Crime in Sports - #438 - Some Kind Of Monster - Tom Payne - Part 2

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

This week, we finish up this terrible tale, with Tom fighting to get out of prison, all while even more unspeakable charges are leveled against him. His legal team call it a "giant conspiracy...", that may even involve the Atlanta Hawks! He is eventually released from prison, tries to become a boxer & does some bit acting parts. Then, he does it, again. And this time, he's caught in the act, by 2 police officers. Will he ever be "good, now"?? It's Tom Payne - Part 2!!Be sued by a cellmate for an unprovoked attack, cal the whole legal & basketball system "a giant conspiracy" against you, and be caught, in the act of doing the exact thing you've always denied with Tom Payne!!Check us out, every Tuesday!We will continue to bring you the biggest idiots in sports history!! Hosted by James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman Donate at... patreon.com/crimeinsports or with paypal.com using our email: crimeinsports@gmail.com Get all the CIS & STM merch at crimeinsports.threadless.com Go to shutupandgivememurder.com for all things CIS & STM!!  Contact us on... twitter.com/crimeinsports crimeinsports@gmail.com facebook.com/Crimeinsports instagram.com/smalltownmurderSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, Prime members, you can listen to Crime and Sports early and ad free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. They say Hollywood is where dreams are made, a seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune and lives can disappear in an instant. Follow Hollywood and Crime, the Cotton Club murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Redacted, Declassified Mysteries is a new podcast hosted by me, Luke Lamanna.
Starting point is 00:00:32 Each week I dive into the hidden truths behind the world's most powerful institutions. From covert government experiments to bizarre assassination attempts, follow Redacted on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello everybody and welcome back to Crime in Sports. Yay! Yay indeed, Jimmy.
Starting point is 00:01:14 Yay indeed. My name is James Petragallo. I'm here with my co-host. I'm Jimmy Wissman. Thank you so much for joining us today on another really incredible, weird, crazy, gross episode of Crime and Sports. It is part two of Tom Payne. I don't know how we covered him in an hour on the first one. We just really breezed through it. But wow, is this guy an asshole. Just can't stop raping. And we're not even close to done. Like this is no, no, no. It's not
Starting point is 00:01:44 like, oh, well now he'll get out of jail and everything will be fine. That'll be this episode. Oh, no, no. Full of crime, full of crazy. He'll start a new career that'll make you shake your head and wonder what the fuck he's thinking. It's a lot.
Starting point is 00:01:55 Well, get to all that. First of all, head over to shutupandgivemurder.com. And the reason you want to do that is to get tickets for live shows. The last of the year are coming up here, Terrytown, New York, and also in Boston. So get those if you have not already because there's only a couple left. New York might be sold out right now. Yeah, it is.
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Starting point is 00:03:46 So subscribe and you get a shout out at the end of the show. That said, let's dive back into Tom Paine, everybody. Or he'll dive into us. Unfortunately, he's going to wrap a dish towel around our face and dive into us here. A very scary man. It's bad enough that anybody who's like a rapist out there wandering around looking for shit is a scary person to begin with. But when you add that there's seven foot two, it just makes it way more terrifying. Like a woodland monster, like a Yeti coming for
Starting point is 00:04:16 you or something. That's terrifying. And it just wants to enter you. It just wants rape. That's all it wants is rape. Yeah, what if Bigfoot up there in the northwest was just hunting to rape? Yeah, you wouldn't be going after him so hard, would you? You're going after him, he's going after you, he's hiding behind a fucking tree with a banjo waiting to rape you. That would be bad. So let's start with- That's squatching. That's some squatching. He He's gonna squash ya good.
Starting point is 00:04:45 That's what we call, a woodland rape would be called squatchin'. Yeah. Oh man, he squashed me good out there. Who squashed ya? You know who. You know who. He's huge.
Starting point is 00:04:57 God damn it, gigantic with his big furry dick comin' at me. So May 26th, 1973 is the place to begin here. And that is where there's an article in the Atlanta Voice and the headline is New Accusations Made Against Johnson in Payne Case. And that is his lawyer, Johnson. That is the, I believe the state senator Leroy Johnson is his name there. So in an exclusive interview with The Voice last week, Mr. Thomas Payne Sr., father of the Atlanta Hawks basketball player convicted of rape in Fulton County last September, and George Williams, head of the drum major for justice, okay, revealed some information they believe would lead toward proving that Tom Payner. Is the victim of a conspiracy. Oh
Starting point is 00:05:47 This is all a big conspiracy. He didn't I've been framed to I've been framed like cheats. He's been framed Oh, I've been framed. Yeah, he's been framed. I never do nothing wrong every time I get the blame They got multiple women to say a gigantic rapist came after them. A gigantic rapist with a decent mid-range jump shot. Right. They're very rare. Guy averaging a double-double. That's a specific man.
Starting point is 00:06:18 Especially back then, it'd be like seven foot two, huh? Do we know where Wilt Chamberlain is tonight? He's playing in Boston? Okay, well it's this guy then. There's nobody else. He claims a big body count too. Yeah no shit he's like I'm too busy having voluntary sex with multiple partners. I got multiple partners all over the I'm too busy to rape. I may have been raped I don't know. I don't even know. I'm not raping anybody. Definitely not so they said Tom is presently serving a two-year sentence which again a little a little fresher they gave him two years for multiple rapes that was insane insane I would say I would just shut the fuck up and be happy that I'm not going to prison for 20 years when you if I didn't do it dude
Starting point is 00:07:00 I oh no if I did how he did do it scream yeah I know I mean No, if you're him if you did it you got two years shut the fuck up You gotta be thrilled about it shut up and take your two don't have your dad go out and say there's a conspiracy. Yeah So they said other rape charges and has other rape charges pending against him in Cobb County. Mr Payne and mr Williams disclosed a police report from Cobb County in which the alleged rape victim described the person that attacked her as being six foot two weighing between 170 and 180 pounds and having rotten teeth. Tom Payne Jr. is seven foot two, two hundred sixty pounds and has perfect teeth. Perfect. They're excellent. He's a rapist but his teeth are Perfect. He's a rapist, but his teeth are wonderful. Good for him. His teeth in
Starting point is 00:07:48 no way resembles the description of the rapist. Furthermore, the victim said in the report that she thought the rapist was a delivery man from the place where she worked. According to Mr. Payne and Mr. Williams, Tom's attorney, Senator Leroy Johnson and Harris Bostic knew about this report, but at no time made it known to either the family or to the media. Instead, Mr. Payne said he and his wife were led to believe that there was strong evidence against Tom in Cobb County and were in fact told by Senator Johnson that he had secured information that if Tom would agree to make the deal and plead guilty that the officials would agree to let the two years he had already been given in the case in Fulton County serve to cover all the other charges in the other counties.
Starting point is 00:08:35 Attorney Bostic consulted about this accusation or consulted, yeah, consulted about this accusation and said that was absolutely untrue. Mr. Bostic, who Mr. Payne said went to jail, went to the jail many times to try to persuade Tom to accept the deal. What deal would get you less than two years, Jesus Christ? I don't know how you're gonna get- What are you talking about? Trying to get probation?
Starting point is 00:08:55 Are you trying to get time served? What are you trying to get? I don't know, what more of a deal can you get? The women have to apologize to you? Like, what are we talking about? For dragging your name through the mud? Yeah, they have to fuck you voluntarily now? Is that part of it? Like what do you mean dude?
Starting point is 00:09:08 This is crazy. And says he never talked to Tom about the Cobb County case. Mr. Payne and Mr. Williams have charged that there was a conspiracy between Senator Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks. Now the Hawks are involved in this whole mess. They're trying to relieve themselves of his
Starting point is 00:09:24 contract? What would be their interest? That's what I'm saying, to make them look worse? I don't know. We're beacons of this community. How can we tarnish our legacy a little bit? How can we do that? At the same time, they're the ones that hired Johnson, so they're paying him, so maybe he
Starting point is 00:09:41 would have some special fealty to them. But as a lawyer, that's kind of your oath is to your loyalty to your client not to anybody else on earth so that would be a conflict of interest they want to deprive him of his constitutional rights and keep him incarcerated in jail to make it impossible for him to to perform as his contract with the Hawks requires yeah thereby giving them a basis for termination of his contract. Yeah, he thinks that they set him up as a rapist to not have to pay him.
Starting point is 00:10:12 Yeah, it's not like they have a $30 million contract with him too. They probably paid the lawyer more than he makes in a season. You know what I mean? What team has ever sat around and like, I know how we can get rid of this contract. Oh man, we really signed the bad one there. You know what? We really worried about the salary cap.
Starting point is 00:10:31 I'm worried, because we don't want to pay. That was ridiculous, I think, right? That we signed him with someone. What if we make him a rapist? What if he's a rapist? What do you think there? What if we make him a rapist? That's a wild accusation.
Starting point is 00:10:44 That is, wow, that's accusation. That is... Wow. That's a lot. That would be something. Imagine if teams did that. Holy shit. There's some guys out there, the Jets right now would be fucking planting dead bodies in Aaron Rodgers bushes all over his property. Murder weapons and shit. they'd be fucking yeah it would be women just bleeding on the front lawn Aaron Rogers did this to me making like the Meadowlands dommer because yeah rumors exactly they said there were forces within the Atlanta Hawks management that said that they said who are displeased with Tom's attitude as a black man
Starting point is 00:11:27 and as much as he refused to cooperate in certain projects that were used to promote the basketball team such as certain speaking and social engagements. Tom refused to engage in that kind of activity preferring instead to communicate with brothers in the black community they said. Tom has a five-year contract with the Hawks which could be broken if Tom was convicted. Senator Johnson is no longer handling the Payne case. Attorney Howard Moore, Atlanta attorney famed for his handling of the Angela Davis case, well he's been saying he's Angela Davis so why not, has accepted the case. His retainer fee of $5,000 was raised in part from personal contributions by the Atlanta Hawks players
Starting point is 00:12:07 Lou Hudson, Walt Bellamy, Herb Gilliam and Bobby Christian. According to Mr. Williams, they have information from some of the Hawks players who sought to advise Tom to go along with the scheme of things. Tom Payne Jr. was first arrested in Fulton County. Yeah, there we go. May 18th, he was arrested and charged with rape finally. So they say to further show the conspiracy, Mr. Williams said, Detective Compton, who was the Atlanta police detective who first started bringing all this together, appears as a witness in the Cobb County case.
Starting point is 00:12:38 What we're saying is simply that after Tom was brought in a case here, Compton simply took Tom's picture and went to all the persons in the various counties where a black man was brought in a case here, Compton simply took Tom's picture and went to all the persons in the various counties where a black man was involved in a rape and introduced Tom as being that person. You're trying to sell him as a rapist. Like you're looking for a rapist?
Starting point is 00:12:54 I got a rapist here. How about him? I got a black rapist here. Yeah, you're looking for a black guy? I got a tall black guy. They simply then brought a charge against him for that particular crime regardless to what the description stated. There were also some moves to have Tom arrested back in 71 before he left Kentucky. These moves all started after it was made public that Tom had decided to leave Kentucky to play with the Atlanta Hawks.
Starting point is 00:13:17 Remember he was saying that they're trying to get me fucked over here in Kentucky? Mr. Payne said Tom was confronted with these charges the very same day that he signed his contract. There are various things that have happened that would link the Hawks in with Kentucky and would give Kentucky reasons to be able to put pressure on the Hawks to make the Hawks seek to do certain things, Mr. Payne said. He said he could not disclose what they were at this time. It's just a conspiracy. We there's we don't have details. They can tell me what I can't tell you.
Starting point is 00:13:51 Well, they could do some things. Imagine this theory in today's day and age. It would be it would go off the charts. Yeah, yeah, it would be crazy. June 25 has been set for the trial date in the Cobb County charges. Tom who is eligible for bond after serving two months, is still in jail. Holy! Wow, Mr. Payne said that Senator Johnson told them that he had filed for a bond for Tom,
Starting point is 00:14:14 but that Judge McKenzie said in open court that Johnson had never filed for the bond. Mr. Bostic said they had made appeals to get bond, but that they had not filed for a formal petition for it because of the holds in the other counties. If they got Tom Fried, they felt that it would, gee, they'd just be taken in there. So we went over that yesterday. So the whole point is they think it's a conspiracy
Starting point is 00:14:38 between the Hawks, the defense lawyer, the University of Kentucky. It goes all the way up to the presidency is what this is. Nixon's involved in this. Do you understand? It's huge. You can roll up Watergate right in this. It's all part of it.
Starting point is 00:14:55 Same guys on the way to the Watergate. They stopped over and did this shit. Framed this man for rape several times. Several times and it's because the Hawks feel they've made a bad draft pick That is a wild strategy still like yeah, it's a stretch Sam Bradford would be in prison in prison forever The Rams 100% put him away forever that motherfucker. 100% put him away forever.
Starting point is 00:15:29 He'd be prolific for what he's done. Maybe Ray Rice didn't punch his wife. We don't know. Maybe it's all doctors. They got a Ray Rice look alike and they were like, finally, God damn it, that contract. No, this is crazy. Tired of paying. Hey, diddle diddle, Ray Rice up the middle. He only did one big play. My God. So June 28th 1973, Payne attacker, this woman maintains her story is a big article here. The Cobb County woman maintained in court Thursday that she was raped by Tom Payne despite defense
Starting point is 00:15:57 contentions that she could have been mistaken. A short time earlier Payne's Cobb Superior Court trial had come to a brief halt when the woman, at first mention of the incident last year, broke into uncontrollable squeals. Really? Yeah, not like squeals like she just saw the Beatles in 1963. I would assume it would be. Not of joy. Yeah, not of joy.
Starting point is 00:16:19 She's upset. Yeah, yeah. She's a little upset. Yeah. She wasn't throwing her panties out there. I don't so Following the recess at that point the defense lawyer moved for a postponement in the trial for the purpose of the woman Having the woman undergo a psychiatric examination to determine if her testimony would be quote influenced by hysteria, okay
Starting point is 00:16:42 Imagine right now 1973 Okay, imagine right now, 1973, imagine 2024, there's a rape trial and the woman is describing being raped and she's upset about it and the defense lawyer says, I'd like to get her a psychiatric examination. I feel like she's influenced by hysteria. Oh my God. That guy would be- She seems to be hysterical, Your Honor. That guy would be club to death on the courtroom steps as he left.
Starting point is 00:17:09 We need somebody who can handle a rape a little bit better. Wow, that is amazing. She's all emotional about being raped by a giant. I mean impact of the woman's emotional outburst may have had on the jury. Yes, she's a rape victim upset about being raped. Probably the worst experience of her life, you guys. Even if, okay, even if you're a horrible, like a real asshole misogynist who doesn't care at all, you'd still know enough to go, well, I mean, pretend you care about the rape victim. You know what I mean? pretend you care about the rape victim. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:17:46 Pretend you're not a complete monster. Have a heart for rape victims. How hard is that? That's wild shit, man. The judge Howell C. Raven rejected both motions but cautioned the jurors against being swayed by emotional outbursts. The 43-year-old woman testified that a car had followed her as she returned home from work on May 25, 1972, and just after she got home, a man suddenly appeared and pulled her from the car. According to the testimony, she was taken with a coat held
Starting point is 00:18:13 over her head in the backyard and raped. She later identified pain, both in photographs and from a police line-up, as her assailant. The defense lawyer repeatedly questioned her as to whether she could have been mistaken in her identifying pain. There's only so many times you can ask that of a rape victim if you're a defense attorney. Are you sure it was him? That's all you got. Don't do it again. Are you sure you couldn't have been mistaken because blah blah blah blah blah. No, I'm positive it's him. That's it. Cut bait. It's over at that point. Don't keep going back to it.
Starting point is 00:18:43 Yeah, you can now do that with other witnesses, not this one. That's just dumb. It's over at that point. Don't keep going back to it. Yeah, you can now do that with other witnesses, not this one. That's just dumb. It's not smart in front of a jury. He pointed out that at the time she told police her attacker was about 6'2 and weighed 180 pounds. Remember we talked about that. She said it didn't matter because she remembered his face as being Payne's. Okay, there is that too. Yeah. Because I think you would remember the tallest person I've ever seen close up. That's the thing.
Starting point is 00:19:11 You might remember he was literally the biggest person who's ever lived. I mean, eight feet tall. Yeah, my estimation. Nine feet tall. I've never seen one bigger. Yeah. So that, I assume, that's one thing. And the face thing, I don't really like people's identification of faces, but the MO fits what he does, right?
Starting point is 00:19:27 Covers that it's a very specific face Yeah, I wasn't that the one to where a neighbor got his license plate on his way out. Yeah So that's a tough one your face and your car were both there. That's that's rough. Yeah Yeah, I was framed man my face. It's not's rough. You were framed. Yeah I was framed man. My face, it's not my face. They lied. So on June 30th 1973 the jury comes back and they find him guilty. Oh boy. Of both rape and aggravated sodomy as well. Yikes. Not just regular aggravated. That's really put a little extra stank on it. So that's not good. Again, another seven men, five women in the jury deliberated four hours before the verdict. It was a three day trial. The statement after the verdict was read, but
Starting point is 00:20:18 before sentencing, hey, they said, do you want say anything for yourself, Tom? Any words? Yeah, and he said quote. I'm a man I'm all man. Okay. That's not the way you start out in a rape case That's the way you want to start out that is so tone-deaf you want to be fucking James Brown out here right now That's what you're gonna fucking do. That's what you're doing right now. Golly. I'm all man. Yeah, you're all, you're raped. We know you're all man. That's the point. That's what you're accused of, yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:56 Wow. That is... I don't even know what... He said this. I'm a man. I'm all man. I stand 7'2". I'm proud and I don't lick know what he said this. I'm a man. I'm all man. I stand seven two I'm proud and I don't lick anybody's shoe That was his fucking statement hold go back that Ryan. He threw a rhyme at him seven foot two I'm proud and I don't lick anybody's shoe. Yeah, he did rhyme I think he yeah, I think I think he I think he gave us some poetry I think he just yeah, I think I think he just made a song. Oh my god, Tom, don't do that.
