June 30, 2025 • 60 mins
Kerrick Majors was a 14-year-old African American boy from Nashville, Tennessee, whose brutal, racially motivated murder in April 1987 became a symbol of both racial violence and justice in the American South. Described as a kind, respectful middle school student, Kerrick was abducted after a minor dispute over a broken vase with three white drifters—Donald and Tammy Middlebrooks and Robert Brewington—who falsely accused him of theft. They forced him into a wooded area where he was tortured over several hours—burned, beaten with brass knuckles, urinated on, slashed with knives, and stabbed to death while racial slurs were used against him.
His body, left naked under a discarded mattress in a creek bed, bore signs of extreme cruelty, including a carved "X" on his chest. Police initially dismissed him as a runaway and delayed the investigation, which led to public outrage, disciplinary action against officers, and a $2 million lawsuit by Kerrick’s family. The case resulted in historic convictions: Brewington received life plus 75 years, Tammy Middlebrooks received life with parole eligibility, and Donald Middlebrooks was sentenced to death—the first time in modern Tennessee history that a white person was condemned to death for murdering a Black child. The case remains significant for highlighting systemic racism, law enforcement negligence, and the rare pursuit of justice in a racially charged crime.
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His body, left naked under a discarded mattress in a creek bed, bore signs of extreme cruelty, including a carved "X" on his chest. Police initially dismissed him as a runaway and delayed the investigation, which led to public outrage, disciplinary action against officers, and a $2 million lawsuit by Kerrick’s family. The case resulted in historic convictions: Brewington received life plus 75 years, Tammy Middlebrooks received life with parole eligibility, and Donald Middlebrooks was sentenced to death—the first time in modern Tennessee history that a white person was condemned to death for murdering a Black child. The case remains significant for highlighting systemic racism, law enforcement negligence, and the rare pursuit of justice in a racially charged crime.
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Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unforbidden-truth--4724561/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Welcome to unforbidden truth. I'm Andrew. Today I'll be speaking
with convicted murderer Donald Middlebrooks. Kerrick Major's was a fourteen
year old African American boy who was brutally murdered in
April nineteen eighty seven in Nashville, Tennessee. On the night
of April twenty sixth, Kerck went missing after leaving his home.
His body was discovered the next day in a field,
showing signs of severe torture and trauma. The autopsy revealed
(00:37):
that he had been beaten, stabbed repeatedly, and burned with
cigarettes before being left to die. The cruelty of the
murder shocked the local community and became a highly publicized case.
The investigation quickly led to the arrest of three individuals,
Donald meadow Brooks, then twenty four years old, his wife,
Tammy middle Brooks, seventeen years old, and another friend, Robert
Bruinson Junior, sixteen years old. Witnesses in forensic evidence pointed
(01:00):
to Donald Meadowbrooks as the ringleader in Carrick's murder. Prosecutors
alleged that the attacks stemmed from an unfounded belief that
Kerk had stolen from the group, though this was never substantiated.
The brutality and racially charged nature of the crime intensified
public scrutiny and demands for justice. In nineteen eighty eight,
Donald Meadowbrooks was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced
(01:20):
to death. The cases remained controversial not only due to
the horrifying nature of the crime, but also because of
ongoing debates over the death penalty and questions about whether
the trial was affected by racial bias. Metal Brooks remained
on death rill for decades, with numerous appeals filed over
issues related to sentencing and legal representation. The case continues
to be remembered as a tragic and disturbing example of
(01:41):
youth violence and racial injustice in Tennessee. In nineteen ninety two,
Donald meadowbrooks death sentence was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court,
which ruled that the standards for imposing the death penalty
during a concurrent felony, kidnapping and murder in the case
had not been properly applied. Though his convictions were upheld
in a new sentencing here in ordered, prosecutors again sought
(02:02):
the death penalty, and at his nineteen ninety five resentencing trial,
They argued that the murder was a racially motivated hate crime,
presenting testimony that metal Brooks had used racial slurs during
the attack and had claimed ties to the Ku Klux Klan,
though his half sister denied he was racist. Carrick Major's mother, Deborah,
testified once again, and on October thirteenth, nineteen ninety five,
Medal Brooks was resentenced to death, showing no emotion in court.
(02:25):
In nineteen ninety eight, his legal team argued that prosecutors
had improperly played the race card, but in nineteen ninety nine,
the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the death sentence, stated that
racial prejudice was a legitimate factor in establishing premeditation and motive.
In twenty nineteen, after exhausting his appeals, the state of
Tennessee moved to set an execution date for Donald Middlebrooks,
(02:45):
but the process was delayed by COVID nineteen and his
own diagnosis with the virus in twenty twenty. His request
for commutation was denied in early twenty twenty two, and
his execution was initially scheduled for December eighth of that year. However,
Governor Bill Lee issued temporary reprieves for all executions in
twenty twenty two after discovering flaws in the state's lethal
injection drug testing, prompting an investigation and a pause in executions.
(03:08):
By late twenty twenty four, Tennessee had developed a new
protocol used in fender barbital, and in March twenty twenty five,
a new execution date of September twenty fourth, twenty twenty five,
was set for Middlebrooks. He was among four inmates with
signed death warrants, but on April first, twenty twenty five,
a federal court issued a stay of execution pending ongoing litigation.
Here's my interview with convicted murderer Donald Middlebrooks.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
My name is Donald middlebrook and I'm from Texas. A
small town in Ticks What town A place called Tigue, Texas.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Okay, yeah, I don't think I've ever heard of it.
I've been to a lot of small towns in Texas,
but I've never heard of that.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh yeah, I'm just I'm lookut he you blink. Yeah,
when you go into town, you're going to miss or
go down highway, go miss.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
That's what I've heard, especially in Texas and Tennessee and
stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Can you recall any positive memories that stick out to
you from your childhood?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
No, not really, other than my grandma one of the
best ones. I mean that was really sick. That really
gave me the foundation that I had. What foundation I
had out there, that was my grandmother. And you know
(04:38):
why she uh, she had an excuse to hate everyone,
and she did. You know, she was a patchy and
her father surrendered in Washington and the Cagary rolled in
between a Native Americans and took the babies away from
(04:58):
the Native Americans, getting my because they didn't want their
baby grew up with the savages. And so she had
a she had a she had excuse. I mean, ain't
nobody could have held her wrong. She hated people, but
she didn't she uh, shall use used to always keep
(05:20):
her We lived up there by they you know, she
had to live by the road tracks because she's Native American.
And she always kept her front door open. And it
didn't matter who get off the train, any hobo get
off train, come in there and eat beans and corn
bread and sleep on her couch and leap and that's
(05:42):
I think that's where the foundation of any love in
me is come from from her.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Okay, So when I asked you if you had any
positive memories that you could recall, you said not really.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So was your childhood bad? Yes? Yes?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Can you can you go into Can you go into
depth about what was bad about it? As comfortable as
you are, I don't want to re.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Traumatize you or anything like that. Oh No, I'm good
at talking about it. I tell people about it. Uh.
When I was ten years old, Uh, my mom come
home from work and me and my sister was laying
on the floor. You know, it was what they called
(06:30):
government lowerent housing. We lived there, and we was laying
on the floor, was watching something called Looney Tune. You
know it's could just gotten out and is the our
fact cousinbody. My mom said, she came in and she
looked at us and she said, I wish the hell
(06:51):
that's all I had to do, lay on my ass
and do nothing. Well, Uh, that's got her to do this,
because Mom don't lose temple like that. And then uh,
about five minutes, well, MoMA went got a tea, a
(07:11):
refrigerator and she come back and Coach Sharon go to
her room, and she told me one of us is
gonna start helped make money around there. We're gonna help
pay her bill, keep her key. Of course, Uh he
been ten, I ain't. I didn't quite to understand what
(07:32):
she meant. I had like a little piggy bank. I
ain't got it, and you know, gave it to her.
But uh, that's not what she was talking about. And
uh she made me, uh had me to choose between
me and Sharon, my baby sister, at which one of
(07:54):
us is gonna start servicing me our other you know,
grown old men, and of course my baby sister. I am.
I love my baby sister. That I chose me, but
I put one stipulation on it, that that she could
(08:18):
h we could do this, but Sharon could not be
in the house. She had to said Jimmy and SUSY's
or somewhere like that. And Mom, she sort of looked
at me, she said, boy, are you trying to bargain
with me? And luckily yeah, at ten years old on
(08:40):
how I said no, but you wouldn't want her here
to see this, would she? So apparently that made some
kind of sense to her. And at ten years old,
I started taking care of business with with with with mom.
(09:04):
You know what I mean. She'd bring you know, should
bring home when your guys home, and I take care
of you know, So what was your mom getting out
of this? They would pay her, you know how much money?
You know how much money she would give her time? No,
(09:30):
I don't know how much. I remember the I remember
the first time is in working Texas. The first time
that it happened. Uh, you know what a cedar bed is.
I had the one of them and I love that
cedar bed. I mean he had this nice Well, she's
(09:55):
the one that stripped me down and tied me face
down on the beach. And there was two guys that
came in and took turns raping me and stuff while
she was there, and then they paid her. And that's
how I got introduced to the to that it's been trafficked,
(10:16):
you know, by her. It continued until I was about thirteen,
and I actually took everything into my own hands, my life,
and made myself get taken away from home.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
What about your sister? What happened to her?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Well, I didn't find out until after I had been
incarcerated that it had happened to my sister too. That
was part of the agreement that I had made with
Mom to you know, that mam was off limits automatically.
