[dramatic music]
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- Hi, everyone, I'm dan abrams and this is "courtcam."
- You ready to take the plea?
[people shouting]
- [bleep] you!
I'll kill all of you [bleep] [bleep]!
- I hope you die in prison as well.
♪ ♪
- All rise for the jury.
- First up, we're in houston, texas, where the trial
Of 33-year-old ronald lee haskell
Is drawing to a close.
- Foreperson, have you reached a verdict in this case?
- Yes, we have, your honor.
- Haskell is accused of murdering six members
Of his ex-wife's family, including her sister,
Brother-in-law, and four of the couple's
Five young children
Because they wouldn't reveal where she was staying.
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After the mass shooting, haskell left the family's home
And was allegedly on his way to kill his ex-wife's parents
When he was stopped by police and arrested
Following a long standoff.
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Seeking the death penalty, the prosecution only needed
To charge haskell with the deaths of the two adults
In order to make a case for capital murder.
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In a dramatic moment at trial, haskell's niece
And the lone survivor of the shooting
Took the stand and pointed out the man
Who she claims executed her entire family
Right in front of her.
Cassidy stay, who was 15 at the time, recounted
Being lined up on the floor with the rest of her siblings
And then playing dead after the bullet meant to kill her
Only grazed her head.
More than five years after her family was taken from her
And after an emotional monthlong trial,
Cassidy stay is in the courtroom
To hear the jury's verdict.
- We, the jury, find the defendant, ronald lee haskell,
Guilty of capital murder as charged in the indictment.
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- And she breathes a heavy sigh of relief.
- Thank you.
- And a unanimous negative verdict...
- Two weeks later, stay returns to the courtroom
During the penalty phase of the trial
And will now learn whether her uncle will be sentenced
To life without parole or given the death penalty.
- Ronald lee haskell, the jury having found you guilty
Of the capital murder of stephen stay and katie stay,
The court sentences you to death by lethal injection.
- But before haskell makes his way to death row,
There's one person who will courageously face him down
As she delivers her victim impact statement.
- I thought, surely he has to feel bad for killing my family.
And when I heard that you felt no remorse,
Something changed inside of me.
And I didn't know what to do with that change,
And it was causing me a lot of hurt and anger
Because that was my closure.
My closure was the hope that you would feel bad.
[sniffles]
I no longer have the desire for any closure because this is it.
Are you going to feel remorse one day?
I don't know.
And...
I want to tell you that I don't care anymore.
♪ ♪
I'm going to continue to live my life with happiness,
And I'm gonna move forward,
And I'm gonna forget about this.
I'm gonna forget about you.
♪ ♪
Do I think the punishment fits the crime?
No.
I hope that when you die,
You will get the punishment you deserve from god.
Only god can help you now.
♪ ♪
- Ronald lee haskell is currently on death row
Within the texas department of criminal justice.
♪ ♪
Next we're in san luis obispo, california,
Where even though court is in recess,
Things are heating up between opposing counsel.
On one side is timothy magill, whose client,
A state hospital employee,
Is suing for wrongful termination.
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And on the other end of the table is the state's
Second-highest-ranking legal officer,
Deputy attorney general jennie mariah kelly.
Moments earlier, during cross-examination
Of a state witness, magill asked the witness if he had
Met kelly earlier in the day, prior to testimony.
This particular question, an effort to potentially
Cast doubt on the witness' credibility, angers kelly,
And now she's letting everyone know.
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Gesturing wildly and reportedly raising her voice,
Bailiff tyler brooks approaches kelly
And tells her to stop shouting
And then asks her to leave the courtroom.
But based on kelly's body language,
It appears that she's not interested in going anywhere.
And now here's something you don't see every day:
A state's deputy attorney general
About to be escorted out of court.
If only it ended there.
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According to the sheriff's report,
After kelly refuses to lower her voice
Or leave the courtroom,
The bailiff then grabs her hands to escort her out.
But when she pulls away,
The bailiff wrestles her to the floor.
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As kelly's cocounsel looks on in disbelief,
Other deputies arrive and help handcuff kelly
As she continues to resist.
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Once on her feet, a few more words are exchanged
Before she's finally escorted out of the courtroom.
The california deputy attorney general was charged
With resisting a peace officer but later pled no contest
To the lesser charge of disturbing the peace.
She was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine
And complete anger management classes.
- Next we're in shelbyville, kentucky,
For a divorce hearing.
The husband in the case has filed a motion
That would require his ex-wife
To secure her prescription narcotics
Inside the home where she lives with the couple's
Three children, age 14, 16, and 18.