Starting point is 00:21:30 Then, he turned to the rape victim and said, I'm telling you right now, I never saw that woman in my life before I came into this courtroom. To which she yelled, oh yes you have. This is not good for sentencing. Not fucking good at all. So he faced a possible death sentence here, which is a lot I would say. They initially, the assistant district attorney asked the jury to return the death sentence, but later called the jury back return the death sentence, but later
Starting point is 00:22:05 called the jury back and told them he had reconsidered and felt he could not ask for the death penalty on the rape charge because of recent Supreme Court rulings on capital punishment. And yeah, so then that's amazing. The judge says, and this is amazing, he looks at Tom Paine and says sir you are an affront to everything America stands for. You sir, they fuck off. 15 years in prison. Okay that's good. That's something yeah. He's already served two 13 months of a two year sentence of the other sentence so now he's got 15 years. And a front to everything America stands for.
Starting point is 00:22:46 No kidding. You know you're getting banged pretty good by the judge when he starts out with you're in a front to the country. Every little boy scout out there learning to tie knots. You're in a front to that. You're in a for every little leaguer out there taking a big swing and if every apple pie sitting on a windowsill in the middle of this country in a front the 57 Bel Air you you besmirch
Starting point is 00:23:10 You besmirch the Bel Air And the great memories Calvin Coolidge Fireworks on the 4th of July, you make them awful. You make them awful, yeah. You fuck up hot dogs, you fuck it all up for us. Everything. You piece of shit.
Starting point is 00:23:33 So yeah, he's convicted here and this is obviously bad for him. That's a problem, yeah. It's a problem for him and he didn't help himself, I would say. No. At all. Not by any stretch, problem for him and he didn't help himself, I would say. No. At all. Not by any stretch, no. There, he didn't help himself. He could have said, I respectfully disagree, I don't think I did.
Starting point is 00:23:51 He could have done all that, but to say, I'm not kissing your ass and then turn it and go, I never seen her before is not the best way to do it. Boots I don't kiss nor lick. Yeah, no shit But Payne's wife and her testimony in his sentencing before his sentencing said that her Husband she said again her husband was home with her, but now they have separated for some time Okay, and now after all this she says yeah He was due to be in California for a game that night and mrs. Payne actually didn't know where the fuck her husband was that night
Starting point is 00:24:28 Oh, she she lied to create an alibi for him not good and That didn't work out very well and now they're separated so now she's coming out and saying that she lied So he needed to keep her close if she's gonna lie Man yeah, I told the jury he never saw that woman before, anything at all. He collaborated his wife's testimony that he was home with her at the time the crime allegedly occurred. The DA then asked Payne how it was that his car had been positively identified as the car at the scene of the crime. Excellent question, yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:02 Yeah, 6272, your car was there. What about? Did you lend it to a six foot two man? With a hard dick and a predilection for being a scumbag. Any of that going on? He said that many people have access to my autos. And coincidentally, they rape the same way I do. I tell all of them about my method of wrapping their face in something and raping them.
Starting point is 00:25:29 You got a couple of vehicles, James. How many people have access to your cars regularly? Two. That's it. That's it. And Sarah doesn't even like driving my cars. So really, one, she's like, I don't want to drive your car. She's very uncomfortable because she doesn't want to wreck it. So even though she's a fine driver and won't wreck it, yeah. And she's welcome to them. Yeah, still, that's not, I don't have a whole bunch.
Starting point is 00:25:50 Oh, I got neighbors. There's my boy comes over. I got a couple of cousins. I'm not letting anybody, yeah. I'm not doing it. A couple of cousins come over and buy them. You know, borrow them all the time. I don't know what they're doing.
Starting point is 00:25:59 Everybody knows where the keys are. They just take them out at night. I tell them there's a dish towel in the back seat in case you go out raping but you know. In case you see a pretty lady. Yeah so if someone says my car was there but the guy was like five foot nine you know obviously it's just someone I lent it to because I'm a lot taller than that. And I'll be on my way home. Jesus that is insane. Too much. Very insane here. So yeah, he's in a lot of shit.
Starting point is 00:26:29 He said, I based these statements on the facts of the trial testimony and the identification with which the police were given and the fact that no legal identification of pain was ever made. That's his defense attorney and final arguments here. He said that we did not come here to beg but we did come here for justice. The DA then got up and said that give me a fucking break. I'm here for justice too. That's convenient. A lot of people have access to my cars. That's insane. The DA said to the jury all these
Starting point is 00:27:00 points and others tell you that the jury in this case, what you must do, and that's to render a verdict of guilty as charged. And that's what they did. So there you go. Wow. So he got less though. He could have got the death penalty. The maximum just for the sodomy charge is 20 years. So he got 15 for a rape and sodomy, which is interesting here. I guess it's, they were, Payne's getting 10 years for the rape and five years for the charge of sodomy. And that's what the jury put in here. The judge said he would hold attorney Moore, that is Tom's attorney, in contempt of court
Starting point is 00:27:36 if anyone in the courtroom made a sound. Oh. Anyone, it's on you. It's your fault, yeah. Wow, that is something. He also added that the 15-year sentence would follow right after the two-year sentence he received in Fulton County on another rate. So 17. After that, the attorney filed notice of appeal and in a statement said, we came here to get justice and we did not get's in jail. He just got convicted again. The next month, July 25th, 1973, his ex cellmate sues him.
Starting point is 00:28:10 Sue's. Yeah, that's a weird. Yeah. His ex cellmate sues him. Haven't heard of that before. That is interesting. He's being sued for more than a hundred thousand dollars by a former cellmate who claims he was beaten severely by Payne last October. At least you weren't raped. I would be excited. Wow. You can't say lucky stars. He let me off easy. This is good. Payne has not responded to the suit and a jury will
Starting point is 00:28:34 be selected sometime in August to hear evidence and determine the amount that will be rewarded. The Hawks are like, we're going to have to pay for this too. Can we set him up for something else that won't cost us anything? They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Raden was found dead in a canyon near LA in 1983. There were many questions surrounding his death.
Starting point is 00:29:07 The last person seen with him was Laney Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Did you know that after World War II, the U.S. government quietly brought
Starting point is 00:29:48 former Nazi scientists to America in a covert operation to advance military technology? Or that in the 1950s the U.S. Army conducted a secret experiment by releasing bacteria over San Francisco to test how a biological attack might spread without alerting the public? These might sound like conspiracy theories, but they're not. They're well-documented government operations that have been hidden away in classified files for decades. I'm Luke Lamanna, a Marine Corps recon vent, and I've always had a thing for digging into the unknown. It's what led me to start my new podcast, Redacted, Declassified Mysteries. In it, I explore hidden truths and reveal some eye-opening events,
Starting point is 00:30:27 like covert experiments and secret operations that those in power tried to keep buried. Follow redacted, declassified mysteries with me, Luke Lamanna, on the Wondery app, or wherever you get your podcasts. To listen ad-free, join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. In the suit, they said that he was an inmate at the Fulton County Jail on October 2nd, 1972
Starting point is 00:30:49 when Payne approached the man, cursed him, shouted obscene insults at him, and intentionally and maliciously struck him. What did he say? Who knows? Hey, motherfucker, what are you looking at? I mean, anything, he's in jail. Who knows? And then struck, what are you looking at? I mean, anything. He's in jail.
Starting point is 00:31:06 Who knows? And then struck him. So that's where the lawsuit comes in. Yeah, yeah. I don't think he hurt his feelings, probably. OK. He called me a name and I didn't appreciate it. It isn't something you can sue for in jail, probably.
Starting point is 00:31:15 I was... A good beating, maybe. I saw a little bit of pride left being in prison and he took it. He took it from me with that. You know what? The insult, the problem is it was accurate. You know what I mean? He really... It was like a roast joke. He took it from me with that. You know what? The insult, the problem is it was accurate. You know what I mean? He really, it was like a roast joke.
Starting point is 00:31:27 Like he found the one. He delved to the pit of my soul and he really, he called an onion and pulled it right out. Wasn't good. Yeah. He said, Brown claimed he was in great fear because of pain striking him and using threatening gestures. Yeah. of pain striking him and using threatening gestures. Then struck Brown several more times in the head, shoulders and abdomen as he was struggling
Starting point is 00:31:51 to his feet after the first blow. So they had a fight. Not much of a fight. It was beating. He said, I don't want to fight you, you giant. And then this giant person beat the living shit out of him, I think is how this worked. But it sounds like they had a fight and yeah, I don't know, man. At what point does a fight become a beating?
Starting point is 00:32:15 I think when one person other when one of the people isn't interested in it, it's just a beating at that point. Sounds like it. Yeah, so one judge, I'm sorry, a court jury heard of the Payne case last week was unable to reach an agreement on the amount of money to give Brown. A courthouse source said the jurors opinions on the judgment ranged from 10,000 to $35,000. Jesus Christ. Now Payne, apparently this while he's in jail here, following his first trial, another inmate gave testimony
Starting point is 00:32:46 that Payne assaulted two or three other prisoners who'd been placed in a cell. Apparently, what they're saying here is when they put a white guy in a cell, he beats the shit out of him. Doesn't wanna be paired up with a white guy, and that's his way of broadcasting that to the prison. It also sounds as though he doesn't wanna be
Starting point is 00:33:02 in a cell with anybody. I think he's pretty angry that he should be in the NBA and he's instead here. But I mean, he couldn't be more of an unforced error than raping people. The former inmate whose identity is being kept secret by authorities made a sworn statement before the judge. Payne knocked one man to the floor with a blow to the stomach, then picked him up and struck him two or three more times, according to the witness. He then struck another white prisoner eight or ten times and another one a few times, the witness said in his sworn statement. A former inmate testified that he reported the incident to the officials at the jail as he was being released, and the officials told him they would remove the
Starting point is 00:33:42 five or six white prisoners from the cell with pain and about ten other blacks. That's what that sounds like. He did... was that all in one sitting? He fought all those people at the same time? I think he just went around knocking the shit out of people. He's enormous. Yeah. 72 and he's not a minute bully. He's 260. He's a big, big dude. The torque on... if this guy hits you, you you're fucked imagine how big his fists are Yeah, huge, but I those videos go. Yeah, I've seen those videos in traffic
Starting point is 00:34:12 We're like one dude knocks out three dudes. That is frightening man. That is a dangerous human being It is it is by the way right under that people who've had a worse time than people getting beaten in jail by Tom Paine, bus dive kills 17 in Hong Kong. What? 17 Chinese were killed and 23 others were injured. Only the Chinese people died though. They're not long for this world of traffic accidents. I guess not. They're fragile in a traffic accident.
Starting point is 00:34:44 They're like Fabergé eggs when they get hit by another car. Were injured when a bus crowded with holidayers plunged 300 feet into a ravine on one of Hong Kong's outer islands. 300 feet is far as shit. That takes a while. Imagine being on a bus plunging 300 feet. Are we ever going gonna hit the ground? Holy shit.
Starting point is 00:35:06 You'd go, ah! We're still going, holy fuck! It's so fun. I don't wanna be insensitive or anything, but was there a US military boat? No, was there? I thought you were gonna make a bad Asian driver joke. I was like, who's driving?
Starting point is 00:35:22 I so expected you to make that from the start. I was just waiting for it. I was trying, who's driving where you're going? I so expected you to make that from the start. I was just waiting for it. I was trying not to. I know, that's your first instinct. It's not even about being offensive. It's just hacky. Yeah, right. But was there like a carrier down there in the ravine?
Starting point is 00:35:42 Were they kamikaze-ing the boat into it? That's Japanese. Oh, they were Korean. All right, well. They're Chinese. Oh, parsing Asians. 17 Chinese were killed in Hong Kong, which is part of fucking China. All right.
Starting point is 00:36:02 Why is it full of Japanese and Korean people? All right, well, who was driving that? Just say that get it over with By the way, there's a lot of jokes out there that people are people are offended by that joke They should be offended by the hackiness. I'm so tired Just cuz you dug up a joke that Archie Bunker rejected in 1972 doesn't fucking mean that you're a comic genius.
Starting point is 00:36:33 It just means you're an old hack. Thanks Lenny Bruce, appreciate you. And you know, just comedy in general, it just might, I get it. Comedy in general just might be done. It just it it just might I get I get yeah comedy in general just might be done It's just it's just I don't know man. It's it's too acceptable to be a hack now. It's too acceptable It's absolutely acceptable to tell jokes that it would have gone over on evening at the improv in 1987 From major comics who know better
Starting point is 00:37:01 It's fucking gross. Yeah, it's not even just that it's It's fucking gross. Yeah, it's not even just that it's... These are people, James, that want to be the center of attention, and they don't love comedy. So they, I don't think... I don't think these people realize that the joke's been done. I don't think they know it. I think they have to. I don't think they do.
Starting point is 00:37:20 I think there's no way they think of the basic shit and go, no, I'm sure no one's ever said that before. I don't think they even question I think there's no way they I don't basic shit and go no I'm sure no one's ever said that before I don't think they even question that you know they thought it So they don't care because they thought it but of course you thought it because it you're not a genius The problem I don't know if it's the people I think it's the, the problem is these comics know that the audience doesn't know. That's what it is. So they're just like, I can get away with this because the audience doesn't know. And comics, it used to be they didn't do that because other comics would call them out
Starting point is 00:37:56 and call them hacks and nobody would talk to them basically. But they've all now, there's a pact. I won't call out your bullshit, you don't call out my bullshit, and we'll all be terrible happy comments. When we are called out, we will all gangpile and bully that person into submission saying, whatever, who cares? Yeah, and I'm fucking done with that shit.
Starting point is 00:38:18 I want no fucking part of it. And that's why I'm thrilled that we have podcasts and we don't have to go out there and pretend to defend assholes who are hacks And that's why I'm thrilled that we have podcasts and we don't have to go out there and Pretend to defend assholes who are hacks or pretend that hacks That are very famous are really good good great guys that I want to work with real bad Fuck you people because I need the money for the weekend. Yeah Fuck you people don't need any of you. Yeah, I'd much rather tell them off. It doesn't hurt me at all. Until this audience fires me.
Starting point is 00:38:46 That's it. Yeah, you're the only people that can fire us. That's it. Nobody else and everybody else can fuck off. So anyway, dead Chinese. Moving on. Somehow. They were all driving.
Starting point is 00:38:57 This bus had so many steers. They let them take turns driving. That was the problem. They said, your turn. And then another one. A little old lady waddled up there. Is they turn? No, don't turn. So there's an Atlanta Voice article from July 28, 73, pain case receiving coverage
Starting point is 00:39:18 in New York. Why wouldn't you? That's the NBA. I would receive coverage everywhere, I would imagine. They said it's receiving considerable coverage in New York City by The Daily World, which carried several stories following Payne's most recent trial in Cobb County. So they're talking about this and the articles written by reporter Mike Jay quote Payne's attorney Howard Moore at length and speak of the defense movement underway here headed
Starting point is 00:39:45 by George Williams and drum major for justice. According to the clippings, attorney Moore is quoted as having called the pain case Scottsboro all over again. Scottsboro is the case in which nine black youths 32 years ago were convicted of raping two white women in Alabama by an all-white jury. Eight were sentenced to death and the youngest, 13, was sentenced to life in prison. The same interests that were served in Scottsboro case are being served now. This is a quote, by the way, from the article.
Starting point is 00:40:14 The same forces are in control. People have to raise the demand that Tom Paine is a political prisoner. There is a need to struggle against the system until the system is changed, Moore said. Moore told the world that he has filed a motion for a new trial pending August 28th. If it's denied, as we expect it will be, we will appeal to the Supreme Court in Georgia. Then we'll go to the US Supreme Court. So asked if he believes that a conspiracy against pain exists, Moore replied, a conspiracy in the sense that you have people in power in Kentucky and Atlanta who think the same Just if he believes that a conspiracy against pain exists, Moore replied a conspiracy in
Starting point is 00:40:45 the sense that you have people in power in Kentucky and Atlanta who think the same way. Conspiracy is inherent in capitalism and racism. While Payne's teammates on the Hawks are behind him, Moore noted that the management of the ball club hasn't lifted a finger on his behalf. They did pay for his defense attorney. I mean, I was, What are you gonna do? He said, they've kept their hands off. They are quite willing to sacrifice Tom Payne rather than offend some people here. Dude, offend some people here.
Starting point is 00:41:14 Yeah. Yeah. It's... offend everybody. What are you talking about? He's a rapist. It's hard to... That's a wild... He's really gonna try and claim that he didn't do it, huh? He's gonna, yeah, which is crazy when later on happens. So, yeah, this is like, the difference that I, the reason why I think we're doing these in a similar timeframe is Ruben Carter was the same deal.
Starting point is 00:41:38 Hurricane, Hurricane was during this period, almost the same time period and all this, it was a few years earlier, but Hurricane actually had this period, almost the same time period and all this, it was a few years earlier, but Hurricane actually had this going on. Yeah, he actually had a claim, yeah. He actually, yeah, had a claim of actual innocence and of people just trying to get these people, there was an actual. Just cleaning up a case, right.
Starting point is 00:42:00 Clearing a case. There's a lot there. To clear a case, right. Whereas this is like multiple rapes. This is, yeah. It's just not the same thing at all. It's crazy to say I've been accused of rape conspiratorially multiple times. Yeah, by different women in different places.
Starting point is 00:42:19 They're not like, That doesn't happen. Like three sisters or like three friends or, That doesn't happen. These are completely unrelated people. That's pretty crazy, yeah. And he says like another time they're like, it's well, it's because he's famous.
Starting point is 00:42:30 Well, there isn't that many rape allegations against everyone else in the NBA, so what's going on? Generally smoking fire, you know what I mean? Bill Russell didn't have just 10 rape allegations a year coming down on him at this point, it wasn't happening. He's just got that many rings. That's it. So Moore said the case of pain serves also to highlight the exploitation
Starting point is 00:42:49 of black athletes in U.S. society. He described the college athletic scene as a form of peonage and noted that pain was treated quite shabbily by the University of Kentucky, though he was the team's star center. They treated him like a black slave whom they were using, Moore added. Drum Majors for Justice is seeking to mobilize public support for a campaign to free Tom Payne. Wow. Free Tom Payne. Wow.
