48 Hours - My Father's Killer

Episode Date: June 29, 2023

This classic episode of 48 Hours, which last aired on 11/18/1998, begins in 1986, when James Bernard Campbell entered SueZann Bosler's Miami home, murdered her father and then almost killed her. SueZann returned to the crime scene and relived her reactions, focused on her crusade for justice, and sought a conviction for Campbell while avoiding the death penalty in deference to her father's beliefs. 48 Hours correspondent Susan Spencer reports.Watch all-new episodes of 48 Hours on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. But I keep offering my clients, if they win a lotto, I get the cottage by the pool to do their hair every day. Suzanne Bosler's cheerfulness hides a traumatic past. It's almost as real as the day I was there.

I could see the colors. I feel the pain. 11 years ago, she came face to face with death. But on that day, Suzanne Bosler also began a remarkable crusade for life. This is just an incredible story of a woman's journey of hope. Today, that journey takes her to a Miami courtroom to confront the man who changed her forever. His name is James Bernard Campbell. For the record, the court will again acknowledge the presence of the defendant. He's the one that murdered my father and stabbed me and left me for dead.

Her father, Reverend Bill Bosler, had moved his family to this small parsonage to preach peace and love on the tough streets north of Miami. My father knew what kind of area it was, but he thought that that's why he was there. And we always had people come to the house for help, you know, food, money, clothing, whatever they needed. If I met him today... He would have been smiling, coming up to you, shaking your hand, maybe hugging you.

He would be welcoming you into our family. It's been a while since I've been here. Here in this house where she watched a total stranger stab her father to death. Pretty empty. What were you thinking when you just now walked through that door? Just kind of reliving. She was 24 years old. It was just three days before Christmas, 1986. We had gone Christmas shopping. We came back. Suzanne and her father were about to join her mother and her two sisters for a family Christmas in Indiana. I was getting ready in

my bathroom when I heard the doorbell ring. As soon as my dad got up from reading in the chair and went to the door, opened the door, it was immediate. I could hear. When I came out here in the hallway, my dad was holding right here, just like this, with the guy in front of him stabbing him, right here like this. I must have screamed because the man that was stabbing my father turned around and I turned quickly and he stabbed me three times in the back and I went down.

My father was trying to get up on his knee to try to help me. This man, James Bernard Campbell, turned around and started stabbing my father in the back many times and he collapsed again to the floor. And he was right here looking right into my eyes and with the knife right here. And I saw it coming at my face and this is when I turned and it hit me right in the head and I went face down right here. This is my face right here. His body was right here. His feet were there. His head was there. Right here. And my father's shoulders collapsed to the floor. And I go, oh my God, he's dead. He's probably dead.

Reverend Bosler was dead. For Suzanne, the terror continued. He was standing right here above me. I could hear him breathing, and I said to myself, pretend that you're dead, so I held my breath. Thinking she indeed was dead, Campbell wandered to the back of the house, apparently searching for money. I'm just saying, please hurry, please hurry. He changed his bloodstained clothes for some clean clothes of Reverend Bosler's, pocketed what little cash he could find, and finally left.

I was losing strength. I'd lost so much blood. Can you even think at this point? Were you even aware of conscious thought at this point? I was aware of everything. I jumped up and dialed 911. I dropped to the floor right here because I was losing it. How many people hurt you and one other person? Me and my father, the pastor. Please hurry. Honey, you're doing real good. Police reach the scene about five minutes later. And that's when I collapsed.

I wasn't strong enough to do what I wanted to do, is go back and hold my father in my arms, at least to be the one, you know, to see see him at the end or at least be there for him That night I remember waking up in the emergency room and there was always somebody there questioning me in case I died because I wasn't expected to live, really. And the head detective came in with a photo lineup of six pictures and number five was him. I picked him out.

Police say the man who did it is James Bernard Campbell, a 21-year-old who lived only four blocks away. Will you point him out to us, and please tell us what he's wearing? Sitting right there. At the trial, Suzanne's riveting eyewitness account was Prosecutor Michael Bann's ace in the hole. Can someone ever forget the man who did this to her? When you are standing 18 inches and you're looking at him in the eye,

and you see him and he's got a knife and he's going to kill you. Jurors returned a verdict in just an hour and 20 minutes. We, the jury of Miami-Dade County, Florida, find the defendant, James Campbell, as to first-degree murder, as charged in count one of the indictment, guilty, so say we all. James Campbell will be sentenced next Tuesday.

