[ APPLAUSE ] >>> GOOD MORNING, AEMPBND WELCOM
EVERYONE.
EVERYONE.
IM MEGYN KELLY. WE BEGIN WITH AN INCREDIBLE
STORY OF FORGIVENESS AND FAITH.
KENT AND HIS WIFE, PATRICIA,
WERE MARRIED FOR 28 YEARS AND
HAD TWO COLLEGE-AGED SONS WHEN
AN UNSPEAKABLE TRAGEDY STRUCK
THEIR FAMILY. IT WAS KENTS FAITH AS HE FOUGHT
AND CONTINUES TO FIGHT FOR THE
ONLY FAMILY HE HAS LEFT. IN DECEMBER 2003, THE WHITAKER
FAMILY ARRIVED HOME FROM A
DINNER OUT, ONLY TO HAVE THEIR
LIVES SHATTERED. >> 911.HATTERED.
>> 911. WHATS YOUR EMERGENCY?
>> IVE BEEN SHOT. WE WERE WALKING IN THE HOUSE.
MY BROTHER, AND MY DAD.
>> Reporter: WHAT WAS WAITING
FOR THE FAMILY OF FOUR WAS THE
RESULT OF A HEINOUS PLOT. A MASKED GUNMAN INSIDE THEIR
HOME.
HOME.
FIRST SHOT, 19-YEAR-OLD KEVIN. THEN, MOM, TRICIA, BOTH DIED..
THEN, MOM, TRICIA, BOTH DIED. SON, BART, AND DAD, KENT, BOTH
WOUNDED.
>> WE HAVE ONE SUBJECT RIGHT NOW, SHOT IN THE ARM.T RIGHT
NOW, SHOT IN THE ARM. APPARENTLY THE WHOLE FAMILY HAS
BEEN SHOT.
BEEN SHOT.
>> Reporter: AS KENT WAS LYING IN HIS HOSPITAL BED, HE WASING
IN HIS HOSPITAL BED, HE WAS FIRST OVERTAKEN WITH ANGER.
THEN, TURNED TO HIS CHRISTIAN
FAITH.
BEFORE HE LEFT THE HOSPITAL, HE
VOWED TO FORGIVE THE PERSON WHO KILLED HIS WIFE OF 28 YEARS AND
HIS SON, KEVIN.
BUT WHAT KENT DID NOT KNOW, THE
PERSON HE WAS VOWING TO FORGIVE
WAS HIS OWN SURVIVING SON, BART.
>> IVE MADE SOME REALLY BAD MISTAKES IN MY LIFE.LLY BAD
MISTAKES IN MY LIFE. I WAS A VERY MESSED UP YOUNG
MAN.
MAN.
>> BART ADMITS HE PLANNED THE MURDERS AND HIRED THE HITMAN.
PROSECUTORS SAY THE REASON WAS
IRRATIONAL HATE.
IRRATIONAL HATE.
BART SAID IT WAS HATE FOR HIMSELF.D IT WAS HATE FOR
HIMSELF.
>> I DONT THINK IT TURNED TO HATRED UNTIL HIGH SCHOOL. TO
HATRED UNTIL HIGH SCHOOL. THERE WAS A POINT IN THERE, I
GUESS SOPHOMORE YEAR, WHERE I
WAS JUST SO TIRED OF BEING ME.
>> Reporter: BART WHITAKER WAS
SENTENCED TO DEATH.
AS HE TOLD LISA LING ON THE OWN
NETWORK.
NETWORK. >> I TOLLELL YOU WHY I FELT MY
PARENTS DIDNT LOVE ME.
>> Reporter: HIS DAD, KENT,
STUCK TO HIS VOW AND FORGAVE HIS
SON AND IS HOPING TO HAVE HIS
SONS DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED TO
LIFE IN PRISON.
HE IS APPEALING TO THE TEXAS
GOVERNOR.
GOVERNOR.
