Summary
Overview
This is the premiere episode of 'The Last Twelve Weeks,' a series documenting defense lawyer Greg Warchuk's race against time to stop the execution of David Wood, a Texas man on death row for six murders. With only 87 days until the scheduled execution, Warchuk believes Wood is innocent and urgently seeks DNA testing and support from the incoming El Paso District Attorney. The episode introduces a case from the 1980s involving the 'Desert Killer' murders and explores new evidence from a jailhouse witness claiming the prosecution's case was fabricated.
The Phone Call That Changed Everything
In fall 2024, a criminal defense lawyer receives a call from George Hall, a former prisoner who spent 30 years keeping a dark secret about David Wood's trial. Hall, now off parole, is finally ready to reveal what he witnessed in the late 1980s: two jailhouse informants fabricating testimony against Wood, potentially sending an innocent man to death row. After decades of silence motivated by fear of retaliation while on parole, Hall must now decide if he can live with his knowledge as Wood's execution date approaches.
- George Hall was in prison with David Wood in the late 1980s at the Easton unit in Texas
- Hall claims he was transported to El Paso with two other inmates who had celled with David Wood and offered incentives to testify against him
- Police allegedly showed the informants case files and evidence to help them fabricate their stories
- One informant received $13,000 in reward money after the trial, while another got his capital murder charge dropped
- Hall wrote to an El Paso prosecutor about improprieties but never received a response
" I don't know if it's going to make a difference whether he gets executed or not. That's not the question. That's not what I got to live with. 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. "
Greg Warchuk Takes the Case
Journalist Maurice Shema introduces defense attorney Greg Warchuk, a prominent capital defense lawyer who rarely speaks to reporters but has reached out seeking coverage of David Wood's case. With only 17 weeks until Wood's execution, Warchuk claims his client is innocent of all six murders. Despite initial skepticism, Shema agrees to document Warchuk's race against time, offering unprecedented access to the defense team's strategies and efforts to prove Wood's innocence.
- Greg Warchuk is a law professor at University of Wisconsin who has been defending people on death row for decades
- Warchuk previously won at the Supreme Court and stopped one execution
- David Wood was convicted of killing six women and girls, one as young as 14, earning the nickname 'the Desert Killer'
- Warchuk contacted the journalist with only 17 weeks before Wood's scheduled execution
" Greg was saying David Wood didn't do it at all. And now, somehow, he's supposed to prove that in a few months. "
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