WEBVTT - The Trial | Episode 5 0:00:15.356 --> 0:00:25.596 Pushkin previously on Deep Cover. 0:00:27.036 --> 0:00:30.556 I went back to my house and I told my 0:00:30.716 --> 0:00:33.996 mother to come outside, and I told her that she 0:00:34.156 --> 0:00:36.876 had to leave and that she was never welcome back 0:00:36.876 --> 0:00:42.356 there ever again until she figures her stuff out. Me 0:00:42.356 --> 0:00:45.276 and my sister, our relationship ended up being strained because 0:00:45.316 --> 0:00:49.236 of my drug use and partying, and she ended up 0:00:49.236 --> 0:00:51.756 going to live with her boyfriend and I ended up 0:00:51.756 --> 0:00:54.276 being in this house with no electric and no water. 0:00:55.356 --> 0:00:59.956 She told me, I'm addicted to heroin. She was like, 0:01:00.436 --> 0:01:05.316 I'm in trouble. I'm addicted. I can't kick this, and 0:01:06.676 --> 0:01:11.636 that particular moment, of course, I was just absolutely helpless. 0:01:18.996 --> 0:01:22.836 After Keith Giamanco was arrested and put in jail, a 0:01:22.876 --> 0:01:27.676 federal grand jury indicted him for robbing twelve banks. Soon 0:01:27.716 --> 0:01:31.076 he began meeting with lawyers who might represent him. His 0:01:31.196 --> 0:01:34.196 strategy initially was pretty straightforward. 0:01:34.956 --> 0:01:41.156 I'm thinking, Okay, I tell the truth and explain my 0:01:41.236 --> 0:01:47.916 circumstances and anything that might be mitigating might be helpful. 0:01:48.716 --> 0:01:50.436 Then this may not turn out too bad. 0:01:51.756 --> 0:01:56.716 Here was Keith once again manifesting success. What he knew 0:01:56.756 --> 0:02:00.396 for sure was that there was no fighting these federal charges. 0:02:01.356 --> 0:02:05.356 Keith had already confessed, and there was surveillance footage from 0:02:05.396 --> 0:02:09.676 the banks, so Keith told his lawyers he wanted to 0:02:09.676 --> 0:02:13.076 take a plea on the understanding that if he did this, 0:02:13.436 --> 0:02:17.276 he'd likely serve a shorter sentence. With any luck, he'd 0:02:17.276 --> 0:02:19.756 get out when his daughters were still in their twenties. 0:02:21.516 --> 0:02:25.076 At sentencing, Keith apologized to all the people that he'd hurt. 0:02:26.116 --> 0:02:29.436 The judge said she felt that Keith had taken responsibility 0:02:29.476 --> 0:02:33.156 for his actions, and she sentenced him to six years 0:02:33.276 --> 0:02:36.596 and four months, which was more or less what Keith 0:02:36.636 --> 0:02:39.796 had been hoping for since he'd been facing up to 0:02:39.876 --> 0:02:48.836 twenty years in prison. For Keith's daughters, this sentence, it 0:02:48.916 --> 0:02:52.316 wasn't exactly good news, but it wasn't a worst case 0:02:52.356 --> 0:02:54.996 scenario either. Here's a lease. 0:02:56.076 --> 0:02:58.036 At that point in time, I'm like, it didn't feel 0:02:58.076 --> 0:03:00.036 as crushing. That feels doable. 0:03:01.356 --> 0:03:03.836 Keith's sentencing occurred at the end of the summer of 0:03:03.836 --> 0:03:06.916 two thousand and nine, right as Elise was leaving for 0:03:07.036 --> 0:03:10.236 college in Wisconsin, where he'd been given close to a 0:03:10.276 --> 0:03:14.836 full ride. For Elise, college had always been the light 0:03:14.916 --> 0:03:17.396 at the end of the tunnel, something to hold on to, 0:03:17.916 --> 0:03:22.716 a way forward. She hoped to study psychology and maybe 0:03:22.836 --> 0:03:26.716 even have a little fun. When she left for school, 0:03:26.956 --> 0:03:30.676 like actually hit the road, Elise took her father's old 0:03:30.756 --> 0:03:35.276 Mercury Grand Marquis, the Dadmobile. The very vehicle that had 0:03:35.316 --> 0:03:39.436 once been his getaway car now seemed like it would 0:03:39.476 --> 0:03:43.156 be her getaway car, her means of escaping to a 0:03:43.196 --> 0:03:43.876 new life. 0:03:44.676 --> 0:03:47.476 As soon as I got into the car and got 0:03:47.516 --> 0:03:50.436 on the highway and the sun was rising and I 0:03:50.556 --> 0:03:53.276 was playing my music, I was free as a bird, 0:03:53.836 --> 0:03:56.836 free as a bird. Soon as I got on the highway, 0:03:57.156 --> 0:04:00.476 I had the relief that I needed. I was screaming 0:04:00.676 --> 0:04:03.436 joyfully at the top of my lungs. All of my 0:04:03.516 --> 0:04:06.676 stuff in the back of this Grand Mercury and I 0:04:06.916 --> 0:04:11.236 just was. I was. I was lucky I didn't get 0:04:11.236 --> 0:04:12.956 a ticket through the state of Illinois. 