“Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the US in 1976, more than 8,000 people have been sentenced to death.”
Netflix, I am a Killer series.
I am a Killer Episode 3 – The Mockingbird
- Death Row Inmate #01306201
- Justin-Wiley Dickens
Dickens was sentenced to Death Row in 1995 for a murder that he committed when he was 17 years old. From the start, we are exposed to the fact that Dickens has always accepted responsibility but has always stated that there is more to the story.
They start by giving us the heartbreaking story of Dickens’s youth. He was two months premature due to his mother’s cocaine use. His parents split up when he was very young. His mother could not maintain sobriety or a residence for them. They would often commit crimes together to get money and that eventually led to them using drugs together.
When Dickens met Dallas Moore, Moore pushed for Dickens to shoot cocaine with him. Initially, Dickens declined because of watching his mom’s drug use. Eventually, he would give into Moore’s pressure. In March 1994 Dickens ended up doing drugs with Moore’s girlfriend, Martha, and a friend, Craig. Moore confronted Dickens and Craig about stealing an ounce of cocaine from him, according to Dickens it was Martha who had stolen the cocaine. Moore demanded repayment for the stolen drugs, it is said that Martha was not held accountable by Moore for her part. Dickens stated that something about the day felt off, however, his fear of what Moore would do with him was greater.
Dickens and Craig headed to the Mockingbird Jewelry Store to rob it. The murder happened during a struggle in the middle of the robbery. Craig left in the getaway car without Dickens. Dickens was picked up and arrested for the robbery three days later by the Amarillo Police Department.
When speaking with the prosecutor of the case, he believes that Dickens wasn’t really afraid of Moore but likes being humiliated. The prosecutor believes that the forensics shows that Dickens shot the victim from many feet away. The only way for Dickens to avoid the death penalty was for the defense to show that he wasn’t a willing executioner.
The defense hired a private investigator to try and track down others to testify. However, they had no luck locating additional witnesses. Dallas Moore is no stranger to law enforcement himself. Moore does admit to threatening Dickens but denies telling him he had to get the money to pay for the drugs they used. I have to say that listening to Moore’s version of the event made no logical sense at all. It only reinforced Dickens being a more reliable source of information.
Martha was able to get sober from drugs in 1997 and is now a mother with seven children. Martha says she met Moore after he had been released from prison after ten years. She confirms that Moore was a scary person during that time. She also admits to taking the cocaine from Dallas. She claims to have done it due to her resentment of him having it in his pocket. Martha’s story about the events of that day lines up with Dickens.
I had a real issue with the prosecutor throughout this episode. It reminds me a lot of the Brian Carrick murder case that ended with the verdict overturned on the first appeal (that’s a case for another day). The prosecutor seemed to have decided how he thought the crime went down and crafted the evidence to fit that narrative. Jim Jones was an eyewitness to the events at the jewelry store and he confirms Dickens’s story. However, the prosecutor claimed that Jones was mistaken in what he saw.
Due to a federal ruling that banned the execution of anyone under the age of 18 Dickens will never be executed. If that ruling never happened Dickens would have been executed in 2005. He will be eligible for parole in 2034.
This was Dickens’s only crime that is on his record. I believe him when he says that he feared Moore, Moore did nothing but add credit to that by being interviewed for the show. Doing additional research didn’t really yield any information that wasn’t shared in the show. However, I am contemplating doing some serious digging into this case by all legal means. I will be tracking this case to see if he is ever granted parole and if he remains out of trouble if it is granted.
If you haven’t already checked out this show, I highly recommend it if you love true crime. Especially if you are like me and want to understand the psychology of why people commit the crimes they do. At this point in the show, I have to say I would give the show an overall 3 out of 5 stars.