BUT THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS SET AN EXECUTION DATE OF FEBRUARYT
AN EXECUTION DATE OF FEBRUARY 22nd, JUST OVER TWO WEEKS FROM
NOW.
NOW. >> IF THATS WHAT HAPPENS, IM
GOING TO BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF
THE GLASS.
THE GLASS. HES GOING TO KNOW IM THERE.
>> KENT WHITAKER IS WITH ME NOW.
>> THANK YOU, MEGYN.
>> LETS GO BACK TO THE DAY OF
THE MURDERS.
THE MURDERS. IN THE MOMENTS THEREAFTER, WHEN
YOU CAME TO AND YOU HAD
CONSCIOUSNESS.
CONSCIOUSNESS.
DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THAT IT MIGHT BE BART BEHIND IT?AT IT
MIGHT BE BART BEHIND IT? >> NOT AT ALL.
I HAD NO IDEA WHY THIS HAD
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED.
IT WAS SUCH A SURPRISE.
WE WERENT EXPECTING ANYTHING. AND I HAD NO IDEA WHO HAD DONE
IT.
IT.
>> HAD THERE BEEN ANY TROUBLE WITH HIM PRIOR TO THAT?ROUBLE
WITH HIM PRIOR TO THAT? >> THERE IS PROBLEMS WITH EVERY
KID.
KID.
BUT I WAS ALWAYS THE KIND OF DAD THAT PURSUED THINGS TO FIND OUTD
THAT PURSUED THINGS TO FIND OUT WHY THINGS HAPPENED.
AND EVERY TIME WE RAN INTO A
PROBLEM, IT SEEMED LIKE THERE
WAS AN ACCEPTABLE, LOGICAL
EXCUSE THAT, I WAS VERY
SKEPTICAL.
SKEPTICAL.
BUT I WAS TRYING VERY HARD TO DO THE RIGHT THING. VERY HARD TO DO
THE RIGHT THING. >> YOU HAD BEEN AN ACTIVE,
INVOLVED FATHER.
INVOLVED FATHER. YOU TOOK LONG BIKE RIDES WITH
BART.
BART.
IT WASNT LIKE YOU AND YOUR WIFE WERE ABSENTEE.YOU AND YOUR WIFE
WERE ABSENTEE.
>> NOT AT ALL.
WE WERE HANDS-ON PARENTS. YOU MENTIONED OUR CYCLING.
FOR A DOZEN YEARS, BART AND I
DID DISTANCE BIKECYCLING.
WHEN YOU ARE ON A BIKE FOR 100
MILES, YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO
VISIT AND TALK.
HIS MENTAL ILLNESS WAS SOMETHING
THAT TRICIA AND I, WE NEVER SAW.
NEVER SAW.
NEVER SAW. NOBODY REALIZED IT.
>> FOR SEVEN MONTHS AFTER THE
MURDERS, HE LIVED WITH YOU IN
YOUR HOME?
YOUR HOME? >> YES.
>> YES.
>> SHEHE WAS SHOT IN THE ARM. THAT WAS ORCHESTRATED BY THE.
THAT WAS ORCHESTRATED BY THE HITMAN.
HITMAN.
YOU BOTH RECOVERED. HE WAS UNDER SUSPICION AT THAT
TIME.
TIME.
>> YES. >> DID YOU BELIEVE DURING THAT
TIME IT COULD BE HIM?
>> I DIDNT KNOW.
I DIDNT KNOW.
I KNEW THAT ANYTHING IS
POSSIBLE.
POSSIBLE.
AND THERE IS A CHANCE THAT HE
WAS INVOLVED IN SOME WAY.
I WASNT GOING TO ABANDON MY ONLY SON SIMPLY BECAUSE THE
POLICE SAID HE WAS THEIR NUMBER
ONE SUSPECT.
ONE SUSPECT. I TOLD BART AND THE POLICE, IF I
SAW ANYTHING THAT GAVE RISE TO
SUSPICIONS, I WOULD TELL THEM.
