Transcripts For KPIX 60 Minutes 20160307

To be like an atomic explosion. Anderson cooper he is talking about the explosion that killed 29 coal miners in a mine run by the man known as the king of coal, who just became the first c. E. O. Of a Major American Company convicted of a Workplace Safety crime. This was a coal mine and a company that was, not an exaggeration to say run, as a criminal enterprise. This can be likened to a Drug Organization and the defendant was the kingpin. Bill whitaker all the condemned men in texas, about 250 of them, are held in one place death row in livingston. The prison let us inside to speak with several condemned killers just weeks before their executions. What they told us in their final days may surprise you. What do you think you will be thinking . If i am going to hell or heaven. If i am going to hell or heaven. I am steve kroft. I am lesley stahl. I am anderson cooper. I am bill whitaker. I am lara logan. I am scott pelley. Those stories tonight on 60 minutes. Cbs money watch pup date sponsored by lincoln financial. Calling all chief life officers. Glor glor good evening. An iranian billionaire was sentenced to death for embezzling from irans staterun oil company. China said today it punished nearly 300,000 officials for corruption last year. And Peyton Manning is retiring as the highestpaid player in nfl history, earning nearly 250 million, not including endorsements. Im jeff glor, cbs news. For adults with an advanced lung cancer called squamous nonsmall cell, previously treated with platinumbased chemotherapy, its not every day something this big comes along. A chance to live longer with. Opdivo, nivolumab. Opdivo is the first and only immunotherapy fda approved based on a Clinical Trial demonstrating longer life. For these patients. In fact, opdivo significantly increased the chance of living longer versus chemotherapy. Opdivo is different. It works with your immune system. 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Bristolmyers squibb thanks the patients and physicians who participated in the opdivo Clinical Trial. Lara logan when Justin Trudeau comes to washington later this week, canadas new Prime Minister will become the First Canadian leader in almost two decades to be welcomed by the white house with a state dinner. Its an important relationship the u. S. Gets more oil from canada than any other country and its one of this nations biggest trading partners. But relations lately have been a little frosty, after years of conservative leadership in ottawa that was often at odds with the obama administration. That changed when 44 year old trudeau took office last fall. His father, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, famously made canada one of the most progressive countries in the world and many in canada wonder if Justin Trudeau would ever have made it to the countrys top Office Without the most storied name in canadian politics. Logan youve had a somewhat unusual path to this office of Prime Minister. Justin trudeau well, i was i was a snowboard instructor, i was a bouncer in a nightclub i was a White Water River guide for many years. I worked as a teacher. You know, i make no apologies for a very varied set of life experiences. Logan but its also opened you up to criticism. I mean, weve heard it, youve heard it. You know what people say, that youre too young, youre inexperienced, that, you dont have what it takes to do this job. Justin trudeau well, i the way i respond to it is by ignoring it. I mean, you you cannot let yourself be defined by the hopes that you will fulfill the darkest wishes of your opponents. cheers and applause logan Justin Trudeaus sweeping victory was not expected. Justin trudeau this is what positive politics can do logan a few weeks earlier, his liberal party was last in the polls. Yet when the votes were counted, hed done what no other leader in canada had ever done Justin Trudeau thank you, merci, merci beaucoup logan taken his party from its worst defeat in the last election to an historic win, snatching power from the conservatives after nearly a decade of rule. In that moment of victory, his youth, his looks and his family name captivated the world. Hes so handsome logan is that daunting . Justin trudeau it is what it is. I look at what i have as a challenge and i could list a whole bunch of different challenges. And i choose not to be daunted by any of them. Logan undaunted, and still untested, with a majority government that gives him significant power he says hell use to return the country to its liberal roots. Hes already fulfilled one of the boldest promises of his campaign welcoming 25,000 syrian refugees, some of them in person. Justin trudeau welcome to your new home. Logan . At a time when the u. S. Has taken in a little over 2,000 refugees from syria. And governments are more concerned than ever about security risks. Justin trudeau we were able to actually go and pick and choose and screen and bring over the people we chose. And that gives us a much greater level of control and attention over whos actually going to come in. Logan but are you saying theres no risk . Or do you acknowledge that there is still a risk . Justin trudeau every time a