Prosecutors are asking for the death penalty. And that you are hereby sentenced to death for the murder of William Bosner. This is the type of case which, to my mind, almost cries out and says, if there is a death penalty, this is why we have a death penalty. But two courts have thrown out the sentence on technicality.

And ten years later, the state still has not executed James Campbell. And incredibly, the person most determined to keep him alive is the woman he almost killed. An astonishing battle that will take her back to face evidence from the original trial. Oh, dear. These are the ones you can't look at. And face new trials of her own. I feel like I say one word, I'm going to go to jail.

I can't say any words. I just feel like I'm going to go to jail, and I don't want to. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals.

However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marcia Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows

early and ad-free right now. I wasn't sure if it was for real or not. He's right here looking right into my eyes. He is James Bernard Campbell. You actually stood as close as you're standing to me and looked at me. Closer, yeah, and that's him. Condemned to death for the murder of Reverend Bill Bosler. My dad was stabbed 24 times, and I was only stabbed six times. There it is.

This is you? Bosler's daughter, Suzanne, saw it all and was helpless to stop it. Have you recovered fully physically from this? No, no, never will. The plate in my head here is not attached all the way around. I have headaches and swelling,

and memory still has a problem sometimes with speech. Like we're speaking now, I keep, you know, it's on the end of my tongue and I can't get it out. But amazingly, from that day to this, Suzanne Bosler has waged a one-woman war to save James Campbell's life, to spare the man who killed her father, and almost killed her.

Dad and I were having one of our debates. He said, if my life were ever taken, if I was ever murdered, I would still not want that person to get the death penalty. How eerie. That's exactly how he would want it. No two ways about it. Is there not in you just any sort of instinctive feeling, you know, of wanting revenge, wanting vengeance, wanting payback for what he did? Of course, at the beginning there was, yes. There was that time where I had a lot of anger in me. But I have already come to terms with forgiving him, whether it matters to him or not.

Despite what happened, she sees James Campbell not as a monster, but as a human being. It's been on my mind for nine and a half years what kind of person he really is. And I always have imagined what he thought, how he felt. You want to understand him. You want to understand him. I want to understand him. What is it you want to know specifically about that day? Why he did it. Her search for the why of this crime leads her back to a Miami courthouse.

You really don't know what you're going to find. Exactly. To the original case file. This is the clerk of course case number which is 86 38693 he signed it that his handwriting Wow okay I want copies of this to grisly evidence from the trial much of which Suzanne will be seeing for the very first time my sister sister, my mother, they were through the whole trial. I wasn't. I wasn't allowed in because I was a witness. I had a lot of blood to work with, that's for sure.

This is my mom and dad's room. And there's my dad's pants laying on the floor. This is, oh dear. These are the ones you can't look at. Yeah. This was an incredibly brutal murder. I mean, I keep coming back to the same question. I can see, I think most people could see you not doing anything.

It is really hard to picture why you would want to save him after what he did. It's over and it's done. If they killed James Bernard Campbell, it's not going to bring my father back. There's something my dad taught me, is that there's always something good that comes out of bad. And I'm trying to find it. What do we want? Politics! When do we want it?

Now! It has become her cause... The ball is the death penalty!...almost her obsession, to save not just James Campbell, but every single person on death row. She's become a determined voice against the death penalty, part of a group called Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation. I think Suzanne is a remarkable human being. Executive Director Pat Bain. She has shown tremendous strength to have held so firmly to those values after the terrible ordeal that she's gone through.

after the terrible ordeal that she's gone through. Mail to the teacher's desk. Suzanne travels with the group nationwide, spreading its message and enlisting support for James Campbell. I wanted to buy him a Bible and engrave his name on it. I've been taking it all over where I've been speaking and welcoming people to write an encouraging word for him. Ideally, she would like to deliver that Bible in person. I got a call from the state attorney's office.

She may soon have the chance. They told me that there's gonna be another trial. The third sentencing trial in 10 years. The third time they would like me to testify. They had to take this whole side out of my skull and some of my brain. But now she is torn. In the past, her wrenching testimony has helped prosecutors get the death penalty, the very outcome she hopes to avoid.