BUT THAT I WASNT GOING TO
ABANDON MY SON JUST BECAUSE THEY
WANTED ME TO.
>> AND THEN, THERE WAS A
CRITICAL ADMISSION BY A FORMER
ROOMMATE OF HIS THAT WENT TO THE
POLICE AND SAID, AT ONE POINT,
BART HAD ASKED HIM TO HELP HIM
KILL HIS FAMILY.
>> YES.
>> YES. >> THAT LED TO POLICE REALLY
ZEROING IN ON BART.
AND THEY DID FIND THE TWO MEN
WHO WOULD HELP BART COMMIT THESE
CRIMES.
CRIMES.
AND BART FLED TO MEXICO FOR A
TIME.
DO YOU REMEMBER IN YOUR OWN MIND
WHEN YOU CAME TO TERMS WITH THE
FACT THAT BART HAD BEEN BEHIND
THE WHOLE THING?
>> I WAS AWARE VERY EARLY THAT
HE MIGHT BE BEHIND THE WHOLE
THING.
BUT IT WASNT REALLY UNTIL HE
LEFT THAT THE SUSPICION BECAME PRETTY MUCH, A PRETTY CLEARAME
PRETTY MUCH, A PRETTY CLEAR CERTAINTY.
CERTAINTY. I KNEW THAT -- I KNEW IF HE WAS
INVOLVED WITH THIS AT ALL, HE
WAS GOING TO NEED SOMEONE TO
SHOW HIM THAT GOD FORGIVES.
AND SO, I WAS NOT GOING TO LEAVE
HIM.
HIM.
>> BEFORE WE GET TO WHAT
HAPPENED NEXT, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY TO
PARENTS OUT THERE NOW ABOUT
CLUES?
CLUES? RED FLAGS?
RED FLAGS? ANYTHING IN RETROSPECT, YOU WISH
YOU HAD SEEN OR YOU HOPE OTHER
PARENTS PAY ATTENTION TO?
>> I THINK THAT MENTAL ILLNESS
IN OUR COUNTRY HAS GOTTEN SO
MUCH MORE PREVALENT.
AND THE ONLY THING I WOULD SAY
IS, BE INVOLVED WITH YOUR KIDS.
PAY ATTENTION TO THEM.
LISTEN TO THEM.
TELL THEM REGULARLY THAT YOU
LOVE THEM AND THAT ANYTHING --
IF THERES ANYTHING THEY NEED TO
TALK TO YOU ABOUT, THAT YOU WILL
ACCEPT THEM AND THERE WOULD BE
NO REJECTION.
NO REJECTION. YOU WOULD JUST BE BY THEIR SIDE
AND HELP THEM FIGHT THROUGH
WHATEVER IT IS.
>> BART TALKS NOW ABOUT HOW HE
FELT THERE WERE TWO VERSIONS OF
HIM.
HIM.
THERE WAS A VERSION THAT HIS FAMILY HAD IN THEIR HEADS AND
WHAT BART WAS FEELING ABOUT
HIMSELF.
HIMSELF.
HATRED TOWARD HIMSELF AND HIS
INABILITY TO MEASURE UP.
HAS HE TALKED TO YOU SINCE, KENT, ABOUT WHAT THE MOMENTS
WERE LIKE FOR HIM, WALKING WITH
YOUR FAMILY THROUGH THE DOORS,
THE ONLY ONE OF YOU KNOWING WHAT
WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN?
>> HE TOLD ME -- BY THE WAY, OUR
RELATIONSHIP HAS IMPROVED
GREATLY.
GREATLY.
WHEN HE CAME BACK FROM MEXICO,
HE APOLOGIZED TO ME AND TOLD ME
THAT HE DIDNT KNOW WHY IT HAD
HAPPENED.
BUT THEY WERE GOING TO TRY TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED. BUT WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?ED.
