Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

It was here in these woods off Florida's I-75

that in the space of one year the police

found the bodies of seven men.

They were killed with this gun, a High Standard double 9.22.

Richard Mallory, Walter Antonio, Dick Humphreys, David Spears,

Charles Carskaddon, Peter Siems, and Troy Burress.

Eight men have been shot to death

in cold blood on central Florida highways,

including the busy tourist route of I-75.

But this time, there's an even more

chilling twist to the slayings.

Police say for the first time in criminal history,

these killers may be murdering with a feminine touch.

On January 9, 1991,

Aileen Carol Wuornos was arrested

in Daytona Beach, Florida.

She worked as a hitchhiking hooker.

Oh.

How are you doing?

This is the original police

video of Aileen Wuornos' confession.

The idea of a woman killing men,

a man-hating lesbian prostitute who tarnished the reputation

of all her victims, brought Aileen

Wuornos a special kind of hatred.

Terry Humphreys' father was a retired police chief.

-There wasn't any sex involved in my dad's murder.

They cut him-- they did an autopsy on my dad.

They wouldn't release his body for over a week.

They cut him from stem to stern.

There wasn't any semen there anywhere.

-You just cannot imagine the grief, the hurt,

the anguish that they have caused this family.

This is a man that I had for--

-I hope she meets up with quote, "Old Sparky."

You know who Old Sparky is.

Politicians and the Christian right

campaigned for Aileen Wuornos' execution.

-Because I'm tired of this reelection jazz.

They're just trying to get promotional ladder climbing,

political prestige from this.

And I'm sick and tired of this.

I'll probably get three more Death Row sentences.

And then I got to go to Pasco and Dixon

for two more d-- Death Row.

How many times you got to kill me, you know?

I mean, this is-- this is bullshit.

They don't need to be doing this.

Even Ted Bundy was offered life imprisonment.

This was never offered to Aileen Wuornos.

By the time I met Aileen, she already

had four death sentences.

But surprisingly, in an odd way, I

found her to be the most honest person involved in the case.

All the others, her lawyers, her born-again Christian mother,

the police, had all been involved

in trying to sell her story for as much money as possible.

Hi.

How you doing?

This is Aileen when I first interviewed her

in 1992 for my original film, "The Selling

of a Serial Killer."

I say it's this.

The principle is self-defense.

They say it's a number.

I say it's a principle.

To heck with what-- it-- it-- it has

nothing to do with the number killed.

It's the principle.

But they're saying, there's a number.

No.

Self-defense is self-defense, no matter how many times it is.

I don't care if it's 100 times.

I was very-- I never provoked those guys.

I never provoked them.

I never showed any provocations whatsoever.

I was very nice, very decent, very clean, very lady-like.

I didn't even swear in front of my clients.

And a lot of my clients and I talked about Jesus

and I talked political both mixed together

and we never argued.

My old film had ended with this announcement

of the resignation of Florida police officers

who had illicitly entered into Hollywood movie deals

to sell the story of America's first female serial

killer, the Aileen Wuornos story.

-Major Dan Henry resigned as Chief of Staff of the Marion

County Sheriff's Office after being notified

of an investigation being conducted by the Florida

Department of Law Enforcement.

The investigation being conducted by the Florida

Department of Law Enforcement centers

around taped telephone conversations

made by Deputy Munster between he

and Major Henry involving the Aileen Wuornos case.

There was speculation at the time

that if police officers did, in fact, receive money,

all Aileen Wuornos' death sentences could be overturned.

12 years later, Aileen is still on Death Row.

There was no proper investigation

into the police officers and their movie deals.

It all got covered over.

Aileen and I kept in touch over the years.

And then a few weeks ago I opened my front door,

and to my amazement, was served with a subpoena

to attend Aileen's final appeal before execution.

I had no idea how things would turn out

and that I'll be witnessing an execution

in 1 and 1/2 years' time.

This is Ocala, Florida.

All us witnesses were housed together in a motel.

We're going to win this thing.

I'm telling you, we're going to win.

This is Joe Hobson, Aileen's attorney.

Lawyers like Joe are kept very busy.

4,000 people are on Death Row waiting for execution.

OK.

OK.

What--

You're not very good at wheeling this.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, bro.

-And has this particular case been

stressful, the Aileen case?

-Uh, It's so important because this is the legal system in a--

in a phase where it's doing the most important thing it can

ever do, and that is taking a human life.

Mm-hm.

-It's more important than a money judgment

or an adjudication of guilt, or 30 years in prison.

And we've really got to be careful.

I mean, the whole system's got to be careful.

And my opinion and the whole gist of our motion

is that she's been failed by the legal system.

Joe Hobson felt that Aileen had been poorly

represented by her previous attorney, Dr. Legal.

-Most of us will probably never worry

about spending time in jail.

But if you're ever involved in the criminal justice system,

you will need a lawyer who can--

Joe Hobson was hoping to get Aileen a retrial

by discrediting Dr. Legal, otherwise known as Steve.

This is the Ocala Courthouse, where

we were going to spend the next week.

Steve the lawyer had made no attempt

to investigate the cops.

He plead guilty to all the murders

and didn't even try and make a deal for lesser sentence.

Aileen had no money to pay him, so Steve

used the money obtained from interview fees.

This man in front of me is the state prosecutor,

who wants to execute Aileen immediately.

This is the first time I've seen Steve for 11 years.

He said my film got him run out of town.

Fuck you.

What?

Fuck you.

Fuck you and the .

I'm like, what are you reading?

-Fuck you and your documentaries.

Well, nice to see you anyway.

Don't talk to me.

What?

Don't talk to me.

All rise, please.

Circuit Court is back in session.

OK.

You may be seated.

All right.

Let's continue.

-Now, um, you were contacted by Mr. Broomfield in 1992.

Do you recall specifically charging, or attempting

to charge Mr. Broomfield $25,000 for an interview?

-I didn't attempt to charge anybody anything.

If Miss Wuornos asked me, Steve, I-- or told me,

Steve, I want $25,000 for this interview,

I would have passed that onto the person

who was interviewing.

But it's-- it's not my position to, um, um,

set fees or we didn't have a fee schedule.

-Will you admit at you're depicted on the movie

"The Selling of a Serial Killer" doing exactly that?

Trying to get $10,000-- or I think $25,000 for an interview?

-There's-- there's-- I don't think there's any evidence that

I tried to get $25,000 or anything.

-So the next stage is really to come up with a counteroffer?

-No, the next stage is to come up with $25,000.

Right.

We're just talking to you about--

-But--OK. OK.

Well, then--

Well then, do a counteroffer.

-If you're not, then the next thing to do is to really get

a counteroffer and let's-- and let's tell her something.

-So we would basically then pay the money to-- well,

we pay the money to you, or to, as her legal--

-As her mom, and then Steve gets a percentages as our agent.

Right.

I see.

Very tiny percentage.