“If We Die, We Die”— Truer Crime Returns

In April 1993, chaos erupted inside Ohio’s Lucasville prison. Nine prisoners and one guard never made it out alive. And when it was over, the state said Keith LaMar was responsible. He’s been on death row ever since, but insists the truth is more complicated. This September 1st, Truer Crime tells his story in a four-part series. Here’s your first listen.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, radical listeners. I'm Selicia Stanton, host of the podcast
Truer Crime, and on my show, I don't just cover
what happened in a case. I really dig into how
stories about crime get told and what they reveal about
power and justice in America, which is why I think
that you'll be interested in the next series I'm releasing.

(00:22):
It's about Keith Lamar, a man who spent more than
thirty years on death row for murders the state says
he ordered during the Lucasville Prison riot, one of the
deadliest uprisings in US history. His story is so interesting
and it raises really big questions about truth, punishment and
who gets sacrificed when the system decides it needs someone

(00:44):
to blame. I've spent four years working on different versions
of this story, and I am so excited to share
a sneak peek with you today. If you like what
you hear, you can listen to the full series by
searching Truer Crime wherever you get your podcasts. Here's a
first listen.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
You know those dead bodies, one after another, we are
still standing there that one of those dead bodies could
be ours. Everybody knew that everybody now understood.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Keith Lamar has spent over thirty years waiting for the
State of Ohio to kill him. They say he's guilty
of murders committed during the Lucasville prison riot, one of
the deadliest uprisings in American history. But what if the
truth is more complicated than that. There's word tonight of
a prison riot and a maximum security prison in southern Ohio.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Hundreds of prisoners took over part of the prison yesterday.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
Prison guards became hostages.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Everybody was just standing there staring at this powder. Keg
wondering if it was going to explode. We are not
going about down. We are not going to give up.
We are going to remain no matter what if they
put on. If we died, we died.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
This is a story about a wriot, about power, about survival,
and about the cost of being in the wrong place
at the wrong time.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
They said that you're not saying you're killed anybody. We're
saying that you are to death.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Our boys, it, our boys it.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
But for Keith, survival meant more than fighting the state
and then holding on to his humanity.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Even talking about just stuff. It's really emotional for me
because This was the first real time that I felt really,
really careful as a human being by other prisoners.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
And this story, it's not just about innocence. It's about
what we leave behind, even when every day is spent
waiting to die.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
It's not just about getting on with death role. It's
also living my life, because I mean, I might die
to night in my sleep, and then what what have.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
You done with your life?

Speaker 2 (02:59):
If my whole life, if it's just me fighting for this,
when and what portion can I point to and say, well,
that's where I was living.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
I'm Selicia Stanton and starting September one, I'm bringing you
a four part series on Keith Lamar and the Lucasville Riot.
Listen for free wherever you get your podcasts.