Starting point is 00:43:19 August 18, 1973. This is again Atlanta Voice. The conspiracy to illegally lynch Payne continues in a different way. These headlines have gone way different, right? The plot being waged by certain white so-called power wielders in Atlanta and their paid black collaborators to destroy young basketball player Tom Payne continued at the Fulton County Superior Courthouse on July 24th, 473 when Judge Jack Eldridge illegally permitted a civil suit filed against Payne
Starting point is 00:43:52 by a habitual convict to be brought to trial while Payne languished in Fulton County Jail, totally unaware the trial was being held. It was in the fucking newspaper. We knew it was being held. You know. Payne, who has been illegally incarcerated, they're just not even like It's saying like it's just a fact of life It had been illegally incarcerated since May of 72 was charged in a civil suit with severely beating a convicted dope pusher in the county
Starting point is 00:44:19 Jail last October the case was heard in Fulton County Superior Court by Judge Etheridge, who apparently held the hearing without Payne being present even though he was aware of Payne's incarceration. In an article which appeared in the Atlanta Journal July 25, 1973 under the byline of Ken Boswell, it was reported, quote, Payne has not responded to the suit and a jury will be selected sometime in August to hear evidence and determine the amount to be awarded by default," it says in parentheses, to the convicted dope pusher. According to Boswell's article, the convicted dope pusher, Jesus Christ, was identified as Jerry Brown, quote unquote, pain who's still being held in the Fulton County Jail illegally without bail. When asked about the alleged episode stated, I wonder what they'll come up with next. It wasn't
Starting point is 00:45:10 enough to accuse me of falsely of raping and attempting to rape of 13 white suspected prostitutes. Where'd that come from? Yeah, I didn't hear anything about that number. I haven't heard prostitutes at all. Where'd that go? Yeah, I've heard normal women and only two. Wow. Now I'm supposed to be out here in jail attacking white dope addicts and homosexuals. If any of that mess is true, why haven't the deputies placed criminal charges against me? All this crap is nothing but another attempt to further assassinate what little character
Starting point is 00:45:40 I might have left after being railroaded through their kangaroo, unjust white racist court. If blacks in Atlanta fail to see now that I'm being framed by a group of white power wielders and something of their, I can't, something of their, I can't read it, it's in the paper, of their paid black collaborators, I feel sorry for them. When asked if he would name some of the blacks who he felt were collaborating with the white power wielders against him, Payne immediately responded, Senator Leroy Johnson and Herman Russell. That's his lawyer. That's the two. Senator Johnson, who's also an attorney, was allegedly hired by the Hawks owner to represent
Starting point is 00:46:22 Payne when he was charged. So Herman Russell is a black businessman who owns a small interest in the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. Owns a minor interest? The hell's he? Russell, the only black board member of the Board of Governors of the Atlanta Hawks, has been completely silent on Payne's predicament. Oh, because he hasn't defended him. Several. What? Wow. Several black community organizations have charged the Atlanta Hawks owners with being a party to a conspiracy to frame pain. Ken Russell's article in the Atlanta Journal stated Brown said in the suit that he was an inmate at the Fulton County jail.
Starting point is 00:47:00 And then it's the whole suit that we talked about before. And yeah, they're saying that that's not true. Yeah, but the accusations he's making, and then they're like, and they don't even have any comment. Yeah, because this is ridiculous. I'm not going to comment on something that's so ridiculous. That's fucking wild. They said, when the human rights leader asked the editor if the sworn statement allegedly given to Judge Etheridge
Starting point is 00:47:23 by a former inmate whose identity is being kept secret by authorities was a fact or just the white inmate's account of what happened between Brown and Payne at the jail. Unable to answer the question, the city editor made some excuse about having to meet his paper's deadline and hurriedly hung up the phone. Boswell had stated in the article, the former inmate whose identity was being kept secret has sworn that pain, you know, we told you he all the other things there that he did. So apparently, if the former alleged white inmate is telling the truth, why is it necessary for his identity to be kept secret by authorities?
Starting point is 00:47:58 The fact that Judge Etheridge and other law enforcement officials would endeavor to keep the C the identity of a former convict a secret who has made a derogatory damaging sworn statement against Payne whose incarceration is believed to be illegal without giving Payne the opportunity to present his version of what happened, if anything, to the court is in itself an act which constitutes the basis for blacks in Atlanta charging certain persons with vengefully conspiring to destroy Payne. My god, in an exclusive interview with Payne at the county jail, Payne was asked if he knew the former convict Jerry Brown. He said, quote, The only white inmate named Brown in the cell with me
Starting point is 00:48:38 was some guy they brought in one night charged with pushing dope. When they put him in the cell, he looked as if he was strung out on dope himself. That's all he said. So a later check of the records at the Fulton County Criminal Clerk's Office revealed Jerry Brown in the files with a long list of arrests, convictions, and prison sentences. The convictions and sentences covered crimes of almost every description imaginable, including dope peddling.
Starting point is 00:49:02 Right. Yeah. Speaking of that, we're fed up with conspiracies apparently. Yeah. Right under that there's a letter to the editor that says- What's that said? Fed up with homosexuals. Oh, had enough of them.
Starting point is 00:49:15 Fed up with these people sucking each other's dicks. I'm fed up. Had enough to hear. Same sex in their fucking mouths. It's not fair. Dear editor, okay, this thing is getting out of hand, it says. What I am referring to is the increasing number of homosexuals and female impersonators seen in this city every day.
Starting point is 00:49:39 Not even on TV, in the movies, on Sesame Street. There's people wandering around. They're existing. They're doing... Yeah, so are crackheads or anything else. It's fucked up. A lot of other shit you don't like probably is what people are doing. People don't like Christmas or out there.
Starting point is 00:49:56 There's all sorts of people. He said, it used to be I could go for several months without seeing one. Now I can't go an entire day without seeing a sickening minimum of five. Oh, Jesus. I say a sickening minimum because to myself, that's just what it is, sickening, the very sight of them. There also used to be a time when the female impersonator
Starting point is 00:50:18 used to mind his own business and wasn't too keen about letting everybody know what he was. Impersonator. Just keep it behind closed doors is what they're saying there. But oh boy, not now. He's bolder than ever. Too bold if you ask me. I feel like no one's asking you, but alright.
Starting point is 00:50:36 I remember when they only messed with their own kind. Now they're whistling, howling, grabbing and trying to make a play at everybody. And the white ones are worse than the black ones that trying to take you out. I ain't talking from hearsay either. And he said, I ain't talking in a letter to the editor. When night falls, you wouldn't believe Hunter Street was the same street. They are all out in the streets, hanging off of cars, wearing long wigs. That's because a lot of guys like you are going to get blow jobs for $10. That's the reason. A lot of guys you work with who claim to hate these
Starting point is 00:51:08 guys, those are the guys getting blowjobs. Yeah, these people show up there because that's where the business is, man. Yeah, that's where the guys who want to give and receive blowjobs are. Hanging off cars, wearing long wigs, lipsticks, and scorcher pants. They're too short to be hot pants, he says. What is this, some kind of new fad? Is this the in thing? I don't ever plan to be in. Is that what it is?
Starting point is 00:51:34 You've got the choice there? I guess so. No one's asking you to be in anyone's butthole. That's not what they're asking. No, anyone wants you in? It's up to you, man. He said, if we the black men are going to lead the struggle, how in the name of Marcus Garvey are we going to do it? Some of us are if some of us are strung
Starting point is 00:51:52 out on dope incarcerated in prisons killing each other, Uncle Toming and trying to be sisters. How can we get anywhere? We are going if we are going to try to be sisters. As I mentioned before about the white homosexuals not now Now I'm not for integration too much from Jump Street. So I wish they would stop pestering me altogether Oh, they're hitting on him. Yeah, he's saying maybe I'd let you suck my dick if you were black, but not not a white guy Yeah, do that. It's He said maybe I'm not fairing them without first truly understanding them. Well, there you go.
Starting point is 00:52:27 He should have started with that. I do not understand what makes a homosexual, whether it's mental, some physical disorder or what. I just don't know. But I do know, be it disorder, but I do know one thing. I'm not going to accept, I'm not going to accept them once I find out. Once I find out, I'm still going to hate them. I still dislike the whole thing.
Starting point is 00:52:48 If some type of treatment won't bring them back to normal, and if they don't want to be normal acting males again, then they should be deported to some far off volcanic island for or be exterminated. Whoa. Okay, hold on. I think a country tried that already. And a gay island? I assure you, they would love that. He's never been to Fire Island, this man, apparently.
Starting point is 00:53:14 They already have a gay island, you didn't know. There are several of them, yeah. There are several gay islands. Extermination is... That's crazy. Yeah, I think the Germans had that same idea But I would it's a few Nondesirable that they want to get rid of but then he's gonna go on to just show how magnanimous he is though He said but I would rather see them receive some kind of medical treatment
Starting point is 00:53:39 You know before we start putting them in a stuff in them into volcanoes. Let's see Yeah, fix them first love to see them with an IV to flush this shit out of them. Oh my God, Stan Washington that is. Good job, Stan. Holy crap. You put your name in there, Stan? Put your name on it, Stan.
Starting point is 00:53:55 He did. So here is the 1974 appeal for the 1971, March of 71, rape here. He argues that the victim's identifications of him were not credible because she had never given a description of a rapist which actually fit Payne as we figured out there. Her neighbors told her that after the attacks,
Starting point is 00:54:18 told the police that after the attacks she was hysterical and her first description was given shortly thereafter while she was still hysterical. So that's what they were saying. The police report of her statement showed she described him as a black male 6'2", medium build, dark-toned skin, clean shaven, short hair, rotten teeth and a stutter. So one detective testified that she told him that her initial statement to the Cobb County police was that the rapist was seven feet tall but they thought she was exaggerating and encouraged her to reconsider.
Starting point is 00:54:47 And I thought of that a long time ago. If she said he was seven foot two, they'd go, man, I get that he was scary and big. Yeah. Seven foot two, maybe something a little more. Yeah. How many people have you met that's seven feet tall? Yeah, maybe he was tall, but maybe more like six foot two or six foot three. And I could very easily see them.
Starting point is 00:55:07 Is it possible that somebody six four might look seven two in a fear state? And they were trying to prevent it from being some six foot two guy saying, I'm not seven feet tall. She said the guy was seven feet tall. That's what they were thinking. We're trying to solve this.
Starting point is 00:55:21 Yeah, because honestly, how many rapes are committed by people that are seven foot two? Yeah. Very, extremely rare, I would assume. So that's interesting. She also testified she never saw him standing and was unaware of his height, except that he was a lot taller than her.
Starting point is 00:55:37 That's all she knew. Yeah, right, right. So with reference to his teeth, the victim testified that she had never stated they were rotten, but that they appeared to have a defect. She could not remember whether or not she said he had stuttered. Pain urges that no testimony was given that he actually stuttered. However, the following sentence appears at the midpoint of his unsworn statement, which ran 15 pages in transcript. This is Pain's statement, quote, I've tried all my life to do, do, do, do, do, do, do the
Starting point is 00:56:07 right thing. Oh, man. I mean, I don't know if that's a stutter, but it's a it's a hitch. Yeah. Giddy up. I've also seen transcripts where the word is said over and over, but there's a pause in the where they're trying to think of what their next move is. And usually that's a guilty person to be honest. Yeah. He might've been using the do, do, do as an ellipses there. Do, do, do as he's thinking, but the last words are the right thing,
Starting point is 00:56:39 which is all that you could put on the end of that. All my life I've tried to do, do, do, do the right thing. What was he thinking of? What should I, what could I say I've been trying to that all my life I've tried to do do do do the right thing was he thinking of him? What should I what could I say I've been trying to do all my life The wrong thing oh no that the wrong thing Shit successful rape no, that's not the raping The right thing that's what it is glad I use those extra dues Yeah It's in light of the fact that pain was not arrested until almost two months after attack, any possible issue of whether the assailant was scratched in the struggle, as
Starting point is 00:57:06 the victim might have reported, becomes moot. There's no substance to Payne's assertion that his physical characteristics eliminate him as a rapist. Payne's argument addressed the lineup procedures to the lineup procedures is that due processes required the exclusion of the victims inourt identification of him because the October 7th photographic display was so impermissibly suggestive as to rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification, which was the last enunciated in another case. But the event is so fucking specific. It's so hard to, I've never heard of a towel being used
Starting point is 00:57:44 in multiple rapes. That's his jam They said even assuming that the victim noted the height for each man and in the one or one and a half minutes during which She viewed the 16 photographs the fact that pain was one of only two men over six feet tall did not make the eight-man display impermissibly Suggestive their display might have been more nearly perfect had a larger percentage of the men been taller, but that is not the quality of suggestiveness which invalidated pretrial identifications. So, another case stated that in a different case, the defendant was one of only three men in a lineup. He was five or six inches taller than the other two and he wore a jacket similar to the one the robber had worn. In another case, two out of three
Starting point is 00:58:29 photographs exhibited to a victim were of the defendant and one of the two had a mustache drawn on it. What if he had a mustache? How about a Hitler mustache? Yeah, now we're just wooly wooly-ing him? What are we doing? What if we put horns on him now? Was he the devil? Did the devil rape you? Colors eyes red. What about? Oh my God, that's fucking funny. By contrast to those cases here, the other seven men were six feet, four inches, six, five foot, 11 inches, five foot, 10 inches, five foot, seven inches, five foot, six inches and two or five foot, nine
Starting point is 00:59:04 inches. Here. No man was the six foot1' or 6'2' as the police report indicated the victim had first estimated, but five of the men were within 4 inches of that height above or below it and none of those five were pain. Okay, so they said, we need not consider the second portion of the test to determine whether suggestedness had contributed to the misidentification because they've already ruled the photographic display was not impermissibly suggestive. They say that we need not dwell long on Payne's attack on the May 22nd lineup with respect to which his argument is basically unfair to the record.
Starting point is 00:59:41 The May 22nd lineup is claimed to have prejudiced him in two respects. There was no reason to include pain and that the seating of the other participants on items to make them seem nearer his height deprived him of the most outstanding physical characteristic, his height of seven foot two inches. They made it fair where they made all the guys the same height, remember? Yeah. And they made it fair that way. He's saying that made it unfair. Because he would have stood out as being tall and not the person. But if, the face though, if you can,
Starting point is 01:00:13 if you see, if you know what somebody looks like and you see them, you know them. You know what I mean? Well the problem with this is, yeah, if we're talking about, I saw somebody run down the street after they robbed the bank. That's a terrible ID. It's not good, yeah. You saw a stranger for two seconds.
Starting point is 01:00:31 You have no idea what that person looks like. But this is about rape. If someone raped you and came up and put fear in your heart, now she was- Got a face in your face. She was covered up after a minute, but that would be a different story. It's a way more intimate thing. You might remember a face hardcore, might be seared into your memory as opposed to you know I
Starting point is 01:00:51 saw the my cousin Vinnie kids leaving the fucking right the bucket of suds or whatever the fuck it was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What were they driving? The Buick Skylark. Skylark, that's it. Skylark, yeah. You don't believe in ghosts? I get it. Lots of people don't.
Starting point is 01:01:14 I didn't either until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness. And inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying
Starting point is 01:01:54 and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Did you know that after World War II, the U.S. government quietly brought former Nazi scientists to America in a covert operation to advance military technology? Or that in the 1950s, the U.S. Army conducted a secret experiment by releasing bacteria over San Francisco to test how a biological attack might spread without alerting the public.
Starting point is 01:02:29 These might sound like conspiracy theories, but they're not. They're well-documented government operations that have been hidden away in classified files for decades. I'm Luke Lamanna, a Marine Corps recon vent, and I've always had a thing for digging into the unknown. It's what led me to start my new podcast, Redacted, Declassified Mysteries. In it, I explore hidden truths and reveal some eye-opening events, like covert experiments and secret operations that those in power tried to keep buried.
Starting point is 01:02:58 Follow Redacted, Declassified Mysteries with me, Luke Lamanna, on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. To listen ad-free, join Wonderyanna on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts to listen ad-free Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app He was hip-hop's biggest mogul the man who redefined fame fortune and the music industry the first male rapper to be honored on the Hollywood walk of fame Sean Diddy Did he built an empire and live the life most people only dream about.
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Starting point is 01:03:50 Disgusting so sorry. Until you're wearing orange jumpsuit it's not real now it's real. From his meteoric rise to his shocking fall from grace from law and crime this is the rise and fall of getting. Listen to the rise and fall of getting listen to the rise and fall of getting exclusively with wondering plus. Like I've got a Cadillac abuse.
Starting point is 01:04:12 So yeah, that's what he says now with reference to whether there was a reason to include him in the May lineup on April 20th the month before the lineup pain had been identified by the victim is possibly the rapist sure on April 16th more than a month before the lineup, another woman had identified a car registered to Payne as that driven by her assailant who employed a similar MO. Prior to the lineup, Atlanta had three rapes employing the same MO used in the instant rape case, or instant rape, which took place in Cobb County near Atlanta.
Starting point is 01:04:42 Payne's argument essentially is that the fact that he was a tall black male described by the victim together with the fact that the victim described an MO also used in Atlanta and tentatively attributed to Payne was an adequate reason for placing him in the lineup. Just because his car was there, he was tentatively identified and his MO was in multiple rapes. Why would you bring me in for that? It's not me. That is crazy. Yeah, the Supreme Court here calls the state Supreme Court says this contention is frivolous to the extent to which Payne argues it was improper for the Atlanta police to assist
Starting point is 01:05:17 in the investigation of a Cobb County rape and for a suspected Cobb County rape is to be exhibited in an Atlanta police lineup. The argument is totally without merit. So keep on keeping on there, Tommy Boyd. That's good. He's just trying to muddy the waters and turn it political or what's, I guess polarizing. He's trying to polarize the case
Starting point is 01:05:39 so bad that they can't try it. Well, I think it's also a matter of he's trying to Ruben Carter this thing. Yeah. He's got to see what happened there. Yeah. Celebrity athlete, blah, blah, blah, people helped him and he got out. So I think he didn't get out yet during this, but I think he's seeing that this publicity
Starting point is 01:05:55 helps a lot and it's making people on his side. So he's trying to do it and he's going to appeal. Just legally, everybody's going to appeal. So there's that, but it's a tough case for him 1977 here Okay, a woman comes forward named Nancy Monneth Mon a th and She says that on October or I'm sorry on August 20th, 1971 She reported to the Louisville Police Department that she had been attacked by a young quote young tall colored male like complected.