tourist or an immigrant or a refugee shows up in another country, theres a security risk. And i am more than comfortable that doing what weve done, accepting in 25,000 syrian refugees, does right by both the safety of canadians and by the values that define us as a nation. Logan would you be just as comfortable if there was a terrorist attack carried out by someone who came through as a refugee . Justin trudeau ultimately, being open and respectful towards each other is much more powerful as a way to diffuse hatred and anger than you know, layering on, you know, big walls and oppressive policies. Logan his commitment to openness is reminiscent of his father, pierre, whos regarded as one of the founders of modern canada. Pierre Trudeau Canada must be progressive, and canada must be a just society. Logan he enshrined into law a charter of rights and freedoms, similar to the u. S. s bill of rights, that still defines what it means to be canadian today. And he made the country officially bilingual, giving french the same status as english. Known as much for his towering intellect, as his glamour and charm, he dominated canadian politics for nearly two decades. Reporter and once again thats . Pierre trudeau justin. Logan and from the moment his son was born on Christmas Day in 1971, Justin Trudeau was thrust into his fathers spotlight. Every step, including some of his first, chronicled by a nation obsessed. Tv announcer with his eldest son justin was in tow. Logan his dad took him all over the world to meet popes and Prime Ministers and royalty, his Little Brothers sometimes at his side. Reporter what did you think of lady diana . Young Justin Trudeau oh she was very beautiful, and im glad that Prince Charles has picked her. Logan it was a unique childhood, but it defined him in canada as Pierre Trudeaus son, and he struggled to break free of that legacy. You still face the people who say, this guy didnt earn it. You know, hes trading on his fathers glorious past. Justin trudeau im proud to be his son. And i and i dont mind that people remember that. I think thats a good thing. But one of the things that comes with that is having lived all my life with people who would criticize me without knowing me because they didnt know my father. Or people who loved me without knowing me because they loved my father. Logan and both are false. Justin trudeau both are false. Logan in 2012, four years into his political career, he chose an unusual way to prove he was more than the spoiled son of canadian royalty. Justin trudeau logan he turned an annual Charity Boxing match into a political opportunity, challenging patrick brazeau, a senator from the opposition who had a black belt in karate. Canadians took one look at the two of them, and said trudeau had lost his mind. The first round went as expected. But he and his trainer ali nestor, had prepared for this battle. He would take a beating in the ring, tire his opponent and outlast him. Sophie trudeau i think i was like this. laughs looking through the fingers. It was not easy. Logan trudeaus wife sophie was in the crowd. Sophie trudeau youre thinking, why is he doing this again . And i dont like seeing this. But had told me so many times, i got this. Its not gonna be easy. I got it. I can do it. Logan did you know the strategy going in . Sophie trudeau i did know that, but he he admitted that the punches were with such strength and force, he had been punched before but not with that strength. And there were some moments where you know, he was seeing stars. But he he stayed upright. Logan trudeau held firm to the plan and when brazeau tired, pounded him into submission. The referee had to step in before the end of the third round. Did not even go to the end, not even close. Justin trudeau people think that boxing is all about how hard you can hit your opponent. Its not. Boxing is about how hard a hit you can take and keep going. That ultimately is much more the measure of a person than someone who says, oh, ive never been knocked down, or, ive never been punched in the face. Well, you know what . Maybe you should have. You might learn a few things about yourself. Logan the Prime Minister still boxes at the same gym in montreal where he and ali trained for the fight. We stopped by to watch them work out. The kids here all know him and still call him by his first name. With his triumph in the ring, trudeau proved he was tougher than most people thought. Logan . A strength that came in part from a life defined not just by privilege, but by tragedy. His mother, a media sensation nearly 30 years younger than her husband, struggled with Mental Illness then undiagnosed. When she left her husband and her boys, the painful separation played out in the tabloids. And when trudeaus younger brother michel was killed in an avalanche in 1998, the loss was very public. Trudeau says his father was never the same. bells pealing logan Pierre Trudeau died two years later. It was the largest state funeral in their history and more than 20 million canadians watched Justin Trudeau, then 28, deliver the eulogy for his father. Justin trudeau united in our grief, to say goodbye. Logan that was a moment that had lasting impact. Why do you think that was . Justin trudeau i denied this for a long time. I think there was a sense of showing people what a great father he was by showing what love his sons were capable of giving him. Logan today, its his family people come to see. His children growing up in the spotlight, unphased by cameras and temperatures well below zero at the popular winter carnival in quebec city, where we joined them in a ritual he and his father used to enjoy. Much of his time as Prime Minister is spent here on Parliament Hill in ottawa, the countrys capital. This is what they call the lifeblood of canadas democracy, where laws are made and trudeau responds in public to questions from the opposition. The hallways we walked with him are filled with his memories. His father lay in state here and his portrait hangs on the wall, a constant reminder of the man he has to follow. Logan how long have you been in politics . About eight years . Justin trudeau about eight years. Yeah. Logan and you went from zero to Prime Minister for laughs in about eight years . Justin trudeau things fell into place. There was an opportunity for fresh leadership. And i was i was successful. Logan under his leadership, canada is redefining its role in the world. He pulled the countrys fighter jets out of the u. S. Led air war against isis, but more than doubled the number of advisors on the ground. Your role in this war is bigger now than it was with just six planes in the sky. Justin trudeau theres a lot of countries that do very well at dropping bombs. There are other things that canada actually does better than most other countries. And one of them is training people on the ground. Logan but its not disengagement. In fact, its a Justin Trudeau no. Logan deeper engagement in the war. Justin trudeau indeed. Logan trudeaus father liked to say that hockey players and cold fronts were canadas main exports. But the u. S. Relies on its northern neighbor for more than that. The state Department Says more than eight million americans depend on canada for their jobs, and nearly 2 billion in trade flows across the border every day. On the eve of his visit to the white house, we asked the Prime Minister about canadians feelings toward the us and were surprised at his candor. Logan what do canadians not like about the u. S . Justin trudeau i had a conversation one time with an american parent of a friend of mine and she was a big supporter of a president ial candidate. And i pointed out that if that person was run if indeed this man was running to be as americans like to say, the most powerful man in the world, i just felt like it might be nice if they paid a little more attention to the world. So having a little more of an awareness of whats going on in the rest of the world i think is is what many canadians would hope for americans. Because you cant be canadian without being aware of at least one other country, the united states, because its so important to us. I think we sometimes like to think that, you know, americans will Pay Attention to us from time to time, too. Justin trudeau on his complicated relationships with his legendary father and his glamorous, troubled mother. Go to 60minutesovertime. Com, glamorous, troubled mother. Go to 60minutesovertime. Com, sponsored by lyrica. These feet served my country, carried the weight of a family, and walked a daughter down the aisle. But i couldnt bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. So i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. Nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. Lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain. From moderate to even severe diabetic nerve pain. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. 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History, a c. E. O. Of a Major Company was convicted of a Workplace Safety crime. His name is Don Blankenship and he was once known as the king of coal. The company he ran, massey energy, owned more than 40 mines in central appalachia, including the Upper Big Branch mine, located in montcoal, west virginia, a state where coal is the dominant industry. In 2010, the Upper Big Branch mine was the site of the worst mining disaster in the u. S. In 40 years. The kind of accident that isnt supposed to happen anymore. It was just after three oclock on april 5, when a massive explosion tore through miles of underground tunnels, killing 29 miners. Prosecutors accused Don Blankenship of ignoring mine safety laws and fostering a corporate mentality that allowed the disaster to occur. Stanley stewart it was tremendous. Im no expert, but just from what i know of what happened and the things that were torn up in there, it had to be like an atomic explosion. Cooper Stanley Stewart worked at the Upper Big Branch mine for 15 years. He was 300 feet underground and had just started his shift when the explosion occurred. Stewart i felt a little breeze of air coming from inside. And i said thats not right. Well then it got harder, and we just took off running to the outside, and looked and you could see the whoosh just keep coming and coming. Seemed like for somewhere between two and four minutes. And one of the younger guys said hey, what happened . And i said buddy, the place blew up. Cooper the explosion occurred 1,000 feet underground and nearly three miles inside the mine. These photos, taken by the mine safety and Health Administration, have never been seen before, and show the force of the blast. Flames moving at more than 1,500 feet per second shot through more than 2. 