Episode 42

Sword and Scale

Incongruity

History, Society & Culture, True Crime, Documentary

4.0 • 63.8K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2015

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The idea of ultimate justice is appealing to those of us who have strong empathy for victims in vicious and unspeakable crimes. However, the cost of implementing such an unyielding and unrepairable finality as taking someone's life, is that from time to time we'll make a mistake and get it wrong. The end result of a mistake like this is the execution of an innocent man. As a society are we so hungry for "justice" or perhaps "vengeance" that we are willing to accept the collateral damage that an imperfect system of justice will continue to provide? In this first part of a two-part story, we examine the curious case of Rodney Reed, a man who is currently on death row awaiting his execution. Meanwhile practically everyone who has closely examined this case believes he is not guilty of the crime he is about to be killed for. Not only that, but there's some pretty good evidence we know exactly who is, and the answer may reveal a shady criminal conspiracy by law enforcement officials.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence.
0:03.0	It is not intended for all audiences.
0:05.0	Listener discretion is advised.
0:08.0	What did watching that much ritualized death do to you?
0:17.0	It made me think very seriously about the death penalty.
0:21.8	Do you think you ever watch someone innocent be killed?
0:24.3	There are some people that had doubts about.
0:26.6	What would that mean if there was someone innocent?
0:30.6	It would be horrible.
0:32.6	It would be absolutely horrible.
0:34.6	... would be absolutely horrible.
0:48.6	Welcome to Sword and Scale, episode 42, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. Yeah. This week, we will either reinforce or make you question your own beliefs.
1:05.1	We live in a world of imperfection, of perpetual learning and constant change.
1:10.5	How can we then, as a civilized society, institute such an unyielding measure and
1:15.4	unrepairable finality as the death penalty?
1:18.2	There are strong opinions both for and against it.
1:21.7	But this week, we'll examine this question from the perspective of a story that is unfolding
1:26.7	as we speak. a story which may shed
1:29.9	light and bring new scrutiny on this dark deed of killing killers.
1:50.4	This morning, 19-year-old Stacy Lee Stipe was reported missing.
1:55.4	She left her home in Giddings around 3.30 a.m. and never arrived at work.
2:01.7	There's a lot of rumors flying around Bastrop, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
	...

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