My father was a man of peace. His favorite hymn was, Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. Just who is on trial here? I don't want to go to jail. That's not my purpose here. I found a bullet hole right here in my kiss.

A dramatically different survivor's tale. Denton was laying on a table. I had the idea that somehow they were going to get off again. With a white sheet up to his neck. I'll believe it when it happens. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge?

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Well, they want this to go in this gate right over here. David Small almost lost his life. The doctor says it's just a miracle that the bullet missed my heart. And did lose someone he cared about to murder. It's been almost 20 years. Yes, but it's still emotional. But for him, through three trials, convictions, and appeals, justice means just one thing.

Death for the men who committed the crime. Sitting in jail, using my tax dollars to live on, is not punishment. In just over 24 hours, the state of Arkansas is scheduled to kill the two men who killed here almost 20 years ago. And David Small says there is nothing he'd rather see happen. It was June 1977. David Small was a park ranger on patrol with his partner Opal James near Magazine, Arkansas.

As we entered the park, we met the Magazine police car. Two escaped convicts, Earl Van Denton and Paul Ruiz, had hijacked Officer Marvin Ritchie's car and taken him hostage. They made us get in the back of the car. I noticed that Mr. Richie was handcuffed and as I got into the car he said to me I'm afraid of these guys. That's when I knew we were in deep trouble. The convicts then drove them deep into the woods, led Small's partner away, handcuffed Small to Officer Ritchie, and forced them into the trunk. Then Ruiz stood up, looked at Denton, and said, you know what we got to do.

Denton said yes. That was really the first time that I knew they were going to kill us. Suddenly, one of them pulled a pistol, leaned in, and shot Ritchie in the head. The other convict then fired at David Small. I heard the trunk lid close, and then I passed out for a little while. After I came to, I had a tremendous pain, and I found a bullet hole right here in my chest. Incredibly, Small was alive and still handcuffed to Ritchie. I tried to talk to Mr. Ritchie, got no response.

I reached over and felt for a pulse, got no pulse, whatever. For five agonizing hours, Small lay bleeding in the trunk. PAUSE AT WHATEVER. FOR FIVE AGONIZING HOURS, SMALL LAY BLEEDING IN THE TRUNK. I WAS GETTING WEAKER AND GIVING UP MORE AND MORE HOPE. ALL OF A SUDDEN, I HEARD WE FOUND THE CAR. SMALL WAS RESCUED, BUT OFFICER RICHIE WAS DEAD, AND MILES AWAY, POLICE LATER FOUND THE BODY OF SMALL'S PARTNER Richie was dead and miles away police later found the body of Smalls partner and friend Opal James. You felt that you had failed in some way? Yeah. I could not face Mr. Richie's family and Mr. James's family for about five years. Mr. Richie's youngest daughter came through the park and stopped and wanted to talk to me. I told him I hate it for that to happen to him, but we never once, you know, asked why that he made it and daddy didn't because I'm just glad he did. These two men came in and ruined three families' lives.

For nearly 20 years, that day has haunted David Small's entire family. Sleeping with a gun by my bed waiting on my dad to come home is not my idea of a good night's rest. Adding to the fear, Earl Van Denton, the man who shot David Small, escaped briefly from death row. Since I am a living witness, there is that possibility that they will come after me again. So now Small wants the prison to bend its rules and let him watch the executions with his own eyes. You have made a special request to be in the room when this happens. Yes. Why do you want to see this? Hearing that they were killed is not the same as seeing them actually put to death.

About 10 hours before Ruiz and Denton are scheduled to die... Hello? ...David Small still doesn't know for sure that the executions will take place. Yes, I was just getting ready to call you. Or, if they do, if he will get his wish to watch. You're clear that we cannot allow you to be a witness? Yes. Okay.

You're certainly welcome to be down there. They told me that I was not going to be allowed to be a witness. You're disappointed? Yes, I'm disappointed. I'm not going to be allowed in to view the execution. It sounds a little bit grotesque if somebody says, I'm disappointed I'm not going to be able to see somebody else die. It's something that I had really wanted to see.

And I'm still going to be down there at the prison. The daughter of murdered police officer Richie will be there too. Since I've met David Small I think I need to be by his side. To support him. To support him. He was there to support daddy. Do you feel sort of like you're getting closer and closer? Are your emotions at this point changing? Nervousness right now. Finally getting to see an end to it. Long time coming, man.