(11:03):
You know, my mom lived in the bars and I
took I had to take care of my sister, you know,
and Sharon was off limits. I learned that after I
had been going to court and everything in court, I
learned that Mom actually turned her attention on Sharon, which, yeah,
(11:29):
I didn't sit. I'm sort of glad I've learned that
here was in her back then. Now I see things different,
you know, I mean it's hard. Two it's really hard
to picture. You know. That's too Mom's side, but it's
(11:55):
like a it's wolf told me one time, Janet, she
used to come out here and teach her, and she said,
have you ever stopped and looked and thought what made
your mother think that it was all right to do that?
And I've got things by that, and I'm like, that's
(12:15):
the you asked your mother that No, I had Jane
a person come out here to teach me that, to
teach me to stop looking through my eyes and start
looking through my mom that what made her think that
is all right to treat her kid like that? You know,
(12:37):
because I know a lot of moms and uh their
bastitute nail for the babies, you know, so it has
to be uh what happened in her past that made
her make her think that that was accessible.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Besides the constant being trafficked and raped by men the
hands of your mother, was there any other type of
abuse that went on towards you, like against yourself growing
up as a child.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Just uh, well, when I ran away, I often, I've
ran away several times, and h one of the results
of run away, you know, every time the police always
caught me. They always put me right back in the
middle of that. And the punishment was I got bit.
(13:33):
My mom bit me in the third area, are squeezed.
I mean, it's my sister weakness, a lot of that,
But I just you know, I mean other than that,
now now, I'm you know, I was lucky to have
my grandmother. I mean, she was a blessing.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Did your grandmother know about the abuse that the men
were putting you through at the hands of your mom?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Oh? Lord no, I was really too ashamed to tell
anybody because I mean, in my mind, I'm a dude.
That don't happen to dues. You know, you don't get
that's don't just don't happen. And so, I mean the
(14:25):
only one that ever knew that something was wrong with
one of my teachers, and that was you know, miss Bateman.
She knew that something was wrong with me, you know,
and uh, but she really never got deep into what
was wrong with me because back then people was called
busy bodies if they got involved in other people's business.
(14:50):
Where was your father growing up? My father passed away
when I was about four years old. I feardore died.
His name was Theodore mad Brooks. He died when I
was about four. And my sister was Sharon's father, which
(15:12):
was Leslie Till actually my stepfather. He was just as
rough as her. He didn't mind smacking you instuff. Did
you suffer any type of trauma growing up besides the abuse? No,
(15:32):
I just well, I mean all my life, I've been afraid.
I've been Uh, when that happens to you, you don't
open yourself for love. If someone says love, you look
(15:54):
at their hands and see what they're doing with their hands.
Because most time, though, the time you've ever heard that
word is when someone is trying to hurt you. I mean,
you don't allow anyone to get close, and that really
makes it hard on relationships as well. I've had lots
screwed up pardoning, a lot of missed relationships because of
(16:18):
my upbringing.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
When you say when you see that, when you say
a lot of crazy or messed up relationships, are you
a friend too, like with men or women or like what.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
What was messed up about them? No? My my wife,
well my girlfriends wife. Well I had really messed up
relationship with my wife. Yes, okay, yeah, that's my girl.
(16:50):
She put up with a lot, she really did.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Okay, Yeah, well we'll talk about We'll talk about her
in a little bit because because she's one of your
Coada founders. But we'll talk about her in a little bit.
But yeah, so I know you spoke a lot about it,
But what was your behavior like growing up? Even after
you left home? I think you said at thirteen, like
like how did you behave at home? After you escaped
(17:17):
the abuse and everything?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I was I'd always try to be out of sad.
I've learned that silence really uh put you outside. But
I also flew off the set sometimes I stopped flying offside,
like shooting it cars with the BB gun, doing gravel
(17:42):
at a car, you know, just just really dark stuff.
I mean, I just really I remember I burgerized my
first laundry matt when I was about twelve years old,
left fingerprints and nothing happened. So about thirteen, you know,
(18:08):
I forced myself to get taken away from my mom.
And the way I did that is, uh, there was
a woman who lived down the road that was in
the hospital, and I went and broke into her house
and busted out all the windows and I put my
(18:30):
fingerprints out of work. I had watched that on Breda,
you know, had Don't do the Times, Can't do the
Crime thing. I had watched that and them fingerprinting people.
So I figured my escape that was my only escape
out of that situation because I if I ran, the
(18:50):
police would put me back into that situation. So the
only option I seen to myself this having was to
break enough or to commit a crime that was serious
enough that I'd be sent away.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
So circling back a little bit, what was your behavior
like in school? Did you finish high school? Did you
graduate high school?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Uh? No, I dropped that in the seventh grade. What
was that due to I just trying to work and
just getting myself good. I was really I was lost, Seriously,
I was just out there. I was just lost. I
mean I didn't feel like anyone cared. And when you
(19:42):
feel like nobody in this world cares, you don't care.
And I just it's like I just quit caring about me.
I quit caring about education, I quit caring about life.
I mean I just went from day today as a zombie.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
So, Donnie, did you engage any type of criminal activity
as a juvenile prior to turning eighteen?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Uh? Yeah? Actually uh uh I broke in Uh like
I said, I broke into a woman's house that was
down the road when I was about thirteen. Uh, and
I put I sold everything out of the house and
(20:31):
put it up under the house next door and put
my fingerprints over where to see, you know, so uh
there would know who did it, should be taken away,
stole bicycles. I mean, I just I you name it.
(20:53):
I was down for it? Is that okay? Uh? Yeah?
At that point, the devil or whatever you call it,
just he sees someone young like that that's just hopeless
or don't have nothing, and he just takes over and
(21:17):
you really don't fight, right, So what was life like
for you after turning eighteen years old. After I turned
eighteen years old, well, actually I went to prison at eighteen.
I got taken away from my mom at thirteen, and
(21:41):
I spent the Texas Youth Corrections And at the age
of seventeen, I ran him away from Texas Youth correction
and I was arrested in a place top Marlin, Texas,
me and a cousin of mine, and they called us
(22:02):
the textured terrorists. They caught us textured terrorists, and uh,
I was a risk of three hours down from three
burglaries and held in jail. Yeah, held in their jail, Marlin,
until I went to jail. All right, I went to prison.
(22:23):
But uh I just at that point I look at that,
you know, look at back in my life, and I
just at that point, I just quit trying anything. I
just quit. I just quit living. I just I didn't
have no hope. You know. Grandma was my only hope.
(22:45):
That's one thing I could always count on her.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
So did you engage in any criminal activity as an
adult after after getting out of prison, I should say,
prior to the homicide of.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Carrick Majors, Oh yes, oh yes? What else did you
do I steal cars, uh, burgerized houses, rock stores. I
mean the only reason I stopped is when my grandma
got sick. You know, my grandma got sick and uh
(23:20):
she she got cancer and uh she uh come home
to die or come to that, she come back to
her house to die. Now that's hard to talk about.
So she come back to her house to die. They
had removed the intestines, and when Grandma died, everything died.
(23:50):
I just quit. I quit crying, and then uh about
two weeks, uh, well about two weeks. It's actually about
three days after her death that I was arrested, all right,
and since of the Texas now set to Austin State Hospital. Now,
(24:16):
this would be probably about five months before this crime.
And I did a ninety days there and I got out, well,
they tried to get him. I went to the Bassis Valley.
(24:39):
Oh man, what's the name of that place. It's outpatient
house or something like that. I went there and I
took a dude that I wasn't ready yet. I wasn't
ready to be out in the free world yet. And
me and him argue to the bit. I took a
(25:01):
mister peel tab I forgot scold on my arm. But uh,
I sat down on curve my sharpened the tab my
cut up, you know, the side of my arm. And
he sent me back to the Austin State Hospital and
the doctor there told me this now, Middlebrook, Look, you've
(25:23):
been here ninety days. We don't have no place for you.
You don't have no insurance left. I said, but you know,
I was still needing help, and he he said, we
can't help you. You got to go. Well, I'm sitting
there with this doctor, and I'm sitting there with two
(25:45):
orderly bunch of guys, and you get to wondering, well, now,
what in the world would help me stay here? You know,
here's these all men. So I got thanking, I said
the doctor. He said, yes, I got a girlfriend here.
So he looked, gets that little sight, you know, smile
on the side of his lips. He just I'll give
(26:08):
you a week then, So that brought me a week.
And uh, after the week was up, they tried to
remove me out of the offs of State Hospital and
I wrapped myself around the doctor's desk the big disk
(26:28):
flag and the orderlies took me off and walked me
outside the gate and shut the gate and that's where
I met Tammy and my mom. That's the one I married.
She was with my mom I had at that at
that time. I mean, have you ever see any old
(26:51):
pictures of me? You can look at them eyes. He
does not need to be on the street, he really don't.
I hate to say that, but those iss Bakers, that
individual does not need to be out there.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
So Donnie, tell me how you met your to co defendants,
Robert Bruinton Junior and Tammy Meadowbrooks. What was your relationship
like with the both of them up until this case
took place.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Well, you know, Tammy with my wife when we got married.
I met her, uh outside of outside of Austin hospital,
which she got my sisters. I mean, I just I knew,
you know, It's like even my stupid state like that.
(27:47):
I remember. The one thing I've remember most of all
is I walked towards your car and I looked and
there was someone, the most beautiful faith I have ever
seen in the world over that back seat with a smile.