Starting point is 01:06:32 The petitioner was taller than her estimate of height heavier and his skin was darker brown, she says. Several months after she was attacked, Mrs. Monneth received a telephone call and was told there was a suspect in her case. She was not requested to identify a suspect until 1977. God, six years? She called saying, I got, wow. And they said six years later, hey, remember that thing you called about? I mean, yeah, I do. I didn't think you did. Yeah. Remember that, remember that trauma you've been living with?
Starting point is 01:07:01 Wow. We finally got around to it. I'm telling you, you should have seen my desk. Papers high. Six years worth. It's all clear. Congratulations. All clear. It's your turn now. Wow. May 19th. Tell me great job. Please. I need reinforcement. May 1977, the state's prosecutor asked her to come to his office to see if she could identify photographs of a suspect in her case. The prosecutor showed Ms. Monath three pictures, all of which were of Tom Payne. Here's three. Any of these guys? That is not okay.
Starting point is 01:07:39 Not so much that guy. Maybe that one. Definitely this guy. It's this one. Yeah, that's... Are you sure it's all three men? Fucking crazy. Yeah, and she identified him obviously because there's no one else to identify Payne was not indicted for the horn and monoth offenses of deter of detaining females until May of
Starting point is 01:07:59 1977 is gonna be indicted for this now On September 10th 1971 he was questioned by Louisville police relating to the Thompson complaint, but released even while publicity about him indicated he was about to go to Georgia to sign a contract for basketball. After arriving in Georgia for his basketball career, that's when he was arrested, obviously, for those.
Starting point is 01:08:22 Kentucky promptly placed a detainer on him. I guess that was for this type of shit. So Payne made his first action through the retained counsel and to dismiss the Kentucky indictment a few weeks after Kentucky moved to acquire custody of him. Payne was returned to Kentucky's custody in March of 77. Over Payne's objection, the cases involved for sexual offenses against females were consolidated for trial. His counsel also moved to dismiss the second indictment on grounds of lack of speedy prosecution. You know, it's been six years. But he was overruled.
Starting point is 01:08:59 Payne was tried in September 77 and convicted here on three of the four counts. One of the victims, I guess, was hospitalized and unable to appear. The charge involving her was continued and then subsequently dismissed. Each of the females involved made an in-court identification of pain during the trial, and he's going to appeal that as well, saying that he was denied a speedy trial, prejudicial pre-indictment delay, and improper and prejudicial joiner of the offenses. And they said, get the fuck out of here. No.
Starting point is 01:09:34 We're still trying them. Yeah. So November 3rd, 1983, Thomas Free. Really? He is a free man. Free as a bird. Absolutely. Well, not really free. He's on is a free man, free as a bird. Absolutely, well not really free, he's on parole, but he's released.
Starting point is 01:09:49 So he will leave the Kentucky State Reformatory on parole here, and he said, "'Basketball, I'll just wait and see.' What are you waiting for? I might be done. I think you're done. He's 32, which I mean, he's 290 pounds at this point. Oh, he says I'll deal with it on a day-to-day basis Basketball has not been my predominant thought I'm gonna sit down with my family and talk everything over with them
Starting point is 01:10:16 I will take the best avenue for them if they are willing to go through the stresses and strains of public life I'd like to give it a chance who is hiring you and strains of public life. I'd like to give it a chance. Who is hiring you? It's certainly going to be my avenue for the most money. Holy fuck. Al Davis doesn't own a football team. Jerry Jones doesn't own a basketball team either. Just Jerry Jones. No one's hiring you, dude. Yeah. Payne was a standout performer for Louisville, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, but he's in prison now. Payne has maintained his innocence through the years and his case is now before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. They said this is the chairman of the state
Starting point is 01:10:51 parole board said, we recommended him for parole with the special consideration that he must be specially supervised for six months by a parole officer. The Tom Payne that tasted freedom in 72 is not the same person who's walking around this week is what this guy said. He said he deserved the time he got but he's changed a great deal. I hope the public in Louisville and the Louisville community will not get on his case. Get on his case! Oh they don't hold this against him?
Starting point is 01:11:19 Really? Wow as part of his parole agreement Payne will work as a welder for a security door company in Louisville. A giant welder. He's building doors that keep people like him out. Exactly. With an apron that comes barely above his cock. That's not going to be good. He's basically, by the way, he is still on the Hawks suspended list, technically. Really? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:11:48 The Hawks still have his rights because it was like, whatever. If the Hawks decide to keep Payne, what? That's not going to happen. They might have to honor the terms of the $750,000 contract. Under that no-cut pact, Payne was guaranteed $100,000 a year for five years with the other $250,000 to be made in deferred payments early in the 80s. So Payne reportedly has collected only the first year of his contract. Wow. Hawke's general manager Stan Kastin said, I honestly don't know if anybody has ever given a lot of thought to it. I'm not sure
Starting point is 01:12:19 about the legalities, what rights a routine retains. There's never been a case like this. We're really breaking new ground We're pioneers over here, yeah The Louisville catbirds a CBA team that will debut this fall had signed pain to a contract But was subsequently voided by the CBA commissioner on the grounds that pain is still the Hawks property Capboards coach Ron Ecker and pains agent Jim Ellis agreed that the cat words would be ideal in terms of helping him adjust to society. He said quote, it would allow him to stay in town and get the chance to be with his family.
Starting point is 01:12:56 Plus it'd be a friendlier situation. It'd be hard for him to try to jump into the NBA and face all those big city fans and media people right away. Yeah. Oof. Payne gets the go-ahead though, but the CBA restricts activity. Next, he's been given the go-ahead to play for the Louisville Catbirds. However, he'll be phased in gradually instead of being eligible for the Catbird season opener.
Starting point is 01:13:22 I guess they're going to gauge how much backlash there is. Just see who hates this the most. If he's sitting on the bench, how many people will throw things at him actively? This is what we're doing here. So apparently after meeting yesterday with pain and his wife in the cat birds offices, the CBA commissioner Jim Drucker approved his contract with these stipulations from today's opening squad gathering until December 5th, he'll be allowed to practice only. From December 5th through January 5th, he'll be allowed to play only in home games. Okay. After January 5th, if Payne's adjustment to life out of prison has progressed satisfactorily,
Starting point is 01:13:59 he will become a full-fledged player in the nation's only professional minor league. Last night, Drucker's plan was applauded by Jefferson County attorney J. Bruce Miller, part owner of the Catbirds. He said, I told my partners in a note last week important as to the return of professional basketball to Louisville is the most important thing is what's best for this young man. That's the most important thing. We really care. Wow.
Starting point is 01:14:24 The coach said, I've had a chance to to talk have a lot of long talks with Tom his attitude is really outstanding He really wants to set an example in the sense that it's possible to come out of prison and make something out of yourself Yikes So there he is. He's gonna play for Louisville apparently hasn't played in Almost 12 years. Yeah, it's been a minute.
Starting point is 01:14:47 He said, the coach said, don't take this the wrong way, but he's much like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in terms of his athletic ability. Is that right? I don't remember Abdul-Jabbar going to prison for rape a whole bunch though. Yeah, I'm not... The trouble is the game has changed so much and there's so much that time has stolen from him, but I would expect that by February he will be better than average at CBA Center and by March he may be ready for the NBA. Golly. Wow. January 17th, 1984 Detroit Free Press has an article rebuilding a life. Ex Kentucky ace putting prison behind him. It's a fluff piece.
Starting point is 01:15:24 Yay. Let's a fluff Yay, let's talk about it. It's been a long time since he's had a fluff piece look at this Unbelievable after eleven and a half years in prison He was greeted by neighbors who had tied huge yellow ribbons around trees in front of his Louisville home The old southern thing put around the oak tree James Wow like but they're not like POWs He was yeah, we're waiting on him to get home. He's a convicted rapist. Wow, with banners that read, Welcome, We Love You. Oh my God.
Starting point is 01:15:54 Jesus, Tom Payne still can't describe that homecoming or his nightmare-like past. They go on to talk about what he did here. Convicted of three of those, he spent five years in Georgia prison and six and a half years in a Kentucky prison. Last November 4th, Tom Payne became a free man. He said, when they first told me I was getting out of Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange, I was scared and shocked. Even when they told me, I thought they'd take it back.
Starting point is 01:16:22 But when the parole board commissioner called to offer Congratulations the day before I left I was shaking. I just knew he was going to say they changed their minds Now pain 33 is rebuilding his life. He's rejoined his wife Sue and two children in Louisville Really? Wow, that is an understanding woman back shit Wow, that is an understanding woman back. Holy shit Unbelievable the raping the being in prison all these things took a terrible man. Oh my god Jesus and he's playing basketball again with the Continental Basketball Association's Louisville catbirds Payne is expected to play when Louisville meets the Detroit Spirits at 730 at the Kobo Arena
Starting point is 01:17:08 Man, so they talk about all of his arrests here and all of his things that go on here. They say the point, many Louisvillians think pain was duped, framed, and denied fair trials. All you gotta do is say it a bunch and they'll believe it. It's if you keep saying it publicly enough, they'll believe it. It happens a lot and people just keep, there's people that thought OJ was innocent so it doesn't matter. They point out that
Starting point is 01:17:28 the police, in the police reports that some people think Casey Anthony's innocent. That's unbelievable. It doesn't, there is a swath of dumb out there for everyone. Wow. There really is. Wow. Wow. There was still people thought Ted Bundy was innocent as he was telling you how he murdered people.
Starting point is 01:17:46 So they said the they point out the police reports in some cases described the rapist as six foot two light skin with curly sandy hair. Payne is a foot taller dark skin and has thick black hair. Some of the rapes allegedly took place in Volkswagen and a Camaro small cars the pain would have trouble sitting in. He was convicted in one rape case though a doctor testified he'd examined the victim and she showed no evidence of rape. Even Payne's attorney assigned by the Hawks appeared negligent in his defense some say. Payne and his mother said when they asked for a bond that the attorney at the time replied if you get out on bond for
Starting point is 01:18:19 this one, they'll get you back in on another charge so you might as well stay here. Just don't even go man. Just don't even go, man. Just don't even bother. Deal with this one and we'll just move along. It's a waste of bond money. It's stupid. Others, especially members of Louisville's black community, believe the University of Kentucky was responsible for Payne's problems.
Starting point is 01:18:37 They believe there was a vendetta against Payne for leaving Kentucky. All that's speculative and possible, Payne said, but I do know that somebody somewhere was behind it all. And I know I am innocent, but suffered. There's somebody else. He said suffer he did. Even the graphic descriptions of prisons you see on TV are a joke. Men were killed right in front of me. Even if I had any idea when I first went in that I'd be there 11 and a half years, I never would have made it. Every day I almost gave up, but learned how to start each day out positive.
Starting point is 01:19:11 At least begin it that way. It's a feat in itself that I survived that long in that environment." He said in prison he read speeches. His favorites were Martin Luther King and Franklin Roosevelt and books. FDR. FDR. From then he gained inspiration and education. His father and grandfather died while he was in prison and he constantly fought off becoming bitter at the world. He said and also committing suicide. Didn't
Starting point is 01:19:36 want to do that. He said the first years I contemplated a lot of things including suicide. I was particularly depressed and bitter. I was almost destroyed. He constantly told his wife Sue to enjoy the free world, put the fresh air, the free world, the fresh air and take care of the children. But she said I was in prison too. Oh yeah, she said no one can really say how I feel and what I've been through. I was the head of the household, the breadwinner, and the father and mother in one. I confided a lot in Crystal, meaning that that's the daughter, looking at and talking to her like she was like having Tom here. She was in time. She was him in spirit and mind. That's great for a kid. You're going to be your imprisoned rapist dad now. For me, it makes me feel better. So I need to embody the worst society.
Starting point is 01:20:27 Jesus. She said Tom went up too high too fast. The money and prestige. He became childish and forgot where he came from. When the Lord whips you, he whips you hard. All of this has made him a better father, husband and person. Oh my God. That is fucking wild. We've got, we've went further, or we went together even in high school. If I really believed he raped all those women, I wouldn't be here. So now I always look over my shoulder because I don't know what fool would try something
Starting point is 01:20:56 at Crystal to try to rape her because of some feeling they have against Tom. Retaliatory daughter rape? What are we talking about? What year is this? What medieval fucking fiefdom does she think they live in? Is that what happens? I think maybe in the 1400s or something. Rape for a rape? Is that what it is? That's what the Bible says, I believe. Rape for a rape.
Starting point is 01:21:18 An eye for an eye, they really go far. Well, that's the second line. They cut it out in some of the versions. An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Now, if you fuck my daughter, I'm going to have to come for yours. That's how it works. Wow. I don't trust anyone and Tom goes nowhere without somebody with him. We follow him to the bathroom. Take a look at his 7 foot 2 logs as they come out. The three years in prison have taken their toll on pain, the article goes on to say here. He doesn't run, jump and shoot like he used to. He played sparingly for the cat birds and is the biggest problem is he lacks agility.
Starting point is 01:21:51 He says being locked up 11 and a half years in prison will cause you to lose a couple of moves. Sure. A couple of moves? I would fucking say, Jesus Christ. Make you lose your whole fucking game, man. Make you lose a couple of moves is a funny fucking way. Yeah, that's Hilarious. So yeah, he's trying to do this
Starting point is 01:22:11 But the physical attributes certainly are there pain can bench press 450 pounds and deadlift 550 pounds and the Hawks and the NBA are watching You know, they're not. So he didn't, he's just gotten better and better. He didn't get fat, he got in shape. He got, oh he worked out, yeah. He got dangerous. Yeah, it's a lot of carbs, so if you don't work out,
Starting point is 01:22:34 you're gonna get fat in person. Oh yeah. So he instead worked out. The coach said maybe he can make it back into the NBA. I know that now all he needs now to do is, oh he, what is this? I know it's, I know that now all he needs now to do is only what is this? I know it's I know that now all he needs to do is succeed even at this level. He needs to do once again to taste success. We didn't hire Tom on the basis of his past. Yeah, we're looking for
Starting point is 01:22:58 a good rapist center. He's got to be tall and rapey. Do you have anybody like that? I'm not hiring anybody that hasn't had a rape allegation. That's I need a lot. Prison term even better. That man has been first-class and full of personality, but he hasn't felt the wrath of the fans yet, the name-calling on the road, and maybe even at home. Payne played an average of just over a quarter, 13 minutes in Louisville's first 10 games. He scored a point in Louisville's 12 124104 man handling of the spirits Friday night in Louisville, which vaulted the cat birds in the second place, he averaged three points a game 3.7 rebounds and
Starting point is 01:23:33 has blocked eight shots. He has shot 33% from the field primarily because he has trouble handling the ball. Yeah. Yeah, he said it's hard to get back into that competitive edge in the natural game flow. The game has changed, he said it's hard to get back into that competitive edge in the natural game flow. The game has changed, he said, and I'm still trying to find that chemistry. Yeah, he said, but I'm certainly not playing for the money. He earns $375 a week. He said, or just to get back to the NBA, I want people to get a chance to view me personally." He said,
Starting point is 01:24:05 to accept my merits as a person. I want others to know that anyone, even after the trauma I've been through, can get back on their feet, but there will always be somebody there to take a pot shot. I've been through that before. They say, Payne is articulate and says he's gained more education in prison than in college. Elaine, his mother said, he shows surprising realism and wisdom and has influenced his two brothers and sisters. Each is attending college or has earned a degree. They have studied fields ranging from law to medicine, accounting, and criminal justice. His mother said, Tom is now enveloped with wisdom.
Starting point is 01:24:39 Yeah. Wow, that is... He's learned. Poof. He now says, I didn't think about our analysis things I didn't think about and say till I was 45 or so he's influenced the kids and all of our lives Reinforced them to educational growth we're praying for his success and that he'll be happy He now knows that even if you don't bother someone that doesn't mean they won't bother you
Starting point is 01:25:02 He's been at the wrong place at the wrong time been a victim of injustice but now he's home yeah fluff peace yeah so he's doing he starts doing better and playing for the cat birds too here okay that's uh he's doing fine here there's a game 1,584 fans were there for this big game. Jesus, that is not a lot here. That's a small, small crowd. That's a little bit, a little bit of a small crowd here. Payne said about another guy, he sat down for good with 1.18 left in the third quarter as he helped the Catbirds to an 85-84 lead with his season-high scoring total. He said he got mad at me because he only played 12 minutes in Wisconsin. McElroy said of Payne, last night Wednesday it seemed like the game was passing him by. Tonight he did
Starting point is 01:25:54 things that he can do well. When Tom realizes his size and what he can do under the basket we're a hard team to beat. It looks like Payne had 31 minutes. He had 19 points. 19 points. 10 boards too. Wow. Double. Continuing. There you go. So April 7th, 1984. How do you think this is going to progress? Obviously marriage to the NBA, right? right? Yeah. Yeah. Nope. He's gonna start boxing instead Is that right? Yes, because as we know seven foot two is a great height for boxers. Yeah I mean it certainly doesn't it's not hurting. Yeah Jesus Christ according to this is it's gonna be at a At a Golden Gloves event according to Louisville tournament director Joe Martin,
Starting point is 01:26:45 a good-sized crowd is expected, particularly because of super heavyweight Tom Payne here. They said, we've almost sold out all of our ringside seats. Wow. Yeah, I guess it's gonna be an exhibition on the flight of Golden Glovers to get people in there. April 20th, 1974. There's an article, can 7'2 Payne give an answer to an old question?