0:04:13.716 --> 0:04:16.676 What Elise didn't know at the time was that Keith's 0:04:16.716 --> 0:04:25.836 legal problems they were far from over. Not everyone was 0:04:25.876 --> 0:04:29.756 satisfied with his apology and his six year sentence. There 0:04:29.756 --> 0:04:32.796 were those who felt that justice had not been served, 0:04:33.116 --> 0:04:36.276 that Keith had robbed too many banks, threatened too many 0:04:36.356 --> 0:04:42.316 people to get off so lightly, and so something bigger 0:04:42.436 --> 0:04:50.836 was coming. A more public and brutal reckoning. I'm Jay 0:04:50.876 --> 0:04:56.556 Calburn and this is Deep Cover The Family Man, Episode five. 0:04:57.236 --> 0:05:18.836 The trial. Keith's legal challenges, they were complicated. Part of 0:05:18.876 --> 0:05:22.156 the issue was when he robbed those banks, he broke 0:05:22.236 --> 0:05:26.396 both federal and state laws. So even though he pled 0:05:26.436 --> 0:05:29.716 guilty to the federal charges and he already got his 0:05:29.796 --> 0:05:34.636 six year sentence, state prosecutors were still going after him. 0:05:35.356 --> 0:05:38.676 Keith had hoped that the state might drop its charges, 0:05:39.396 --> 0:05:42.796 but this, it turns out, was wishful thinking. 0:05:43.876 --> 0:05:45.676 There was no way on earth, let me put it 0:05:45.756 --> 0:05:48.196 that way, that I was just going to ignore twelve 0:05:48.276 --> 0:05:51.756 bank robberies. That's just not in me. To me, I'd 0:05:51.756 --> 0:05:56.476 be ignoring the obvious. This guy's a serial bank robber 0:05:56.556 --> 0:05:58.116 and I'm doing nothing about it. 0:05:58.956 --> 0:06:02.516 That's Bob McCullough. He was the chief prosecutor for Saint 0:06:02.596 --> 0:06:05.756 Louis County at the time. Bob made a name for 0:06:05.836 --> 0:06:10.076 himself as being tough on crime, someone who wasn't afraid 0:06:10.076 --> 0:06:11.396 to push hard on a case. 0:06:12.636 --> 0:06:16.476 My position from the day I took office till the 0:06:16.556 --> 0:06:19.276 day I left is that a crime occurring in Saint 0:06:19.356 --> 0:06:23.316 Louis County was in our Baileywick and we were going 0:06:23.396 --> 0:06:24.236 to handle the case. 0:06:25.196 --> 0:06:28.236 Back in the nineties, Bob made national news when he 0:06:28.316 --> 0:06:31.596 went after Axel Rose, the lead singer of the band 0:06:31.636 --> 0:06:35.516 Guns n' Roses, at a concert in Saint Louis. Axel 0:06:35.556 --> 0:06:39.996 assaulted a fan and then left the stage. A riot ensued. 0:06:40.876 --> 0:06:44.476 Bob issued a warrant and pursued Axel for a year 0:06:44.876 --> 0:06:48.676 until he was eventually arrested. This little bit of history, 0:06:49.436 --> 0:06:53.356 it helped me understand two things. One that Bob was 0:06:53.556 --> 0:06:57.516 not a Guns n' Roses fan, and two, Bob was 0:06:57.556 --> 0:07:01.316 the type of prosecutor who relished a high profile fight. 0:07:02.876 --> 0:07:06.956 Bob knew that the States charges against Keith, including seven 0:07:07.036 --> 0:07:10.876 counts of first degree robbery, would carry a heavier sentence 0:07:10.996 --> 0:07:15.196 than what Keith got in federal court. Potentially, Keith could 0:07:15.236 --> 0:07:17.876 be spending the rest of his life in prison. 