Oh my god, did she have on a smile? That
was my wife. That's ten. I climbed in the back
(28:09):
seat and she had on a pair of blue jeans,
her sister Flissy. She had on her sister's t shoe
te tennis shoes, and she had on a pair of
blue jeans and had like holes in the knee and
I sept my favorite and knee. I played with me
and talking to her, and that's how I met Tammy,
(28:31):
and uh, eventually we just we got married. I mean,
it's pretty awesome, even in that state of mind that
I was in, I mean, that was pretty good. What
about Robert Bruinton? How did you meet him? I met
(28:51):
him on the street here in Nashville.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
How far far before the crime took place? Probably about
a month, Okay, so it was fairly recent, so you
didn't really know him that well, Yeah, no, sir, let's
talk about the crime you're in prison for now. You're
on death throw for the murder of fourteen year old
Carrick Majors. Can you walk me through everything that led
(29:18):
up to the murder of Carrick Majors and what followed
after the crime took place that day?
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Well, one of the events that took place is h Yeah.
They always say that he died as a race crime.
That's fault. He died because he was slow. I mean,
(29:45):
I hate to say that, but you had evil people
out there then with a very evil intent, and they
was you know, conch caated uh mentioned some days earlier
that he comes from money. Well, the idea, the whole idea,
(30:10):
was to uh grab grab one of either him or
one of the kids he's with and get money. The
kidnapped things and it all went crazy and uh he
uh there's uh he got a man, you know, we
(30:38):
got we caught him, some put him over we you know,
brought him down there to the where it everywhere he
is found and dude started in, uh brutalizing him, right
uh uh what was his name? Brunton started brutalizing him.
And I seen me. I mean, I don't understand this.
(31:04):
I've been trying. I still don't understand this. But that
was all that was happening. I seen my face. I
didn't see him, you know. Yeah, I've seen me tied
to the bed. I seen this, you know, I've seen
(31:28):
all this junk when I was a child, And I
remember I told Berthon, if you're going to kill him,
damn it, just kill him, you know what I mean,
stop playing something, you know, And somewhere along the line,
I snapped, I don't understand all this. Uh, I have
(31:51):
no idea. I wish I just twee me. Well, I
wish i'd place not putting here, but I mean, just
go back to that time and have me lay in there.
I really I thought about that so long, you know,
(32:12):
for you realize you're broken, you don't need to be fixed.
And you know, my family, they just on me as
soon as I got put in this situation here. It's about, ah,
about thirty three years. I had waited at my door
(32:33):
for a Christmas car over and over. I waited for
a Christmas car for my family because family is different thing,
you know, family just family. You know, God take us in,
you know. And every year for thirty three years, I waited,
and then I was waiting on thirty third years and
(32:57):
they came. The guy came in to pass side to
nail them up past myself, and I mean it was
just like a lightning boat just busted inside my heart.
I covered up my door, I went back at the
back of my cell, and I mean I just bawled
like a baby. I mean I just cried. And there
(33:19):
was a voice inside of me that said, how does
that feel? And I'm like how n however you think
it feels? You know that, I mean, that's far away
my spine. And it says everything that you're feeling, all
(33:41):
the hurt, all the betrayal, all that craft that you're feeling.
You gave it life when you brought when you committed
your crime, and that was my way could call. And
ever since then, I've been committed to uh half another
hip and other people and you know, get a traffic
(34:07):
people and hal did people get help? I have? Don't
trump him outside of your ship? I think has come
from within your ship. I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
Can I ask you to confirm or deny what exactly
happened that night? Can I read to.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
You what was said that to have happened? Yes?
Speaker 3 (34:29):
So the first so the actually the first question I
had was upon upon It says that you and Bruington
grabbed Carrick around his neck and head. It says that, uh,
not yourself, but Bruington was yelling racial slurs at him
as you two grabbed him and tied him up.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Is that true? Yes? Uh? For how long do.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
You think was he like yelling racial slurs at him
as you guys were tying them up?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
I didn't hear no racial slurs, but I don't really remember.
But you know, I mean, I know he's uh cusin
him and he's maxed him and step and we uh
we tied him up and kept him uh there. I mean,
I don't remember. I'm not saying he did, but right.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
It says later on that one of that either you
or bruin Ton, had urinated on him. And it says
that he was tortured with brash knuckles.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
With the stick and all that.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Did all of that actually happen?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
No, A lot of that is the Attorney General adding
a lot of fuel to the fire, so to speak. Uh.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
It says it says that you admitted later on that
you hit him in the leg with a switch, and
you claim that Tammy had burned him on the nose
with a cigarette or a cigarette lighter. That's quick, Okay.
Who who carved the X on his did a chest
on his chest?
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I have no idea. I mean, he didn't have that
when he was cute. Okay, that was that was the
thing when he was cute. I have no idea. What
you know?
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Who who delivered the two fatal stab wounds in his chest?
Speaker 2 (36:20):
I delivered one and Rock delivered oh Brud the other one.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Yeah yeah, okay, okay, okaye. I see I see here
where it says you claim that you and Bruinten stabbed
him each one time, but but Bruington claims that you
did both of them.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Well now that now that we have an idea of
what what happened with the crime. Uh uh So so
what you're saying is this wasn't racially motivated.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Well it really wasn't that. What it was is like
I said, dude said that you know, he comes from money,
and you had two people, and I mean they wanted
off the street and that's their only evil way to
get off the street. And that's how that was done.
(37:19):
I mean, they didn't knock over nothing. I know, I've
heard all kinds of stuff. Nothing was never knocked over.
That's blooney. Uh The racial thing I don't know about Brunis,
I can't say. But that's that's blown. You know, they
got me in here for what they call that a
(37:39):
hate crime, right right, even though well my grandma's Native
American and a lawyer I'm not gonna call his name,
A lawyer come up to me and told me. He says,
he said, Fammer. He says, uh, we can beat this. Uh,
they're trying to get you on a hate crime. We
can beat this and it's an easy beat. And I
(38:03):
looked at him and I asked him a question. I said, Okay,
say that you do get the defend that hate crime thing,
which is obvious. I ain't you know, and you are
going you do win? Does that boy get the crawl
back out of the ground? He looked at me like
(38:25):
I lost my mind. I said, does that boy get
the crawl back out of the ground? He said, well no,
I said, well then what does it matter? I mean, seriously,
what does it matter?
Speaker 3 (38:40):
How did your arrest go down? Does the three of
you go peacefully? Were is it at the same time? Like,
how did that all happen?
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Well? Uh, the first one was Brundon. From what I understand,
he called the police and they come talk to him
and seeing blood on his rings, and they took his
(39:07):
rings and come find out and matched the victims. So
they arrested him. Then he told where me and my
wife was.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Okay, So it was so it was like the same
day that all of you arrested, like we said, a
few hours Oh yes, Okay, all right, all right, I
don't think you were. But was your wife or Bruington offered.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
Any type of plevials? I don't think so, Okay, you
weren't offered any. Correct, No, I tried to get them
to give my wife one. But did any of you
receive any federal charges when it came to hate crimes
like hate hate crime statutes and stuff like that or no? No?
Speaker 3 (39:46):
So uh did did the prosecution try to argue in
court that this is a hate crime?
Speaker 2 (39:53):
No? Uh, Jimmerman just said it was a hate crime.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Okay, So you think you were the book more the medium,
less of the prosecution.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Probably, Okay, well yeah, well you know again that's you know,
throwing that in there like that. I think what I'm
thinking they used that to pull gas on the fire,
just like that other stuff. I mean, everybody knows me
(40:23):
knows that. I mean, it really is really an it's
messed up. I mean, tourney general can say that you're this,
you're that, until you prove different you're that. So after
you were convicted and heard your sentence, you know that
you'd be receiving a death sentence. How did you react
(40:45):
emotionally or did you did you see it coming, well,
I didn't see well I seen it coming here. I
didn't see it coming. I'm pissed, so I knew it
was a possibility, and it was like a hit and
a chance when it happened. But I refuse to let
(41:06):
anyone know that they hurt me. That's something I've gained
since childhood. I ain't gonna let you know to hurt me,
you know, I mean people can hurt me all that,
so I would smile, and they just when they said death,
I looked over at gentlemen, and I smiled. I was
hiding my hurt. I smiled. I mean, that's that's something
(41:28):
that I adopted very early, because I refuse to let
people know that they have any kind of power to hurt.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Did you get an opportunity in court before or after
being sentenced to death to address the major's family?
Speaker 2 (41:44):
No?
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Is there anything you would like to say to them
now if they do happen to listen to this interview?
Speaker 2 (41:51):
That I am one hundred percent sorry and sorry ain't enough.
I'm you know, sorry. It ain't like I walked on
you grass or that I broke it window. I took
someone that you love who sorry, just does not cover it.
But if there's any such thing as a repentance, that's it. Yeah,
(42:15):
it's deeper than starough And from my understanding, they have
something called the UH let's see t RT. It's Truth
and Reconciliation, not TRC. It's in South Africa and it's
(42:38):
where people get to uh, the victims get to address
the offenders. I've been trying to actually get that. I
wish we could do that uh as the state does
not heal victims right. But what I would tell the
(43:01):
family is, uh, what can you tell someone when you
really when you're you know, you look at the situation,
what can you say? Like I said, I'm sorry, it
is not even in the vicinity, but I wholeheartedly apologize.
And I wish, and I wish with every fiber of
(43:25):
my heart that I could trade places with Kurt. And
I'm not talking about putting in here. I'm talking about
giving him life and me being in a grade and
I wish that.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
So a few years I think it was a few
years after you were sentenced to death, correct that your
death sentence was overturned due to a rulin in court.