Starting point is 01:27:09 Tom Payne lay stretched along the full length of a bed in a downtown hotel. He was naked to the waist. Okay, that's good. Jesus. He wore a pair of black sweatpants with cat birds 44 embroidered on the upper thigh. When he stands up to say his hello, he swallows your hand with his. He's 7 foot 2 and weighs 285 pounds. He has the body of a professional basketball player, which he was, combined with the upper
Starting point is 01:27:37 torso of a weightlifter, which he was, and the cautious I've got all day patience, typical of men who've spent years in prison, which he has. Right now, they tell you he's a boxer. Oh lordy is the article. Since Primo Carnera first stalked this earth, man has been wondering what would happen if someone like Tom Payne decided to earn a living with his fists. Carnera stood six foot eight and weighed 260 pounds and was world heavy weight champion for a couple years in the early 30s. But he was stiff and awkward and if you dropped a $50 bill he'd beat it to the floor. Yeah, he was on the take and he was a wrestler after that.
Starting point is 01:28:14 Really? Oh, fuck yeah. 6'8", 260 and a showman? Yeah, be a heel and you can make some money. Yeah, he said. But he raised the question, what would happen if you took an outsized man, one who was fast and athletic and taught him how to box? Well if he did it when he was five it would be great but not when he's 35. Wouldn't he dominate the ring by sheer force of height and reach or
Starting point is 01:28:36 would a smaller faster man get inside the arc of his fists and destroy him with shots to the body? Will Chamberlain used to muse about it. He thought he could beat Muhammad Ali. Ed Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, too tall, retired for a year to give it a try, but too tall was too slow and returned to football. Now comes Thomas Payne Jr. of the University of Kentucky, the Atlanta Hawks, Georgia State Correctional System, and the Louisville Catbirds.
Starting point is 01:29:02 He was in St. Louis this week briefly to compete in the super heavyweight division of the National Golden Gloves tournament, but someone changed his mind for him. Shortly before Payne's scheduled fight Wednesday night, he disqualified himself. Because of his pro basketball experience, questions had been raised about his amateur standing. Could he be an amateur boxer? He hasn't been paid to fight, so yes, probably. He'd have to be, yeah. Because of the Byzantine rules governing amateurism, any amateur who fought Payne might have been
Starting point is 01:29:31 declared ineligible for Olympic competitions. They didn't want to fuck anybody else over. So if Payne's going to box, he's going to have to do it for money. But that's what he's in the game for anyway. And considering where he's been and the things that have happened to him already, missing out on the Golden Gloves is no big deal. And he says this, let's do it in their own words here. All right, let's do it.
Starting point is 01:29:49 I'm Tom here. Let's, what do you say? I think it's time because he's a mess. Okay. In their own words, quote, something always gives me the resiliency to fight back when obstacles are in my way and to go through the struggles I've had to go through, I've had to be very resilient. Yeah. Yeah, I would say so. Jesus Christ. It gives me a right.
Starting point is 01:30:12 All over the place. They talk about all of his problems serving 11 years and he says about boxing, it's an individual pursuit, something I could do and be unique something where I could be special Basketball was no longer adequate for me personally, but boxing fit me precisely Even if it meant getting back into the NBA. I couldn't play basketball anymore. There's just a lot of things basketball I don't want to be involved in anymore the politics the blaming it on the coaches or the referees or the other guys in boxing I know that if I win or lose, there's nobody to blame but me.
Starting point is 01:30:46 Yeah, no one's ever had judges judge a fight poorly or a ref take a point for a headbutt that was an accident. Yeah, boxing's the easiest sport to be fucked over in. The promoters are the most, it's the least transparent, it's all us, that shit. Is that in his mind? If it lasts the whole time, you you can every if you watch ten minutes
Starting point is 01:31:06 Of the fight you you have a different opinion of those ten minutes as the next person Totally you can absolutely unless it's just dominating But yeah, if it's a close fight pain knows that he doesn't have much time his body may be magnificent But it's 33 years old. He said I'm not in this for any long period of time I want to get my business degree and pursue certain other goals in my life. I think I can box for three or four years and accomplish what I want to. I'm convinced that the future will bring me the things that I and my family deserve. That's the way this country works.
Starting point is 01:31:37 I don't expect a bed of roses. I know there'll be hard knocks along the way, but I've had a few already and each obstacle you conquer makes you a stronger human being. Specifically, violent rape. Violent rape, I'm gonna take my rape skills to the ring. If it was who can fight and rape people, I would bet on him. All right, yeah, that's him.
Starting point is 01:31:57 So he said, Tom Payne, next article is June 15th, 84, Tom Payne to put gift to work in boxing ring, and gift is in parentheses. Yeah. He said, God gave me a gift, an athletic gift, but I never looked at it as anything special until I was in prison. He says, while I was in prison, I watched all the great athletes on television. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J Muhammad Ali, OJ Simpson. Careful. I love it. I would look at them and then see myself sitting in prison and I'd say to myself that I have the same gift they do. Once I was up there with them, once I was up there with them and I lost it. That made me think
Starting point is 01:32:35 about myself and I tried to cultivate myself and prepare something and prepare and something kept telling me that I would have another chance. I've had the chance to better myself, to read and learn, and to see suffering. I look at others and consider myself kind of lucky. I feel I've risen up from my adversity. If a man has a dream, he'll keep working toward it. I've always had a dream in my life to do something special." Wow.
Starting point is 01:33:00 He's going to make his boxing debut here against Victor Soriano at the Olympic Auditorium. That's what we're doing. And he says he hopes that his boxing career is, he knows it's on a tight timetable. He hopes for a heavyweight title shot in about 15 or 14 or 15 matches. I got to get it because I'm too old for anything else. Yeah, which is about a couple of years, which would put him right in line with Mike Tyson at 20 years old. Knocking his tall head off. Yeah, which is about a couple of years, which would put him right in line with Mike Tyson at 20 years old, knocking his tall head off. Yeah, dying. Yeah. He said, I've had to learn a lot, but I'm learning fast. Jesus Christ. I would say you'd have
Starting point is 01:33:35 to learn a whole fucking hell of a lot. You got to learn how to box. Yeah. He said, they say pain who still proclaims his innocence on all of his charges said the years in prison Were both a trial and an education. Yeah for him He said I've had hard times and I was down a few times, but I've managed to pick myself up I knew if I let myself go down it would be a victory for the people who would who had me incarcerated Okay, he said that being in prison is no worse than some of the experiences he had at, Kentucky He said before I was in prison. I had gone through the things at Kentucky that were to me just as humiliating. It's humiliating to be booed by 18,000 people and to hear racial insults. That hurt me as just as much as being in prison sometimes. Fuck that. 18,000 people can call me whatever the
Starting point is 01:34:21 fuck they want as long as I'm not trapped in a fucking room where I have to watch them poop at two in the morning. Yeah, I'd rather hear that. Three feet away. Yeah, I'd certainly rather hear that. Not pleasant, but prison? Yeah, right. Yeah, that's crazy.
Starting point is 01:34:34 He said, it's terrible when you're not respected, when people look down on you. I know when I was in prison, I'd always try not to be seen outside, be seen by outside people because it was embarrassing. A guy my size, everyone's going to point fingers at him and it was doubly humiliating because of that situation. You want to walk with some self-respect and dignity. Yeah. There's all sorts of articles about how strong he is.
Starting point is 01:35:04 One guy here, his sparring partner talks about how quote, one day I hit him in the chin and I had thought to myself, what am I doing, am I crazy? He could kill me. I've never seen a guy that strong. When he leans on you, he drives you right down into the ground. Wow.
Starting point is 01:35:20 His uh. That's kind of what women have said, yeah. Yeah, it's exactly, did he put something over your face? Yeah, the local sports attorney who manages pain said we believe in Tom Said we're going to do right by him He has had a lot of misfortune in his life and from now on things are gonna be much better for him He smiles this guy and looks as he looks at pain working on the heavy bag and he said he's something isn't he? He's something boy. Tell you what, look at him. He said, pain says I love it,
Starting point is 01:35:52 I've always loved it. I kind of got pushed into basketball. People stereotype you because of your size. I like basketball but I never loved it. Boxing is what I should have been doing all along. Oh. Wow. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids in the home of his aunt. Oh, yes, hello somebody. Yeah. They talk about he's done with basketball. He said, I had flashes of brilliance,
Starting point is 01:36:16 but sometimes I was lost. I didn't have the timing I used to have. It was coming back too slowly. He got little encouragement from the NBA, so he said, fuck it, I'll do this instead. Okay. That's not bad. He went here. He also said quote, this is amazing. I never said those women weren't accosted. I just say that I didn't do it. I never did it. I'm innocent. Okay. He said, I'm not. Then he talked about he's never claimed he's perfect. He fooled around with what women comes along and everything, but that's it.
Starting point is 01:36:47 So that didn't rape anybody. That's crazy. My God. And when he finally got paroled, the first thing the examiner asked him was he, was he guilty? And that's what they want to hear an admission of guilt and a promise to be good. And he said, I knew they could send me back for six or eight years. So when the examiner quest asked the again, Payne insisted he was innocent.
Starting point is 01:37:08 They sent him back to prison for 30 days, made him take some tests, a psychiatric test. They said when they brought him back, the same question was asked. And Tom said I was tempted, sure. But if I said I was guilty, then what were all those years for? I couldn't do it. And they still paroled him. I mean that's pretty lucky I don't know how he got out with that with that attitude that's crazy that's what I'm saying well Kentucky's Commonwealth attorneys Paul Richwalski who prosecuted the case said
Starting point is 01:37:40 he's certain pain was guilty he said I've always been firmly convinced of his guilt he said I just don't have any doubt. He has a very distinguishable features on his face, not just his height. The rape victim came to the police and identified him. I worked over the accusers pretty good. I'm still convinced. That doesn't sound good. I worked over a couple of rape victims pretty good. He said, when we tried to plea bargain with him, he told me as I recollect, I can't stand up there in front of my family and plead guilty. To me, that's a big difference than protesting that he's innocent yeah um he just said I was a campaign says I was a wild kid I did things wrong and and I look at you in the eye and admit that but being wild doesn't mean I raped someone. It doesn't mean I committed atrocities. I could never do that.
Starting point is 01:38:25 Okay. Never. It's not gonna happen. He said God, he said he was, when was he shot at? Oh, okay. The Georgia prison systems, he described something as something out of papillon. He was involved in a sit down strike
Starting point is 01:38:41 that developed into a riot. He says he was shot at and then carried off to solitary confinement. He said, God must be looking after me. I should be dead. I was looking right into his face. It happened too fast to be scared. Someone grabbed me and said, get down. The man behind me was shot right in the face. He was put in a small cell where food was passed under a door. Once a week he was allowed out for a shower. That was it. He said, it was hell. All I can say is never go to prison in Georgia.
Starting point is 01:39:08 Or really anywhere, but yeah, okay. Yeah, I guess it's worse. He said that he turned into a radical, became allied with black militants and hated everyone white. He said he likes to say that he never gave up and never lost hope, but that isn't true. He said he seriously contemplated suicide. He said it wasn't all rah-rah, everything's going to be all right. There were moments of genuine despair.
Starting point is 01:39:30 When his dad died, he said, that woke me up. I knew I couldn't sit around and feel sorry for myself and blame the world for my problems. I couldn't tell my wife, daughter, my brothers and sisters to hate white people. They were outside. They knew better. So he talks about all of that and he said, I was as radical as radical can be, but I saw it wasn't doing me no good. In this society, if a man strives, he can be rewarded.
Starting point is 01:39:53 If you study your history, you learn that. I didn't know anything. I didn't understand human etiquette. All I knew was how to act like a fool and spend money. I decided to improve myself. So yeah, he said now he runs six miles a day. He says there's no no shape like boxing shape. Yeah, that's true. That's it. So he's ready to go. June 23, 1984. Victor Serrano here. Both of these fighters. It's their debut. Oh great. Okay. So Victor comes in here and this is a win for Tom.
Starting point is 01:40:30 Great. TKO in the fourth round of a four round exhibition fight. That is Victor Serrano's one and only fight that he ever fights. Done deal. Done deal. Next up is Ricky Reese, August 27th, 1984. He's 1-0 coming into this fight. Ricky is 3-1 for his career overall. Ricky Reese and him they fight at the Forum in the Great Western Forum in LA there. This is a first round knockout loss for Tom. It's knocked out the first round
Starting point is 01:41:01 by an actual boxer. Well not even this guy had a three in one career total so not great. Next up Keith Moore February 9th 85 1 and 3 coming into this fight. This is at the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo. So there's that this is a disqualification. Oh this is a joke is what this is. This had to be a setup because how often you've watched a lot of boxing Right. Yeah. Yeah. How often have you seen a man? Disqualified for quote rabbit punching Hmm I have never ever ever ever ever ever in any fight. I've watched watch somebody get disqualified I've watched them get warned for it. Yeah, he must have done it a lot.
Starting point is 01:41:45 Never disqualified. In the first round? Boy, oh boy. He was disqualified. This man, Keith Moore, was disqualified in the first round. That must have been the only movie he polled. Disqualification comes after two warnings,
Starting point is 01:42:00 docking of points, and then you're disqualified. So that's four formal warnings in less than three minutes. That seems like a lot, right? So that seems like a fix is what that seems like. A win for Tom here. So two and one for Tom. Next up he fights Richie Montez, February 21st, 1985. Richie's 0-2 coming into this fight.
Starting point is 01:42:23 And Tom, this is at the El Cortez Hotel in San Diego Yeah, and this fight is a TKO in the first round a win for Tom So he's three and one in his boxing career. It's really going. Yeah, and they're talking about how Archie Moore is training Tom Payne Archie Moore is one of the great fighters of all time. Lightweight champion he was at one time. He's taking over the training of Thomas Payne, he said. That's right. Now Moore, by the way, who's 72 years old,
Starting point is 01:42:56 they say went to the hospital Sunday after he was attacked by a swarm of bees in his backyard in San Diego. Oh shit. He said, those bees almost killed me. They covered me like a robe. It was the worst fight of my entire career. Oh my god.
Starting point is 01:43:09 He got swarmed by bees this poor man. Holy. This is a tough son of a bitch Archie Moore. That's the scariest thing I can think of. Oh man Archie Moore by the way, he's an amateur beekeeper who should have known better he said. Yeah why is he doing that? Apparently angered the residents of the hive when he tried to move it Yeah, stupid. That's not gonna work
Starting point is 01:43:32 By the way pain has an 89 inch reach It's that right. That's ridiculous 89 inches. He just hits you from across the room like you can't Jesus Christ I'm not even glad I wasn't even thinking about this yet what is that 89 inches how far is that that's really far really really really really wingspan right that's his reach so can't be that's insane that's fucking how does it that's what it says in the paper I don't understand I guess yeah no 89 inchinch I think that's that's the biggest reach I've ever heard. It's like nine feet Not nine total, but it's like seven and a half feet or something. That's so far. It has to be total I guess that's the wingspan. Yeah, both are I don't know. So June 6
Starting point is 01:44:20 1985 Randy Davis he fights here at the old El Cortez hotel. Yeah. And he is Randy's one and oh coming into this fight. Randy only weighs I believe 200 pounds here by the way. Oh God. Pain is 268 and a half. Oh. This guy's 200 and this is a first round knockout for Randy Davis
Starting point is 01:44:51 Big ass out. Yeah, he's a good boxer. That's why while he two-in-one career for Randy, so Not even this is his last win. Yeah, Randy and Tom will retire from boxing with a three and two record Randy made him quit Randy made him quit. I knocked out in the first round He's six foot two'2 206 Randy Davis. He hit pain with what's quoted as a quote leaping right hand. A jump! A one-two jump! He fucking little-macked him for fucking Mike Tyson's punch out. Unbelievable. A leaping right hand with any 7'2 280 pounder toppled backward toward the canvas banging his head hard Wow, I want to see that I know I was looking for videos trust me I think I didn't want to watch a seven foot two guy box and have us laugh here
Starting point is 01:45:36 He toppled backward toward the canvas banging his head referee Marty Denkin without starting a count immediately stopped the fight. Yeah Archie Moore 72 who won the light heavyweight title in 52 when he beat Joey Maxim in St. Louis, was in Payne's corner for this fight, despite suffering an attack by bees over the weekend. He was in intensive care for four days, by the way. What? With bee stings.
Starting point is 01:45:59 God damn. He's really lucky he's not dead. Yeah, no shit. Moore said after the fight that Payne should have gotten to his feet immediately pain insisted He was not hurt by the punch, but the ref said he had enough. Yeah, he said that was bullshit He said he was waiting for the count to start. He said I wasn't hurt. I wasn't knocked out He was waiting for the count or as Moore said get the fuck up Don't let him have the chance to figure knocked out. Yeah knocked out. Look as ready to fight as possible at all times.
Starting point is 01:46:26 Look good, yeah. Look good. His record here, it's dropped, and Moore said that he would like to continue working with Pain, despite his loss. Pain doesn't want to keep working on it, though. That's the problem here. So instead, he gets into acting.
Starting point is 01:46:43 Really? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah That's right. He got bit parts and movies like stingray. Yeah Yeah, big guy. That's the thing but he said You know, he said quote when men walk when men walks walk out of a prison There are a little more though. They're a little more than he than animals. He said They're a little more than heathen animals, he said. That's what he said.
Starting point is 01:47:05 This is hard to get in there. He also said, I've seen guys get raped in Georgia. I was in a riot there. A guy stood up on a roof and shot down at me. I've seen people get raped. It wasn't even by me. I've seen it. I watched it.
Starting point is 01:47:19 I've seen it. So Stingray is a 1985 movie. A district attorney is kidnapped by a criminal who then has a deranged doctor do something to him that leaves him with the mind of a child. It's called brain trauma. It's called Stingray because there's a guy leaning on like what looks to be like a 62 Corvette on the cover. His assistant seeks out a man who is known only by the car. He drives a stingray
Starting point is 01:47:45 He helps people who have problems and in return they owe him a favor that he will collect later Whoa? Okay, it has seven point five out of ten on IMDB shockingly enough. Who else is in it? It stars Nick Mancuso. It's a lot of guys that you've seen. Yeah, it's the one of those we go I know that guy. Oh that guy. It's one of those Nick Mancuso Susan Blakely who you've seen she's been in a bunch of shit. I can't place where she's been Gregory Sierra who's been in he was in tons of shit in the 70s Robin Douglas who I've her face look at Michael Fairman you've seen him he's
Starting point is 01:48:27 Plays like a coach or like a guy I see he's in a suit a tie with the sleeves rolled up on a shirt Like a political movie or something MD in this shit. Yeah, he's an MD Lee Richardson Thomas Payne plays Cundo Rio Cundo Cundo Rio. Cundo. Cundo. Cundo Rio. Perfect. So, everything's going great for him, obviously. I mean, he's a boxer, he's a movie star, it's something.
