1 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,160 [guitar music plays] 2 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,440 -[children chattering] -[Dale] Going into the church. 3 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,360 And the little ones out here playing. 4 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:28,560 [chuckles] 5 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:29,960 Having fun. 6 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:33,680 -How's everybody doing? -[man] Hey. 7 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:34,880 -How you doing? -Good. 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:36,480 [Dale] Good to see you, bud. 9 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:38,280 -How you doing? -My son, Quentin. 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:40,360 -Hey. -Quentin, nice to meet you. 11 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,360 [Dale] Recently, my parole officer just allowed me to start going to church. 12 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,280 I've been attending for about six weeks now, 13 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,000 and it's a blessing to me. 14 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,320 -[man] Dale. -Good to see you. How you doing? 15 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:55,720 -Greasy hand. -It's okay. 16 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:57,080 It's okay. God bless you. 17 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:01,160 [Dale] I have waited for this moment for a long time, 18 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:03,560 and these people understand that. 19 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,560 [crowd] Father, guide me to make the right decisions, 20 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,120 and teach me to use my time 21 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,520 to accomplish the greatest good 22 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,120 and to strengthen this life of mine. 23 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,520 [woman over speaker] I think it would be appropriate now, Dale, 24 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,080 if you'd come forward and give us your testimony. 25 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,360 [Dale] I just wanna say that I'm grateful for each and every one of you 26 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:47,920 that have given me an opportunity. 27 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,200 You've opened your hearts, and you opened your church 28 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:53,680 and your lives to me. 29 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,920 [Dale] I wasn't strong enough until three, four years ago 30 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,400 to be able to step forward and admit who I was and what I was. 31 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,280 I went to court for capital murder in 1990, 32 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,400 and ended up on death row for three years 33 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:11,760 for the life that I took for someone trying to 34 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:13,720 blackmail me into a homosexual relationship. 35 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,600 [Dale] Some people will think that I shouldn't breathe another breath 36 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:21,400 after the moment that I took that life. 37 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,160 So, because I'm a murderer, I don't have the right to tell the truth? 38 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,400 I'm not concerned about the people that want to speculate, 39 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,080 because the children of God will understand. 40 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,320 [opening theme music plays] 41 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,120 [Dale] It's important that people understand 42 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,600 that we have these trials and tribulations that we go through in life. 43 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:28,880 And that day that I took that life, 44 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,520 I was taking my own, I didn't wanna live anymore. 45 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,520 'Cause I was tired of living in that pain. 46 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:37,560 [ominous music plays] 47 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,440 [Dale] In my childhood, I went through some things. 48 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:45,240 Being molested at the age of ten, 49 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,120 it scarred me and hurt me for life. 50 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,120 I was growing up with that stigmatization of being molested. 51 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:55,040 It was hard. 52 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:00,840 It made me question about my sexuality and who I was and am I really a man? 53 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:05,520 It was like the catalyst to 54 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,840 self-destruction eventually 11 years later, 55 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,760 'cause I was running from my demons and my fears. 56 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:16,440 And when I came to Texas, 57 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:17,960 it all started again. 58 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:23,400 The time around the murder, 59 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:25,600 I was really emotional. 60 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:28,040 I was really lost. 61 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,440 I was back on the intravenous drug, shooting meth, cocaine. 62 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:35,400 And that's when I met John. 63 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,520 And, uh... we became close friends. 64 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,240 He let me come over and shower, you know, take a nap. 65 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:44,960 I confided in him and told him about, 66 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,880 you know, what I've been through, and why I was living on the streets, 67 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:50,920 about being molested at ten. 68 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:54,280 You know, in time, 69 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:57,800 I trusted John. I got to know John. 70 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,320 I thought he was a really sincere, good friend. 71 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:05,840 That one night when I came over to his house, 72 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:07,440 I took a shower 73 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,600 and lay down. I fell asleep. I woke up, he was on top of me. 74 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:11,880 I pushed him off of me. 75 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,520 I said, "What are you doing?" I grabbed my stuff, 76 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:15,440 and that... 77 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:17,520 that fear kicked in 78 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:19,400 of when I was ten. 79 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,120 I told him, "John, I befriended you, man. 80 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,800 What made you think that I would want that?" 81 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,400 He told me, "Man, if you don't... If you don't agree, 82 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,720 I'm gonna tell everybody that you were doing it anyway." 