Yes. Nothing's changed? No, sir. It's gratification, anxiety, worry, all mixed into one. Okay. So nearly 20 years after the event, it is now only two and a half hours until the scheduled executions. Two and a half more hours for David Small and the other victims' relatives to simply wait. To me, this is a joyous day.

This is not killing somebody because these people are cold-hearted souls. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of angry that all they're getting is a shot in the arm. But death penalty opponent Pat Bain disagrees. A person may have done heinous things, but that's not all they are. It's amazing. Along with supporting crusades like Suzanne Bosler's, Bain counsels death row inmates. She's come here to comfort Paul Ruiz to the very end. I spent 12 hours at the prison as Paul's spiritual advisor.

We talked a little bit about the crime and the victims. The final hours slip away for convicted killers. A group of about six men in full riot gear came storming down the hallway. I could hear the chains rattling and I could hear clanging as they wrapped the men around their waist. Denton was laying on a table. I had the idea all day long that somehow they were going to get off again. With a white sheet up to his neck. I'll believe it when it happens.

The director of the Arkansas Department of Correction has just read the following statement in the execution chamber. A lethal injection was administered at 7.05 p.m. He then coughed once, causing his chest to heave upward. And the coroner has pronounced Earl Van Denton dead at 7.09 p.m. With one of them executed, it wasn't that much of relief because it was both of them that violated us.

Victims want the person who hurt them to show some consciousness of the pain they caused. They opened the curtains for Paul Louise at 7.56. I don't know why Paul and Earl never apologized to David Small. I don't think Paul wanted to die, but I think he was able to accept that it was over. A lethal injection was administered at 7.56 p.m. He coughed three times in succession.

And the coroner has pronounced Paul Ruiz dead at 8 o'clock p.m. When the second one was executed that completed it. The only emotion I'm feeling is relief that it's finally over with. It won't bring daddy back but it closes a lot. David Small's experience led to the passage of a new law in Arkansas, allowing victims' families to view executions. We are here because of this premeditated, savage, unprovoked murder. He understands right from wrong. He understood it was wrong to drive a knife 24 times into Reverend Bosler. He knew it was wrong to drive a knife five times into Suzanne. The fate of the man who killed Suzanne Bosler's father is again before the court.

He understands right from wrong. His own doctors say that. For the third time in 10 years, Suzanne may have to testify. Will you point them out to us? In the past, she was a blockbuster witness. Her testimony helped prosecutors get the death penalty. I had to take this whole side out of my skull and some of my brain. It was emotional. It was moving. But this time, Suzanne is plotting her most determined effort yet to save James Campbell's

life. This time I want, I want to be heard. I want to be listened to. I will do what I have to do to fight for his life, not his death. It's the way she's chosen to memorialize her father. Pat Bain is an ally in her fight. She watched her father die, and she knew what he believed, and she wants to be sure that his beliefs are heard. Suzanne's two sisters feel the same way. It didn't just happen to me. They're part of my, you know, the family, so it was all of us. She's really the strongest out of all of us.

She's a survivor, she's a fighter, and this won't be over for her until he gets life in prison. And for the first time, she has her own lawyer, Reverend Melody Smith. I really never knew what rights I did have as a victim, and now I know. And one of those rights is to be able to explain her answers, to be able to explain her position, to be able to explain her position, to tell the jury and the judge about her father and about her life. Suzanne Butler and Melody Smith, we have an appointment with Mr. Band. They start with a last-minute appeal to prosecutor Michael Band.

They were insistent, again, to try to convince me to not seek the death penalty. And he said, we won't do that. We will not change our decision on what we're going to do. So now I'm going to the court. Michael Band asked me if I wanted to testify. If I'm subpoenaed or I'm called to do so, I will. All rise, the court is in session. But that doesn't mean she has to testify the way the prosecutor wants her to. Be seated.

