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no one was joking in spokane washington on april fool's day 1996. first a bomb went off outside the office
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of a local newspaper then another inside a bank two armed men entered and robbed the
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bank of fifty thousand dollars it was apparently the work of well-trained criminals
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but one of the bombers made a crucial mistake a simple pair of jeans he was wearing
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that day would later reveal his identity [Music] nestled at the falls of the spokane
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river the city of spokane washington is the cultural and economic center of an area known as the inland northwest which
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includes parts of washington idaho montana and oregon [Music] the region is known for its beautiful
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countryside and for being home to many right-wing groups openly hostile to the government
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of the united states at 2 36 on the afternoon of april 1 1996 one of these groups made its presence
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known in spokane an employee at a branch office of the local newspaper the spokesman review
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noticed a bomb with a lighted fuse just outside the building's rear door as he ran inside to call police the bomb
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exploded shredding doors shattering windows and filling the building with smoke as employees fled the building police
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rushed to the scene they found extensive damage but no one was injured at 2 47 just 11 minutes after the
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spokesman review bombing police got another call there had been another explosion this
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time inside a u.s bank branch only 30 blocks away bank surveillance cameras showed two men
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entering the bank witnesses said a third man waited outside in a getaway van the men inside the bank wore parkas and
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ski masks to hide their identities they were heavily armed at gunpoint they ordered tellers to put
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money in bags after that occurred and they got apparently the money that they believed was available
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one of the robbers left a pipe bomb on the counter of the bank and lit it and then
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told everybody to evacuate the bank that i think the comment was made by one of the witnesses that they said get out
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it's going to blow or something similar to that the bomb seen in this surveillance shot exploded
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it tore through the building shattering windows counters and doors again amazingly no one was hurt
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if the teller had been standing there she could have been killed or severely injured
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and people inside the bank could have been severely injured from the shrapnel as it flew
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investigators were now connecting the two bombings since the blast came so close together
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police were convinced the first bomb was a diversion designed to draw attention away from the bank robbery
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it was clearly a well-planned and well-executed crime these people really knew what they were
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doing and also there was no question when they went inside that bank these were not amateurs
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they had planned this letters left behind at both bombings left no doubt that they were related the
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letters which promised more violence had a symbol at the bottom a combination of the letter p
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and the cross it was the symbol of the phineas priesthood a highly armed extremely violent
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right-wing terrorist group that had declared a holy war against the united states government
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[Music] two bombings on the same day in spokane washington left massive damage and the
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community that feared there would be more violence to come as bomb experts dug through the rubble
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they found letters the bombers had purposely left behind to experts on domestic terrorism the
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letters spoke volumes they contained symbols that identified the bombers as members of the phineas
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priesthood the priesthood's creed is an unusual combination of biblical prophecy and
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violence a radical right-wing view of america combined with a strictly conservative interpretation of scripture
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the result a fanatical hatred of government and the rationale for violence they want to destroy america to save it
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they don't believe in reforming america they believe that the whole system is
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rotten and needs to be basically torn down so that we can start over again [Music]
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david nyworth studied the phineas priesthood for his book in god's country he says the group takes its name from an
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old testament story about a man named phineas who kills an interracial couple the essence of the phineas priesthood is
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that people who violate god's laws deserve to be killed news that the priesthood had targeted
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spokane terrified the city and had everyone including law enforcement preparing for the worst
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this was the most serious crime probably that's ever happened in spokane from a
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danger to the entire community obviously you have serial murders and a lot of murder cases and so on but this case
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had you know people in fear they were terrorized [Music] police now knew the name of the group
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but not the names of the bombers fbi analysts went over images from the bank surveillance cameras
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the images were shot once every second making for a disconnected sequence but when frozen and enlarged
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the individual images were extraordinarily clear these pictures were some of the best that i've ever
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seen in the laboratory because they were high quality 35 millimeter black and white photographs
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and the individual in question was standing so close to the camera that he filled a large part of the frame