5 miles of underground tunnels. Investigators believe the blast was caused by a spark that ignited methane gas that had built up due to inadequate ventilation. Highly flammable coal dust that had been allowed to accumulate throughout the mine fueled the explosion. Stewart it was an early 1900s type of explosion. Conditions should never have existed for that to take place. Cooper stewart was there when some of the 29 miners hed worked sidebyside with for decades were brought to the surface. What kind of condition were they in . Stewart their faces were very black and it smelled like dynamite. Ill never forget that smell. Cooper the miners ranged in age from 20 to 61. Most were fathers. A third were killed instantly. Robert atkins, a former coal miner, and his wife shereen, lost their son jason, who was at the end of his shift and was heading toward the mine entrance, when he was overcome by toxic fumes. Shereen atkins the coal dust was so bad that it carried, it ignited all the way. crying . And took our sons life who was almost out of the mines. Cooper gary quarles, a 3rd generation coal miner, lost his only child gary wayne, who left behind two children. Gary quarles they lived right beside of us. And at times, we thought that wasnt a good thing for that to be like that. And then after he. crying after he got killed, i said that was a good thing. Cooper gary says he and his son never talked about safety issues in the mines but gary knew all about massey because he had worked there as well. Gary i knew how they operated. They didnt know nothing but to lie, cheat and outlaw. Thats the way they done things. Steve ruby this was a coal mine and a company that was, its not an exaggeration to say, run as a criminal enterprise. Cooper assistant u. S. Attorney steve ruby led the prosecution against Don Blankenship along with u. S. Attorney for west virginia, booth goodwin. Booth goodwin this could be likened to a Drug Organization and the defendant was the kingpin. Cooper the defendant, Don Blankenship, had for decades been one of west virginias most influential and powerful figures. The c. E. O. Of massey energy, the largest coal producer in appalachia, he employed 5,800 people and operated more than 40 mines. Blankenship wouldnt do an interview with 60 minutes but prosecutors say for years he condoned and tolerated safety violations for the sake of profit. Ruby right up until the time the Upper Big Branch mine blew up, that was the way that the company ran, because everybody understood that was the way Don Blankenship wanted it run. Cooper that was the corporate mentality that he instilled in his company. Booth right. That was the culture that existed. Cooper profits over safety. Booth profits over safety. He set the tone. He set the corporate culture. Cooper despite receiving daily reports of the high number of safety violations, prosecutors argued blankenship did little to correct them because Upper Big Branch was a big moneymaker for massey, earning more than 600,000 a day, and blankenships pay was directly tied to every foot of coal mined. In his last three years at massey, blankenships total compensation was more than 80 million. Ruby the men and women that we talked to who worked in this mine said that it was absolutely understood, it was expected that if you worked at that mine, you were going to break the law in order to produce as much coal as possible, as fast and as cheaply as possible. Bobbie pauley everything was produce, produce, produce. It didnt make any difference of the dangers. It didnt make any difference if you had to take shortcuts. It was all about put the coal on the belt. Cooper Bobbie Pauley was the only female miner at Upper Big Branch. She wasnt working the day of the explosion but her fianceee boone payne was. He died in the blast. Bobbie says she and boone worried every day the mine was an accident waiting to happen. Everyone knew there were problems . Everyone knew there were safety issues . Pauley absolutely. We all knew. Cooper was there enough air in the mine . Pauley our section never had air. Cooper ventilation is critical to mine safety because fresh air carries explosive coal dust and methane out of the area where miners work. Without adequate ventilation and proper clean up, coal dust accumulates, and is not only highly flammable, it can cause black lung disease, which most of the miners killed in the explosion were later found to have. Stewart a lot of times we wouldnt have any ventilation at all. You couldnt see your hand in front of your face. Cooper really . You couldnt see your hand in front of your face . Stewart could not see your hand in front of your face. Cooper and thats because theres not air fresh air moving through . Stewart right, right. Cooper its all dust . Stewart all dust. Ruby this is whats called a dust pump. Cooper as part of their case, prosecutors showed jurors the pumps miners were supposed to wear