Her plan? To go within myself to control my emotions. The defendant has been found guilty of murder in the first degree. The punishment for this crime is either death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years. Every time she goes through this, it's hard. When she testifies, she's going to be in a very strange position. I mean, they're going to be trying to elicit damaging testimony from her, which she does

not want to give. We weren't even sure Suzanne was going to be trying to elicit damaging testimony from her, which she does not want to give. We weren't even sure Suzanne was going to be called to testify. This afternoon, she'll testify. Ms. Basel, ma'am, would you just please step forward for a moment, please? That means walking a very thin line. Just please raise your right hand and be sworn. Suzanne's dilemma is simple. Florida does allow victims to testify as to the impact of a crime. But the state Supreme Court has sharply restricted what they can tell juries about their own

personal feelings on punishment. So her strongly held anti-death penalty beliefs are strictly off limits. The judge excuses the jury so he can lay down the law to Suzanne. And specifically one of the areas which you cannot go into deals with your opinion concerning the death penalty or life imprisonment. You understand that? Yes. But when her testimony begins... Are you employed? Yes, I am. What type of work is it that you do? I have several jobs. One which is I do hair and another job is to abolish the death penalty. Okay. How long have you been a hairdresser?

I was hoping that that wouldn't happen, but she was determined to get her views across to the jury, and I'm not happy about it. But Suzanne's just getting started. Where were you when the doorbell was ringing? Getting ready, as we said before. Her strategy, be as unsympathetic and undramatic as possible. So when the doorbell initially rang, what did you think? What usually means that there's somebody at the door. It takes everyone by surprise.

Describe what is happening in the doorway as you approach. Again, my father was getting somebody at the door. It takes everyone by surprise. Describe what is happening in the doorway as you approach. Again, my father was getting stabbed in the doorway. The state attorney's office was in control of me before. This time, I wanted to be more in control. Is he fighting? Again, for the third time. It was deliberate. She had an agenda. I didn't observe my father until after James left to go to my room. Obviously, she never referred to him as James before. When the gentleman was going through the rooms. Or the gentleman before.

Her testimony before was eloquent, indeed dramatic. I heard noises. What kind of noises? Noises from my father. Can you describe them for us? Grunts and groans. What type of noises did you hear? I believe they were noises that my father was making.

What kind of noises? Grunts and groans. It was a different testimony. It was indeed a different Suzanne who testified. What worries the judge is that this Suzanne is determined to say more. And I'm advising you right now that if you violate my order, you will be in direct criminal contempt. I don't know what to say because I feel like I say one word, I'm going to go to jail.

I can't say any words. I just feel like I'm going to go to jail and I don't want to. Suzanne Bosler keeps taking more and more chances in the fight over what happens to her father's killer, the man who also left her for dead. She is pushing the limits of the law now from the witness stand, crossing swords with the judge, and now if she's not careful, Suzanne, a victim, could end up in jail. Here again is Susan Spencer. It will be a big day. It will be. Mr. Your Honor, I'd like to be able to call Suzanne Bosler. Are you ready?

I'm going to ask Ms. Bosler to come forward at this time. Now taking the stand for the defense, Suzanne hopes this is her chance to finally tell the jury directly that she, a victim, opposes death for James Campbell. Ms. Bosler, just please have a seat. Unfortunately for her, Florida law says that's illegal. I believe we're treading on an area that could cause a problem. And the judge is having none of it. And I have a feeling that it is a bombshell that's going to go off.

He excuses the jury again. There will be absolutely no discussion about the death penalty, period. No feelings about Mr. Campbell, period. And I'm advising you right now that if you violate my order, you will be in direct criminal contempt. You face six months in a Dade County jail with a $500 fine. Do you understand that? I don't know what to say because I feel like I say one word,

I'm going to go to jail. I can't say any words. I just feel like I'm going to go to jail and I don't want to. I don't want to go to jail. That's not my purpose here. I can't say anything. I'm so confused. I can't say anything. I'm so confused, I don't even know.

Right now the jurors are not here. I need to know what you were going to say to the jurors if the jurors were present. All's I wanted to say, I just wanted to say that I forgive James Bernard Campbell for what he's done. I forgive him. I respect his life and value it here on this earth and I believe I believe in life I've tried for ten and a half years to bring good out of this and I'm doing it the best way I know how. I respect how you feel and your opinions.

However, those opinions do not have a place in this courtroom in this particular proceedings. Mr. Diaz, I need to know if Ms. Biles is going to testify about anything else. In light of the court's ruling, I don't think I have room here to call her. So now Suzanne can only watch. Ma'am, you can step down at this time. But between court sessions, one small victory. Do you think that I could give the Bible to you to give to him?