Starting point is 01:48:56 What more do you want? I'm telling you, what more could a person want from the world? Well, apparently a little bit more because on February 19th, 1986, he is in Hollywood and he is charged with rape. Again. Oh, a Hollywood woman says he raped her. He is. Yep. That is not good. He faces arraignment on three counts of rape and sexual assault. Oh, Jesus. Not great. April 3rd, 1986, Detroit Free Press, Tom Payne's arrest baffles those who say they know him. He's a rapist! How is that baffling to you?
Starting point is 01:49:34 But they know him. You think after that they'd go, oh, okay, he did do that. Okay, now I get it. Seems to be the right guy, yeah. Seems to be the right guy. It says, before dawn on Valentine's Day, Hollywood Division police Received four phone calls from people who living in the 1300 block of north north point setty a book place The callers sounding alarmed and nearly frantic reported. They heard a woman screaming
Starting point is 01:49:58 Two police officers responding to the calls were shown to the underground garage of an apartment building. Oh, that's a horrible place. Is that? Oh, golly. Oh, God, an underground garage. According to police reports, the officers approached the area and heard muffled screams. Whoa. Moving closer, they saw a naked woman on the hood of a car with a white towel covering her face. Over her face over her face My god, she was jerking her head from side to side and trying to scream through the towel on Top of the woman the cops caught him in the act caught him in there's no way to it's a conspiracy
Starting point is 01:50:37 You can't say it now man. I was on top of my hood and she threw her naked body under me Boy, the hawks put her under me was on top of my hood and she threw her naked body under me. Oh boy, the hawks put her under me. On top of the woman, pinning her arms down was a 7 foot 2, 285 pound man, the report stated. Golly. Oh my god. Minutes later, police are minutes later?
Starting point is 01:50:57 How about five seconds later? Split second later. Wow. Minutes later, police arrested 35 year old Thomas Robert Payne Jr., the first black man to receive a basketball scholarship to the University of Kentucky, a one-time member of the Hawks, a former professional boxer and present-day aspiring actor. Later in the day, he was charged with a forcible rape, forced oral copulation, and forcible sexual penetration with a foreign object.
Starting point is 01:51:24 Oh, dude, what's your deal? Ugh, at his arraignment last week, Payne pleaded not guilty to all three charges. He was caught in the act! They fou- What?! You can't argue it. Holy shit! The detective called the case, quote, a prosecutor's dream.
Starting point is 01:51:42 A wet one, yeah. A wet one. Yet, many who know Payne seem perplexed that someone so talented, so likable, could be in trouble again. At his arraignment hearing, pleading all not guilty here. Wow. Payne was raised in Louisville, they're talking about all these things. What happened?
Starting point is 01:52:00 They said at the time of his arrest, he had appeared in the TV movie Stingray. Right. And in a McDonald's commercial And this I knew he appears later on we'll bring it up on the TV show night court What I remember that he was on night court really for you know two seconds or whatever and in a music video for writer producer Paul Jabara and was about to embark on what his representatives foresaw as a lucrative pro wrestling career. That is what he should have done. From the beginning. Put on 40 pounds and be over 300 pounds and be a 7 foot 2 giant guy.
Starting point is 01:52:38 Monster. Vince McMahon would have used even giant Gonzales they had in there and that guy walked like he was stepping in deep mud with every step. And he still used him for a while. So why not? Wow. He said, in all honesty, he could have made a million
Starting point is 01:52:53 dollars this year, his agent said. Agent Lyle Baker. So we know to never go with Agent Lyle Baker if he's still alive and agenting. These days, Tom Payne sits in a four-man cell at the downtown Hall of Justice awaiting trial. He turned down repeated requests for interviews. Payne is estranged from Sue, his wife of 16 years. She lives in Northern California but could not be located for comment. Yeah, she's tired of his bullshit. Others did speak about
Starting point is 01:53:22 him, including Ron Ecker, who coached Payne during post-parole 83 comeback with the Louisville Catbirds. He's Ecker and Payne used to work out together in the early morning quiet at a little YMCA on Louisville Southside. They did a lot of talking. He says, Tom had a very creative mind. He did a lot of deep reading. He did a lot of reading and self motivation.
Starting point is 01:53:44 He was also an expert in weightlifting vitamins and diet. He knew foods like a nutritionist He used to tell fucking he talked about him all in prison and all that he says, you know He told me all about it. He said he had a quality about him where you wanted to help him when he was here He had a lot of good people helping him. He always has now him. When he was here, he had a lot of good people helping him. He always has. Now, Baker, the agent said his friend Tom Paine is an avid reader of the Bible and would often give Bibles away as gifts. So what?
Starting point is 01:54:17 Wow. He's also got caught in the act of raping a woman horribly. And in the most terrifying way on the hood of a car in an underground parking garage while being blinded. Well every woman's garage nightmare is what you've just fucking done. Every single fucking woman's. It's a goddamn scene from The Sopranos for fuck's sake. Right? Jesus Christ, it's horrifying.
Starting point is 01:54:39 But his agent said, my prayers are with him. Now Jabara, the writer and barra, I don't know how you want to say it, the writer and music producer in whose pain is who's video pain starred, said he noticed one thing about pain that impresses a lot of people. He was built like a champ, huge, handsome, gorgeous women just went crazy over him. Okay. It said when Dirk Minifield was a boy, who's the boy, growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, he idolized pain.
Starting point is 01:55:09 He said, all us black kids were aware of Tom because he was the first black player at Kentucky. We all looked up to him. Minifield was particularly worshipful of pain, hanging around Kentucky practices to watch him play, even shining pain shoes. He grew up to be a star player at Kentucky and found himself playing with pain on the Louisiana Catbirds. They roomed together. This guy said he was like a big brother. We used to have a lot, we used to talk a lot and I learned a lot from him. I admired him. He taught me about being
Starting point is 01:55:37 faithful to my wife and how to avoid the pressures of being an athlete. Wow, talk about, do what I say not as I do. He was like this great big lovable guy, a normal guy. It's a sad feeling to hear what he's going through now. There was never any indication that something like this would happen. He said, you know, the one cloud that one cloud was that Tom never admitted it to doing anything. He always maintained he was innocent. You wondered if he was railroaded, but now you wonder if he was ever railroaded at all. I don't think you have to wonder now.
Starting point is 01:56:07 They caught him doing the exact same thing in the exact same way with the exact same MO of all those three. I think either that or he goes, you know, that's not a bad idea what they accused me of. Yeah, he may have gotten a road map or this is just what he's done the whole time. Wow. That is fucking wild. 86 here, what is this?
Starting point is 01:56:28 May 86, Elaine Payne, his mom, said she believes her son has been framed of each of his three rape convictions. Elaine. She said, it seems like every time his life is on the upswing, someone out there is trying to tear it down. Down through the ages, white women have brought false charges of rape against black men. Every time a black man's accused of rape, it's always a white woman. Why is that? It's a myth and it's been perpetuated throughout the ages. They caught
Starting point is 01:56:53 him! I'm the fuck... It's the same MO. It's also, ma'am, it's not every time a white woman. It's not every time a white woman. But he happens to rape white women, maybe. There has been a thing of that, and a lot of people were definitely falsely whatever for that, or falsely killed and falsely lynched and falsely millions of fucking things for that. But not him. No.
Starting point is 01:57:20 Not this guy. No, he's not a victim. He is not the guy. No, he is not the guy to make the poster boy for this shit. You know what I mean? It doesn't work. So they said when pain moved to Los Angeles in 84, he lived with his mother's sister Marjorie Johnson, she too believes pain has been framed Johnson said women used to call or drop by her house looking for her nephew He said I had to run them from the door. They were not ugly ones either
Starting point is 01:57:44 Okay He said I had to run them from the door. They were not ugly ones either Okay, she said blondes attractive women all wanton Tommy. I had to chase them all the way away all the time She said that because her nephew had his pick of attractive women. He has no reason to commit rape Because that's what it's about right? my god, so Fuck man. That is, as goddamn interesting. Um, so yeah, I don't know what you even, what do you even, how do you approach this if you're his lawyer, especially cause he's caught in the, in the act. I guess you say that, I don't know.
Starting point is 01:58:21 I don't know what you do. You, there's no, that's gotta be the worst job on the planet. Apparently this new accusation happened at 4.30 in the morning. He grabbed the woman by the face and neck in a driveway, dragged her to the garage and was raping her when police arrived. The victim said she'd been raped. They said Payne spontaneously stated that he had picked up the victim at a nightclub and that she brought him to her residence.
Starting point is 01:58:48 That's what he told the cops. Hey, I picked her up at a club and she brought me here. He said as he was pulling up his sweatpants, hey, no, this is cool, everybody. She brought me here. She asked for it. Here's the funniest thing, the only funny thing, I guess guess in a rape area outside the officers found Payne's 1972 Mercedes Benz parked with the engine running He bake yes, they 48 hours this fucking car They kept it like Eddie Murphy's Porsche in 48 hours and it like kept it for him. He has a 72
Starting point is 01:59:21 That's what he had in 72 He has a 72. That's what he had in 72. He had it running too. Like he was running. Like he was running in to grab milk. He was just gonna rape and jump back in the car and leave. Yeah, picked this lady up and I figured I told her to come back to her house and she told me to come. So I was gonna go bang her quick. So fast. I figured I'd leave the engine running. Wow.
Starting point is 01:59:41 In a follow-up police report, Payne stated his version. He said, quote, I know this looks bad with my record and all. Do you know how bad it looks? Incredibly bad, yeah, like the worst. Like so bad, he said, honest, detective, I met her at a nightclub last night. I just can't remember the club's name.
Starting point is 02:00:01 I'll try to remember it and get back to you. Okay, yeah, that'll fix it. Later, after when, again, if he was asked, now do you recall the name of the nightclub? He said, no man, you got me all wrong. I didn't meet her at a club. I'll just have to tell the judge where I met her. He changed his story. No, I wasn't a club, never mind. Because he knows if he was at a nightclub, people would recognize if he was there because he stands a fucking foot taller than everybody else. So Payne's attorney, Harry Weiss, said his client claims the woman cruised him on the street, yeah, cruised him on the street, I don't know what that means, and he followed her home. Oh, she told him
Starting point is 02:00:41 to come follow me. Flagged him down at a light or some shit. Hey handsome. Wow, follow me How many what a crazy time happened when a woman drives by you and just waves you in for sex at her home Just in a drive-by handsome. Look at you with me You might be just a torso sitting on a car seat, but still Wow, that is amazing the Fuck the attorney said the evidence is very, oh this is the prosecutor said the evidence is very convincing. The guy was caught with his pants down.
Starting point is 02:01:12 Literally, yeah. And then his partner said, the detective said this is a prosecutor's dream. He's in big trouble. He was caught in the act. He's in big trouble. Somehow and he's in big trouble. May 9th, 86, his trial is delayed somehow. I guess for more evidence, delayed until June 11th. They do that for discovery and shit like that. November 15th, 1986.
Starting point is 02:01:34 Oh, here we go. He's on trial. He's facing 28 years in prison on this. They found the talk about finding his yellow Mercedes Benz parked outside with the engine running and a dealer's plate covering his actual plate. Oh boy. He learned his lesson. Sure did. But the problem is how many 72 Mercedes are there at that point? You know that's it. The jury deliberates for two days on this. But this is crazy. The jurors are deadlocked, 10-2, in favor of guilty on additional sex charges.
Starting point is 02:02:10 Okay. That's fucking insane. They convict Payne, they reject his testimony that the woman had agreed at a traffic light to have sex with him for money. Oh, she's a prostitute now also. Wow. That is fucking crazy. Wow, I don't even know what to say about that.
Starting point is 02:02:29 She's four foot 11 by the way. Yeah, four foot 11 prostitutes are oftentimes just flagging down seven foot two men and feeling safe. All of that, out of a traffic light. Saying 20 bucks over here. So it was in prison in Northern California where he said he finally started to figure out
Starting point is 02:02:49 with counseling why he continued to go so horribly wrong. So he finally figured it out here. He's gonna do a shitload of time in prison though. He's gonna do 14 years in prison here over this. So I think he got 20 and got out in 14, which if I'm any parole board, and this is the second time he's in here for this and there's been this many rapes, he's doing every fucking day. Every goddamn day, except I think a lot of times if a guy does the whole amount, then you have to let them out free and clear. Oh,
Starting point is 02:03:21 no parole. If you let him out for five years or five years early then you get to watch him for five years and then if he fucks up again it's immediately. Five years if you're a serial rapist five years is real hard to do. It's real hard to do but at the same time then you're putting him out there and like dangling people as bait basically. So he is released in the year 2000 after getting his sentence reduced. He was transferred back to Kentucky in August of 2000 where he faced an additional 15 years in prison for violation of parole from his old rape charge. You raped again.
Starting point is 02:03:58 You can't do that. No. April 4th, 2001, he's inmate 031259. He said he ducks his head under a doorway, sliding his seven foot two frame into the visitor's conference room at the Green River Correctional Facility. This isn't what fucking Credence was singing about,
Starting point is 02:04:16 I don't think. Dressed in prison-issue brown jacket and khakis, he flashes a gap-toothed grin. Over the next three hours, he will speak softly about his life, occasionally tossing in Bible scripture and frequently mentioning love and forgiveness, before shifting back to the loneliness of his cell. Tom Paine is far removed from the days when he wore a University of Kentucky basketball uniform and terrorized opposing defenses. Then again, he hopes he's come a long way from what he said in those times or what he
Starting point is 02:04:47 says those times caused him to do terrorize women. Yeah, those times. You want to get out early this time, you got to admit it. So they said he had enormous potential, blah, blah, blah. He also had enormous problem, problems earning rape convictions in three states and squandering every golden opportunity that lay before him. Almost overnight he went from prisoner to pariah. Plans are made for Payne to move to Cincinnati with his brother and begin a new life counseling young athletes and publishing children's
Starting point is 02:05:16 books. What the fuck? A rabbit tries a rape? What's the book going to be? Rapy Rabbit? It's a Pappy Le Pew book is what it is. Oh my god. Rapy Rabbit and Sodomy Skunk go to fucking the fair. What's he going to do here? Instead, Kentucky officials sentenced him to an additional 15 years behind bars, citing him for violating probation.
Starting point is 02:05:43 His family vows to fight a difficult, if not impossible, battle to free Payne, who spent all but four of the past 30 years in jail. State parole board officials say that his sentence is appropriate given his past offenses and that there is little recourse. Payne's family counters that the parole board didn't consider the steps he's taken toward reform. Rather, they argue board members simply viewed him as a menacing seven foot black man. Payne, who doesn't deny his crimes, insists his sentence and
Starting point is 02:06:11 statute are intertwined or a sentence and stature, not statute. A naive towering youngster who knew nothing about basketball before high school, he became the first African-American sign by Adolf Rupp. Payne said that the racism experienced from both friend and foe during his one tumultuous season led him to hate white people and lash out against women. But over time, he says, he kept come to grips with his past and his demons. He hopes people can view him like the character
Starting point is 02:06:39 in one of his children's books, a troubled giant who found redemption. Oh my God, he said quote I don't think I'm some kind of monster no I think some kind of monster yeah just named this episode I appreciate that like the metallic yeah they may they may have been thinking of you I really appreciate this is right around the same time it came out nobody needs to be a song me. They have a song. Yeah, that's what I mean. I think he heard it and they heard this and were like, oh, he's some kind of monster.
Starting point is 02:07:10 Nobody needs to be afraid of me. Wow. Okay. They go, the article says fate found pain during his high sophomore season. Blah, blah, blah. I don't care about his fucking basketball at this point. I want to hear about success. Fuck that. He said, I wanted to take my own personal trail. I was trying to carve out my own identity. And he said that that's why he signed with Kentucky. He could be a trailblazer. And he said he saw no social significance in his college choice.
Starting point is 02:07:39 It was just kind of a rash decision, really. Oh, OK, so he didn't do it for that there. He said it wasn't a political thing for him. It was just like, I don't know, they're close. I'll just go there. Okay. Having grown up in the integrated atmosphere of army bases and spending his high school years in Louisville's West End, Payne said he never experienced racism before college. Then it was thrust in his face. He said he showed forced on him against his will thrust in his face. Yeah. Yeah. He said the threatening phone Forced on him against his will? Thrust in his face.
Starting point is 02:08:06 Yeah, he said the threatening phone calls, broken car windows, eggs smashed on his front door became a routine while he was in college. He said he feared for the safety of his wife and his infant daughter at the time. He said, that's the kind of abuse I went through and people think that's not supposed to affect you. What?
Starting point is 02:08:24 How does it make you rape though? That makes you a violent rapist? That's fucking insanity, man. I don't get it. So yeah, so that this is crazy. They all describe every person's described the same rape too. That's the thing. So it's like, man, during the trial in Louisville, the Mohammed mosque of Islam sent the judge
Starting point is 02:08:43 a petition with 2000 signatures000 signatures that proclaimed Payne's innocence. Payne had converted to Islam while imprisoned in Georgia. Payne resurfaced in 83, paroled after just six years of his life sentence, because that's what he got for that other one in life. Holy shit. So he did boxing, he did night court. He would party. They talk about at night he schmoozed at parties with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Murphy.
Starting point is 02:09:06 My God. That is crazy. That's, I would hope not. And they talk about it. Police driving past a Hollywood apartment garage spotted Payne lying on top of a woman on the hood of a car. Yikes. That's crazy.
Starting point is 02:09:24 One of his attorneys said, so many black people were treated unfairly in the court system. It was easy to believe that he didn't do it in Georgia and Kentucky. He said, after the arrest in California, it became a lot harder to believe. Yeah. Yeah. Facing hard time yet again, Payne says he was left with no choice but to look inward. He said, that was the worst experience that ever happened to me. Happened to me.