to measure their intake of coal dust, but at Upper Big Branch, Bobbie Pauley says they were routinely instructed by their bosses to cheat on the test, by hanging the pumps in the fresh air. Pauley so your measurements when they were tested came in compliant with the law. Cooper federal mine inspectors visited Upper Big Branch almost daily but prosecutors say the mine had an illegal advance Warning System in place. Security guards at the entrance would relay messages to miners underground alerting them an inspector was coming. Cooper they would use code words . Stewart yeah, bad weather. Cooper they would say its bad weather . Stewart uhhuh. Which means, well let you know if hes coming your way or going some other way. Cooper so you would get word from up above that ok, an inspectors coming, they would use code words, and then you would basically clean up your area to make it look right . Stewart uh huh, yeah. Cooper Upper Big Branch was a nonunion mine. Inspectors were the only people miners could turn to for help. But they say, word was out, they shouldnt be seen talking to inspectors. Was there fear about speaking up . Pauley if you wanted a job you kept your mouth shut. Me, like a lot of other miners, mining is about the only industry its the biggest industry in the state of west virginia. You have children, you want them to have. You want to provide for them. I was a single mom, you know . Cooper you needed that job . Pauley i did the best i could. crying we did the best we could for our families. The guys did as well. Ruby some of the stories that they have to tell are horrifying. Being forced to work without enough fresh air, being forced to work in water up to their necks, miles underground. Being forced to work in areas of the where the roof and the walls of the mine were falling in around them. Cooper prosecutors say blankenship was aware of all these safety problems because he was a micromanager who had oversight over every aspect of massey mines, personally approving every hire, hourly raise, and capital expenditure. Ruby he wanted everybody in that company to know he was in charge. Goodwin do it dons way. I expect you to do exactly what i tell you to do, when i tell you to do it. Cooper that was his message to his managers . Goodwin absolutely, time and again. Ruby and thats on tape. Don blankenship this game is about money. Cooper that message was repeatedly emphasized by Don Blankenship in phone conversations with mine managers he secretly recorded on these machines he installed in his office. Blankenship i want you to take a deep breath and i want you to listen carefully. You ready . Blanchard yes, sir. Blankenship being a Group President and or someday being a v. P. At massey or president of massey requires that you be focused on dollars. Cooper he sent terse handwritten notes and memos to managers criticizing them for high costs and low coal production. You have a kid to feed he wrote, do your job. Pitiful. I could kruschev you and in my opinion, children could run these mines better than you all do. The bosses were under pressure . Stewart they were under tremendous pressure. Cooper to keep mining, keep getting coal . Stewart keep mining, right. And they carried out his orders to the t. They treated the people under them as he treated them. I mean, he talked to them like they were dogs, they in turn talked to the superintendents or the section foremen, whatever, like they were dogs and kept that pressure applied to force these people to do his will. Cooper blankenships attorneys called no witnesses at trial and pointed to Safety Initiatives their client put in place at Upper Big Branch. Ruby miner after miner after miner who worked at Upper Big Branch took the stand and said that the socalled Safety Initiatives were a joke. That the Safety Program stops at the entrance to the mine. And once youre underground, your job is to run coal. Cooper after two weeks of deliberations, a federal jury came to a landmark decision, finding Don Blankenship guilty of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety laws. Bill taylor there was never enough evidence to justify convicting mr. Blankenship. Cooper but they didnt find him guilty of conspiring to defraud the mine safety and Health Administration or of lying to investors and regulators about safety violations, felony counts which could have sent blankenship to prison for 30 years. Under the law, jurors arent allowed to know whether the counts theyre considering are misdemeanors or felonies. And jurors told us, they were unaware the count they convicted him of was only a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison. Pam i actually thought they were all felony charges. Cooper when you realized when you heard ok, maybe hell serve a year in prison, what was your gut . Pam i was surprised. Cooper you were surprised, pam . In what way . Surprised it was so low . Pam yes. Kevin none of us actually knew. In terms of what the time was for the charges. I was i was pretty pissed. Cooper family members of the dead miners, who attended the trial every day, were also disappointed. Do you think was justice done in this verdict . Sherry no, no. There was no justice. Cooper Judy Peterson lost