0:07:18.876 --> 0:07:21.436 I don't think there's any question but that had he 0:07:21.516 --> 0:07:23.996 not been caught on this one, he would have robbed 0:07:24.036 --> 0:07:27.156 another bank, and another one after that, and another one 0:07:27.196 --> 0:07:29.996 after that until he did get caught. But he never 0:07:30.036 --> 0:07:33.116 thought he would get caught, and so yes, so you 0:07:33.196 --> 0:07:35.836 pay a price for that. You can't put that many 0:07:35.876 --> 0:07:39.316 people in that much fear and not expect to pay 0:07:39.356 --> 0:07:40.476 a heavy price for it. 0:07:47.436 --> 0:07:51.036 Keith had retained two lawyers who took his case pro bono, 0:07:52.036 --> 0:07:54.956 and according to Keith, they encouraged him to take a 0:07:54.996 --> 0:07:58.236 plea on the state charges like he did in federal court, 0:07:58.796 --> 0:08:02.036 promising him that the state judge would give him no 0:08:02.116 --> 0:08:05.556 more than twenty years and that if he didn't like this, 0:08:06.076 --> 0:08:10.316 he should really just think about his kids anduture, because 0:08:10.556 --> 0:08:13.436 if there was a trial, they said, he could lose 0:08:13.596 --> 0:08:20.516 and potentially get hit with a much stiffer penalty. Keith disagreed, 0:08:22.276 --> 0:08:27.756 you're taking a chance at trial, and my feeling was 0:08:27.876 --> 0:08:34.676 is that myself and my kids testifying in this and 0:08:34.836 --> 0:08:38.636 any character witnesses that I had would have a lot 0:08:38.716 --> 0:08:48.036 better chance with twelve jurors than one angry judge. Ultimately, 0:08:48.156 --> 0:08:50.956 he decided to go to trial so he could plead 0:08:51.036 --> 0:08:54.436 his case before a jury, hoping this might get him 0:08:54.476 --> 0:08:59.116 a lighter sentence. Keith also believed that the state's prosecution 0:08:59.556 --> 0:09:04.076 violated the double jeopardy clause of the US Constitution that 0:09:04.196 --> 0:09:08.396 basically says someone can't be prosecuted twice for the same crime. 0:09:09.236 --> 0:09:13.236 Keith's lawyers were like, no, that doesn't apply here, but 0:09:13.516 --> 0:09:16.996 Keith stubbornly believed that he was right and that this 0:09:17.516 --> 0:09:22.676 might even be grounds for an appeal. In so many ways, 0:09:23.076 --> 0:09:27.076 this was deja vus. Here was Keith, the systems guy, 0:09:27.676 --> 0:09:31.876 believing that he understood the complicated mechanics of how things worked, 0:09:32.596 --> 0:09:36.756 first the stock market, then bank robberies, and now the 0:09:36.836 --> 0:09:42.196 criminal justice system, and once again Keith was prepared to 0:09:42.316 --> 0:10:01.276 gamble on his instincts. Let's be clear, this trial would 0:10:01.476 --> 0:10:04.876 not be a who done it. Everybody understood from the 0:10:04.956 --> 0:10:08.836 jump Keith had done it, he'd confessed. This would really 0:10:08.876 --> 0:10:12.956 be a trial about the punishment that Keith deserved. The 0:10:12.996 --> 0:10:16.116 timing of the state's trial wasn't ideal for either of 0:10:16.196 --> 0:10:20.596 Keith's daughters. Elise was away at college in Wisconsin, and 0:10:20.796 --> 0:10:26.036 Marissa was struggling with addiction and homelessness. At this point, 0:10:26.116 --> 0:10:29.796 the sisters were nineteen years old and living very separate lives. 0:10:30.516 --> 0:10:34.276 Keith's actions and the chaos he created had helped drive 0:10:34.316 --> 0:10:38.756 them apart, but now, oddly it was Keith bringing them 0:10:38.796 --> 0:10:43.396 back together. Elise flew in from Wisconsin, and she arrived 0:10:43.396 --> 0:10:47.276 at the courthouse early before her sister. She was dressed 0:10:47.276 --> 0:10:50.516 in one of her favorite navy blue Banana Republic dresses 0:10:50.756 --> 0:10:54.196 with matching shoes, doing her best to look sharp. 0:10:55.116 --> 0:10:59.756 I remember going and getting myself breakfast from a cafe 0:10:59.956 --> 0:11:05.956 and I was alone. I was shaking in that cafe. 0:11:05.996 --> 0:11:10.876 I was so nervous beforehand, eating this little croissant like shaking. 