83 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,240 [ominous music continues] 84 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,280 I suppressed everything for all my life, but... 85 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:42,600 I reached my breaking point. 86 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:46,400 I befriended John... 87 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,320 and then he tried to blackmail me into a homosexual relationship. 88 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,000 I told him, "I don't have nothing to live for." 89 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,040 I said, "If you do that, I promise you I'll kill you." 90 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,880 And I meant that with all my heart, because I didn't care about my own life. 91 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,080 Two days after John tried to abuse me 92 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,280 is when he made calls looking for me, 93 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,920 and I took that as a threat that he was gonna tell people that 94 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:20,920 we had a sexual relationship, which was a lie. 95 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,680 Because I may be a lot of things, and I might even be a killer, a murderer. 96 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:29,720 But I've never been a homosexual. 97 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,760 And I decided that I was gonna fight back, 98 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:36,640 that I'd warned him. 99 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:39,880 And I was gonna fulfill what I said I was gonna do. 100 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,480 [sinister music plays] 101 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:51,000 April 6th, 1990... 102 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:54,520 I walked into that Subway sandwich shop. 103 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,040 And he said, "So, you decided to come around and see it my way, huh?" 104 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,000 And I took the .45 out of my pocket, 105 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,640 I set it on the top of tabletop, and I pushed it right in front of him, 106 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,520 and he started shaking, literally. He was terrified. 107 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,600 [tense music builds] 108 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,160 I shot him six times in the chest. 109 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:21,600 Then when he fell, 110 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:23,840 I emptied the rest of the clip. 111 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,000 Shot him twice in the back of the head as he lay there. 112 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,960 [dramatic music plays] 113 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:48,200 I question myself a lot 114 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,160 about how I let myself get in that situation, that I would do that. 115 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:01,880 It's a dark place to be. 116 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:06,680 I mean, to be that broken. 117 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:09,800 I'll forever be paying for that. 118 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,120 I wish I would've never taken John's life. 119 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:13,280 No one deserved that. 120 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,440 That's why I haven't forgiven myself to this day. 121 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,240 And people tell me I gotta get past it. 122 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:20,480 I gotta forgive myself. 123 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:24,560 It's not an easy thing to do. 124 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:28,920 You know, but I can't turn back the hands of time. 125 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,440 All I can do is make my life account of the matter now 126 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:34,040 and try to give back. 127 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:39,320 You know, my life has been... 128 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,480 a torment of winds and frustrations and tides 129 00:08:43,560 --> 00:08:45,920 that kept pulling me out deeper and deeper... 130 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,280 That's why I wanna tell the story. Give back. 131 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:51,440 I wanna help other people, to let them know being molested 132 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,520 or being abused or whatever you're going through. 133 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,800 You have to reach out to somebody until somebody hears you. 134 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,640 I didn't do nothing as a ten-year-old child 135 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:02,240 to warrant being molested, 136 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,040 but I held that my whole entire life. 137 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:07,960 I had nowhere to release it. I had nowhere to go, 138 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,520 but that pain became my process to my purpose, 139 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,520 to the vision that God has for me. 140 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,040 Because I know each and every day that I live, 141 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:18,800 and that every breath that I take 142 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,320 is living proof that miracles really can happen. 143 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:22,840 Thank you. 144 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:23,760 [audience] Amen! 145 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,680 [clapping] 146 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,120 [man] I think it's a story of redemption and... 147 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:38,280 we're all capable of being redeemed 148 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:40,560 if we go the right route. 149 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:42,800 I thought it was tremendous. 150 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,760 I can relate to Dale a whole lot, 151 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,000 'cause I was locked up myself 152 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:49,920 for 28 years flat 153 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,320 on an attempted murder case, 154 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,000 but I didn't do like Dale. 155 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,600 Dale got smart and found God and all that stuff, 156 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:01,480 and I didn't. I was-- I just kept rebelling. 157 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,000 I think Dale is good, man. 158 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:07,960 He knows what he's talking about. 159 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:09,640 [indistinct chattering] 160 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,440 There's been a lot of blessings since I've been out, 161 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:19,000 and a lot of people's hearts have been softened. 