- They're old enough and they're wise enough
Not to go around takin'-- I mean, I only interviewed
The children for a few minutes, and I get it that they're okay
With not taking--
Your children are very bright, and...
I can't even believe you would make that motion.
- Judge, in all due respect,
I can appreciate what you're saying.
They are good children.
But there has been some mental health concerns,
And we just think it's good practice to do that.
- The attorney is reminding judge s. Marie hellard
That one of the children expressed thoughts of suicide
During his parents' divorce.
But when she's still not receptive to the motion...
- I mean, it's not a two-year-old
Who'll pick up a pill off the floor.
- The father does not hold back.
- Your opinion on that, I'm sorry, is just wrong.
♪ ♪
Intelligent children die of overdose
Just as well as unintelligent children.
- You have no evidence to put before me that these chi--
- Oh, that is-- - oh.
Listen, you need to stop talking.
- I--I'm sorry. - You really do.
- I disagree with you on that.
- Well, fine, you disagree,
But you're not up here. - This is the lives
Of my children. - I've ruled on that.
- Frustrated, the man makes a quiet comment
Under his breath.
- But apparently it wasn't quiet enough.
- You're in contempt of court.
You don't tell me that I'm ridiculous.
Do you understand me? Have a seat over here.
Bailiffs, take him and have him have a seat back there.
And mr. [...] is not gonna come in here and bully me.
Not gonna happen.
- But under the watchful eyes of the bailiffs,
The upset father continues pleading his case.
- The lives of my children are at stake here, your honor.
You heard yourself that one of my children talks about
Committing suicide, yet they're in a house
Full of narcotics that are unprotected.
Do you not see that that could be an issue?
- For a moment, it appears the judge might be
Reconsidering the father's argument.
Then again...
- You don't know what's going on in her house
A bit more than a man on the moon.
- Ultimately, the motion to have
The prescription narcotics
Secured inside the home was denied.
And the dad was sentenced to community service
For contempt of court.
♪ ♪
Next we go to a hearing in louisville, kentucky.
The defendant, derrick wright, is here for a speeding charge.
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As he waits to begin,
The mood inside the courtroom is relaxed.
- Oh, yes.
- Eventually, as judge sara michael nicholson
Looks over wright's paperwork,
Things change when he attempts to walk away.
- Whoa, whoa, where you going?
- No. - No, have a seat.
- Okay.
- In addition to his speeding charge,
Turns out, wright has an outstanding warrant
For domestic violence.
- But he believes it's a mistake.
- We're verifying it.
- Sir, I need you to calm down.
- Yeah, man.
- Eventually the court confirms
That wright's warrant is still active.
- Because the warrant's active,
Deputies move to take wright into custody.
- Wait, sir, you need to calm down, okay?
They're gonna go ahead-- they're gonna execute this.
They'll let you take some time to call your mom.
♪ ♪
Just stay quiet. Don't say anything, okay?
- Yeah. - As deputies attempt
To take wright to an area where he can
Make a phone call,
He has other ideas.
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- Thank you guys.
♪ ♪
- Two deputies were able to subdue the defendant.
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- But wright continues to struggle.
- Quit fighting. Quit fighting!
♪ ♪
[taser crackling]
- The deputy pulls his taser.
- Ah, I'm not fighting.
- All right, stop. Stop!
- Are we done?
- Yeah.
- All right, we're gonna get you up.
You're gonna walk out there real nice, okay?
♪ ♪
- Wright is removed, but he is not happy
With how he was treated.
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- Don't get no apology.
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- Neither wright nor the deputies
Were seriously injured in the scuffle,
Although one of the officers had his glasses broken.
Wright was charged with third-degree assault,
Resisting arrest, criminal mischief,
And disorderly conduct.
Wright pleaded guilty to the assault charge
And received three years' probation.
All other charges, including the original
Speeding charge, were dismissed.
- You are selfish, you are egotistical,
And all you do is take from people.
♪ ♪
- Next we head to ohio
For the sentencing of kevin srock.
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He's pled no contest to aggravated trespass,
Endangering children, and voyeurism.
Srock climbed onto the roof of the victim's home,
Who he did not know, and looked through her window
While she undressed.
He also tried to enter the premises but was unsuccessful.
Not only that; while he was spying on the woman,
Srock left his baby son alone in the car.
According to police reports,
The victim saw srock at her door and called 911.
He was later caught by police outside a nearby home,
Hiding in the bushes.
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The 27-year-old's facing a maximum of six months
In the county jail.
- All right, we're herein.