Can you tell me about that and what the outcome
was and how you got back on death row after
your sentence was overturned. But this was the Middlebrook issue,
(43:59):
and that was h They used federal murder on both
the innocent and guilt phase and the sentence and faith.
It was double jeopardy and it got a lot, you know,
it got I think about thirty people off death though.
And uh, they used hack to put me back here.
(44:22):
Let's see hackers heinious, hacked, hainius, cruel, atrocious or something
of that nature. Yeah, I used hack later on it
became inconstitus. But uh, I think right now when that
when that occurred.
Speaker 2 (44:41):
I don't think spiritually I was ready. To be honest,
I know that sounds stupid, but I just do not
think that I was where I am now.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
You know, I'm so you said that the the was it?
It was called the middle Brook flaw? Is that is
that what it's called? Yes, sir, okay, So the middle
Brook fly? Did that get people off of death row
that were innocent? Or did that get people have of
death throw that were guilty as well?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Like that admitted guilty. Well, I'm not really sure which is, uh,
be honest, Richie, I'm not really sure which is which
I've come to determination after a talking to a bunch
of guys in here. And I ain't gonna play patty Cake.
I mean, you know, I'm picked. But thanks people on
(45:36):
death work. They do not need to be on death row.
I mean I've seen that. Yeah, I'm walking around. I
don't say nothing, but I walk around here. I've got this, Uh,
I've got this first hand view of being in here
and people open to me, and you see people that
(45:58):
just through the dangs and it's not you know, at
least in Texas, there's a law in Texas that it
has to be in the body. Now you got people
shots on the legs, it's on death throat, and that's
like a serious I mean, it's a it's really sad situation. Yeah,
(46:22):
a lot of people here don't need to be here.
And people that I've had a rough childhood. I ain't
gonna say, you know, I've had a bad one, but
you've got a lot of people here that's really had
bad childhood.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Right, Yeah, No, I can only imagine. I've talked to
so many offenders where the childhood is like, it can't
get worse than that, and it does, and it just
ceases to amaze me. So you've been on death row
for over three decades, correct, yes, yes, sir. How have
you spent your time the past couple.
Speaker 2 (46:57):
Of decades learning and growing and becoming what I am now?
You know, it's like I said, a person that ain't
willing to admit that something's wrong. If you don't recognize
you're broken, you don't need to be fixed, you know.
(47:18):
And uh, I recognized way back. I don't go where
it not two thousand and four. If there was something
that was wrong with me, I was broken, and everything
that had been taught to me, I have to take
and tear it down. And that's not taking part of
house brick by break and rebuilding it. I had to
(47:42):
rebuild it. And I mean, it was just with this
mediation stuff, you know, like I like I said that
reach class I was that I graduated Lipscomb University. I
got that mediation in there, conflict management, I mean, and
(48:02):
I'm still learning, still growing, and it's been a good
you know, it's been a good turn about so to speak.
Now I've been using this time to actually grow inside,
to study myself, and no one of the of the
(48:25):
right mind can do what was done, you know, and sleep.
Let me just say that, you can't do that, you know,
you can't commit something like that just go to sleep.
So there has to be something wrong or there had
to be something wrong with me first off. And I
(48:50):
had to do a lot of death inside not only
my brain, inside my spirit, inside my heart. I had
to find out who am I. You know, I'm not
this mut, know because that's what I was called back
in my hometown, a mut because I'm I'm a half breed,
(49:11):
you know. And uh, I'm not you know, I'm not
this mut. I'm actually coming to realize perfectly made.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
You know what happened to you and your wife after
being convicted?
Speaker 2 (49:25):
Ah, well, when we was when we was convicted, before
we was convicted, I met with her and I told her,
I said, look, you're gonna have to go get you,
uh someone to take care of you. She said, huh,
(49:46):
And I told her. I told her to When sever
she got out to go and you know, find her
guide take care of him because either I'm gonna be
doing life in prison, I'm gonna I'm gonna be here
forever because or knows what happened. But you know, and
she's a good girl. She's not a bad girl. She Uh,
(50:06):
it all depends on the guy she's with. She's actually
a very good person. And I told her, she goes out,
she finds you're a good guy. You know that, now
she's gonna be all right. She's a good person, Tanny.
Tanny's always been a good person, I mean, you know,
(50:28):
as my girl's over man. And finally, you know, she
in my life. I ain't never had nothing, you know,
not even my bedroom was mine because my mom pultn't
tie me down there. I didn't want that no more.
I've never had nothing worth having in my life. Everything
(50:50):
is been always sack and crap. And then finally here
is this beautiful woman and she is uh, she is
just totally amazing, right, And what's even more amazing, she
(51:12):
loves me. I mean, I've never been loved before. My
grandma loved me, I guess I doubt my mom ever did.
But this woman loved me, and it was really uh awesome.
I finally had a purpose, a reason in life. And
(51:38):
that's what I hate. I still scowled at as usual.
Speaker 3 (51:44):
Have you grown with any fellow prisoners who have been
executed since you've been incarcerated?
Speaker 2 (51:51):
Oh? Yes, I've known all of them. Are the one
that they're gonna execute tomorrow, that oscarg right, Yeah, Uh
I know him too. Uh he lives a few cells
down from me. And yeah, I hope they don't get
(52:12):
him tomorrow. But uh, you know, me and uh guys here,
we did four hundred laps walking in solidarity because people
walked in the march from here to the Capitol. So
me and some guys here from death where we walked,
we walked around four hundred laps in prison to uh
(52:34):
walk in solidarity with them. I really hope. I mean,
I'll be fun to say we screw up, you know,
we messed up in our life. Uh, and yes it
was a total mess up. But then think about the
worst five minutes in your life, and to think that
(52:59):
you don't have nothing the past five minutes. And that's
the only thing anybody knows about she that screwed up.
Nobody knows about that little ten year old boy that
picked the flyers that carry them down to the little
old ladies down there at the nursing home. They don't
know about him. They don't know about the guy that
uh help helped the woman down the streets here, her
(53:19):
cow because her husband was dead. There was no Middlebrooks
here the killer, you know, I mean it screwed up.
Speaker 3 (53:32):
So yeah, So are you anti death penalty? Have you
always been anti death penalty?
Speaker 2 (53:37):
Uh? Actually, I'm not. I'm gonna be honest out there
in the free world. I never thought about it. I'm
not gonna lie. It wasn't Uh, it didn't affect me.
So I really didn't think about it. And when I
(53:58):
first come into prison, I started to supported little beer.
And I met a nun here up that came in here.
I think her name was Helen the John d John
or something like that, and she came in here, and
at the time she is good. At this time I
(54:22):
was I partially I get supported it. And I said,
you know, that's one of the problems people like you.
You just come coddle these people. She looked at me,
she says, do what I said. That's one of the
problems with y'all. You know, with everybody here, you got
everybody coddles. She says, Uh, I take it to uh,
(54:45):
you're in favor of death film. I looked at her
and I said, well, it's like this, ma'am. I said,
everybody knew what they were getting into for the guy
into it. She says, is that so? I said, no,
don't challenge and none. Helen looked at me. She did,
is that? So? She says, come here and let me
(55:06):
talk to you for a minute. We stepped away from
the from the group. She says, why do you want
to make more victims? And I said, what do you mean?
She said, you don't take them? Officers are going to
be victims that carry you over there. I mean, she
was really deep. She still works that. I think.
Speaker 3 (55:27):
Have you been diagnosed with any type of mental illnesses?
Speaker 2 (55:30):
No? I had seizures, I'm epileptic. Okay.
Speaker 3 (55:35):
Do you have remorse for the murder of Carrick Majors?
Speaker 2 (55:39):
Oh my god, yes, remorse is just under it goes
even beyond that. I mean, I wish I sincerely with
I could trade plates. I mean, I can surely wish.
It's beyond remorse. I mean, if that's it's not cray
(56:01):
place right now, I would. It's a remorse is for
you feel bad about something. But how can you feel
bad about something so horrible? Bad is a word? I mean,
it's I don't know, it's beyond you know, remorse. I
(56:21):
understand what You're said about the remorse thing. But the regret,
the shame, the nightmares, the heart, it goes a lot
deeper than just remorse, and it goes into person's heart
(56:44):
and the soul.
Speaker 3 (56:45):
Did you ever know Paul Reid while he was on
death row before he passed away?
Speaker 2 (56:51):
Oh? Yes, Paul did? Read? Yeah, I can't. He's pretty
here's this full I guess now. I mean he's good.
He's a pretty good guy. Uh, always working out and stuff.
Always uh uh he called everybody brother and stuff. Uh
(57:16):
what got what hurt me? This is where I really
come to a lot of realization that our legal system
is not helping anyone but itself. Paul Reid, when he dies,
you actually had people get on TV crying about him dying,
talk about they wanted to kill him. I mean, Dad's dead.
(57:41):
You know, I'm sorry for the family, but Dad is dead.
I mean, you know, he had people that got ancient
crimes in here, and our legal system has not done
nothing for the victim family other than keep them hurting.
(58:04):
Like not victim family. I've been here, like I say,
like you talk about, I've been here that three decades.
All three decades. I guarantee you our legal system has
kept him as difference instead of feeling them.
Speaker 3 (58:21):
Did read ever speak about his crimes if you were
to anybody else.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Not that I'm aware of. No, not that I'm aware of.
You were incarcerated when he was in nineteen ninety seven,
weren't you, yes, sir?
Speaker 3 (58:37):
Okay, all right, because that's when he was out killing.