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vorder brugie an fbi photograph analyst attempted to measure the bomber's height
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he used a process known as perspective analysis in which the tiles on the bank's floor
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the position of the surveillance camera and the height of the teller counters were all used to measure the dimensions
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of everything in the image analysts concluded the robber was approximately five feet six and a half
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inches tall this information was relayed to officers in spokane but then on july 12th just three months
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after the first attack there was another bombing this time the target was this planned
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parenthood clinic witnesses said they saw two men in ponchos throw a lighted pipe bomb in the
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clinic's front door before driving away [Music] this particular one was covered with a
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buckshot to produce more shrapnel apparently in a in an effort to make it even more deadly or
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devastating than it uh it would normally have been the bomb tore through the clinic and was
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clearly designed to kill only luck kept it from claiming lives nobody was hurt it was
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unbelievable there was nobody there had they been they would have been hurt people inside the planned parenthood
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there's no question somebody would have been killed because this bomb blew a
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hole in a four inch concrete floor then just 15 minutes later the same u.s bank branch office robbed
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on april fool's day was hit again almost a carbon copy of the first robbery in
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bombing after the bomb went off at the planned parenthood van pulls up again at the same u.s bank
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on sprague avenue two robbers go in one's carrying a 25-pound propane tank the kind that we
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use for our barbecues with something on top they're both armed as in the first robbery the men took
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over the bank and made off with 35 000 in cash they left the propane tank bomb on the
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floor and fled in a white van but this bomb which was rigged with an electric taser
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detonating device failed to go off a matchbook left behind at the planned parenthood bombing contained the
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priesthood logo it cited two biblical passages one psalm 139 contains the verse killed the wicked
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a few days later the bombers sent this letter to planned parenthood it said sorry we missed you on july 12th
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we'll do better next time after their branch office in spokane washington was targeted in two separate
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bomb attacks u.s bank officials put up a 130 thousand dollar reward for any information on members of the phineas
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priesthood the group that claimed responsibility for the attacks meanwhile analysts examined the pipe
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bomb that nearly destroyed spokane's planned parenthood clinic that bomb caused unbelievable damage to the
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planned parenthood the director of planned parenthood from new york came out and said this was the worst bombing
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that had ever happened of a planned parenthood clinic the bomb was wrapped with buckshot
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this made it more deadly but also more identifiable most buckshot is made from recycled car
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batteries which makes for a lot of impurities all of which can be identified fbi analyst kathleen lundy took shavings
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from the buckshot found at the bomb site these shavings are dissolved in a neutral chemical solution
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this solution is then vaporized at extremely high temperatures the rate of vaporization is then fed to
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a computer which identifies the buckshot's basic chemical components compared to my years of experience
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the buckshot in this case had extremely high levels of these impurities and the chemical or elemental makeup of this
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buckshot was i'd say distinctive compared to others that i've analyzed if this buckshot could be traced
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investigators might get a lead on the bomber's identities but then a solid lead came from informants
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anxious to receive the reward one of the people that the phineas priests or that this gang of
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people had tried to recruit uh into their gang decided that he wanted that money and
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contacted authorities and and pointed out the men to them the informant identified three men
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vern j morrell robert berry and charles barbie all living in sand point idaho the informant had one more piece of
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information the trio was planning their next bank hit for october 8th the target
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a u.s bank branch in portland oregon the fbi immediately began background checks and surveillance on the three men
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they found that morel 51 trained as a nuclear engineer left his career and moved to idaho to devote all his time to
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the phineas priesthood barry 42 owned a struggling truck repair shop and spent most of his time and
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money on anti-government activities barbie 44 had quit his job at atnt years earlier
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investigators suspected he might be the bomber in this surveillance image records indicated barbie was five feet
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six and five-eighths inches tall fractions away from analysts estimate of the bomber's actual height
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on october 8th the men who were being watched by investigators using long distance surveillance equipment loaded
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their vehicle with automatic rifles and grenade launchers and left for portland before the trio arrived in portland
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fbi officials called the u.s bank branch and told them to lock their doors agents watched as the trio waited
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outside the bank in their van they saw people going up to the doors shaking the doors
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but nobody was getting in so the the bank got a phone call that said are you open
