
get their fix to be able to deal with... with life.
I know... [hesitates]...without a doubt,
that it wasn't premeditated. It wasn't out of malice, it was...
"Oh my God, I'm freaking out here and I don't know what to do."
[Cameron] This is probably the only, like, real photo that I have of me and him.
We actually got this photo enlarged,
that we have on our stairway going upstairs.
I've only got to know him being in jail.
Even though he's been in prison the whole time, he's been great to me.
For somebody that's been incarcerated as long as he has been incarcerated,
I've never seen somebody so positive,
and still wanting to make a difference, and still wanting to be,
uh, you know, part of my life, and learn things that I like,
and, you know, get pictures of my kids.
We pretty much talk on a weekly basis.
Everybody, regardless of their mistakes, deserves a chance.
They are humans, regardless.
[Cameron] I think he's served the time that he's served for the crimes
that he's done, but, uh,
I also understand that he took somebody's life away.
[Traci] I never really thought about the victims
until now.
Uh, I don't know, because it was... I was nine,
and I didn't have the capacity
to even think about, you know, the victims in all of this.
[Cameron] But if they ever met him or spoke with him,
I think they... [hesitates] ...they would forgive him.
[music fades]
[soothing music playing]
[man] David Keith, I found him to be interesting to talk to.
I've been around people who commit homicides
and, you know, he didn't fit the profile for that.
If you met David in a restaurant downtown,
you'd think he's a fairly normal, pretty intelligent guy.
He wasn't a dumb young man. He just made bad choices.
I'm Dennis Jones, and I was correspondent for the Missoulian Newspaper.
I covered the David Keith, Harry Shryock situation that devolved at the airport,
and, uh, continued to follow that case until it was resolved.
David said it was just a bad day, which is an understatement.
I talked with David in numerous interviews
and we continued to have a relationship, in terms of him... wrote me notes.
I wasn't aware that any other people interviewed him.
They had access to him as much as I did,
but it got to the point where he wouldn't talk to anybody else,
except me.
He wrote a lot of personal things in his letters about his feelings
and very... very transparent.
And they all seemed to be, you know, pretty honest.
I don't think he was trying to, uh, to impress anybody.
I do think he, uh, was remorseful for what he'd done.
I think a lot of it had to do probably with him trying to express his guilt.
[David, on recording] Hell, I've been lying to myself for,
what, a dozen years?
Lying to everybody else about it, actually.
Pleading guilty, taking the trial on,
I was just trying to throw my mercy on the court
and hoped that I'd get a little leniency as a result.
The judge wouldn't have to waste all that time, and money, etcetera.
Maybe he wouldn't give me a death penalty,
because I was surely guilty.
It was all about me, myself, and I.
Have I been sufficiently punished?
Well, the courts don't seem to think so. And...
I don't know what to say about that.
I sincerely think that I've been over-punished.
You haven't seen that bullet hole in the back of my head, but...
I was shot point-blank in the back of the head.
For some reason, that just doesn't seem to be right.
But, sour grapes.
I put myself in that position.
And it is what it is.
Well, it's the first time I've heard David Keith in a long time.
Uh, if I'm hearing it correctly, was that he said
he was gonna
try to stay off death row by pleading guilty.
Now, he said that's his motivation.
Back then, he made it sound like he was going to assume responsibility.
You know,
there are some sidebars to... to everything.
Maybe that was partly true that he wanted to assume responsibility,
but at the same time, it was a manipulative kind of thing to,
as he said,
"keep me off of death row."
It sounds almost like he's, uh,
you know, gone back in time.
Sounds a little more aggressive
now that he's had a lot of time to think about it, you know.
He's on a different page.
He's thinking about David Keith, not Mr. Shryock and his family.
And to that extent, it is disappointing.
[somber music playing]
[David, on recording] There's nothing right about it.
That's really not true.
What was really right about it was the pilot volunteering for that child.
That was about the only right thing that happened that day.
If I could fake up tears right now, I would.
But I can't.
I regret killing Mr. Shryock from the bottom of my heart.
It's not something that I had intended even... five seconds earlier.
Because I wasn't planning on shooting somebody at that moment in time.
I was trying to escape,
and been trying to escape for hours.
David Keith said, "I wasn't trying to hurt anybody, I was trying to escape."
It's a little hard to believe.
In one day, he held up a drug store at gunpoint.
He stole narcotics.
He evaded capture.
He attempted homicide, shooting at a store owner.
He kidnapped his son, held him at gunpoint.
Took my father hostage, uh...
[hesitates]...and committed homicide. All in one day.
And that's just to cap off a ten-year career as a sociopath.
Literally in crime for a decade, in and out of prison.
On parole.
But he talked his way out of those things, uh...
So, he spent a lifetime honing these criminal skills.
And, it had to end in tragedy.
Does he believe his remorse?
That would be a good question.
Uh, for somebody with such sociopathic tendencies,
and... and who's fairly glib,
and... and, uh, and obviously articulate.
Is it believable?
You know, I'm... It really isn't to me.
He's a real con guy.
And... and if he could make a play to get some special dispensation
and get the governor to make some change in his sentence, he'd do it.
[haunting music playing]
[David] To the day I die, I'll be sorry for killing Mr. Shryock.
More than half my life has passed since that day.
I've wasted so much of my time and energies...
in a prison.
Yet, I deservedly needed to be punished, but this...
I can do other things.
I'd like to be able to be a witness to my grandchildren,
so they'd never go as far off track.
I can be honest with people.
And want to be honest with them, I can, I want to be honest.
[George, on recording] Does he believe his remorse?
That... that would be a good question.
For somebody with such sociopathic tendencies,
and... and who's fairly glib,
and... and, uh, and obviously articulate.
[hesitates]
[clicks teeth] Is it believable?
I'm... It really isn't to me.
I'm thinking a sociopath would probably be a good description of me.
But, I was a completely different human being back then.
That doesn't excuse what I did,
but I think I've paid the penalty for it.
If I could take it back, I would.
But we all know that can't happen.
I can honestly say that, from the bottom of my heart,
I am sorry.
[exhales]
[ragged breathing, clicks teeth]
Mm, sorry, I just...
There are some things, I know when, if I try to force words out,
it's gonna be a crying fest.
[voice breaks] And...
I don't desire anybody to take pity on me, etcetera.
I'm a changed man.
Society shouldn't have to support me for the rest of my life.
Give me a chance to do so.
[melancholic music playing]
What I've missed out on in life could fill a book.
Probably a hundred times over.
You, me, everybody.
We all make mistakes.
Don't waste your life like I did.
[closing theme music playing]