I was just I was just curious if you were,
you were in prison or nothing? Okay? Is there anything
that you would like the public to know about yourself
or this case?
Speaker 2 (58:51):
Well, I would like everyone to know that you can't
go by a person. You know that the state says
that a person did this, person did that. You know,
I am guilty. However, I'm not that individual twenty or
thirty or forty years ago. I'm me. You know, you
(59:15):
can't take a person and lock them into that worse
five minutes of their lives. They're a lot more than that.
God has created us to be a lot more than that,
and I would like the public to know that we're
a whole lot more. Before we conclude this interview, is
there anything that you'd like to talk about that we
haven't covered yet? No, sir, I do appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (59:43):
That was my interview with convicted murderer and death row
inmate Donald metow Rooks. If you like the show, don't
forget to leave a review. Head on over to Unforbidden
truth dot org to pick up some merch like a
coffee mug, a T shirt, a tank top and more.
Thank you for listening, See you on the next one.
Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
Es
Welcome to unforbidden truth. I'm Andrew. Today I'll be speaking
with convicted murderer Donald Middlebrooks. Kerrick Major's was a fourteen
year old African American boy who was brutally murdered in
April nineteen eighty seven in Nashville, Tennessee. On the night
of April twenty sixth, Kerck went missing after leaving his home.
His body was discovered the next day in a field,
showing signs of severe torture and trauma. The autopsy revealed
(00:37):
that he had been beaten, stabbed repeatedly, and burned with
cigarettes before being left to die. The cruelty of the
murder shocked the local community and became a highly publicized case.
The investigation quickly led to the arrest of three individuals,
Donald meadow Brooks, then twenty four years old, his wife,
Tammy middle Brooks, seventeen years old, and another friend, Robert
Bruinson Junior, sixteen years old. Witnesses in forensic evidence pointed
(01:00):
to Donald Meadowbrooks as the ringleader in Carrick's murder. Prosecutors
alleged that the attacks stemmed from an unfounded belief that
Kerk had stolen from the group, though this was never substantiated.
The brutality and racially charged nature of the crime intensified
public scrutiny and demands for justice. In nineteen eighty eight,
Donald Meadowbrooks was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced
(01:20):
to death. The cases remained controversial not only due to
the horrifying nature of the crime, but also because of
ongoing debates over the death penalty and questions about whether
the trial was affected by racial bias. Metal Brooks remained
on death rill for decades, with numerous appeals filed over
issues related to sentencing and legal representation. The case continues
to be remembered as a tragic and disturbing example of
(01:41):
youth violence and racial injustice in Tennessee. In nineteen ninety two,
Donald meadowbrooks death sentence was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court,
which ruled that the standards for imposing the death penalty
during a concurrent felony, kidnapping and murder in the case
had not been properly applied. Though his convictions were upheld
in a new sentencing here in ordered, prosecutors again sought
(02:02):
the death penalty, and at his nineteen ninety five resentencing trial,
They argued that the murder was a racially motivated hate crime,
presenting testimony that metal Brooks had used racial slurs during
the attack and had claimed ties to the Ku Klux Klan,
though his half sister denied he was racist. Carrick Major's mother, Deborah,
testified once again, and on October thirteenth, nineteen ninety five,
Medal Brooks was resentenced to death, showing no emotion in court.
(02:25):
In nineteen ninety eight, his legal team argued that prosecutors
had improperly played the race card, but in nineteen ninety nine,
the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the death sentence, stated that
racial prejudice was a legitimate factor in establishing premeditation and motive.
In twenty nineteen, after exhausting his appeals, the state of
Tennessee moved to set an execution date for Donald Middlebrooks,
(02:45):
but the process was delayed by COVID nineteen and his
own diagnosis with the virus in twenty twenty. His request
for commutation was denied in early twenty twenty two, and
his execution was initially scheduled for December eighth of that year. However,
Governor Bill Lee issued temporary reprieves for all executions in
twenty twenty two after discovering flaws in the state's lethal
injection drug testing, prompting an investigation and a pause in executions.
(03:08):
By late twenty twenty four, Tennessee had developed a new
protocol used in fender barbital, and in March twenty twenty five,
a new execution date of September twenty fourth, twenty twenty five,
was set for Middlebrooks. He was among four inmates with
signed death warrants, but on April first, twenty twenty five,
a federal court issued a stay of execution pending ongoing litigation.
Here's my interview with convicted murderer Donald Middlebrooks.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
My name is Donald middlebrook and I'm from Texas. A
small town in Ticks What town A place called Tigue, Texas.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Okay, yeah, I don't think I've ever heard of it.
I've been to a lot of small towns in Texas,
but I've never heard of that.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh yeah, I'm just I'm lookut he you blink. Yeah,
when you go into town, you're going to miss or
go down highway, go miss.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
That's what I've heard, especially in Texas and Tennessee and
stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Can you recall any positive memories that stick out to
you from your childhood?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
No, not really, other than my grandma one of the
best ones. I mean that was really sick. That really
gave me the foundation that I had. What foundation I
had out there, that was my grandmother. And you know
(04:38):
why she uh, she had an excuse to hate everyone,
and she did. You know, she was a patchy and
her father surrendered in Washington and the Cagary rolled in
between a Native Americans and took the babies away from
(04:58):
the Native Americans, getting my because they didn't want their
baby grew up with the savages. And so she had
a she had a she had excuse. I mean, ain't
nobody could have held her wrong. She hated people, but
she didn't she uh, shall use used to always keep
(05:20):
her We lived up there by they you know, she
had to live by the road tracks because she's Native American.
And she always kept her front door open. And it
didn't matter who get off the train, any hobo get
off train, come in there and eat beans and corn
bread and sleep on her couch and leap and that's
(05:42):
I think that's where the foundation of any love in
me is come from from her.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Okay, So when I asked you if you had any
positive memories that you could recall, you said not really.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So was your childhood bad? Yes? Yes?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Can you can you go into Can you go into
depth about what was bad about it? As comfortable as
you are, I don't want to re.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Traumatize you or anything like that. Oh No, I'm good
at talking about it. I tell people about it. Uh.
When I was ten years old, Uh, my mom come
home from work and me and my sister was laying
on the floor. You know, it was what they called
(06:30):
government lowerent housing. We lived there, and we was laying
on the floor, was watching something called Looney Tune. You
know it's could just gotten out and is the our
fact cousinbody. My mom said, she came in and she
looked at us and she said, I wish the hell
(06:51):
that's all I had to do, lay on my ass
and do nothing. Well, Uh, that's got her to do this,
because Mom don't lose temple like that. And then uh,
about five minutes, well, MoMA went got a tea, a
(07:11):
refrigerator and she come back and Coach Sharon go to
her room, and she told me one of us is
gonna start helped make money around there. We're gonna help
pay her bill, keep her key. Of course, Uh he
been ten, I ain't. I didn't quite to understand what
(07:32):
she meant. I had like a little piggy bank. I
ain't got it, and you know, gave it to her.
But uh, that's not what she was talking about. And
uh she made me, uh had me to choose between
me and Sharon, my baby sister, at which one of
(07:54):
us is gonna start servicing me our other you know,
grown old men, and of course my baby sister. I am.
I love my baby sister. That I chose me, but
I put one stipulation on it, that that she could
(08:18):
h we could do this, but Sharon could not be
in the house. She had to said Jimmy and SUSY's
or somewhere like that. And Mom, she sort of looked
at me, she said, boy, are you trying to bargain
with me? And luckily yeah, at ten years old on
(08:40):
how I said no, but you wouldn't want her here
to see this, would she? So apparently that made some
kind of sense to her. And at ten years old,
I started taking care of business with with with with mom.
(09:04):
You know what I mean. She'd bring you know, should
bring home when your guys home, and I take care
of you know, So what was your mom getting out
of this? They would pay her, you know how much money?
You know how much money she would give her time? No,
(09:30):
I don't know how much. I remember the I remember
the first time is in working Texas. The first time
that it happened. Uh, you know what a cedar bed is.
I had the one of them and I love that
cedar bed. I mean he had this nice Well, she's
(09:55):
the one that stripped me down and tied me face
down on the beach. And there was two guys that
came in and took turns raping me and stuff while
she was there, and then they paid her. And that's
how I got introduced to the to that it's been trafficked,
(10:16):
you know, by her. It continued until I was about thirteen,
and I actually took everything into my own hands, my life,
and made myself get taken away from home.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
What about your sister? What happened to her?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Well, I didn't find out until after I had been
incarcerated that it had happened to my sister too. That
was part of the agreement that I had made with
Mom to you know, that mam was off limits automatically.
(11:03):
You know, my mom lived in the bars and I
took I had to take care of my sister, you know,
and Sharon was off limits. I learned that after I
had been going to court and everything in court, I
learned that Mom actually turned her attention on Sharon, which, yeah,
(11:29):
I didn't sit. I'm sort of glad I've learned that
here was in her back then. Now I see things different,
you know, I mean it's hard. Two it's really hard
to picture. You know. That's too Mom's side, but it's
(11:55):
like a it's wolf told me one time, Janet, she
used to come out here and teach her, and she said,
have you ever stopped and looked and thought what made
your mother think that it was all right to do that?