her brother, miner dean jones. Judy peterson as a result of the explosion, 29 people are gone. And thats a misdemeanor. Thats a perversion of justice. Ruby do we think that a one year sentence for what Don Blankenship has been convicted of is enough . No. We dont. But its at least right now what the law gives us to work with. Cooper Don Blankenship and his attorneys issued a statement to 60 minutes denying he was involved in any conspiracy. They claim the explosion was caused and fueled by a sudden and unexpected surge of natural gas, though three state and federal investigations found the deaths of the 29 miners were preventable, and the result of a failure of basic mine safety standards. Don blankenship has said this was just an act of god. That these kinds of things happen in coal mining. Stewart well, you know, Don Blankenship, id like to take those words and stuff them right back down his throat because that was not an act of god. That was manmade 100 . These men you know, they werent just 29 people that got killed. They were a lot of good men. Cooper and they deserved better than what they got . Stewart they deserved much better than they got. Cooper Don Blankenship will be sentenced in april. Prosecutors say theyll ask for the maximum one Year Prison Sentence and a fine in the tens of millions of dollars. This sex sports update is brought to you by the lincoln motor company. Im greg gumbel. Austin, yale, Northern Iowa and uncasheville are in the tournament. Peyton manning has informed the Denver Broncos of his plans to retire after an 18year playing career. A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. For more sports news and information, go to cbssports. Com. We could do some thai. Ooo. How bout sushi, eh . [weird dog moan squeak] why not . [dog yawning squeaking] no, were not, were not having barbecue. Again. [quiet dog groan] why . Because youre on four legs, and im on two. And im driving. Thats why. [dog whine] sushi it is. See see me. Dont stare at me. See me. See me. See me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. Im not contagious. See me to know that i wont stop. Until i find what works. 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Covered it. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum when your allergy symptoms start. Ive been claritin clear for 14 days. Doctors recommend taking one claritin every day of your allergy season. For continuous relief. With powerful, 24 hour. Nondrowsy claritin, live claritin clear. Every day. Bill whitaker texas executes more prisoners than any other state. At a rate of more than one a month, texas kills almost as many inmates as all the other states combined. All the condemned men in texas, about 250 of them, are held in one place death row in livingston. At some point, almost all of them will be told the exact day the exact hourof their demise. And that has an impact on their view of lifeand deathand where they find themselves. Once inmates get to death row, they are rarely seen again. But the prison let us inside to speak with several condemned killers, just weeks before their executions. What theyre thinking in their final days may surprise you. Most surprising to us was daniel lopez, who told us he welcomes his execution. Daniel lopez i just turned in my 14day notice for my, my death papers. Whitaker you know that in 14 days you are going to die. Lopez yes. Whitaker what was it like to sign those papers . Lopez i felt really relieved to finally get this over with. Whitaker daniel lopez, unlike almost all the other inmates here on death row, did not fight his sentence. Instead he asked to be executed as soon as possible. Lopez i got no dignity, you know what im saying . Therestherethereit doesnt matter to me. You know, dignity does not matter to me. Its just, you know, im im worried about myself my family and the victims family. And i want everybody to move on, thats it. Whitaker is embracing the Death Penalty for you, is that the easy way out . Lopez that, i see it as a yes and no. You know, yes to finally get this over with. No, because i dont want to die. Nobody wants to die. Whitaker lopez was a crack dealer when he killed Police Lieutenant Stuart Alexander during a high speed chase seven years ago. It began as a traffic stop, when another officer pulled him over for driving through a stop sign. After a scuffle, lopez drove off. Police put spike strips down on the road to puncture his tires. When lopez veered to the right to get around the spikes he hit lieutenant alexander. Lopez said he didnt see the officer in time to avoid him. Whitaker did you know that you had hit him . Lopez yes, i did. Whitaker you didnt stop . Lopez i didnt stop. Whitaker why not . Lopez why would i . Whitaker you hit somebody. Lopez okay, and im running from the police, right . Im trying to get away, right . Whitaker but youre compounding it. Youre making a bad situation worse. Lopez i was trying to escape for this little incident. And now that it got bigger, i was even more inclined to escape. Whitaker after police finally caught him, he was charged with intentionally driving into lieutenant alexander, a highly respected 20year police veteran. Whitaker you say this was an accident . Lopez