0:11:11.796 --> 0:11:15.116 She finishes up for breakfast and heads over to the courthouse, 0:11:15.476 --> 0:11:19.276 where she meets up with Marissa, and together they enter 0:11:19.316 --> 0:11:20.916 the courtroom and find a seat. 0:11:21.836 --> 0:11:28.476 We sit down in the courtroom and my dad comes out, 0:11:28.916 --> 0:11:31.756 and this is, you know, the first time I've seen 0:11:31.796 --> 0:11:36.436 my dad in a while, and it was incredibly emotional 0:11:36.476 --> 0:11:41.276 and crushing. He looked very tired, very weary, And as 0:11:41.276 --> 0:11:44.716 soon as we see each other, we start crying, and 0:11:44.796 --> 0:11:47.396 he says, I love you guys so much, and just 0:11:47.596 --> 0:11:49.356 starts breaking down. 0:11:50.156 --> 0:11:54.236 And Elise just does her best to hold herself together. 0:11:55.596 --> 0:11:58.476 Keith's belief that he could win sympathy from a jury 0:11:58.956 --> 0:12:01.516 hinged on a strategy that he and both of his 0:12:01.636 --> 0:12:05.956 daughters would testify at trial. In some ways, it'd be 0:12:06.036 --> 0:12:09.516 like the Good Morning America segment all over again, a 0:12:09.636 --> 0:12:13.556 chance to tell their side of the story, only this time. 0:12:13.956 --> 0:12:17.436 Keith felt it had to work because decades of his 0:12:17.556 --> 0:12:18.716 life depended on it. 0:12:19.596 --> 0:12:22.636 I knew I had to be brave because I wanted 0:12:22.676 --> 0:12:26.476 to give a good character witness for my father, because 0:12:26.476 --> 0:12:31.556 I wanted him to serve the least amount of time 0:12:31.636 --> 0:12:32.996 possible for what he did. 0:12:34.356 --> 0:12:38.156 This trial would have two parts or phases. First, the 0:12:38.236 --> 0:12:41.876 jury would decide if Keith was guilty and of which charges. 0:12:42.716 --> 0:12:46.076 Then the penalty phase would happen, and that's when Alesea 0:12:46.116 --> 0:12:49.956 and Marissa would testify. Finally, the jury would make a 0:12:49.996 --> 0:12:55.116 recommendation for how long Keith should serve, but ultimately the 0:12:55.236 --> 0:13:04.836 judge would have final say. As things got to a 0:13:04.956 --> 0:13:08.316 start in the courtroom, the judge asked Keith's lawyers if 0:13:08.316 --> 0:13:11.916 they were ready to press seed. His lead lawyer said yes, 0:13:11.956 --> 0:13:16.356 your honor, and then Keith interjected, no, we're not, your honor. 0:13:17.396 --> 0:13:20.076 Keith then explained to the judge that he and his 0:13:20.156 --> 0:13:24.356 lawyers were still at odds. In fact, in pre trial, 0:13:24.676 --> 0:13:27.596 Keith had even asked the judge if he could change lawyers. 0:13:28.236 --> 0:13:30.636 We had a disagreement on strategy, and when you come 0:13:30.676 --> 0:13:35.876 an in pass on a disagreement agreement in strategy, you 0:13:35.956 --> 0:13:40.516 should be afforded the opportunity to change counsel and my 0:13:40.636 --> 0:13:43.116 life is on the line right, not theirs. 0:13:44.156 --> 0:13:48.636 Ultimately, the judge did not let Keith change lawyers, and 0:13:48.756 --> 0:13:52.076 Keith was making it clear he still didn't feel ready. 0:13:52.716 --> 0:13:55.676 He told the judge quote, this trial is going to 0:13:55.676 --> 0:13:59.916 be a complete sham. It was a hot mess. The 0:13:59.996 --> 0:14:02.676 judge noted that Keith was still dressed in his prison 0:14:02.796 --> 0:14:05.716 uniform and asked him if he wants to be provided 0:14:05.956 --> 0:14:09.996 with civilian clothing. Defendants are usually given that option so 0:14:10.076 --> 0:14:14.236 that the jury isn't biased. Keith replied, if and when 0:14:14.276 --> 0:14:16.876 there is a trial, I would like to be provided 0:14:16.916 --> 0:14:21.476 with civilian clothes, yes, to which the judge replied. The 0:14:21.596 --> 0:14:26.316 trial will proceed today, and that is how it began. 0:14:31.276 --> 0:14:35.076 In their opening arguments, the prosecution laid out its case 0:14:35.836 --> 0:14:38.916 Keith didn't just take the money from these banks. He 0:14:38.996 --> 0:14:42.436 created fear to get it. He handed over notes with 0:14:42.556 --> 0:14:45.956 variations of the same message, give me the money and 0:14:45.996 --> 0:14:49.956 we'll all go home safe. All the while, the prosecution 0:14:50.156 --> 0:14:53.156 noted that he kept his hand tucked into his jacket. 