And I've got things by that, and I'm like, that's
(12:15):
the you asked your mother that No, I had Jane
a person come out here to teach me that, to
teach me to stop looking through my eyes and start
looking through my mom that what made her think that
is all right to treat her kid like that? You know,
(12:37):
because I know a lot of moms and uh their
bastitute nail for the babies, you know, so it has
to be uh what happened in her past that made
her make her think that that was accessible.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Besides the constant being trafficked and raped by men the
hands of your mother, was there any other type of
abuse that went on towards you, like against yourself growing
up as a child.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Just uh, well, when I ran away, I often, I've
ran away several times, and h one of the results
of run away, you know, every time the police always
caught me. They always put me right back in the
middle of that. And the punishment was I got bit.
(13:33):
My mom bit me in the third area, are squeezed.
I mean, it's my sister weakness, a lot of that,
But I just you know, I mean other than that,
now now, I'm you know, I was lucky to have
my grandmother. I mean, she was a blessing.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Did your grandmother know about the abuse that the men
were putting you through at the hands of your mom?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Oh? Lord no, I was really too ashamed to tell
anybody because I mean, in my mind, I'm a dude.
That don't happen to dues. You know, you don't get
that's don't just don't happen. And so, I mean the
(14:25):
only one that ever knew that something was wrong with
one of my teachers, and that was you know, miss Bateman.
She knew that something was wrong with me, you know,
and uh, but she really never got deep into what
was wrong with me because back then people was called
busy bodies if they got involved in other people's business.
(14:50):
Where was your father growing up? My father passed away
when I was about four years old. I feardore died.
His name was Theodore mad Brooks. He died when I
was about four. And my sister was Sharon's father, which
(15:12):
was Leslie Till actually my stepfather. He was just as
rough as her. He didn't mind smacking you instuff. Did
you suffer any type of trauma growing up besides the abuse? No,
(15:32):
I just well, I mean all my life, I've been afraid.
I've been Uh, when that happens to you, you don't
open yourself for love. If someone says love, you look
(15:54):
at their hands and see what they're doing with their hands.
Because most time, though, the time you've ever heard that
word is when someone is trying to hurt you. I mean,
you don't allow anyone to get close, and that really
makes it hard on relationships as well. I've had lots
screwed up pardoning, a lot of missed relationships because of
(16:18):
my upbringing.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
When you say when you see that, when you say
a lot of crazy or messed up relationships, are you
a friend too, like with men or women or like what.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
What was messed up about them? No? My my wife,
well my girlfriends wife. Well I had really messed up
relationship with my wife. Yes, okay, yeah, that's my girl.
(16:50):
She put up with a lot, she really did.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Okay, Yeah, well we'll talk about We'll talk about her
in a little bit because because she's one of your
Coada founders. But we'll talk about her in a little bit.
But yeah, so I know you spoke a lot about it,
But what was your behavior like growing up? Even after
you left home? I think you said at thirteen, like
like how did you behave at home? After you escaped
(17:17):
the abuse and everything?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I was I'd always try to be out of sad.
I've learned that silence really uh put you outside. But
I also flew off the set sometimes I stopped flying offside,
like shooting it cars with the BB gun, doing gravel
(17:42):
at a car, you know, just just really dark stuff.
I mean, I just really I remember I burgerized my
first laundry matt when I was about twelve years old,
left fingerprints and nothing happened. So about thirteen, you know,
(18:08):
I forced myself to get taken away from my mom.
And the way I did that is, uh, there was
a woman who lived down the road that was in
the hospital, and I went and broke into her house
and busted out all the windows and I put my
(18:30):
fingerprints out of work. I had watched that on Breda,
you know, had Don't do the Times, Can't do the
Crime thing. I had watched that and them fingerprinting people.
So I figured my escape that was my only escape
out of that situation because I if I ran, the
(18:50):
police would put me back into that situation. So the
only option I seen to myself this having was to
break enough or to commit a crime that was serious
enough that I'd be sent away.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
So circling back a little bit, what was your behavior
like in school? Did you finish high school? Did you
graduate high school?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Uh? No, I dropped that in the seventh grade. What
was that due to I just trying to work and
just getting myself good. I was really I was lost, Seriously,
I was just out there. I was just lost. I
mean I didn't feel like anyone cared. And when you
(19:42):
feel like nobody in this world cares, you don't care.
And I just it's like I just quit caring about me.
I quit caring about education, I quit caring about life.
I mean I just went from day today as a zombie.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
So, Donnie, did you engage any type of criminal activity
as a juvenile prior to turning eighteen?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Uh? Yeah? Actually uh uh I broke in Uh like
I said, I broke into a woman's house that was
down the road when I was about thirteen. Uh, and
I put I sold everything out of the house and
(20:31):
put it up under the house next door and put
my fingerprints over where to see, you know, so uh
there would know who did it, should be taken away,
stole bicycles. I mean, I just I you name it.
(20:53):
I was down for it? Is that okay? Uh? Yeah?
At that point, the devil or whatever you call it,
just he sees someone young like that that's just hopeless
or don't have nothing, and he just takes over and
(21:17):
you really don't fight, right, So what was life like
for you after turning eighteen years old. After I turned
eighteen years old, well, actually I went to prison at eighteen.
I got taken away from my mom at thirteen, and
(21:41):
I spent the Texas Youth Corrections And at the age
of seventeen, I ran him away from Texas Youth correction
and I was arrested in a place top Marlin, Texas,
me and a cousin of mine, and they called us
(22:02):
the textured terrorists. They caught us textured terrorists, and uh,
I was a risk of three hours down from three
burglaries and held in jail. Yeah, held in their jail, Marlin,
until I went to jail. All right, I went to prison.
(22:23):
But uh I just at that point I look at that,
you know, look at back in my life, and I
just at that point, I just quit trying anything. I
just quit. I just quit living. I just I didn't
have no hope. You know. Grandma was my only hope.
(22:45):
That's one thing I could always count on her.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
So did you engage in any criminal activity as an
adult after after getting out of prison, I should say,
prior to the homicide of.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Carrick Majors, Oh yes, oh yes? What else did you
do I steal cars, uh, burgerized houses, rock stores. I
mean the only reason I stopped is when my grandma
got sick. You know, my grandma got sick and uh
(23:20):
she she got cancer and uh she uh come home
to die or come to that, she come back to
her house to die. Now that's hard to talk about.
So she come back to her house to die. They
had removed the intestines, and when Grandma died, everything died.
(23:50):
I just quit. I quit crying, and then uh about
two weeks, uh, well about two weeks. It's actually about
three days after her death that I was arrested, all right,
and since of the Texas now set to Austin State Hospital. Now,
(24:16):
this would be probably about five months before this crime.
And I did a ninety days there and I got out, well,
they tried to get him. I went to the Bassis Valley.
(24:39):
Oh man, what's the name of that place. It's outpatient
house or something like that. I went there and I
took a dude that I wasn't ready yet. I wasn't
ready to be out in the free world yet. And
me and him argue to the bit. I took a
(25:01):
mister peel tab I forgot scold on my arm. But uh,
I sat down on curve my sharpened the tab my
cut up, you know, the side of my arm. And
he sent me back to the Austin State Hospital and
the doctor there told me this now, Middlebrook, Look, you've
(25:23):
been here ninety days. We don't have no place for you.
You don't have no insurance left. I said, but you know,
I was still needing help, and he he said, we
can't help you. You got to go. Well, I'm sitting
there with this doctor, and I'm sitting there with two
(25:45):
orderly bunch of guys, and you get to wondering, well, now,
what in the world would help me stay here? You know,
here's these all men. So I got thanking, I said
the doctor. He said, yes, I got a girlfriend here.
So he looked, gets that little sight, you know, smile
on the side of his lips. He just I'll give
(26:08):
you a week then, So that brought me a week.
And uh, after the week was up, they tried to
remove me out of the offs of State Hospital and
I wrapped myself around the doctor's desk the big disk
(26:28):
flag and the orderlies took me off and walked me
outside the gate and shut the gate and that's where
I met Tammy and my mom. That's the one I married.
She was with my mom I had at that at
that time. I mean, have you ever see any old
(26:51):
pictures of me? You can look at them eyes. He
does not need to be on the street, he really don't.
I hate to say that, but those iss Bakers, that
individual does not need to be out there.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
So Donnie, tell me how you met your to co defendants,
Robert Bruinton Junior and Tammy Meadowbrooks. What was your relationship
like with the both of them up until this case
took place.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Well, you know, Tammy with my wife when we got married.
I met her, uh outside of outside of Austin hospital,
which she got my sisters. I mean, I just I knew,
you know, It's like even my stupid state like that.
(27:47):
I remember. The one thing I've remember most of all
is I walked towards your car and I looked and
there was someone, the most beautiful faith I have ever
seen in the world over that back seat with a smile.
Oh my god, did she have on a smile? That
was my wife. That's ten. I climbed in the back
(28:09):
seat and she had on a pair of blue jeans,
her sister Flissy. She had on her sister's t shoe
te tennis shoes, and she had on a pair of
blue jeans and had like holes in the knee and
I sept my favorite and knee. I played with me
and talking to her, and that's how I met Tammy,
(28:31):
and uh, eventually we just we got married. I mean,
it's pretty awesome, even in that state of mind that
I was in, I mean, that was pretty good. What
about Robert Bruinton? How did you meet him? I met
(28:51):
him on the street here in Nashville.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
How far far before the crime took place? Probably about
a month, Okay, so it was fairly recent, so you
didn't really know him that well, Yeah, no, sir, let's
talk about the crime you're in prison for now. You're
on death throw for the murder of fourteen year old
Carrick Majors. Can you walk me through everything that led
(29:18):
up to the murder of Carrick Majors and what followed
after the crime took place that day?
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Well, one of the events that took place is h Yeah.
They always say that he died as a race crime.