yes. Whitaker jury didnt think so. Took them less than an hour to convict you. Lopez does that make them right . Because the jury didnt think so, does that make that right . Whitaker you think that was an accident. Lopez no, no. I know its an accident, theres no thinking. I didnt mean to kill him. He didnt mean to kill himself. And so this was beyond our powers, right. And thats why i believe theres a greater power out there. Whitaker do you blame god for the accident . Lopez no no no no no. Whitaker so whos responsible . Lopez i find myself responsible for fleeing in the first place. Ultimately, i feel responsible for it. But it was never intentional. And i wish i could have done things different. And i guess the only way for me to do that now is, you know to finally pass over to the next world and you know, be forgiven by jesus and god. Whitaker you have said that no amount of pain will be punishment enough for killing that fine officer. Lopez yes. Not only did i end his life, i affected his whole familys life. And and and they become they become the victims too, right . And so its just its just theres just no amount of pain that i could suffer to make up for that. And i think the best way for it to end is for them to go ahead and execute me and the family gets to have their closure, and my family gets to, you know, finally get that relief this is finally over with. And we could all move on in life. Perry williams lock them up for the rest of their life. Whitaker but another livingston death row inmate, perry williams, said he wants to keep on living. Williams killed a medical student, shot him in the head, after taking his wallet which only contained 40. Williams was just weeks away from his execution date when he got a temporary stay. He told us the countdown had been terrifying. Williams its one thing to know exactly the hour and the time that youre gonna die. It does a lot to you. Shakes. Its like waking up in cold sweats, having dreams about being executed. Whitaker you actually had shakes and cold sweats. Williams yes sir. Whitaker why do you think you were reacting that way . Williams fear, fear of the unknown, fear of the death. Whitaker should texas have the Death Penalty . Williams i dont think they should. Because i dont think nobody should have the power to take another persons life. Whitaker but yet you did. Williams yes, i understand that. And im sorry for the pain i caused. Whitaker who do you blame for your being on death row . Williams cant blame nobody else. I blame myself. Whitaker many death row inmates blame themselves, but not elvis wesbrook. So who do you blame for your being here on death row . Elvis wesbrook my wife. Whitaker he said his exwife invited him to a small party. But at the party, he felt threatened. And his exwife was having sex with another man. He grabbed his hunting rifle and killed all five people there. Wesbrook im a victim in this as well as everybody else. Whitaker it sounds like you dont quite get the gravity of your crime, when you call yourself a victim as well. Youre still here. They are not. Wesbrook well, im not going to be here much longer now, am i . Come march 9th, i wont be here. Whitaker is there any chance that date will be postponed . Wesbrook no. Nothing else is going to be filed in my case. Whitaker do you want that time to pass slowly or quickly . Wesbrook ill tell you what. If you got a pill, ill take it right here in front of you, and well get it over with right now. Whitaker you would take a lethal pill . Wesbrook yes i would. Whitaker you dont think texas should have the Death Penalty . 6 wesbrook no. Even though these people may execute me, they have to meet the man upstairs too. Whitaker you have a 28year old daughter . Wesbrook yes. Whitaker will she be at your execution . Wesbrook no. Whitaker do you want her there . Would you . Wesbrook no, not really. Dont you think thats pretty horrifying to sit there and look at . To watch somebody die . Whitaker former warden, tom oreilly, who we interviewed in front of the states old electric chair, told us he presided over about 140 executions. What sort of impact do you think thats had on you . Tom oreilly none. I dont feel bad about it or anything. If you commit those kinds of crimes, i can execute you and i dont have a problem at all. Whitaker he told us, by the end, the inmates are resigned to their fate and almost all of them agree to walk into the Death Chamber and lie down on their deathbed. Do they ever resist being strapped down . Oreilly a couple did, but its a futile gesture. Whitaker its going to happen. Oreilly its going to happen. Whitaker i read one description that its like a horizontal crucifixion, the way hes laid out on the on the gurney. Oreilly thats a good way to describe it. Its he lays on the gurney on his back with his arms out in either way. We put an i. V. In the left arm and the right arm. Whitaker sounds almost businesslike. Oreilly it is. It is. After hes tied down and everybody else is cleared the execution chamber, then ill open the curtains. To where the witnesses can see him. Michael graczyk we watch through a glass. Whitaker Associated Press reporter Michael Graczyk has probably witnessed more executions than