Maurice Chamas

And that's how they came to focus on David Wood, a rapist just out of prison with a tendency to mouth off.

There was hardly any physical evidence tying him to the murders, this theory goes.

So instead, prosecutors highlighted questionable witnesses and ignored evidence that pointed in other directions.

David's lawyers think none of this would have worked if he was an upstanding citizen.

So yes, they say, David Wood is a rapist.

But he's not a serial killer.

It was the El Paso police and prosecutors who turned him into one.

33 years ago, a jury decided David Wood was guilty, but also that he was irredeemable, that he would, if given the chance, kill again.

David's whole case disputes the very premise of that judgment.

He's saying it's not about remorse or about what he is or isn't capable of.

He's saying, look at the facts, the DNA, the fibers, the timeline, and let that be enough.

But just as we get the signal to wrap up and we start saying our goodbyes, David seems to reconsider, to think more about how he's coming across.

He gives it one last shot, for whatever it's worth.

For the next three weeks, David will be on Death Watch, an area reserved for men with upcoming execution dates.

On the day of his execution, March 13th, 2025, he'll be woken up early and driven in a prison van about an hour west to the state's execution chamber in Huntsville.

He'll spend the day saying his goodbyes to his family and his lawyers.

All the while, he'll be waiting to hear from the courts, to hear if they'll grant him another last-minute stay or if he'll die from lethal injection.

They have until 6 o'clock.

That's next time on the final episode of The Last 12 Weeks.

The last 12 weeks is written and reported by me, Maurice Shema, and Alvin Melleth.