BUT WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? >> WHETHER HE EXPLAINED TO YOU
WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR HIM TO WALK
THROUGH THOSE DOORS?
>> HIS WHOLE LIFE FOR YEARS, AND
IM SO SORRY THAT NOBODY SAW
THIS, WAS LIVING BEHIND A MASK.
HE TOLD ME THAT NIGHT WAS KIND
OF LIKE A DREAM.
HE WASNT REALLY AWARE OF IT
HAPPENING TO HIM.
HE WAS WATCHING IT, SOMEBODY
ELSE WAS DOING -- ALL THIS WAS
HAPPENING TO SOMEBODY ELSE.
HE SAID WHEN IT GOT DOWN TO THE
END, HE DIDNT THINK IT WOULD
ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
HE THOUGHT IT WOULD STOP.
>> THEY HAD BEEN AT DINNER, CELEBRATING HIS GARAGERADUATION
COLLEGE.
COLLEGE.
HE WASNT GRADUATING, HE WASNT ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. HE WASNT
ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. A LOT OF KIDS LIE.
THEY DONT FEEL THEY WERE
MEASURING UP.
MEASURING UP. THIS IS IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN.
HE GOES TO TRIAL AND IS
CONVICTED.
CONVICTED.
YOU BEGGED THE D.A. NOT TO PUSH FOR THE DEATH PENALTY.T TO PUSH
FOR THE DEATH PENALTY. BEGGED THE D.A.
THEY DIDNT LISTEN.
DID THEY EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY?
WHY THE SURVIVING VICTIMS
DESIRES AND YOUR WIFES FAMILY
WASNT IN SUPPORT OF THE DEATH
PENALTY, EITHER.
PENALTY, EITHER. WHY IT MATTERED SO LITTLE.
>> I DONT KNOW.
EVERY VICTIM IN THIS AWFUL,
AWFUL CRIME, TRICIAS FAMILY, MY
FAMILY, MY PARENTS, EVERYBODY, WE PLEADED WITH THE DISTRICTY,
WE PLEADED WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR A YEAR AND A HALF,
TO ACCEPT TWO BACK-TO-BACK
40-YEAR LIFE SENTENCES.
AT ONE POINT, I MET WITH THE
ASSISTANT D.A. WHO PROSECUTED
THE CASE.
AND HE -- AFTER AN HOURS
DISCUSSION ABOUT IT, HE SAID, MR. WHITAKER, ARE YOU ASKING ME
NOT TO PURSUE THE DEATH PENALTY
IN THIS CASE?
AND I WANTED HIM TO KNOW JUST
HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO ME.
I GOT OUT OF MY CHAIR.
I GOT DOWN ON THE FLOOR, ON MY
KNEES AND I SAID, NO.
IM BEGGING YOU NOT TO PURSUE
THE DEATH PENALTY.
AND THAT WAS HOW THE MEETING
ENDED.
ENDED.
I LEFT THERE BELIEVING THAT THEY
HAD FINALLY LISTENED.
BUT THEY WOULD NOT BACK AWAY
FROM PURSUING THE DEATH PENALTY. AS LONG AS THAT WAS ON THENALTY.
AS LONG AS THAT WAS ON THE TABLE, BARTS ATTORNEY WOULDNT
LET HIM PLEAD GUILTY BECAUSE HE
SAID, IF YOU DO THAT, IT GOES
DIRECTLY TO THE PENALTY PHASE.
>> THERES A REASON TO TRY TO
BARGAIN TO GET THAT OFF THE
TABLE.
TABLE.
>> WE THOUGHT THEY WOULD ACCEPT
THAT PLEA DEAL.
BUT THEY WOULDNT.
>> THEY HAVENT AGREED.
AND BART IS SCHEDULED FOR
EXECUTION IN JUST ABOUT TWO WEEKS.ION IN JUST ABOUT TWO
WEEKS.
AFTER THE BREAK, WELL TALK
ABOUT WHAT YOURE DOING TO STOP