That's fault. He died because he was slow. I mean,
(29:45):
I hate to say that, but you had evil people
out there then with a very evil intent, and they
was you know, conch caated uh mentioned some days earlier
that he comes from money. Well, the idea, the whole idea,
(30:10):
was to uh grab grab one of either him or
one of the kids he's with and get money. The
kidnapped things and it all went crazy and uh he
uh there's uh he got a man, you know, we
(30:38):
got we caught him, some put him over we you know,
brought him down there to the where it everywhere he
is found and dude started in, uh brutalizing him, right
uh uh what was his name? Brunton started brutalizing him.
And I seen me. I mean, I don't understand this.
(31:04):
I've been trying. I still don't understand this. But that
was all that was happening. I seen my face. I
didn't see him, you know. Yeah, I've seen me tied
to the bed. I seen this, you know, I've seen
(31:28):
all this junk when I was a child, And I
remember I told Berthon, if you're going to kill him,
damn it, just kill him, you know what I mean,
stop playing something, you know, And somewhere along the line,
I snapped, I don't understand all this. Uh, I have
(31:51):
no idea. I wish I just twee me. Well, I
wish i'd place not putting here, but I mean, just
go back to that time and have me lay in there.
I really I thought about that so long, you know,
(32:12):
for you realize you're broken, you don't need to be fixed.
And you know, my family, they just on me as
soon as I got put in this situation here. It's about, ah,
about thirty three years. I had waited at my door
(32:33):
for a Christmas car over and over. I waited for
a Christmas car for my family because family is different thing,
you know, family just family. You know, God take us in,
you know. And every year for thirty three years, I waited,
and then I was waiting on thirty third years and
(32:57):
they came. The guy came in to pass side to
nail them up past myself, and I mean it was
just like a lightning boat just busted inside my heart.
I covered up my door, I went back at the
back of my cell, and I mean I just bawled
like a baby. I mean I just cried. And there
(33:19):
was a voice inside of me that said, how does
that feel? And I'm like how n however you think
it feels? You know that, I mean, that's far away
my spine. And it says everything that you're feeling, all
(33:41):
the hurt, all the betrayal, all that craft that you're feeling.
You gave it life when you brought when you committed
your crime, and that was my way could call. And
ever since then, I've been committed to uh half another
hip and other people and you know, get a traffic
(34:07):
people and hal did people get help? I have? Don't
trump him outside of your ship? I think has come
from within your ship. I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
Can I ask you to confirm or deny what exactly
happened that night? Can I read to.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
You what was said that to have happened? Yes?
Speaker 3 (34:29):
So the first so the actually the first question I
had was upon upon It says that you and Bruington
grabbed Carrick around his neck and head. It says that, uh,
not yourself, but Bruington was yelling racial slurs at him
as you two grabbed him and tied him up.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Is that true? Yes? Uh? For how long do.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
You think was he like yelling racial slurs at him
as you guys were tying them up?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
I didn't hear no racial slurs, but I don't really remember.
But you know, I mean, I know he's uh cusin
him and he's maxed him and step and we uh
we tied him up and kept him uh there. I mean,
I don't remember. I'm not saying he did, but right.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
It says later on that one of that either you
or bruin Ton, had urinated on him. And it says
that he was tortured with brash knuckles.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
With the stick and all that.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Did all of that actually happen?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
No, A lot of that is the Attorney General adding
a lot of fuel to the fire, so to speak. Uh.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
It says it says that you admitted later on that
you hit him in the leg with a switch, and
you claim that Tammy had burned him on the nose
with a cigarette or a cigarette lighter. That's quick, Okay.
Who who carved the X on his did a chest
on his chest?
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I have no idea. I mean, he didn't have that
when he was cute. Okay, that was that was the
thing when he was cute. I have no idea. What
you know?
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Who who delivered the two fatal stab wounds in his chest?
Speaker 2 (36:20):
I delivered one and Rock delivered oh Brud the other one.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Yeah yeah, okay, okay, okaye. I see I see here
where it says you claim that you and Bruinten stabbed
him each one time, but but Bruington claims that you
did both of them.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Well now that now that we have an idea of
what what happened with the crime. Uh uh So so
what you're saying is this wasn't racially motivated.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Well it really wasn't that. What it was is like
I said, dude said that you know, he comes from money,
and you had two people, and I mean they wanted
off the street and that's their only evil way to
get off the street. And that's how that was done.
(37:19):
I mean, they didn't knock over nothing. I know, I've
heard all kinds of stuff. Nothing was never knocked over.
That's blooney. Uh The racial thing I don't know about Brunis,
I can't say. But that's that's blown. You know, they
got me in here for what they call that a
(37:39):
hate crime, right right, even though well my grandma's Native
American and a lawyer I'm not gonna call his name,
A lawyer come up to me and told me. He says,
he said, Fammer. He says, uh, we can beat this. Uh,
they're trying to get you on a hate crime. We
can beat this and it's an easy beat. And I
(38:03):
looked at him and I asked him a question. I said, Okay,
say that you do get the defend that hate crime thing,
which is obvious. I ain't you know, and you are
going you do win? Does that boy get the crawl
back out of the ground? He looked at me like
(38:25):
I lost my mind. I said, does that boy get
the crawl back out of the ground? He said, well no,
I said, well then what does it matter? I mean, seriously,
what does it matter?
Speaker 3 (38:40):
How did your arrest go down? Does the three of
you go peacefully? Were is it at the same time? Like,
how did that all happen?
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Well? Uh, the first one was Brundon. From what I understand,
he called the police and they come talk to him
and seeing blood on his rings, and they took his
(39:07):
rings and come find out and matched the victims. So
they arrested him. Then he told where me and my
wife was.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Okay, So it was so it was like the same
day that all of you arrested, like we said, a
few hours Oh yes, Okay, all right, all right, I
don't think you were. But was your wife or Bruington offered.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
Any type of plevials? I don't think so, Okay, you
weren't offered any. Correct, No, I tried to get them
to give my wife one. But did any of you
receive any federal charges when it came to hate crimes
like hate hate crime statutes and stuff like that or no? No?
Speaker 3 (39:46):
So uh did did the prosecution try to argue in
court that this is a hate crime?
Speaker 2 (39:53):
No? Uh, Jimmerman just said it was a hate crime.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Okay, So you think you were the book more the medium,
less of the prosecution.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Probably, Okay, well yeah, well you know again that's you know,
throwing that in there like that. I think what I'm
thinking they used that to pull gas on the fire,
just like that other stuff. I mean, everybody knows me
(40:23):
knows that. I mean, it really is really an it's
messed up. I mean, tourney general can say that you're this,
you're that, until you prove different you're that. So after
you were convicted and heard your sentence, you know that
you'd be receiving a death sentence. How did you react
(40:45):
emotionally or did you did you see it coming, well,
I didn't see well I seen it coming here. I
didn't see it coming. I'm pissed, so I knew it
was a possibility, and it was like a hit and
a chance when it happened. But I refuse to let
(41:06):
anyone know that they hurt me. That's something I've gained
since childhood. I ain't gonna let you know to hurt me,
you know, I mean people can hurt me all that,
so I would smile, and they just when they said death,
I looked over at gentlemen, and I smiled. I was
hiding my hurt. I smiled. I mean, that's that's something
(41:28):
that I adopted very early, because I refuse to let
people know that they have any kind of power to hurt.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Did you get an opportunity in court before or after
being sentenced to death to address the major's family?
Speaker 2 (41:44):
No?
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Is there anything you would like to say to them
now if they do happen to listen to this interview?
Speaker 2 (41:51):
That I am one hundred percent sorry and sorry ain't enough.
I'm you know, sorry. It ain't like I walked on
you grass or that I broke it window. I took
someone that you love who sorry, just does not cover it.
But if there's any such thing as a repentance, that's it. Yeah,
(42:15):
it's deeper than starough And from my understanding, they have
something called the UH let's see t RT. It's Truth
and Reconciliation, not TRC. It's in South Africa and it's
(42:38):
where people get to uh, the victims get to address
the offenders. I've been trying to actually get that. I
wish we could do that uh as the state does
not heal victims right. But what I would tell the
(43:01):
family is, uh, what can you tell someone when you
really when you're you know, you look at the situation,
what can you say? Like I said, I'm sorry, it
is not even in the vicinity, but I wholeheartedly apologize.
And I wish, and I wish with every fiber of
(43:25):
my heart that I could trade places with Kurt. And
I'm not talking about putting in here. I'm talking about
giving him life and me being in a grade and
I wish that.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
So a few years I think it was a few
years after you were sentenced to death, correct that your
death sentence was overturned due to a rulin in court.
Can you tell me about that and what the outcome
was and how you got back on death row after
your sentence was overturned. But this was the Middlebrook issue,
(43:59):
and that was h They used federal murder on both
the innocent and guilt phase and the sentence and faith.
It was double jeopardy and it got a lot, you know,
it got I think about thirty people off death though.
And uh, they used hack to put me back here.
(44:22):
Let's see hackers heinious, hacked, hainius, cruel, atrocious or something
of that nature. Yeah, I used hack later on it
became inconstitus. But uh, I think right now when that
when that occurred.
Speaker 2 (44:41):
I don't think spiritually I was ready. To be honest,
I know that sounds stupid, but I just do not
think that I was where I am now.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
You know, I'm so you said that the the was it?
It was called the middle Brook flaw? Is that is
that what it's called? Yes, sir, okay, So the middle
Brook fly? Did that get people off of death row
that were innocent? Or did that get people have of
death throw that were guilty as well?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Like that admitted guilty. Well, I'm not really sure which is, uh,
be honest, Richie, I'm not really sure which is which
I've come to determination after a talking to a bunch
of guys in here. And I ain't gonna play patty Cake.