0:14:53.716 --> 0:14:57.196 They said that Keith's hand gesture, paired with this note 0:14:57.676 --> 0:15:00.756 was meant to make bank tellers believe that he had 0:15:00.796 --> 0:15:04.316 a gun, and the jury would see this for themselves 0:15:04.636 --> 0:15:09.676 when they watched the bank's surveillance videos. This detail about 0:15:09.716 --> 0:15:13.796 a possible weapon was key for the prosecution. If it 0:15:13.836 --> 0:15:16.516 even seemed like he had a gun, it didn't mean 0:15:16.516 --> 0:15:20.676 that Keith had committed first degree robbery. The alternative was 0:15:20.876 --> 0:15:24.796 second degree robbery, meaning no weapon or appearance of a weapon, 0:15:25.356 --> 0:15:29.956 and that carried a much lesser sentence. Prosecutors made it 0:15:30.036 --> 0:15:33.996 clear they wanted a first degree conviction for each of 0:15:33.996 --> 0:15:37.236 the robberies that Keith was accused of, and they told 0:15:37.236 --> 0:15:39.996 the jury that anything short of that would be a 0:15:40.036 --> 0:15:44.356 win for Keith. To really drive home their case, the 0:15:44.396 --> 0:15:50.836 prosecutors promised the bank tellers themselves would testify. We managed 0:15:50.876 --> 0:15:53.596 to track down several of the tellers who testify to 0:15:53.716 --> 0:15:57.836 Keith's trial. For many of them, the whole experience just 0:15:58.156 --> 0:16:02.276 wasn't something they wanted to revisit. One teller, a guy 0:16:02.356 --> 0:16:05.356 named Mark, was willing to be interviewed. We're just going 0:16:05.436 --> 0:16:08.996 to use his first name. Mark told us that prior 0:16:09.036 --> 0:16:14.076 to the trial, state prosecutors approached him about testifying. I 0:16:14.196 --> 0:16:15.836 was like, do I have to? 0:16:16.436 --> 0:16:18.756 I was already busy with my life and such, and 0:16:18.836 --> 0:16:21.476 thought that this was already gone and passed, and then 0:16:21.516 --> 0:16:25.716 bringing it back just felt like a intrusion, you know. 0:16:25.756 --> 0:16:28.916 The prosecution was like, well, we don't want to have 0:16:28.956 --> 0:16:31.156 to necessarily subpoena you to make you come in. We 0:16:31.236 --> 0:16:33.316 just want to want you to come in. It's like, okay, fine, 0:16:33.356 --> 0:16:35.316 I'll come in. You don't need to go that far. 0:16:35.996 --> 0:16:37.036 Did you feel pressured? 0:16:38.236 --> 0:16:38.476 Yes. 0:16:39.676 --> 0:16:42.836 In the end, Mark shows up in court and takes 0:16:42.876 --> 0:16:46.556 the stand. He testified that he'd been working as a 0:16:46.596 --> 0:16:49.436 teller for less than a year when the boony hat 0:16:49.556 --> 0:16:51.236 bandit walked into his bank. 0:16:55.276 --> 0:16:57.076 He had a coat on, and he had like his 0:16:57.236 --> 0:17:02.596 hair was slicked back, and he had glasses on. And 0:17:02.676 --> 0:17:06.076 when he came up, he put the slip of paper 0:17:06.076 --> 0:17:08.316 towards me and then proceeded to take his hand and 0:17:08.356 --> 0:17:11.316 put it into his it like he had a weapon. 0:17:11.956 --> 0:17:17.796 That was your assumption correct. Mark told prosecutors that when 0:17:17.796 --> 0:17:22.356 he read Keith's demand note, he had this visceral reaction. 0:17:23.036 --> 0:17:27.476 At that point, like adrenaline kicks in and it makes 0:17:27.476 --> 0:17:30.596 it very difficult to read. It felt like it took 0:17:30.676 --> 0:17:33.756 like twenty minutes and I'm just trying to push myself 0:17:33.916 --> 0:17:34.276 through it. 0:17:35.116 --> 0:17:37.916 Mark says. The note warned that as long as no 0:17:37.996 --> 0:17:41.516 alarms went off, no one would get hurt. As he 0:17:41.556 --> 0:17:44.676 tried to process what this meant and what was happening, 0:17:45.116 --> 0:17:47.916 he says, time seemed to slow down. 0:17:48.436 --> 0:17:50.396 And it felt like I was just standing still. And 0:17:50.396 --> 0:17:52.876 then it's like he's going to get tired or fed 0:17:52.956 --> 0:17:54.676 up with me, and he's going to do something. I 0:17:54.716 --> 0:17:57.516 need to start moving, like. I don't want to make 0:17:57.596 --> 0:18:02.396 him agitated or anything like that to make things worse. 