WEBVTT - The Alabama Murders

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin, maybe you remember it. August two thousand and three,

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<v Speaker 1>everything went dark. A couple of trees on the East

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<v Speaker 1>Lake transmission line outside of Cleveland grew a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>too tall, and the electrical line at that precise point,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps because of the summer heat, sagged a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>more than usual and touched the trees. Contact causes short

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<v Speaker 1>The short cause of power that used to run along

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<v Speaker 1>that line to be rerouted along another line, which overloaded

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<v Speaker 1>that line, causing an even bigger electrical surge to be

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<v Speaker 1>rerouted to another line, and on and on, leading to

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<v Speaker 1>a series of failures that rippled across the entire Northeastern grid,

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<v Speaker 1>leaving fifty million people without electricity. The Great Northeastern Blackout

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<v Speaker 1>is what's called a failure cascade. One small mishap leads

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<v Speaker 1>to a second, bigger problem, and a third even bigger problem,

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<v Speaker 1>and finally, at the end of the chain catastrophe, I

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<v Speaker 1>want to tell you a story about a moral failure cascade.

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<v Speaker 1>It began with what looked like a robbery gone wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>A woman murdered in her home in an area of

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<v Speaker 1>northwestern Alabama known as the Shoals. But that crime would

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<v Speaker 1>soon attract the crowd, a host of others who would

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<v Speaker 1>get caught up in the cascade as it picked up

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<v Speaker 1>momentum onlookers, participants, people trying to stop the unfolding catastrophe.

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<v Speaker 1>For thirty years, people wittingly or unwittingly feeding it until

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<v Speaker 1>it consumed them too. Was he Was he a good preacher, charismedic?

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I would say very charismatic.

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<v Speaker 3>There was this joke that said that it was easier

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<v Speaker 3>to get forgiveness in the Church of Christ for murdering

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<v Speaker 3>somebody than it was to be divorced. Thank you. Just

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<v Speaker 3>got on from work and they come and he said, well, mom,

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<v Speaker 3>can you come? He said, the police are here. There's

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<v Speaker 3>no sense in even having a jury. If you if

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<v Speaker 3>you're going to be able to overturn the jury, if

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<v Speaker 3>a judge can overturn the jury, he said, But I

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<v Speaker 3>was involved, and that's a horrible thing I was involved in.

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<v Speaker 3>I've been in prison twenty four twenty five years. That's

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<v Speaker 3>probably not long enough.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't kill them. They get burned from the inside,

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<v Speaker 2>and then glad just pours into the lungs and I'm

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<v Speaker 2>sorry as I'm saying this, it's awful, and this is

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<v Speaker 2>what this is how lethal injection actually kills you.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's what I don't understand. Nobody notices till you. Apparently not,

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<v Speaker 1>He would say to himself, turn to the right, to

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<v Speaker 1>the victim's family and apologize.

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<v Speaker 3>Turn to the left, tell my family, I love him,

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<v Speaker 3>So he would have this little practice.

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<v Speaker 2>To the right, I'm sorry. To the left, I love you.

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<v Speaker 1>From Revisionist History, This is the Alabama Murders, a special

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<v Speaker 1>seven episode series in which we investigate why this case

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<v Speaker 1>went on for as long as it did, why it

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<v Speaker 1>took so many bizarre and unsettling turns along the way,

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe the most important question, why have we created

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<v Speaker 1>a system that, in trying to respond to suffering all

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<v Speaker 1>too often makes suffering worse. The mant have damage this

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<v Speaker 1>man did is incalculable.

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<v Speaker 2>It's still damaging all of us. It still hurts us

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<v Speaker 2>to think about.

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<v Speaker 1>Subscribe to Pushkin Plus to binge the entire season of

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