162 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,560 That's the prayer I've had since I've been out. 163 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,000 -Yeah. -So, God's been making a way. 164 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,720 [Carole] Over these few months, 165 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:30,880 Dale has made a lot of progress. 166 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,720 He has won a lot of people over, 167 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,040 uh... especially the church members. 168 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,760 They are just blown away by him 169 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:42,600 when he testifies and tells them his story. 170 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,920 Dale is winning people over every... 171 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:57,840 time he has the opportunity to speak with them. 172 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,440 [knocking] 173 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,440 [Carole gasps] Hi! 174 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,920 -Come on in. -[Dale] How y'all doing? 175 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:09,240 [Shannon] Pretty good. 176 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,440 -[Carole] This is Dale. -How you doing? 177 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,040 Dale, this is my grandson, Shannon Junior. 178 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:15,920 -How you doing? -[Carole] Jenny. 179 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,800 -[Carole] Cheyenne. -[Dale] I appreciate you coming. 180 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,640 [Shannon] I've been wanting to, been busy. 181 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,240 With me, what you see is what you get. There's no question you can't ask 182 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:25,680 that I won't try to answer. 183 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,880 And I own who I am and what I am and where I've come from. 184 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,000 -One thing I've never been -He has nothing to hide. 185 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:36,160 is timid to the point of where, you know, I won't answer a question. 186 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:39,640 [Jenny] Do you mind us asking like how? -You wanna know how? 187 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,080 Back from when I was ten, I was molested as a child, 188 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,160 11 years later, living on the street, 189 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:48,320 someone try to blackmail me into a homosexual relationship. 190 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,200 And I told him, "Where I'm at in life and in this time... 191 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:54,480 if you do that, I'm gonna kill you." 192 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:56,920 I said, "'Cause all I have left is, 193 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,320 you know, my reputation, 194 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,760 and keeping my word and being a decent individual", 195 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:04,080 you know? 196 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:06,120 And he thought it was a game. 197 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:08,560 -[Shannon] You shot him? -[Dale] Yeah. 198 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,000 That night, I took two lives. His and mine. 199 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,720 But it's by the grace of God that I'm still alive. 200 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,640 [reflective piano music playing] 201 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,280 [Dale] Not everyone is gonna understand or be receptive to my story, 202 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:28,400 because there's two types of people in the world people are terrified of, 203 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:30,960 and that's murderers and child molesters. 204 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:32,440 And I'm a murderer. 205 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,360 -[Carole] Too much cuteness. -Good seeing you. 206 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,600 Gradually,  people that got to talk to me 207 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:40,200 and converse with me and hear my story, 208 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,200 they generally see the man I am now. 209 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:44,160 Appreciate y'all coming. 210 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,160 -Don't be a stranger. Come on by. -[Carole] Yeah, anytime. 211 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:54,840 -[Shannon] What do you think about him? -He talks a lot. [chuckles] 212 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:58,200 I mean, yeah, he's been inside 213 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:00,160 -prison all his life. -He's cool. 214 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,480 He's gonna talk. Tell everybody his story... 215 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,000 so everybody knows who he is. 216 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,600 Yeah, seemed like he learned a lot in prison. 217 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,200 He was on drugs and going through a rough time. 218 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:16,720 The guy also did something to hurt him, too. 219 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,040 I'd probably do the same thing he would. 220 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:24,320 [ominous music plays] 221 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,800 [Dale over tape] Before the murder, I was living on the streets, 222 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:39,240 and I met John Zeltner. 223 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,120 You know, I trusted John. I got to know John. 224 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,640 I thought he was a really sincere, good friend. 225 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,280 And then he tried to blackmail me into a homosexual relationship. 226 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,440 I told him, "I don't have nothing to live for." 227 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,520 I said, "If you do that, I promise you I'll kill you." 228 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,080 If he's saying that's what he believes today, 229 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:08,280 and still believes that that was justified, 230 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:10,440 I'll be frank with you, I got problems. 231 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:11,840 I got concerns... 232 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:13,240 uh... 233 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:17,600 with society being exposed to that type of irrational thought. 234 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:20,440 I'm not gonna call somebody a liar. I don't know what's true or not. 235 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:21,760 I will say this: 236 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,560 That information, if that information 237 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:28,680 is true, and if it's accurate, 238 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,200 that should've been told to a jury. 239 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,440 And so, I'll be frank with you, I wouldn't believe that on face value. 