anyone in the country, more than 350. Graczyk you hear the description of it as being routine. I hope it never becomes routine when the state decides to take someones life. I think its significant. Whitaker unlike other states, texas says all executions have gone smoothly and it has no shortage of lethal drugs. Also, in texas condemned inmates can no longer choose their last meal. Why is that . Graczyk people on the other side would say, well, you know, my loved one didnt get an opportunity to pick their last meal before they were killed. So why should he have that sort of opportunity . Whitaker inmates make a brief final statement. Then, on the wardens signal, the deadly drugs begin flowing. Graczyk theres a reaction of breath, take a few deep breaths or a cough and they start snoring. The snores get progressively less and then theres no movement at all. Whitaker but it generally looks like theyre just falling asleep . Graczyk yes. Whitaker most inmates, he said, die within 10 to 20 minutes. When we spoke to daniel lopez, it was just 14 days before his death. He told us something you dont often hear on death row about the Death Penalty. Lopez im kind of for it and against it. 6 whitaker i would think someone on death row would be opposed to the Death Penalty. Lopez you know, certain people will still go out there, rape people and kill people. And they enjoy doing that. And so, im for it for some people. But its just the people that refuse to change. Whitaker are you a better person now for having been on death row . Lopez of course, of course. Ive changed. I matured back here. Im not no bible thumper or anything like that. But i have learned to accept jesus in my life. Whitaker so when our viewers see this, you will be dead. What would you want them to remember of you . Lopez i just trying to bring light to the situation back here. Were people. Were people. And we are people. We do have hearts. We do love. We do change. We do care. And they need to know that, you know . Thats what i want them to understand that, you know, youre not executing the same person that you convicted ten, 20 years ago. You know, youre executing a changed man, most of us. Oreilly change in prison is inevitable. But that does not forgive the act that they committed to be there in the first place. Whitaker six Oclock Church bells mark the hour as daniel lopez relatives walk to the death house to watch him die. Behind these walls, strapped to a gurney, daniel lopez made his final statement. He told his relatives and the family of the victim that he was sorry. Then he said, i am ready. About a minute later, the lethal drugs began flow into his veins. After about 30 seconds, he lost consciousness. At the same time, in dueling demonstrations, offduty police revved their motorcycles to show support for the fallen officer. Death penalty opponents responded with a wailing siren. These were the last sounds lopez heard. Lieutenant alexanders widow, vicky, watched lopez execution. Vicky alexander our eyes met and i felt Something Different than i had ever felt. I think he was genuinely trying to connect with me and let me know its ok. This has nothing to do with revenge. This has to do with the law. And when you break the law, theres punishment for what you do. He broke the ultimate law and he had to pay the ultimate price, as my husband did. Whitaker after lopez paid the ultimate price, his children came to his funeral. He had talked to us about them, two weeks before he died. Lopez the time to go is now instead of to get my kids more attached to me. I want the best for them. Whitaker and your death is whats best for them . Lopez no, my deaths not best for them, its for them moving on is whats best for them. This is my fate. And i accept it. I want to start over and this is my way of starting over. Whitaker what do you think youll be thinking . Lopez if im going to go to hell or heaven. If im going to go to hell or heaven. Those new glasses . They are. Do i look smarter . Yeah, a little. Youre making money now, are you investing . Well, ive been doing some research. Let me introduce you to our broker. How much does he charge . I dont know. Okay. 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Children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior. The most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. Antiflu . Go antiviral with tamiflu. Whitaker now an update on a story we called hands off the wheel, about the rise of self driving cars. One of the industrys top scientists, googles chris urmson, told us googles Autonomous Vehicles have come a long way in just seven years. Chris urmson we are getting to a place where we are comparable to human driving today. Whitaker very comparable. In february, a google self driving car miscalculated and hit a municipal bus. No one was hurt in the accident, but the car has been reprogrammed. Im bill whitaker. Well be back next week with another edition of 60 minutes. Hey, need fast heartburn relief . Try cool mint zantac. It releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. Zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. Nexium can take 24 hours. Try cool mint zantac. 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