0:18:03.396 --> 0:18:07.196 So Mark empties out his two drawers, hands over the cash, 0:18:07.236 --> 0:18:10.836 and then after what seems like an eternity but was 0:18:10.876 --> 0:18:14.436 really only a few minutes, it's all over, and he 0:18:14.516 --> 0:18:16.396 watches Keith exit the bank. 0:18:19.556 --> 0:18:21.876 After he walks out the door, I proceeded to go 0:18:21.956 --> 0:18:25.196 to my supervisor and inform her that we were just 0:18:25.316 --> 0:18:29.676 dropped by that gentleman. Other tellers were freaking out for me. Essentially, 0:18:29.676 --> 0:18:32.756 they were like, are you serious that really happened, And 0:18:32.876 --> 0:18:34.476 oh my god, that could have been me and stuff 0:18:34.516 --> 0:18:34.796 like that. 0:18:35.916 --> 0:18:39.196 Mark recalls. One of his colleagues was so shook up 0:18:39.716 --> 0:18:41.996 they didn't come back to work for a few days, 0:18:42.676 --> 0:18:46.956 and Mark understood. He figured it was like having a 0:18:46.996 --> 0:18:50.116 serious car accident and not wanting to get back behind 0:18:50.116 --> 0:18:54.316 the wheel, cause you can't help but think what if 0:18:54.356 --> 0:18:56.876 it happens again, or, in the case of working at 0:18:56.916 --> 0:18:59.836 a bank, what if the next customer is a robber 0:19:00.636 --> 0:19:05.796 or the one after that. I want to tell you 0:19:05.876 --> 0:19:10.836 about one of the other tellers who testified, a woman, Valerie. 0:19:10.876 --> 0:19:13.756 When she took the stand, the prosecutor had her walk 0:19:13.836 --> 0:19:16.876 through what happened, how Keith had handed her a demand 0:19:16.916 --> 0:19:20.596 note and then tucked a hand into his jacket. And 0:19:20.716 --> 0:19:23.036 I want to read you a bit from the transcript 0:19:23.316 --> 0:19:29.596 the prosecutor's questions and Valerie's answers. Prosecutor, did it appear 0:19:29.636 --> 0:19:35.316 to you and did you believe that he had a gun? Valerie, yes, prosecutor. 0:19:36.036 --> 0:19:37.676 What did you think he would do with the gun 0:19:37.756 --> 0:19:41.756 if he didn't comply with his wishes? Valerie, I fully 0:19:41.796 --> 0:19:46.516 believed he would use it. The prosecutor pressed on, prosecutor, 0:19:47.316 --> 0:19:52.516 Were you in any fear? Valerie, very much so, Prosecutor. 0:19:53.316 --> 0:19:57.236 Were you in fear for your life Valerie mine and 0:19:57.276 --> 0:20:03.996 my child's prosecutor. Were you pregnant at the time, Valerie, yes, prosecutor. 0:20:04.436 --> 0:20:10.236 How many months Valerie, nine months, Prosecutor. Was that the 0:20:10.356 --> 0:20:15.956 last day you were ever a teller? Valerie, Yes, Prosecutor, 0:20:16.396 --> 0:20:21.316 you couldn't go back. Valerie shook her head. Prosecutor, you 0:20:21.396 --> 0:20:34.676 were done, Valerie, I'm done. We sometimes think of a 0:20:34.716 --> 0:20:39.436 traumatic event as a singular moment in time, a horrible day, 0:20:39.956 --> 0:20:44.396 a shit show of an afternoon. But sometimes the insidious 0:20:44.476 --> 0:20:48.516 nature of trauma is that it never really ends, that 0:20:48.556 --> 0:20:53.156 this horrible day lives within us, repeating itself, spinning in 0:20:53.196 --> 0:20:58.596 our minds with alternate possibilities and permutations, in Valerie's case, 0:20:59.596 --> 0:21:08.076 perhaps forever. When it came time for the defense to 0:21:08.116 --> 0:21:11.876 make its case, it was tough going, and part of 0:21:11.876 --> 0:21:14.876 the reason was that Keith and his own lawyers weren't 0:21:14.876 --> 0:21:17.996 on the same page from the start. They disagreed about 0:21:17.996 --> 0:21:21.396 a bunch of things. Keith felt that they hadn't adequately 0:21:21.436 --> 0:21:25.756 prepared for trial. This was