240 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:40,160 He's claiming, if I'm correct, that he's being blackmailed... 241 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,360 by an individual saying that he... 242 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,320 um... is gay. 243 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:48,280 All right? 244 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,080 To me, I think it's rather ridiculous. 245 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:52,360 If someone wants to 246 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,120 uh... claim that my lifestyle is something other than it is, 247 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:58,880 I don't care. Go right ahead. 248 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,960 I know who I am. What's that gonna do to me? 249 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,320 How is that gonna hurt me? All right? 250 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,560 I don't have a right to go take your life. 251 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,560 It's pretty extreme. No, that's very extreme. 252 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:10,840 And, uh... 253 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:13,520 it's really irrational. 254 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:19,120 Mr. Sigler is now reversing roles. 255 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,480 He has turned himself into the victim, 256 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:26,240 and John Zeltner into the bad guy. 257 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,000 And he's not a victim. He is not a victim. 258 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,920 If he's a victim of anything, he's a victim of himself 259 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,400 and of his own actions. Nobody else. 260 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,760 Nobody in society is to blame for what happened. Period. 261 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:41,160 Except himself. 262 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,120 You need to get on your knees and not only thank your God. 263 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,360 Get on your knees and thank society for that second chance. 264 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,360 Talking about how people need to understand him. 265 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,040 Let me tell you something. Society is giving you this second chance. 266 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:55,920 You need to be grateful. You need to be humble. 267 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:57,480 Be accountable. 268 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,880 Quit making up excuses, quit talking about it, move forward. 269 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:02,640 And now do what's right. 270 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:04,720 [ominous music plays] 271 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,360 [thunder booming] 272 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,080 [Dale] It's not about shifting blame. It's about telling the truth. 273 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,840 I take full responsibility for the life that I took... 274 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,560 but try to understand how I got to that point. 275 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:31,920 I couldn't see clearly. 276 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,160 I couldn't see a future. I couldn't see a life. 277 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,680 All I seeing was the torment and the pain. 278 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,440 [interviewer] Was there nothing else you could've done? Rather than killing? 279 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:45,600 People don't understand. 280 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:48,280 They always wanna talk about what you could've done. 281 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,120 Hindsight is 20/20. 282 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:55,200 You know, what you could've done and conjecture 30 years later, 283 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:57,440 that's a waste of time to me. 284 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:02,160 It doesn't resolve a situation. It doesn't bring John's life back. 285 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,880 See, what people don't want to understand is, 286 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,320 the pain and torment that got you to that point 287 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:09,960 to where you would take a life. 288 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,120 [interviewer] Why didn't you tell people at the time? 289 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,560 Why would I wanna tell people? 290 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,960 The times that I tried to reach out and tell my attorney and tell people, 291 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:22,520 you know, it's like I was ridiculed. 292 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,080 I was told the first time that I met my attorney, 293 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,160 "What are you? The biggest idiot in the world?" 294 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,040 The judicial system doesn't really wanna know. 295 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:34,520 My attorneys really didn't wanna know. 296 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,520 So, why would I wanna share with anyone? 297 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,480 Because I felt like there was no way that anyone was gonna understand. 298 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:43,120 It didn't matter to me. 299 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:45,280 I just wanted it over. 300 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:47,320 I wanted to die. 301 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,720 [interviewer] Do you have resentment towards gay men, are you homophobic? 302 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,400 -How do you feel about people who are gay? -No. 303 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:57,200 I didn't kill him because he was gay. 304 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,120 I've never been resentful or homophobic 305 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:03,720 or had any type of 306 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,400 issues with other people's choices in life. 307 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:08,400 'Cause I'm not judgmental of people. 308 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:12,720 Do I believe in homosexuality? No, I believe it's abomination to God. 309 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,320 'Cause that's what the principles of the word of God tell me. 310 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:18,720 That's what they teach me. 311 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:21,520 But your damned to live that life. 312 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:25,080 But I don't sit in judgment of people. I love people in spite of. 313 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,960 So, no, as a child and even to this day, I'm not judgmental. 314 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:30,960 I don't hate anyone for their beliefs 315 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:32,800 or their sexuality. 316 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:35,120 Never have. 317 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,400 But it seems other people wanna sit in judgment of me 318 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,800 because I killed a homosexual, trying to make it into a hate crime. 