- The judge is chris greene.
Before he announces the sentence,
The defense attorney speaks on behalf of srock.
- Your honor, he does have a good job.
He works for a fortune 500 company and he does work hard.
He is remorseful for what happened.
If the court will give him the opportunity,
He would like to apologize to the victims in this case.
- But instead, the judge decides to give the victim,
A distraught wife and young mother
Standing just a few feet away,
The opportunity to speak first.
- He's, like, taken my whole life away from me.
When I seen him trying to get into my door that night, like,
He was on my roof.
He completely saw me naked
And watched me get dressed.
I had to move out of my home I'd just moved into.
Everything has been taken from me.
Even though he didn't get into my house, it feels like he did.
- The judge is highly sympathetic to the victim.
- You know, you're...
A brave young woman for even coming in here.
I hope that things get a lot better for you.
You don't deserve this. You never--
There's nothing you've ever done
That you deserve what happened to you.
- The judge then turns to the defendant.
- Sir, what do you want to tell me?
- I first would like to apologize.
I really did not mean to hurt anyone.
I...I so badly wish I could take things back.
I can't-- cannot make any excuses
For the actions of that night.
I truly wish there were something that I could do
To give some sort of peace--
- But you can't, sir, because sometimes your actions
Are...Not fixable.
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- Now judge greene has a few words for srock
He'd like to get off his chest.
- You've imprisoned her.
She doesn't want to go outside.
She's scared. She looks over her shoulder.
She hears a noise at night, she doesn't know what it is.
- He lets the defendant know
If this had happened at his house,
There would have been a very different outcome.
- I'll tell you something. You walk into my house--
I saw you lookin' through my window,
You walk into my house,
You'd have had an 8-, 9-millimeter slug
Right between your eyes.
You'd be dead today.
♪ ♪
- This judge isn't done.
- You are selfish, you are egotistical,
You are manipulative...
And you only care about yourself.
And I know that's absolutely true
Because you had a baby sitting in the car while you did this.
You put that baby's life in danger.
You did. It's your baby.
Truthfully, weak and pathetic,
That's what I see.
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- Judge greene then puts those words into action
When he issues his sentence.
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Instead of just six months in a county jail,
The judge sentences srock to 230 days of jail time
And 360 days of house arrest.
- If I just sent him to jail in a short time period,
I can't protect anymore.
I want to try to give you the peace of mind
As long as I can
That you've got somebody watching over you.
- In addition to house arrest,
Srock's sentenced to five years' probation.
He also cannot have contact with the victim
And must register as a tier 1 sex offender.
The judge then issues a final warning.
- And I'm gonna promise you something, sir.
You step out of line one centimeter
And I will just put you down in the county jail
For as long as I can put you down there.
She is never, ever to see your face again.
♪ ♪
- Well, how can you sit there and say
That I killed my daughter?
How?
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- We're in san diego, california,
For the sentencing of regina johnson.
The 60-year-old mother was convicted
Of two counts of second-degree murder
For shooting and killing her husband
And their 14-year-old daughter
Inside the family apartment.
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Prosecutors argue johnson
Had become furious with her husband
Because of his long history of infidelity.
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- Johnson admitted to killing her husband
But claimed it was only in retaliation for seeing him
Shoot their 14-year-old daughter
Following an argument the two were having.
Her defense team argued she had no motive to kill
Her only child, who was at the very center of her life.
- Johnson remained inside the apartment for three days
With the bodies of her daughter and husband
Until a family member tipped off police.
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Ultimately blood spatter evidence
And analysis of the victims' gunshot wounds
Pointed to johnson as being the only shooter.
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She was found guilty.
- During the sentence hearing, judge joan weber
Tries to sum up the tragic case.
- Judge, how can you say that?
- But johnson interrupts.
- They never proved anything. - Mrs. Johnson.
- Nobody ever said--
They never even had a motive why.
- Mrs. Johnson-- - well, how can you sit there
And say that I killed my daughter?
How? You--you have no--
How can you say the things that you're saying?
- Facing the finality of the situation,
Johnson does not go quietly.
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- Judge, you are not a fair judge.
- Okay. - You are not.
You talk about the evidence.
You don't even know what the evidence really was.
None of that stuff she talked about was true.
I shot him because he shot my daughter.
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She's not fair. What kind of judge is that?
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- Regina johnson's final words
Would not change the outcome of the case.
She was sentences to 80 years to life
With the possibility of parole
For the murder of her husband and 14-year-old daughter.
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That's it for this edition of "courtcam."
I'm dan abrams. Thanks for watching.
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