Jims Case News Today

Been shaken. i was of the opinion that the truth is going to come out. he is going to be exonerated as a suspect. were going to get to business and find out who murdered this child. >> last time i seen her she turned the corner and was headed home. >> do you want to know something? >> yes, sir. >> youre not telling me the truth. >> yes, sir. >> no, youre not. >> james duckett was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. ducketts trial began on april 25th, 1988. assistant state attorney ste...

He was so happy to see me. >> i believe it was on fathers day he showed up here. and i thought we had a good conversation. ate a hamburger, had a soda. we talked about the case and this and that. >> i asked him about the three girls and he said that never happened. it was all a lie. well, i dont know those girls but i didnt believe him when he said that. because if one said it, maybe its a lie. but all three, independently of each other its not likely they were all lying. but that didnt prove an...

This guy. i have no reason to trust him. i dont know where he is coming from. from jims point of view, maybe this will be the person who is able to get somebody to listen. >> with the case at a dead end and duckett headed toward execution, marshall frank had an idea. >> he said ive got a friend that used to work for the "miami herald." and i had read edna buchanans stories before over the years. and so i knew who the name was. and so i felt excited. >> edna buchanan was a pulitzer prize winning ...

Disappeared. >> i got call one day from ducketts wife out of the blue, and she said, mr. hurm, i think jimmy may have had something to do with that case. i say why do you say that? she said, because i remember him coming home with a bag with a little stuffed animal and she said, the reason i remember it is i was mad at him because we had two boys and i said why wouldnt you bring two toys because you know theyll fight over it. i get goose bumps thinking about this. >> police never charge duckett ...

Happened. but you dont have a smoking gun. you dont have what a lot of people demand in a case. >> from a legal point of view, he really should never have been convicted. its a good thing that he was because there would probably be other dead kids out there. >> you know, im not a fry em all, fry em sooner, that sort of thing. i feel the weight of the state deciding to take someones life. but if the death penalty is appropriate for any case, its appropriate for this case. because of what he did t...

Just have to maintain as long as i can and try to keep him healthy and happy. >> for more information on the ill be me alzheimers punt g to ibmef.org. >> on this episode of "death row stories" in a tiny florida town, an 11-year-old girl is found raped and murdered. >> that little girl died in the dark, alone with a monster. >> and the investigation leads the police back to one of their own. >> of course, we didnt want to believe a police officer would do this. >> i had always wanted to get in la...

He said im a retired detective from the miami police department. he said i want to help you out. i want to see what your case is. i told him, i walked in this building scared to death as a young man. never been inside a prison. never been in any trouble before. and here i am going to death row. i had a career going. i had a beautiful wife, i had two young sons, i had a future that i was moving towards and all of that was taken for no reason except to satisfy somebodys idea that i was the one tha...

I know something about that case. >> the sheriffs department of lake county come talk to me. the inference was, we can give you a break if you saw something that we should know about. hint, hint. >> gwen testified against duckett and was let out of jail having served less than six months of a two-year sentence. but a year after james duckett was sentenced to death, gurley recanted her original testimony and said she never actually saw ducat with theresa mcabee. in a sworn affidavit, she claime...

Because often it is. >> theres a body in the water. >> he was butchered and murdered. >> many people proclaim their innocence. >> in this case there are a number of things that stink. >> this man is remorseless. >> he needs to pay for it with his life. >> the electric chair flashed in front of my eyes. >> get a conviction at all costs. let the truth fall where it may. >> i was the chief of police for the city of mascotte. mascotte, florida, a small, poor community, about 1,700 residents.

>> with the case at a dead end and duckett headed toward execution, marshall frank had an idea. >> he said ive got a friend that used to work for the "miami herald." and i had read edna buchanans stories before over the years. and so i knew who the name was. and so i felt excited. >> edna buchanan was a pulitzer prize winning crime reporter for the "miami herald." >> an outstanding reporter, one of the best ive ever known. i wanted to tell her what the story was. >> marshall frank kept calling m...