319 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:44,080 It wasn't about that. 320 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,880 [interviewer] I wonder if he misread your signals. 321 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,320 There is no way that you can misread my signals. 322 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,120 There is no way that you can misconstrue the type of man that I was. 323 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:55,440 There's no way. 324 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,400 See, people think that there just-- Maybe there's something more 325 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:03,840 to this that we just don't know, 326 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,040 or maybe this is just for five minutes of fame or, 327 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:09,080 maybe this is, you know, 328 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,120 trying to cover something else up, or... 329 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:13,920 No, this is genuine. 330 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,960 This is exactly what happened and the truth of the matter. 331 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,000 -[ominous music plays] -[water trickling] 332 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,440 [Dale] I'm telling the story not to villainize the individual, 333 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,800 not to make an excuse, not to try to justify 334 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:32,080 what I've done. 335 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:36,920 I don't care what people say or what they think or what they see anymore. 336 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:38,760 Because I know it's the truth. 337 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:50,920 [Greg] It's the perfect cover, 338 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,920 because the person that can really tell everybody what really happened is dead. 339 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,400 I guess it's pretty easy to shift responsibility to a dead man 340 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,000 when he can't come forward and, 341 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,280 tell us probably what really was the relationship 342 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:09,840 between 343 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,360 Dale Sigler and himself. 344 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:16,000 And even if you were to say Sigler is telling the truth there, 345 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,680 that's not much of a reason to go out and kill somebody. 346 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:21,520 Because of an attempted 347 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:23,920 homosexual liaison? 348 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:25,880 Come on. Give me a break. 349 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,160 Well, I suppose the question becomes, 350 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:51,000 is it a worse set of facts that John Zeltner got killed because 351 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,800 Dale Sigler alleged he was a homosexual 352 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:55,520 and was blackmailing 353 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:57,120 Dale Sigler? 354 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,360 Or is it a worse set of facts that he killed John Zeltner 355 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,880 uh, because he wanted to get money 356 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:06,760 for more drugs and more booze? 357 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,720 Either scenario is pretty damning, I think. 358 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,800 You know, whatever spin you wanna put on it, 359 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,440 there is one common denominator, and that is John Zeltner is dead. 360 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,560 [reflective music playing] 361 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,160 I really have no idea if he's remorseful. 362 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:41,280 I hope he is. 363 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,240 I hope he thinks about every day what he's done to my family. 364 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:46,840 There's no forgiveness. 365 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,240 I will never, ever forgive him. 366 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:53,720 He couldn't say or do anything to me to bring my brother back. 367 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:54,880 Should I forgive him? 368 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:57,600 No, no. 369 00:21:58,200 --> 00:21:59,040 Not at all. 370 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:01,680 Wouldn't change one bit if I thought he was gonna be reformed. 371 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:03,360 I still feel the same way. 372 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,840 You know, what you did before, 373 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:07,520 you should pay for. 374 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,600 [Greg] I think anybody that's been a prosecutor, defense lawyer, or a judge 375 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:29,920 for any amount of time 376 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,520 have asked the question: 377 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,400 "What is a fair punishment for murder?" 378 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:36,760 And... 379 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:41,920 I will tell you that's a very difficult question to answer. 380 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,280 I am comfortable with the sentence that he received in this case. 381 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:48,720 Regardless of what people say, 382 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,240 thirty years in prison is a boatload of time. 383 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:58,360 Dale has basically spent almost 60% of his life in prison, 384 00:22:58,760 --> 00:22:59,600 so... 385 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:01,840 I'm okay with the sentence. 386 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:04,480 But he better not screw up again. 387 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,440 [rock music plays over radio] 388 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,360 Driving a car after 30 years, 389 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,000 it's a beautiful thing. 390 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:45,920 I waited a long time to be able to 391 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,320 get in my own automobile and be able to drive 392 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:50,120 and take myself to work 393 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:53,560 and just enjoy life, have the wind blowing in your hair, 394 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:55,600 you know, have the radio on. 395 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,040 Just being free. 396 00:23:57,120 --> 00:23:58,840 And that's really what it's about. 397 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:09,760 [goat bleating] 398 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:17,360 [soft dramatic music plays] 399 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,520 [Dale] I look forward to coming every day, 400 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,440 'cause it's a little bit, you know, quiet, 401 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:23,800 peace, tranquility. 