Of course. She is able to give the Bible she's kept for Campbell to his lawyers to give to him. I never would have thought before this of ever giving a Bible to somebody like this. It feels better than I thought. It's good. This is why we are here. In closing arguments, prosecutor Michael Band is less sympathetic, insisting Campbell's life story shouldn't spare him from the electric chair.

Individuals grow up in bad homes every day, and they don't go out and slaughter people. A killing so bloody that this home would be turned into a slaughterhouse. that this home would be turned into a slaughterhouse. Ladies and gentlemen, make the punishment fit the crime. You will decide what punishment fits the crime. And the defense insists life in prison is punishment enough. And before you take a man's life, you need to know who that person is. You need to know his background.

I don't have a photograph of this young man drinking bleach in an effort to take his own life. I do not have a photograph of his parents beating him with an electrical cord until he cried, Jesus, I repent. It's easy to blow out these pictures and say, oh, this is cruel, this is bad. Kill him. But that's not what we're here to do, because that's not justice.

That's just revenge. Thank you, Suzanne. After more than a decade, a final decision may be only hours away. Hey, Mom. They went in about 40 minutes ago to deliberate. But you'll feel like you did everything you possibly could. I just want to let you know whatever happens, it's a victory. I've done what I could, and if he's given life, I would be a tremendously happy person. I have been advised by Ray that the jurors have reached the verdict.

We've got what? Verdict. Oh my god. Ray, please bring the jurors. Oh my God. Oh, my God. Good afternoon again, ladies and gentlemen. I have been advised by Ray that you have reached a verdict. Is that correct?

If you please give the verdict. Is that correct? If you please give the verdict forms over to Ray. The jury's back in less than three hours. Will you please post the verdict? In the circuit court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Dade County Florida criminal division case number 86 386 93 state of Florida versus James Campbell the jury advises and recommends to the court that it impose a sentence of life imprisonment upon James Campbell without possibility of parole for 25 years.

So say we all, this 13th day of June, 1997, John Jariszewski, foreperson. Before I sentence Mr. Campbell, I would like to give family members, if they wish to make any comments to the court, an opportunity. Ms. Boslow, you wanna do that, ma'am? Yes. One other question, I won't do that, ma'am? Yes.

One other question, I won't get arrested, right? You won't get arrested. OK. I am so overwhelmed right now that I don't know what to say. This has been the happiest moment of my last 10 and 1 half years. And I thank you, each and every one of you, for giving him life, not death.

My father's life was taken, but he gave me this sample one time, and he said, if someone were to murder me or kill me, he would still not want that person to get the death penalty. And I finally got the opportunity in this courtroom to have a little chance for me to be listened to and for me to have a part in the life of James Bernard Campbell, to be spared. And I thank you very much for that.

We did it. We did it, man. We did it. We did it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

She has helped save James Campbell's life. Excuse me. Now will she learn why he killed her father? Can I say something? Can I say something, James? James. James. Thank you. Thank you. Excuse me.

Congratulations. Your dad will be proud. Despite having helped save the life of her father's killer, Suzanne Bosler still has not gotten through to James Campbell. Still has no real understanding of why he did what he did. I kind of went over to see if I could say something to him or, you know, I don't know, touch his hand or something. I can't say anything to him. Over the years, James Campbell has always said no to Suzanne's repeated requests

for a meeting. Can I say something? Can I say something, James? I'm not going to hurt him. Now, she won't take no for an answer. I don't know if I was expecting a thank you or a I don't know what. But the man who so hurt her has been led away. We'll do something. I'm not going to hurt him.

He knows that. No, but he's scared. I'm not going to hurt him. He knows that. No, but he's scared. He wanted to come up and thank me for saving his life, but then there were so many people around that it was too much of a commotion. Why wouldn't they let him? I just wanted to say I hope what I've done is right, and I hope that you can go on with your life too now that you know you're not

gonna get death. This mom this is over it's done so mom our lives will go on. It's the first time that I felt and know that my father is proud of me for what I did. I feel it from him and I know deep within my heart I did what I had to do. Convicted murderer James Bernard Campbell was sentenced to four consecutive life terms. Suzanne Bosler tried unsuccessfully to meet with Campbell, the man who killed her father. She continued to campaign against the death penalty.