Latest news with #DeadManWalking:
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Killer names 'worst thing' about Death Row and the terrifying sound at night
Double killer Charles Thompson spoke to broadcaster Dan Walker for a documentary about capital punishment and he opened up about the 'worst thing' about death row A double killer who has been waiting for his execution for 25 years revealed the worst thing about being on Death Row. Charles Thompson was convicted of a double homicide in 1998 after shooting ex-girlfriend Dennise Hayslip, 39, and her new boyfriend, Darren Cain, 30. He called it a 'crime of passion', claiming he was "immature" and struggling with alcohol and drug abuse at the time. In 2005, he managed to briefly escape prison, but was soon returned to solitary confinement, where he has spent most of the 21st century. But he was allowed out of his cell to speak to news anchor Dan Walker for a Channel 5 documentary called Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row. Former BBC Breakfast host Dan asked Thompson whether he thought about his death, saying he hoped the question wasn't 'too morbid'. Giving his response, the killer said: 'Oh, it is the most unnatural thing to know you are fixing to die and watch the clock tick down. It is not natural. You are not supposed to know your time. 'The execution nightmare, the execution dream, is probably the worst thing. You wake up with a cold sweat and you are like… that was just too real. 'I had watched friends be executed, close friends, and I have heard guys crying at night.' He also complained about only being allowed out of his cell for up to four hours per week, saying 'people have pets that get out of their cages more than that'. As for daily life behind bars, he added: 'We are held to solitary confinement as you probably know. So my day starts usually around six, seven in the morning. 'We just got TVs a year ago. For 24 years, I didn't have any TV to look at. I have been reading books for 24 years like a book worm.' Laughing, he added: 'I am very well read.' Killing his former girlfriend meant her son, Wade, who was just 13 at the time, had to navigate the rest of his life without a mother. Opening up on the documentary, he said: 'I can remember being pulled out of class by my vice principle and pulling into our youth counsellor's office and them explaining what had happened. 'And I remember going to the hospital and waiting that night and ultimately seeing her on the bed… so that was a different experience.' It was put to Wade that his mum's killer called it a 'scuffle', and he replied: 'The evidence suggests that he kicked in the door that morning and there were a total of seven shots fired. 'So much so that he had to reload and then the gun jammed and could not be fired again. One shot was put to her cheek and then blasted to the other side of her jaw bone. He said that he knew she had been hit because he could see her teeth flying out of her mouth… so that is point blank rage.' Wade then explained how there was a time in his life when he would have a recurring dream about Thompson shooting him. And giving his own take on the day of the killing, Thompson told the camera: 'It was the worst day of my life. 'I regret it. I wish I could take it back. When this case happened 27 years ago, I was 27, almost 28, I was an alcoholic, I was strung out on cocaine, using hard drugs. I was still very immature for 27. I had a lot of anger issues and I was wild; I was out of control.' Thompson remains on Death Row and is still waiting for his execution date.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dan Walker calls death row documentary Dead Man Walking 'most emotional show I've made'
The broadcaster found his Christian faith challenged in a Channel 5 exploration of the US capital punishment system. Watch: Dan Walker opens up on chilling experience of death row documentary What did you miss? Dan Walker has confessed his death row documentary was "the most emotional programme I've ever made". The newsreader and broadcaster travelled to the US to meet those living and working on death row for Channel 5 film Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row, where he explores the US capital punishment system. The documentary is due to air tonight, Wednesday 7 May. Walker, who often speaks about his Christian faith, told Loose Women on Wednesday that he had found the trip a harrowing experience, as well as opening up on some chilling moments he experienced in the prison. What, how, and why? The Channel 5 broadcaster called his death row documentary 'the most emotional programme I've ever worked on'. (ITV screengrab) Despite his own religious views, Walker was quick to point out to Loose Women that his Channel 5 documentary Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row was neither pro nor anti capital punishment. ADVERTISEMENT He said he was interested to find out more about the US legal system and admitted he was particularly struck by the idea that there could be hundreds of prisoners awaiting a death sentence who had been wrongly convicted. Asked for his own opinion on the system after filming the documentary, he said: "I don't know what the answer is. But what I will say is, it's the most emotional programme I've ever worked on. Sometimes I felt scared, I felt upset, I felt angry, I felt distressed and the weight of that decision (of ending someone's life), that is a huge decision to carry around for the rest of your life." Read more: Dan Walker visited the former execution chamber at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. (Channel 5) Walker added that he had had a confronting chat with his own family before flying out to the US for filming. ADVERTISEMENT "I always struggle with the finality and the certainty of saying it's right to put somebody to death," he said. "I had a conversation with my kids before I went out and my 15-year-old daughter said, 'hold on a minute, you tell everybody that it's wrong to kill somebody and then you say the punishment for killing somebody is to be killed yourself. How does that add up?'" The broadcaster talked about his chilling visit to the execution chamber. (Channel 5) "I didn't realise how big an impact working in that industry has on the people that do it," he continued as he recalled meeting people whose job it was to tie prisoners to their beds before execution. "You could see the mental scars of that on their face, the way they talked about what they had witnessed. That will live with them forever." Walker added: "From a faith perspective, the thing I found fascinating was that this is about who we are and how we see our fellow men and women and what we think about the sanctity of life. These are really big questions that we all have to think about." Dan Walker's chilling experiences on death row Dan Walker met death row inmate Charles Thompson. (Channel 5) The journalist who took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 also recalled the chilling experience of meeting a double murderer for an interview on death row. ADVERTISEMENT He said that he had introduced himself and convict Charles Thompson had told him he knew who Walker was thanks to his penpals in the UK. "I tried not to react and then he said he knew about Strictly, he knew where I'd worked," he said of the uneasy meeting. Walker also spoke about a sobering trip to the room where hangings took place. He said: "I've never been in a room like it. Because you realise how many people have ended their life in that room, there's a weight to it and you can almost feel it when you walk in there for the first time." Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row airs on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight (7 May). Loose Women airs on ITV1 at 12:30pm on weekdays.