I mean, you know, I'm picked. But thanks people on
(45:36):
death work. They do not need to be on death row.
I mean I've seen that. Yeah, I'm walking around. I
don't say nothing, but I walk around here. I've got this, Uh,
I've got this first hand view of being in here
and people open to me, and you see people that
(45:58):
just through the dangs and it's not you know, at
least in Texas, there's a law in Texas that it
has to be in the body. Now you got people
shots on the legs, it's on death throat, and that's
like a serious I mean, it's a it's really sad situation. Yeah,
(46:22):
a lot of people here don't need to be here.
And people that I've had a rough childhood. I ain't
gonna say, you know, I've had a bad one, but
you've got a lot of people here that's really had
bad childhood.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Right, Yeah, No, I can only imagine. I've talked to
so many offenders where the childhood is like, it can't
get worse than that, and it does, and it just
ceases to amaze me. So you've been on death row
for over three decades, correct, yes, yes, sir. How have
you spent your time the past couple.
Speaker 2 (46:57):
Of decades learning and growing and becoming what I am now?
You know, it's like I said, a person that ain't
willing to admit that something's wrong. If you don't recognize
you're broken, you don't need to be fixed, you know.
(47:18):
And uh, I recognized way back. I don't go where
it not two thousand and four. If there was something
that was wrong with me, I was broken, and everything
that had been taught to me, I have to take
and tear it down. And that's not taking part of
house brick by break and rebuilding it. I had to
(47:42):
rebuild it. And I mean, it was just with this
mediation stuff, you know, like I like I said that
reach class I was that I graduated Lipscomb University. I
got that mediation in there, conflict management, I mean, and
(48:02):
I'm still learning, still growing, and it's been a good
you know, it's been a good turn about so to speak.
Now I've been using this time to actually grow inside,
to study myself, and no one of the of the
(48:25):
right mind can do what was done, you know, and sleep.
Let me just say that, you can't do that, you know,
you can't commit something like that just go to sleep.
So there has to be something wrong or there had
to be something wrong with me first off. And I
(48:50):
had to do a lot of death inside not only
my brain, inside my spirit, inside my heart. I had
to find out who am I. You know, I'm not
this mut, know because that's what I was called back
in my hometown, a mut because I'm I'm a half breed,
(49:11):
you know. And uh, I'm not you know, I'm not
this mut. I'm actually coming to realize perfectly made.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
You know what happened to you and your wife after
being convicted?
Speaker 2 (49:25):
Ah, well, when we was when we was convicted, before
we was convicted, I met with her and I told her,
I said, look, you're gonna have to go get you,
uh someone to take care of you. She said, huh,
(49:46):
And I told her. I told her to When sever
she got out to go and you know, find her
guide take care of him because either I'm gonna be
doing life in prison, I'm gonna I'm gonna be here
forever because or knows what happened. But you know, and
she's a good girl. She's not a bad girl. She Uh,
(50:06):
it all depends on the guy she's with. She's actually
a very good person. And I told her, she goes out,
she finds you're a good guy. You know that, now
she's gonna be all right. She's a good person, Tanny.
Tanny's always been a good person, I mean, you know,
(50:28):
as my girl's over man. And finally, you know, she
in my life. I ain't never had nothing, you know,
not even my bedroom was mine because my mom pultn't
tie me down there. I didn't want that no more.
I've never had nothing worth having in my life. Everything
(50:50):
is been always sack and crap. And then finally here
is this beautiful woman and she is uh, she is
just totally amazing, right, And what's even more amazing, she
(51:12):
loves me. I mean, I've never been loved before. My
grandma loved me, I guess I doubt my mom ever did.
But this woman loved me, and it was really uh awesome.
I finally had a purpose, a reason in life. And
(51:38):
that's what I hate. I still scowled at as usual.
Speaker 3 (51:44):
Have you grown with any fellow prisoners who have been
executed since you've been incarcerated?
Speaker 2 (51:51):
Oh? Yes, I've known all of them. Are the one
that they're gonna execute tomorrow, that oscarg right, Yeah, Uh
I know him too. Uh he lives a few cells
down from me. And yeah, I hope they don't get
(52:12):
him tomorrow. But uh, you know, me and uh guys here,
we did four hundred laps walking in solidarity because people
walked in the march from here to the Capitol. So
me and some guys here from death where we walked,
we walked around four hundred laps in prison to uh
(52:34):
walk in solidarity with them. I really hope. I mean,
I'll be fun to say we screw up, you know,
we messed up in our life. Uh, and yes it
was a total mess up. But then think about the
worst five minutes in your life, and to think that
(52:59):
you don't have nothing the past five minutes. And that's
the only thing anybody knows about she that screwed up.
Nobody knows about that little ten year old boy that
picked the flyers that carry them down to the little
old ladies down there at the nursing home. They don't
know about him. They don't know about the guy that
uh help helped the woman down the streets here, her
(53:19):
cow because her husband was dead. There was no Middlebrooks
here the killer, you know, I mean it screwed up.
Speaker 3 (53:32):
So yeah, So are you anti death penalty? Have you
always been anti death penalty?
Speaker 2 (53:37):
Uh? Actually, I'm not. I'm gonna be honest out there
in the free world. I never thought about it. I'm
not gonna lie. It wasn't Uh, it didn't affect me.
So I really didn't think about it. And when I
(53:58):
first come into prison, I started to supported little beer.
And I met a nun here up that came in here.
I think her name was Helen the John d John
or something like that, and she came in here, and
at the time she is good. At this time I
(54:22):
was I partially I get supported it. And I said,
you know, that's one of the problems people like you.
You just come coddle these people. She looked at me,
she says, do what I said. That's one of the
problems with y'all. You know, with everybody here, you got
everybody coddles. She says, Uh, I take it to uh,
(54:45):
you're in favor of death film. I looked at her
and I said, well, it's like this, ma'am. I said,
everybody knew what they were getting into for the guy
into it. She says, is that so? I said, no,
don't challenge and none. Helen looked at me. She did,
is that? So? She says, come here and let me
(55:06):
talk to you for a minute. We stepped away from
the from the group. She says, why do you want
to make more victims? And I said, what do you mean?
She said, you don't take them? Officers are going to
be victims that carry you over there. I mean, she
was really deep. She still works that. I think.
Speaker 3 (55:27):
Have you been diagnosed with any type of mental illnesses?
Speaker 2 (55:30):
No? I had seizures, I'm epileptic. Okay.
Speaker 3 (55:35):
Do you have remorse for the murder of Carrick Majors?
Speaker 2 (55:39):
Oh my god, yes, remorse is just under it goes
even beyond that. I mean, I wish I sincerely with
I could trade plates. I mean, I can surely wish.
It's beyond remorse. I mean, if that's it's not cray
(56:01):
place right now, I would. It's a remorse is for
you feel bad about something. But how can you feel
bad about something so horrible? Bad is a word? I mean,
it's I don't know, it's beyond you know, remorse. I
(56:21):
understand what You're said about the remorse thing. But the regret,
the shame, the nightmares, the heart, it goes a lot
deeper than just remorse, and it goes into person's heart
(56:44):
and the soul.
Speaker 3 (56:45):
Did you ever know Paul Reid while he was on
death row before he passed away?
Speaker 2 (56:51):
Oh? Yes, Paul did? Read? Yeah, I can't. He's pretty
here's this full I guess now. I mean he's good.
He's a pretty good guy. Uh, always working out and stuff.
Always uh uh he called everybody brother and stuff. Uh
(57:16):
what got what hurt me? This is where I really
come to a lot of realization that our legal system
is not helping anyone but itself. Paul Reid, when he dies,
you actually had people get on TV crying about him dying,
talk about they wanted to kill him. I mean, Dad's dead.
(57:41):
You know, I'm sorry for the family, but Dad is dead.
I mean, you know, he had people that got ancient
crimes in here, and our legal system has not done
nothing for the victim family other than keep them hurting.
(58:04):
Like not victim family. I've been here, like I say,
like you talk about, I've been here that three decades.
All three decades. I guarantee you our legal system has
kept him as difference instead of feeling them.
Speaker 3 (58:21):
Did read ever speak about his crimes if you were
to anybody else.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Not that I'm aware of. No, not that I'm aware of.
You were incarcerated when he was in nineteen ninety seven,
weren't you, yes, sir?
Speaker 3 (58:37):
Okay, all right, because that's when he was out killing.
I was just I was just curious if you were,
you were in prison or nothing? Okay? Is there anything
that you would like the public to know about yourself
or this case?
Speaker 2 (58:51):
Well, I would like everyone to know that you can't
go by a person. You know that the state says
that a person did this, person did that. You know,
I am guilty. However, I'm not that individual twenty or
thirty or forty years ago. I'm me. You know, you
(59:15):
can't take a person and lock them into that worse
five minutes of their lives. They're a lot more than that.
God has created us to be a lot more than that,
and I would like the public to know that we're
a whole lot more. Before we conclude this interview, is
there anything that you'd like to talk about that we
haven't covered yet? No, sir, I do appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (59:43):
That was my interview with convicted murderer and death row
inmate Donald metow Rooks. If you like the show, don't
forget to leave a review. Head on over to Unforbidden
truth dot org to pick up some merch like a
coffee mug, a T shirt, a tank top and more.
Thank you for listening, See you on the next one.
Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
Es
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