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and they said no we assume it was from a cell phone inside the vehicle stymied in their plans the men drove
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away agents followed them in the air and on the ground and when the men stopped for gas in
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yakima washington police swooped in for the arrest they would have been prepared for
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anything had we tried to stop them on the highway and they were going to have a shootout
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somebody would have died no doubt in my mind agents searched the suspect's homes
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in verne morrell's home they found a hewlett packard inkjet color printer consistent with the one that printed the
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letter sent to the planned parenthood clinic in robert berry's truck repair business
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they found what appeared to be the same buckshot used in the planned parenthood bombing
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and in the home of the third suspect charles barbie investigators found something that the fbi analyst told them
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to be on the lookout for an unusual piece of evidence a deeply worn pair of blue jeans
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after the arrest of three men in the spokane bombings and robberies investigators look for conclusive
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evidence to tie them to the crimes the buckshot found in robert berry's truck repair business was subjected to
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the same analysis as buckshot attached to the bomb that destroyed spokane's planned parenthood clinic
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chemically i couldn't tell the buckshot recovered from the bombing apart from
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the buckshot recovered from the business they were chemically the same but prosecutors wanted something even
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more conclusive was there a way to use the bank surveillance images to clearly identify at least one of the robbers
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was it possible that these two images which were particularly clear were the suspect charles barbie
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the robber was covered head to toe but his blue jeans were clearly identifiable almost all blue jeans are made of white
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cotton that is then dyed blue how that blue dye wears off particularly on the seams can be distinctive
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a sort of hill and valley effect is created high parts of the seam turn white while the lower parts retain their color
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the fit of the genes and the posture of the person wearing them can create unique patterns almost like a bar code
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that appears along these seams fbi photograph analyst richard vorder brookie had an agent of barbie's height
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where the genes taken from charles barbie's home this man was photographed from the same
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distance and in the same position as the bank surveillance photo of the man thought to be
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charles barbie it enables me to get them positioned in a way that most closely approximates what the bank robber's
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posture was it also enables me to to try and replicate the draping of the clothing as closely as possible
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in a process called point by point analysis the photos are broken down into sections and each section is analyzed
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for distinctive features then the two sets of photos those showing the genes worn by the bank
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robber and those taken from the suspect's home are compared the analysis showed more than 30 areas
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where the jeans were identical near the number five it is clear the actual seam of the jeans
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breaks and is folded over this is clear in both sets of photos [Music] at number seven
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ridges can be seen extending above the hemline but at the point where the seam meets
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the hemline the jeans lose all their color and go completely white this is also consistent in both photos
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finally at the number two you can see where a line shooting off to the left above the hemline and at the
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hem a sort of h pattern is created it's an h with a broad right side and a thin
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left side the same h pattern can be seen in jeans taken from charles barbie's home
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in this case because i was able to positively identify those pants i could get on the stand and say
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those pants were the ones worn by the bank robber i can't tell you who the bank robber was
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and so it's very strong circumstantial evidence barbie couldn't have known it but the
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genes he wore during the first bank robbery helped identify him and his fellow bombers
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in march of 1997 the trio went on trial over 500 items were entered into evidence but the proceedings resulted in
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a mistrial it was later found that one of the jurors was sympathetic to the phineas
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priesthood's anti-government beliefs but at the second trial three months later
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the jury returned guilty verdicts and vern morell charles barbie and robert berry were given mandatory
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life terms they claimed to the end that the trial was political but investigators disagreed and to prove
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it they were able to present a well-worn pair of blue jeans the same pair of blue jeans that were
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worn during the bank robbery i thought the fbi lab did an excellent job um by being able to come up and compare
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those to the photograph and identify them positively as the genes the blank robber wore
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and that's the only time i ever knew it to have been done it may have done some
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other case someplace but i'm not aware of it that was pretty amazing they were basically robbers they wanted
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the money they're criminals they didn't believe in our government that's true they didn't believe in
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abortion and that's true they didn't believe in banks that's true but they're common criminals they did
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these to get money [Music] [Music] you