Starting point is 02:09:48 That was the way that happened. Happened to me. Happened to me. Like it was, he was sitting in the living room and this happened to him. It was really embarrassing to have cops happen upon me in the midst of my worst fucking offense. I'm going to go out on a limb here and just because I've never had a problem at all with this, never had a problem, never had a thought, it's really easy to not rape. Seems to be.
Starting point is 02:10:13 Like it's so easy to not do it. It's just the easiest thing in the world to not rape. There's no, rape is never thrust upon you to do to someone, like, oh, I had to get out there and do it, I don't know. Yeah, you never raped to rape. and do it. I don't know. Yeah, you know, you never raped to rape No, it's just not it's never been a thing So that is fucked up. What a monster. He said I did something that I didn't want to do. I self-destructed I let everybody down. I knew then I needed help
Starting point is 02:10:39 Yikes, he went under underwent psychiatric counseling He went under went psychiatric counseling and discovered something about himself that was shocking. He said he subconsciously sought out white women to abuse because of the hatred he developed at UK. He said, before I went to college, nothing in my life said I was going to be a criminal. I never got in trouble. I never treated women bad. My whole life took a turn going to UK and getting damaged so much.
Starting point is 02:11:04 My anger and hatred toward white society came up and I lashed out. It was never about sex or violence with me. If any of my victims showed me the least bit of resistance, I would back off. They were terrified of you because you're a giant monster. A woman had a rag on her face, wiggling back and forth trying to get free. Screaming. What constitutes resistance to him. Yeah, she threw a punch.
Starting point is 02:11:29 I mean, what are we talking about? He took several sex offender courses and he turned out to be the best at it. He did real good. There's a black belt in it. Top of his class in sex offender-ness. He graduated. Oh, for sure. He spent years in therapy and met face-to-face
Starting point is 02:11:47 with sexual abuse victims as part of the violence prevention program. He said, just seeing the pain in their eyes, I would never want to hurt another woman again. A board of therapists examined pain and cleared him for parole. They said, one of them said, he's made a tremendous effort to heal himself. He's done some very bad things to hurt people and he takes full responsibility. It's been a journey for him to be able to do that. And then he also say that he converted to Christianity while in California and he really embraced Christianity and became a mentor to other inmates. That's what some pastor says.
Starting point is 02:12:21 His belief is not manipulative in nature. He genuinely loves the Lord. Right. Wow. He last summer, Paine appeared to catch a break as attorneys convinced an appeals court that California had improperly enhanced his sentence by 20 years because of his prior convictions. The court agreed and reduced to agreed to reduce his sentence by 10 years, which would have made him eligible for parole in six years, or six years earlier than before. Payne had one of his freedom, it seemed. His brother Darrell, a prosecutor in Cincinnati,
Starting point is 02:12:51 sold his newly built four bedroom home and purchased a two family unit preparing for Tom to move in with him. Oh, that's nice. That's when they put him in Kentucky jail. Oh, shit. Instead. Yeah. So one attorney, Leonard Oldwin Jr. who represented him in
Starting point is 02:13:07 the extradition hearing in California said Kentucky officials seemed overzealous in their pursuit. He said, I've done a lot of extraditions before, but this one was unusual. When I called the parole board office, they immediately knew the case and were adamant about wanting him back. They certainly seemed to have it in for him for some reason. That sentence seemed to be unusually harsh. Wow. Darrell, his brother, said the board didn't adequately consider Tom's efforts at Reformall in California or the support system he had in place in Ohio, nor did it take into account the extra six years he served in California or the fact that rape no longer carries a life sentence in Kentucky. The guy said, his brother said, as a prosecutor, I understand the seriousness of rape, but
Starting point is 02:13:49 based upon what he was convicted for, the time he served in the rehabilitation process he's gone through, I don't understand what they're getting at of holding him for another 15 years. I have a feeling a lot of this has to do with who he is, his size, and that's grossly unfair to him. I don't think his size matters now. No. No.
Starting point is 02:14:08 Tom Payne says that the parole board's decision is based on nothing but racism. Oh. Well, that solves it. He said that people in the state are still mad at him for breaking the color barrier at UK. Oh, because he's the first black guy. Oh, yeah, yeah. He said, I'm not the first athlete to get in trouble, but I'm probably the first black guy. Oh, yeah. Wow. He said, I'm not
Starting point is 02:14:25 the first athlete to get in trouble, but I'm probably the first to do this kind of time. Oh, you're not. No. The fuck are you talking about? People that done life. Ruben Carter had to Wow. Oh my God. He says, ask yourself why no white guy in America has ever done this kind of time. I think Charles Manson might disagree with you considering he's been up for parole for 50 fucking years and never gotten out. Not that he should get out but bad people, really really bad people they want to keep in there it seems like. He died in prison for Christ's sake. Died in fucking prison and he was eligible for parole literally since the 80s I think.
Starting point is 02:15:01 So that's interesting. Former paroleole Board Executive Director Tom Campbell says that by law, Payne's parole was revoked automatically because he committed a felony. The state could have given him up to 20 years, he said. And he also said, I wouldn't say his case is unusual. He said that the board considers a laundry list of factors when determining sentences for violations, including whether violence was involved in the offense and the community's attitude toward the crime. Public safety is the overriding concern. Given the nature of the offenses he's had
Starting point is 02:15:31 and the fact that he's committed this last offense after being given the opportunity for parole, I'm sure that weighed heavily on the board's opinion. Yeah, fool me once type of thing, not again. So he said that, this guy also said that he said he was shocked to hear that Payne had already been released from California. He said, I disagree that he's paid enough.
Starting point is 02:15:53 If he had stayed clean and not gotten in any more trouble, then he'd be a free man. Yeah. Wow. Linnie Meyer, president of the Center for Women's and Families in Louisville, says although she empathizes with Tom's family, but someone who has worked with rape victims, seen the lasting impact of the crime, she also supports the parole board's decision.
Starting point is 02:16:15 She said, obviously he has a long history and this is a pattern of behavior. He knew what he was doing and he knew the difference between right and wrong. He deserves to be held accountable for his crimes." So yeah, that's interesting. By the way, Elaine, Tom's mom, went back to school in the 80s and finished work on two degrees and she maintains her son is innocent on all counts including the caught in the act rate. Wow.
Starting point is 02:16:43 Darrell Payne said he's consulted with several attorneys in hopes to find a way to reduce his brother's sentence or force a new parole hearing. They say that seems unlikely though. Campbell said new hearings can only be ordered if a defendant proves misconduct by the board or if there's new evidence. Yeah, that's not gonna happen here.
Starting point is 02:17:01 He's penned three children's books loosely based on his experiences and featuring children as characters, or his children as characters, and he hopes to publish them someday. He said they're all about the presence of the absence of hatred. I'm sorry, because he is at peace with himself, Payne says. He's prepared to serve out the rest of his sentence. He said the real reason I want out not to attack women or anything is so I can use my experience to help others. I'd like to travel around the country speaking to young athletes. said the real reason I want out not to attack women or anything is so I can use my experience to help others. I'd like to travel around the country speaking to young athletes. That's
Starting point is 02:17:29 what I'd love to do. Yeah. Yeah. He said I'm not looking for sympathy. I know I made mistakes and I'm deeply sorry. I pray for my victims at the same time. Should I have to pay for these mistakes for the rest of my life? I mean, yeah, it's not even pay at this point It's the fact that every time you're let out you do it again So you're this is now protecting us and that has nothing to do with you anymore You gotta protecting other you got a debt to society to pay too Yeah, but I mean to me it's not even about punishment. No, even if you say, okay, you're all punished up for that We're still not letting you go out and do this again
Starting point is 02:18:04 We know what you're gonna do when you get out because that's what you do. You've done it time and time again You you rape then? 2005 from prison he says I have hurt people I've actually met women who were raped and talked to me personally He says so, you know, he's talking about all this is like I can I get it now Yeah, he's talking about all this is like, I can, I get it now. Yeah. He says, um, when asked by the way, a teammate of his, they ask him, you know, have you ever heard from teammates? And he said, not really. And they said, you have to be a teammate and a teammate for life. This is one of his old teammates here. So he said he wanted to visit his old teammate while in prison. He said, when he first entered the room, I made a point
Starting point is 02:18:44 to go, uh, to go to him. He said that meant more to me than anything, Tom Payne said. Jim Andrews is a respected Kentucky player. We were able to hug each other like brothers. Andrews said, I don't think any life is wasted. I think God puts us on this earth for a purpose. He now hosts an in prison TV show, asking young inmates to question what they've done to society and their families.
Starting point is 02:19:09 Wow. Payne says, Payne says, I wouldn't want my mother to be a victim. I wouldn't want my daughter to be a victim. And that's not trite. He says he hopes the parole board will let him find a purpose outside of prison too. He wants to have a relationship with his daughter. Tom says, she said, daddy, I think about you all the time. And she starts crying. My wife comes to the phone and she says, what'd you make her cry for? And I say, I didn't make her cry. He also wants to help his eight brothers and sisters,
Starting point is 02:19:38 which seems like they're going to help him. Honestly, they've all been paying his legal bills. How are you going gonna help anybody? That's crazy so March 30th here 2010 He they talk about he's still in prison Wow And this is the first day of the Southeastern Conference tournament which Kentucky won that year And he was sitting in the in the cafeteria of the little sandy correctional complex and he was sitting in the cafeteria of the Little Sandy Correctional Complex watching it and serving a life sentence for rape conviction at this point. He has four years before he's
Starting point is 02:20:11 eligible for parole though now. So, poof, he is stuck in there and he said, I'm not making any excuses for what I did. He said, I just need an, I just want to give an explanation. That's all. He said that, um, the younger version of myself, I wouldn't even refer to as a man. He said, I can't even refer to him as a man. No. He said, here's what you've got to realize. And I hope I articulate this correctly. How a person does something is sometimes a mystery to the person. First of all, when I look back at my life, sometimes I don't even see myself. I'm talking about what you're talking about, the crimes. I don't see myself doing what I did.
Starting point is 02:20:49 What? I just don't see it happening. I just, not that guy. Doesn't sound like me. No. He said, my life, whatever I have, I want it to benefit someone. I want to be able to turn some people around so that they will have a conscience Huh? He said though He would not so much like a reconciliation with Kentucky But a recognition recognition of his role in its programs history the doors have been wide open for black players since the mid
Starting point is 02:21:17 1970s and you know tubby Smith was a coach there and everything else They said but he said my doors aren't open to me though. No, they're locked. They're open to me. Yeah. Fuck, I would say, Jesus Christ. Some of Payne's playing days, people have stayed in touch. Claude Vaughn, Rupp's longtime team trainer, has written to him regularly for years, even though he's now in failing health. Jim Andrews, who joined the team at the same time and replaced Payne at center when he left to go pro, stays in touch and has visited him. Scottie Baszler, who coached his AAU team that he played on. He also became mayor of Lexington
Starting point is 02:21:56 and a congressman, that Baszler guy, and helped Payne's brother Darryl, a lawyer in Cincinnati, try to get Tom paroled, arguing that Kentucky should consider the time he served in California. Yeah. Holy shit. So he's, Payne says, he just keeps saying the same thing. He says, I just want to have a positive impact. My days with Adolf Rupp right now, I cherish those days.
Starting point is 02:22:19 I cherish being a part of that school's history because it's something that I contributed to, something that was unbeknown to me at the time. I know it was a part of something good and all I want is that people to look at it as something good. But wow, it's really hard to do that. He said, I understand what people are saying. I know people are saying, here is this Tom Payne, I knew him when he was over there and now there's this thing going on with him over there. It's hard for people to understand.
Starting point is 02:22:47 This thing is rape conviction. There's nothing going on with you. Wow. But what they don't understand is that they're seeing two different people. You can say you knew me and I've always known and I've always been known to be a nice guy to people. I've never been an outright hostile person. Most people who know me say that I'm a nice guy
Starting point is 02:23:05 But you really don't know what's going on with people. Yeah, except for those three times. They know yeah He said now it talks about that. He holds no grub again. No grudge against Adolf Rupp who died in 77 He says that the Wildcats won another conference title finished eighth in the polls that year. He was fine He said now I understand that it was institutional racism he says I understand that rapism that he put me out there he means it's not not the rape all right he means the people not liking him in Kentucky yeah he said he understands it wasn't Adolf Rupp's fault yeah that's what he's trying to get out as Adolf Rupp he said I understand that he put me out there and he believed in me even
Starting point is 02:23:44 after I left when he was struggling he'd say it'd be a lot different if Tom were here. So I've come to kind of have love for him as a father figure. You were saying he was literally setting you up for a reason charges. That's what you wow, man. Wow. That's wild. Interesting. He said, I wasn't like Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was a lieutenant in the army. He went to UCLA. He had Branch Ricky. He was prepared. I read their stories.
Starting point is 02:24:09 I wondered how they made it. Jim Brown, people like that. They were more matured. They were more prepared to fight racism. My background didn't prepare me. My mother and father were not racist, so racism was not in our household. They were in the army. I lived on army bases my whole life and they were integrated, so you didn't go through that so I wasn't prepared for that and when it finally
Starting point is 02:24:28 hits you, hits you like a brick wall. He said, when I was young I had no clue. I had no clue that I was Tom Payne, the first African-American to play at the University of Kentucky. I knew that's what I was but I had no clue about what that would mean to people in the state, to African-Americans in the state. So I had no clue as to how I was supposed to carry myself. What? Didn't know. Didn't know how to be a good person. And he said he showed up in Atlanta and he had a wife and kid and a big contract. And he said things were going on that I'd never seen before. And just his brain made him rape. He said, really,
Starting point is 02:25:06 I don't ever think about why I was in prison. What I thought about was, was I combated prison. I fought prison. I thought I'm going to show them that they can't break me. That was my mentality. So there was no real true soul work in his first prison run, he said. And then he went to jail, got out boxed. And he said, all these financial resources for playing a sport that somehow has manhood, understands manhood, understands conduct. In actuality, a lot of these guys don't. Talking about athletes, they don't get how lucky they are.
Starting point is 02:25:37 Yeah. So, wow. Yeah, talking about prison here and talking about rape and everything else. And he said he has no problems, but he harbors no illusions about parole in 2014. He doesn't think they're going to let him out then. Okay. He said, if you make a short call, a phone call to Perry Wallace, you'd find that his
Starting point is 02:25:58 soul was impacted. His behavior and actions were different than mine, but you wouldn't really know what impacted him deeply. I can guarantee you, Perry Wallace is in the closet of his home. He had thoughts and thoughts and felt some pain that he's never expressed. Why is he talking about this? Oh, he's talking about another Kentucky person here. He says this. This is Tom Paine.
Starting point is 02:26:23 Wow. To me, racism is rape. It's the rape of a person's soul. It's the rape of a person's identity. Whenever you make someone less of a person than they are, that's rape. And maybe that's the reason I went in the direction I did. I can't call it.
Starting point is 02:26:40 I try to call it and I know that. He said, then he paused and he said, you'd have to talk to the other person about that I can't tell you about that I'm almost 60 years old I've been in prison for the last 24 years but I'm all right with it I believe I will be in a position to be able to talk to young people and bring something of myself to people maybe some young person so they won't make the tragic mistakes I've made. Fascinating. some young person so they won't make the tragic mistakes I've made. Fascinating. 2015, February 25th 2015 here he says he's good now. All rehabilitated. Yeah fixed it. He's reformed and that's that. Okay. Yep he said well first of all I never try to defend the indefensible. When you do something that devalues another human being, you do something that's invasive to another human being and you do something that causes consequences to another human
Starting point is 02:27:31 being. That's terrible. He said, when I die, I don't want this part of my life to be the only thing that's on my tombstone. He said, I want to get out. I have a new fiance named Janet Howard. He said they first met 40 years ago when he was playing for the Hawks. She assumed he was probably married and living the good life.
Starting point is 02:27:51 She said, I did not even know his story until four years ago. Really? Yep. She said she believes in God and she believes it was God who brought pain back into her life. And she's not afraid. She said, yes, he's been convicted of all that. All that. He says how they fell in love. She just wanted someone to take care of her heart.
Starting point is 02:28:14 Well, I feel the same. Yeah. Interesting. So he said, we're not here trying to defile. This is his lawyer saying we're not trying to defend his actions. We're trying to say he had an unfair trial or we're not trying to say that we're trying to say the sentence is unjust and unconstitutional. So he said, I think we can all agree that a person's person should not serve a life sentence for an offense that only carries 20 years in today's society. 20 years in today's society. And that's what he says. He says that I didn't have the moral or mental faculties to deal with what I was given.
Starting point is 02:28:49 And I think that hurts a lot. I'm a changed person and I'm no harm to anybody. Oh, he says, so they have to live with talking about his, his brothers and sisters. He said, so they have to live with their brothers being convicted of rape. They have to. That's what he says. He has to live with it. He says. So I got off the telephone, went upstairs and got on my knees and prayed and I asked God not to let my mother suffer. And the next day they called me to the captain's office and let me know my mother was gone. His mother died
Starting point is 02:29:16 while he's in there. So May 20th, 2015, Tom Payne's victim shares her story. This is the, I believe the California woman here. Yes, she said she just pulled into her garage when he threw a towel around her head and raped her. He said he put it, she said he put his hand under my chin and started choking me and I kind of got blacked out and they say when you go, you see that white light and I saw this huge white light and I saw this huge white light and come to find out it was the police with their flashlight. They thought she was dying and they had come around and that's when they caught him.
Starting point is 02:29:52 I mean how often does that happen? Never. Never. Wow. Like they said like many of you Bonnie saw our interview with Payne who was convicted on multiple rape charges after serving time for Bonnie's rape in California. He's been serving additional time and saying I'm a changed person. I'm no harm to anyone.