402 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,800 I mean, being stuck in prison with all that screaming and hollering, 403 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,440 you know, it's kind of frustrating. 404 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,120 Now you don't have to deal with that, it's a relief. 405 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:40,920 Ain't nothing like a hard week of work, 406 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,880 come home with a pocket with money 407 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:46,960 and take a shower, sit down, and eat dinner with someone you love. 408 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,560 You know, just talk about life. Just enjoy life, you know? 409 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,080 We just take it for granted. I know I did. 410 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,480 You know, every moment's precious now to me. 411 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:01,800 [Carole] I've been 412 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,920 kind of on my own for a while now. 413 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:08,240 And even though I like my privacy, 414 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:14,240 it's nice to have somebody else to talk to and just pal around with. 415 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:16,920 So, we're having a good time. 416 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:21,440 Learning about things about our pasts and each other 417 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,240 and enjoying it. Just enjoying it. 418 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:27,840 That's my yearbook from high school. 419 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,400 -I got this-- -That's when I was born. 420 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,040 -And? What are you trying to say? -1967. 421 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:34,800 -That's a good year. -Oh, okay. 422 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:36,920 You should've had a good year that year. 423 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:38,640 Your picture in there? 424 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:40,760 -Yes. -[cackles] 425 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,320 -Oh, cut it out! -Yeah! 426 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:45,000 -[laughs] -Cut it out. 427 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:46,480 [Dale] Yeah. 428 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:49,960 [Carole] Our relationship is still good. 429 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:51,880 We still love each other, 430 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:53,520 but yeah, we have our moments, 431 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:55,680 but we always kiss and make up. 432 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,120 You really wanna see... 433 00:25:58,640 --> 00:25:59,680 my picture? 434 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:01,240 Yeah, where is it? 435 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,360 -I ain't gonna tell you. [laughs] -Ah. 436 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,080 You gots to find me. 437 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,960 [Carole] Dale is still a big kid at heart. 438 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:11,280 He gets goofy. 439 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,680 He's having fun, and he's wanting to express 440 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,880 that happiness, and he can only do it by being a big kid. 441 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,000 -Still ain't found me? -You trying to stop me 442 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,640 -from getting your picture. -I'm not. 443 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:25,680 -Yeah, you are. -No, I'm not. 444 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,680 -No, I am not. -Okay, I'm just saying. 445 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:32,160 [Dale] That's you? 446 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:35,720 -[Carole] Yep. -Mama Carole, you beautiful. 447 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,600 -Still beautiful, but you was beautiful. -[chuckles] 448 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:40,000 Well, thank you. 449 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:42,960 Dale] If I was 19 years old, and in school with you then, 450 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,280 -I would've been chasing you. -[Carole] Oh! 451 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:46,920 -You was gorgeous. -Oh... 452 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:48,400 You was gorgeous. 453 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:57,240 [Carole] I really didn't know that much of the details 454 00:26:57,720 --> 00:26:59,000 about the murder, 455 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,160 until we were sitting in the living room, 456 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:05,080 and I asked him about it. 457 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,680 When he told me what happened, 458 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,040 I was in a little bit of shock. 459 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,800 And then my heart broke even more, 460 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:18,280 because... 461 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,520 I could see how much he was hurting. 462 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,000 So, I didn't change my opinion of how I felt about him. 463 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,400 And no matter what, I got his back. 464 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:41,200 [wind rustling] 465 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:43,320 [soft piano music plays] 466 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:52,680 [Dale] Life at the moment is... 467 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:54,520 pretty beautiful. 468 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,920 When you think back on it, how far I've come, 469 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:01,840 what I've came through... 470 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:05,120 I couldn't see this day coming. 471 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,280 To be in this moment and just to be able to... 472 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,200 smell the fresh air, look at the clouds in the sky, 473 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:17,600 it's just... 474 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:19,240 It's a beautiful day. 475 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:27,720 What is a fair punishment 476 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:29,640 for murder? 477 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,040 I know that I deserved this opportunity. 478 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:37,080 I know I've earned 479 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:39,120 this freedom. 480 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,480 After 30 years of incarceration, 481 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,600 I've paid my price. More than enough. 482 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,400 I've changed. I've grown. I've matured. 483 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:51,400 So, yeah, I deserve this. 484 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,800 I deserve opportunity, just like anyone else. 485 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,200 [closing music plays]