part of what motivated Keith 0:21:26.276 --> 0:21:30.596 to make an unusual decision, a decision defense lawyers typically 0:21:30.636 --> 0:21:35.636 advise against, to take the witness stand himself and help 0:21:35.716 --> 0:21:58.636 mount his own defense. Two days into the trial, Keith 0:21:58.716 --> 0:22:02.756 took the stand. By that point, the prosecution had made 0:22:02.796 --> 0:22:05.996 a pretty strong argument that Keith had created a threat 0:22:06.036 --> 0:22:09.916 of violence with one his demand notes and to his 0:22:09.996 --> 0:22:15.196 hand gestures Keith was still hoping for second degree robbery. 0:22:15.316 --> 0:22:19.476 He saw this as a nonviolent crime, but within the 0:22:19.516 --> 0:22:23.396 context of Missouri law, Keith was facing an uphill battle 0:22:24.356 --> 0:22:28.556 because Missouri courts are clear if you even act like 0:22:28.596 --> 0:22:31.276 you have a weapon with a hand in your pocket 0:22:31.516 --> 0:22:35.156 or a hand under your shirt, and the victim believes 0:22:35.196 --> 0:22:40.676 you're armed, that's enough. That's first degree robbery, regardless of 0:22:40.676 --> 0:22:50.476 whether you actually have a weapon on you. When he 0:22:50.516 --> 0:22:54.356 took the stand, Keith talked about the demand notes, the 0:22:54.396 --> 0:22:57.596 ones that promised that nobody would get hurt or everyone 0:22:57.636 --> 0:23:01.316 would go home safely. He said they were not meant 0:23:01.356 --> 0:23:02.036 to be a threat. 0:23:02.996 --> 0:23:07.316 The main reason that I said that was not to 0:23:07.356 --> 0:23:10.916 put great fear in anybody. But I read stories where 0:23:10.916 --> 0:23:14.996 there were security people or off duty police officers in 0:23:15.156 --> 0:23:19.116 banks that were being robbed, and they are the ones 0:23:19.156 --> 0:23:24.236 who started spraying bullets around. I didn't want anyone trying 0:23:24.276 --> 0:23:29.476 to play hero and somebody innocently or myself to get hurt. 0:23:30.836 --> 0:23:34.396 I could see how that could be misconstrued as something 0:23:34.436 --> 0:23:37.796 different easily in hindsight. 0:23:39.796 --> 0:23:44.356 So basically he's saying his note wasn't a threat exactly. 0:23:44.796 --> 0:23:48.516 It was more like a warning, intimating don't hit the alarm, 0:23:48.876 --> 0:23:51.636 don't make a big scene, because that might cause a 0:23:51.676 --> 0:23:55.716 panic and then someone not me, a guard or a 0:23:55.756 --> 0:24:01.676 would be hero, might start shooting. As for the hand 0:24:01.756 --> 0:24:06.196 gesture keeping his hand tucked into his jacket, Keith explained 0:24:06.196 --> 0:24:09.716 a trial that he sometimes collected so much cash and 0:24:09.756 --> 0:24:13.036 a given robbery that it just wouldn't all fit into 0:24:13.076 --> 0:24:17.156 a single envelope, so he kept a second envelope tucked 0:24:17.196 --> 0:24:20.596 away in his jacket. He wanted to have that backup 0:24:20.676 --> 0:24:24.956 envelope at the ready, literally at his fingertips, so that's 0:24:24.996 --> 0:24:28.116 why he kept his hand there. And he said he 0:24:28.236 --> 0:24:31.916 kept his hand tucked away for another reason, to. 0:24:31.996 --> 0:24:35.116 Not leave fingerprints on anything. If you have your hands 0:24:35.116 --> 0:24:41.716 in your pockets, you're not going to inadvertently touch anything 0:24:42.116 --> 0:24:44.596 on the counter and leave fingerprints. 0:24:44.676 --> 0:24:45.676 Why not wear gloves? 0:24:46.516 --> 0:24:50.236 I just think wearing gloves, especially on the robberies that 0:24:50.276 --> 0:24:53.396 took place on warm days, would draw attention to you. 0:24:54.796 --> 0:24:58.596 Keith says that by this point in the trial he 0:24:58.596 --> 0:25:01.556 could see things weren't going very well and that a 0:25:01.596 --> 0:25:12.836 first degree conviction was looming. The jury took less than 0:25:12.916 --> 0:25:16.276 two hours to reach a verdict about the charges they 0:25:16.276 --> 0:25:20.516 found Keith guilty of robbery in the first degree. Now 0:25:20.596 --> 0:25:23.796 it was all a question of punishment. One of the 0:25:23.836 --> 0:25:26.756 main reasons that Keith had insisted on a jury trial 0:25:27.396 --> 0:25:30.516 was to make his case for clemency in the penalty phase. 