Starting point is 02:30:08 Bonnie said she too is a changed person who's been leery in relationships and dealt with trust issues for 30 years. She said, what could I have been? What course of action my life could have taken if this didn't happen to me? Yeah, that's what I mean. Indeed. She said, I thought a lot about it over the years. Maybe that's the closure I needed
Starting point is 02:30:25 I know I need I don't know she said that was Pain, I guess when he did a sit-down I guess face to face at the Kentucky Institution here He's they say why did you rape those women and he said said, well, first of all, I never try to rape the I never try to defend the indefensible. And the woman he raped here, Bonnie said to me, he might as well have
Starting point is 02:30:50 said because they were there. Yeah. Yeah. Bonnie said she thinks there will be one day be a book or Thomas Paine movie and she does not want to be a chapter, but also has no interest in testifying to keep him behind bars. Part of me says you've served your time, you've served it twice and it doesn't change you, nothing will. If that doesn't change you, nothing will. You say you want to have a good life when you get out, go have it. If you backslide and
Starting point is 02:31:13 repeat the same old habits, then that's between you and God. She also said it bothers her that Payne wouldn't know her if they were standing in the same room where she has spent most of her life learning about him. She said, I'll never forget it and forgive. I can't. He almost killed me. I mean it was almost the end of my life that night. Now that is where, yeah, yeah. That's where we left off in the first episode. Yeah. Him. We didn't have all that info, but we left it off. He's in prison. Um, December 1st, 2016 it's ruled that he must stay in jail. They said two members of the Kentucky Parole Board deferred at a hearing Wednesday, and
Starting point is 02:31:50 request for two years until December 18th, or December 2018. They're not going to do it now. November 20th, 2018, he is paroled. Jesus. Paroled. He's 68 years old. He walked down the hall saying, thank you, Jesus. Paroled. He's 68 years old. He walked down the hall saying, thank you, Jesus. Yeah?
Starting point is 02:32:09 Oh yeah, absolutely. He said, quote, well, first of all, I never try to defend the indefensible, he said at the time, but when you do something at the time, they give that. So he's paroled. He gets out in January. 70 year old man? Yep. July of 2020, he lives in Lansing, Michigan,
Starting point is 02:32:26 and he says he gets little news about Kentucky basketball. So he admitted that when he was called that he didn't know a lot about the particular agenda to have former Kentucky basketball coach Adolf Rupp's name removed from Rupp Arena. The University of Kentucky's African American and Africana studies program said that rups name stood for racism and exclusion and its request to UK officials to have the
Starting point is 02:32:51 name removed. The group added rups name alienates black students and fans. Payne said, I wouldn't want to say anything because the way I feel about life, I don't really rehash negativity about what was and wasn't true. I have made enough mistakes so I don't condemn people for making mistakes if they did make one." Oh. Okay. He said, Coach Rupp lived in a certain time frame where there was a whole lot of racists. He's not the only person who was supposed to be a racist then according to some,
Starting point is 02:33:20 but look at the good things he did. He said that it is. Okay. He said, look how much courage it took took for up to start him in the year after the day But no it didn't they they they recruited him because they got smoked by a starting five of black people That's why they were had nothing to do with it's time God damn it to let these people have what they deserve it was if we don't start getting black kids We don't start getting someone with more than a 21 inch vertical jump We're not gonna fucking win a lot of trouble. Yeah, Jimmy the Greeks got a point Yeah, that's what he said pretty much
Starting point is 02:33:52 so he said that took courage and And that sort of thing he says to start him after Dan Issel had graduated Payne had to earn the spot He said Dan was one of the greatest players ever and it was a real big controversy over who would start after he graduated. Right now, me and Jim have relationships like spiritual brothers, and we really had some wars back then.
Starting point is 02:34:14 I used to think he was my enemy, meaning Jim Andrews, the backup guy. Now we talk at least once a month, and he's helped me a lot. I think me starting ended up being good for Kentucky. After me, players came like Jack Givens and Kentucky won a national championship Then you had Sam Bowie Melvin Turpin Daradirk Minnifield and just a legacy of good and great African-American players Boo's a black guy, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're like lightsplats game of black. Yeah. Yeah
Starting point is 02:34:42 He said I don't have a lot of bad things to say. Did I go through a lot? Yeah, I did. But life is about overcoming. I can't make excuses about who I am as a person and not be accountable for what I've done and then not be forgiving. For me, it's hard to get involved in something just because everyone else is saying, I'm not going to jump into the bandwagon for anything.
Starting point is 02:35:01 If you remove a name from a university, what is that really going to do? It's going to hurt a lot of people. It is there, entrenched there. Coach Rupp, yeah, that's what it says, Coach Rupp is still in the history of this country. Whether you like it or don't like him, he's a mythical figure. Just look at that before you begin to act. Look at his humanity, his family. When you tear somebody down, look at the legacy he left and the people he left behind. I'm one of the few left who played for the man. Those professors did not ask me about my experiences with him. I am in support of any organization like that because when I was at Kentucky, there were not many African American professors. There was one
Starting point is 02:35:38 I was close to and that meant a lot to me, but there are other agendas to heal wounds. So he's saying it's the professors that want this and he's like, I'm on their me, but there are other agendas to heal wounds. So he's saying it's the professors that want this. And he's like, I'm on their side, but I don't really know about this one. So he said, I never had to really deal with race till I started traveling in the SEC. That's why maybe the impact on me was different than that of the average African American that was used to racism. I'd never been exposed. So he said, I'm trying to deal with larger issues. I'm trying to help people,
Starting point is 02:36:05 especially young men understand race and racism. There's a lot of people talking now. And I am not talking about any specific person or group that have not really had to face racism in the way that my generation have. I lived through it and some issues of life caused me to go off kilter due to experiences of racism off kilter is a really wild way to put rape to a bunch of people. Because how many people did not come forward? Right. Because they were terrified of it. Yeah, you got caught three times. You've done it more than... Especially in the 70s? Jesus. Fortunately, my life did a 360 degree turn. Nope, that's
Starting point is 02:36:37 not how you want to say that. And I have grown a lot of ways, just not my knowledge of how angles and shit work. I work with men in this area to teach young men the principles about life. Why not seek that out and help them in society and move forward? Let's work together. Now, by the way, I saw an interview with him
Starting point is 02:36:58 that I believe is from 2023. It's on YouTube, it's some like, you know, Kentucky, University of Kentucky basketball program program and they're interviewing Tom on Jesus They got him sitting there in a suit. Like he didn't rape a bunch of people. It's fucking crazy Their website doesn't even say a word about him raping. No, of course not. And here's what he's doing nowadays Transformational victories calm TransformationalVictories.com. Oh, boy. Together, we transform challenges into victories,
Starting point is 02:37:26 uniting communities, uplifting voices, and fostering growth for brighter, restored future. The mission and goals of our organization, Transformational Victories, is a nonprofit organization that seeks to inform, uplift, engage all segments of the community to work collectively to cultivate a positive environment for growth and restoration. And here is Tom with a bunch of kids
Starting point is 02:37:48 gathered around him. I use a dish towel now you might be more into... You might be a paper bag guy, you might be a plastic bag guy. A lap sack, I don't know. So they say transforming lives, strengthening communities, transformational victories helps meet the needs of our community, overcoming challenges and creating opportunities for success. And there's Tom with a kid. Tom with a, here's my favorite.
Starting point is 02:38:14 Here's Tom with two cops and a man holding a turkey. Oh boy, oh boy. Smiling. Hope that cop keeps him close. Here's Tom with a dog. He's like, look, cops are close to me. Dogs like me, I'm fine now. Kids, dogs and cops, close to me dogs like me. I'm fine now kids dogs and cops
Starting point is 02:38:25 They're all fine with me Meet Thomas R. Payne jr He's sitting in a chair read man. Look at this that is a man with a book and a collared shirt That's all there is to it. Let's see how they are how they describe him See how complete they are with his biography. Thomas R. Payne, Jr. is the son of Thomas R. Payne, Sr. Well, we fucking knew that. Yeah, yes.
Starting point is 02:38:51 And Elaine Payne. His father was honorably discharged as a sergeant after 23 years in the U.S. Army while his mother remained a homemaker caring for Thomas and his eight younger siblings. As a military family, they lived in Germany, yes, Germany that is, and throughout the United States finally settling in Louisville, Kentucky when Thomas was 15. Although he had never played basketball, entering Shawnee High School in 1966 as a 6'10 sophomore, he was immediately recruited to play on the basketball team. Ultimately, he became a high school basketball star, earning all-state and all-American honors as a senior. In 1969 in an historic signing he became the first African-American basketball player at
Starting point is 02:39:30 the University of Kentucky under the renowned coach Adolf Rupp and the second African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. In his sophomore season he was named to the All-SEC First team and was selected as an honorable mention in All-American. At the end of sophomore season, he entered the NBA hardship draft and was selected as the number one pick of the Atlanta Hawks in 1972 to begin what was to be an illustrious professional career. And then that's all. And that's his biography.
Starting point is 02:40:01 You can Google the rest. This is my favorite. Along the journey, because there's another article on him in here, along the journey to become a star athlete, Mr. Payne fell from grace. Yes, he did. Yes, he did. On this show. And it just says, through his actions that led to multiple confinements.
Starting point is 02:40:20 So his actions. Those are, rapes are his actions. All right. Well, that's his actions then. That's true, but you have to Google it to find out. Wow, he said, the barren lifelessness of a desert was truly symbolic of my life. My own behavior had diminished my life and was only God's love and redemptive grace
Starting point is 02:40:39 that allowed me another chance at life. Can't get enough of Thomas Paine? Oh boy. Well, here is a signature. It's on a piece of paper and it's $35. It's a signature. It's literally scrap paper. It's cut out. Yeah, something else. The P is cut out around it. It's probably multiple people sign that paper. Yeah. 35 bucks on eBay if you want that and here is this is out of their minds Tom Payne's signed team issued 8x10 press photo yeah so it's just a black and white 8x10 press photo that the hawks issued in
Starting point is 02:41:13 1972 to the press signed by Tom Payne completely different looking signature than the other one by the way one of those is not his signature. $749.49. Wow. Little fucking pricey for that. Who cares? Good God, and here's a 72 press photo for Tom Paine coming out of court with handcuffs on. 1999, not autographed.
Starting point is 02:41:38 You didn't sign that one? No, didn't sign that one. And if we did mistaken identities, there's so many. It's crazy. Absolutely not even fucking possible to put them all in. It's a giant list that we won't go through. So there you go, everybody. Wow.
Starting point is 02:41:54 There's Tom Paine. Five hours of this, man. In your ass. Better than having him in your ass, though. So hope you enjoyed that. If you did, tell everyone about it. Yeah. The most times the word rape has been said.
Starting point is 02:42:09 Unbelievable, yeah. Five hour period in the history of sports. So definitely tell everyone about it. Get on whatever app you're listening on. Give us a review on any of those. It doesn't matter which one. Shutupandgivemurder.com is the website. Get in there, lots of merch.
Starting point is 02:42:24 We have tickets for live shows, New York and Boston, couple tickets left. Get in there right now and get those. And then new tour coming out this month for 2025. We'll tell you all about that. ShutupandGiveMeMurder.com. You can follow us on social media. We're at Crime and Sports. Patreon.com slash Crime and Sports.
Starting point is 02:42:44 Bonus material. Hey, boy. So much. We're at crime and sports patreon.com slash crime in sports bonus material a boy so much Anybody five dollars a month or above you get hundreds of episodes You've never heard before of bonus stuff and then new ones every other week a crime in sports on a small-town murder And we'll give them to you all of them fuck it. Yeah, you take them just just take them They're all your five dollars fine. You've bargained us down. We're happy now do it up this week We have a UK, you know an English soccer sex scandal We'll talk about which is pretty gross and then for small town murder We're gonna talk about the cult baby murder trial people and these are just a crazy group of people
Starting point is 02:43:19 Polygamists that had their own weird beliefs. They named themselves different shit They drank their pee on a daily basis Need I say fucking more? It's crazy. That is patreon.com slash crime and sports. Oh, and one more thing. You certainly get a shout out at the end of the show for doing that. And when does that happen? Right now. Right. God damn. Now, Jimmy hit me with the names of the people who would never ever, ever wrap our faces in a dish towel for any reason. Hit me with them right fucking now This week executive producers are Nikki Oz Elena Zemmell and her pup Sammy. She lost Sammy the poor pup 17 that's a good run
Starting point is 02:43:57 Gary Howard Amy Barton Amber Drew snap do snub do snub and that Hollywood Eleanor Consolo Adam Brewer, Brother-in-law Lucas, happy birthday Lucas, and also Stella, you guys are amazing, we can't do this without you. Polish your balls, I love you to death, you're the best. Other producers this week are Peyton Meadows, Liz Vasquez, Rachel Travathan, Janice Hill, Dawn and Deanna in Minnesota. Melissa with no last name.
Starting point is 02:44:27 Justinian, Wilsonian, 420. Tracy with no last name. Eric Wright, Glenny Redd, Todd Usher, Quentin Binkley, Cameron Hughes, Tasha Yarborough, Nick Fricano, not going to work here. Emily with no last name. Les Mosilo, Mosilo, Morsilo, Christine Schultz, Anthony Cicillone, Cheechalone, Cheechalone, Cheechalone, right? Casey Rath, Christopher Nicholas, Quaid Palm, M West, Maxine Kroll, Jacob Petretta, Maria Cook, Tiffany Gonzalez, LearningDD7767YU. Why would you do that to me?
Starting point is 02:45:12 Taylor Stansberry, Bradley Eggler, Tyler Wilmoth, Mandy Lowe, BB, the letters B and B, Sarah Rucci, Mariella with no last name, Christopher Sullivan, Dawn with no last name, Michelle Jackson, Chris Elliott-Meg with no last name, Leslie Lawless, Laurie Bailey, W.E. Nobles, Wee Nobles, I don't know, Lexi with no last name, Jackie with no last name, Claire with no last name, Jennifer Mills, Christian Wright, Dutchman with no last name. It's Betty Bish. Oh, Betty Bish, whoever that is. E.S. Showjumping. Perhaps S. Showjumping. Is Showjumping in Espanol.
Starting point is 02:45:52 I don't know. Karen. Oh, maybe. Karen Thomassey. Let's listen to different Spanish programs. Jared Parnell, Gay Ass Ben, Jabriel Monk? Jabriel?
Starting point is 02:46:03 Jabriel, maybe. Rach Ravaethan, Tommy Silcox, Kate Davis, Skip Hayford, Kiana Jackson, Cynthia R., Jeremy Clotier, Kristen Sanchez, Emily Ranger, Jason Cohen, Chelsea Shoemaker, Lamarwin? Lamarwin Criety? Crit maybe? Lamarwin, that's a cool name. Lamarwin, I've never heard that when that's a cool name Lamar when I never That's mash. All right, Nadia Richards
Starting point is 02:46:29 on tick o n t i c Antique I don't know the pipe wielding dude eighty six the science walrus Bethany LaFontaine Wendy D Sarah Coville rusty with no last name, Susan Wheeler, Jillian Arena, Jacqueline Yulferts, that's a fast name, William Spang, Jacqueline, Heather Rush, Katherine, oh, it's Karen, Karen Hamrock, Courtney Sullivan, this is really difficult, Alice McNeil, I swear it's hard, Eric Seifert, Rodolfo Flores, Cody would know last name, Isabel Franchini, Daniel Lindsay, Rebecca Reardon, Laura would know last name, Dina
Starting point is 02:47:11 Sanders, oh boy, RJ, A-H-R-J, Elena Tomlinson, Emily Foles, Ruben Kessler, the Cuban wrestler, Kenneth Dobny, Jegan, Jegan, is this Jen? J-E-G-H-N, is that, that's Jen Starwitz, right? Audra Colston, who knows? Pam Bennett, KB Stallings, Jenna Lewis, Darryl Berry, Nick, Nick Jocks, Jock, Scott Berryman, Michael, Michael Walutz, Alicia jocks jock, uh, Scott Berryman, a Michael man, Michael Waluts, Alicia would know last name. Jace would know last name. Janae Fraley, perhaps, uh, ACE's daughter, uh, Darren, Darren Jenkins, John Roberts, Scott would know last name. Aaron Schaefer,
Starting point is 02:47:58 Dylan Nielsen, Douglas, Douglas Woodson, Laura and Tim, Michelle O'Donnell, Erica Moreno, Cheyenne Hobbs, Me S, I think, Lauren Archer, Todd Horse Cochran, yep. Todd Horse Cochran? Oh, got it. Immediately, I'm like, where's that? Well done, Todd, you son of a bitch. Gina Miller, The Duff, Rebecca Boullier, Boulay, Danielle W, Warren McDonald, Jamie Becker, Benedict Cartson, Angela Connor, Kelsey would know last name,
Starting point is 02:48:33 Joe Becerra, Cynthia Pasquale, the Bedola family, Brenda Wegener, Jenny Jones, Krista Leslie, no, Krista Laleigh, like Ashley the plate for the Braves, Owen Eads, Emily Betts, Brooke Horn, Adam Wright, Donna Sweeney, Paula Thomas, Lucy with no last name, TJ Mooney, Monty White, Candace Donahey, Donahee maybe, Jesse Alessio, Shaylee Brooke, and Amber Blakely, and all of our patrons. You guys are the best. Thank you so much. Thank you everybody.
Starting point is 02:49:09 From the bottom of our dead cold black hearts, we appreciate the fuck out of all that you do for us time and time again in every goddamn week. Keep doing it, keep it up. Thank you. Tell your friends, wanna follow us on social media, shutupandgimimurder.com, drop down menu, keep doing that. Come back next week, live from the crime and sports studios.
Starting point is 02:49:27 We will see you next week. If you like crime and sports, you can listen early and ad free now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen early and ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey from the award winning masters of audio horror. I see a face right up against the window, bleach white, no hair, black eyes, a round hole for a mouth. It's flat, Taylor. It's completely flat.
Starting point is 02:50:11 I don't know what that is. I don't know what kind of a head is flat. Look. What is that coming under the door? It's blood. Oh my god! Seven original, chilling tales, inspired by The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt. Get back in your car. Lizzie, it's okay. I'm here now. Josh, get in your car!
Starting point is 02:50:37 Oh! Help! Help! Help! Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Clive Standen, and Michael O'Neil. Welcome to the Dark Sanctum. Listen to Dark Sanctum Season 2 exclusively on Wondry+. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

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