Discretion is advised.

This is 10-minute murder.

Something is terribly, terribly wrong with Timothy Spencer.

Those were the words of a prosecuting attorney in Arlington, Virginia, to jurors during the summer

of 1988.

Fast forward to April 27, 1994.

Jarrett, Virginia is about a 20-minute drive from the North Carolina State Line.

It's one of those small towns where if you blink, you might miss it. Outside of Jarrett is the Greensville Correctional

Center. Ellis B. Wright Jr., the warden of the Greensville Correctional Center looked over

at Timothy Spencer the night of April 27, 1994.

Spencer was known as the South Side Strangler,

and he was strapped to the electric chair.

He was 32 years old and was convicted of assaulting

and murdering four women in Richmond and Arlington, Virginia in 1987.

Wright Jr. asked Spencer if he had any last words. Spencer said, yeah,

I think. Spencer then went silent for about 20 seconds. He then nodded to the warden. The death

mask was placed on Spencer, and the execution began. Timothy Wilson Spencer was no ordinary criminal. He would be

caught and convicted based on his DNA. What made Spencer's situation extraordinary was that he was

the first man in the United States to receive a capital murder conviction based on DNA evidence.

So how did Timothy Wilson Spencer get to this point in his life?

Spencer was born in Arlington, Virginia, in 1962, and he lived with his mother and younger

brother in the low-income neighborhood. Spencer's father left the picture following a divorce,

...