0:25:31.316 --> 0:25:35.196 That's where the jury would make their recommendations, but first 0:25:35.516 --> 0:25:39.356 they would hear from Keith's daughters. It would fall largely 0:25:39.476 --> 0:25:42.836 on their shoulders to help create a favorable impression of 0:25:42.876 --> 0:25:47.876 their father and explain that they needed him in their lives. 0:25:52.956 --> 0:25:56.956 Marissa testified first. When she took the witness stand, she 0:25:57.076 --> 0:26:00.796 talked about how her mother was addicted to heroine and how, 0:26:00.876 --> 0:26:04.636 in Keith's absence, she too had struggled with drug use. 0:26:05.276 --> 0:26:09.476 Marissa said she still needed her dad that quote, He's 0:26:09.516 --> 0:26:12.516 the only one of my family that's given me support 0:26:12.596 --> 0:26:18.356 through my addiction. When Elise took the stand, she talked 0:26:18.356 --> 0:26:22.436 about her life in steady practical terms, how she was 0:26:22.476 --> 0:26:25.556 now in college with the double major in Russian language 0:26:25.756 --> 0:26:29.036 and psychology, How she paid for college with a mix 0:26:29.076 --> 0:26:33.356 of scholarships, grants, and jobs. How she'd been working since 0:26:33.396 --> 0:26:37.636 the age of sixteen, How at times she supported not 0:26:37.716 --> 0:26:41.836 just herself but her sister too, but she couldn't keep 0:26:41.836 --> 0:26:46.076 doing this all alone, she said. She described her relationship 0:26:46.116 --> 0:26:50.636 with Keith as the most important one in her life, saying, quote, 0:26:51.156 --> 0:26:53.796 I don't want the relationship that I have with him now. 0:26:54.556 --> 0:26:56.436 I want one where I can be with him and 0:26:56.556 --> 0:27:00.076 touch him and spend time with him. When she was 0:27:00.116 --> 0:27:02.156 done with all of this, it was time for the 0:27:02.196 --> 0:27:06.756 prosecution to cross examine Elise, and I'm going to read 0:27:06.796 --> 0:27:10.836 to you from their exchange because for me, this was 0:27:10.876 --> 0:27:14.316 one of the most revealing and heartbreaking moments in the trial. 0:27:17.556 --> 0:27:21.036 The prosecutor confirms that Elise is now living on her own, 0:27:21.836 --> 0:27:27.276 and then he starts to ask her questions. Prosecutor, you 0:27:27.356 --> 0:27:32.116 will be a success in life, won't you, Elise? Of course, 0:27:32.156 --> 0:27:34.956 I'm going to be a success no matter what, if 0:27:34.996 --> 0:27:37.636 everyone dies, I'm going to be a success because that's 0:27:37.676 --> 0:27:40.276 who I am. But I mean, I don't see how 0:27:40.276 --> 0:27:43.916 this has to do with my relationship with my father. Prosecutor, 0:27:44.556 --> 0:27:48.396 With or without your father being there every day with you. 0:27:48.396 --> 0:27:52.516 You will be a success, won't you, Elise. I can 0:27:52.556 --> 0:27:56.476 be a success and be extremely sad at the same time. Yes, 0:27:56.556 --> 0:27:58.196 I can have all the money and all the best 0:27:58.276 --> 0:28:03.156 jobs in the world and a gorgeous husband, But so what, prosecutor. 0:28:03.716 --> 0:28:06.036 I guess your father should have considered that before he 0:28:06.076 --> 0:28:11.556 did those crimes, don't you think, Alise, I do think yes. 0:28:25.796 --> 0:28:30.196 After her testimony, police recalls exiting the courtroom in kind 0:28:30.196 --> 0:28:31.916 of a daze. 0:28:32.156 --> 0:28:36.476 I remember waiting outside, lying down on the carpet in 0:28:36.516 --> 0:28:43.036 the hallway outside the courtroom, just exhausted, full of anticipation, 0:28:43.316 --> 0:28:47.716 in tension and anxiety that comes with being in a 0:28:47.796 --> 0:28:52.676 sort of purgatory. I was enraged at the way that 0:28:52.756 --> 0:28:57.756