"I Truly Am Sorry": Anthony Sowell's Unsworn Statement, 2011 (Part 2)
In the second part of his statement to the jury that would decide his sentence, Anthony Sowell described prison jobs, work after his release, a 2007 heart attack and a voice he said had a name, then told the jury he was sorry.
- Subject
- Anthony Sowell
- Recorded
- August 8, 2011
- Runtime
- 18:17
Content warning: The case concerned the murders of eleven women; in this part Sowell's conviction for attempted rape and his status as a registered sex offender are mentioned. No graphic detail.
The Statement
On August 8, 2011, Anthony Sowell, convicted seventeen days earlier of murdering eleven women, gave an unsworn statement to the jury deciding whether he should be sentenced to death. He was not under oath and was not cross-examined; his lawyer, John Parker, asked the questions. This second part of News 5 Cleveland's courtroom footage picks up where part 1 ends, with his departure from the Marine Corps in January 1985, and runs to the end of the statement, when Sowell apologized.
Historical Context
Between 2007 and 2009 eleven women disappeared from Cleveland's east side. In October 2009, police investigating a rape complaint entered Sowell's house on Imperial Avenue and found bodies; the remains of eleven women were recovered from the house and its yard. They were Tonia Carmichael, Nancy Cobbs, Tishana Culver, Crystal Dozier, Telacia Fortson, Amelda Hunter, Leshanda Long, Michelle Mason, Kim Smith, Diane Turner and Janice Webb. Sowell, a Marine Corps veteran, had served 15 years in prison for attempted rape and had been released in 2005. On July 22, 2011, the jury found him guilty of all eleven aggravated murders and of offenses against surviving women.
Circumstances of the Statement
Sowell did not testify during the guilt phase of the trial. In the penalty phase his lawyers called relatives, a social worker, a former Marine officer, jail officers, a fellow prisoner and mental-health experts, and stressed his troubled upbringing, his military service, his record in custody and the effects of the heart attack he suffered in 2007. The jury recommended death on August 10, 2011, and Judge Dick Ambrose imposed the death sentences on August 12.
What the Statement Covers
Parker leads Sowell briefly past his arrest and his guilty plea to attempted rape, then through his years in Ohio prisons: electrical work and building snow-plow trucks for Ohio Penal Industries at Chillicothe, the yard crew and gym at Madison, and the yard crew, prison industries and kitchen at Grafton, where he became friends with Roosevelt Lloyd. Sowell says he was released in June 2005, went through a re-entry program (the Ohio Supreme Court names the program he enrolled in as Towards Employment), and worked as a prep cook at Jacobs Field, "the best job I ever had", then at a manufacturing plant and as an injection-mold operator at Custom Rubber. He describes the heart attack he says began in February 2007 after he shoveled snow for an elderly neighbor, the days of trouble over his ID before he collapsed on a bus as it reached the VA hospital, and emergency surgery, a temporary pacemaker and a defibrillator at the Cleveland Clinic. He says he could not afford rehabilitation, collapsed at work again and left his job. He says he was depressed afterwards, could no longer win at chess, and began hearing a voice. "I didn't give it a name. It had a name," he says; the name was Arnie. Asked if there was anything he wanted to say, he answers: "the only thing I want to say is that I'm sorry ... I truly am sorry from the bottom of my heart. This is not typical of me. I, I don't know what happened. I can't explain it."
What Makes the Recording Significant
Sowell did not testify at his trial, and the unsworn statement was the only time he addressed the jury. This part contains his apology, which the Associated Press reported the same day, and his own account of the 2007 heart attack that his lawyers presented as a turning point. It does not contain any account of the murders: he says he cannot explain what happened.
Archival Importance
With part 1, this footage covers Sowell's statement, which AP described as about thirty minutes long, on the station's own channel; the two uploads run to 32:45 together, including the judge's introduction. Together with the police interrogation played to the jury in July 2011, it is one of the few recordings of Sowell speaking at length. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and death sentences in 2016. He died on February 8, 2021, while still under sentence of death.
Important Caveats
Sowell's statement was unsworn and was not tested by cross-examination. His account of his health, his jobs and the voice he called Arnie is his own; the Associated Press reported that he had given conflicting accounts of hearing voices. The YouTube title calls this "testimony"; legally it was an unsworn statement. This is part 2; the opening of the statement is in part 1. A few seconds may be missing between the two uploads.
John Parker: Now, you left the Marines in what year?
Anthony Sowell: 1985. January.
John Parker: Now, after you left the Marines, you were arrested on a very serious case, is that right?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: And you pled guilty to attempted rape, is that right?
Anthony Sowell: Yes, sir.
John Parker: And then you went to prison for that?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: Um, now, while you were in prison, you were actually at different prisons within the Ohio system, is that correct?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: You were at Chillicothe at one time?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: Did you work while you were at Chillicothe?
Anthony Sowell: Yes, sir.
John Parker: What kind of work did you do?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, I started off as an electrician.
John Parker: And then at some point you went to, you worked at the Ohio prison industry?
Anthony Sowell: Yes. OPI.
John Parker: OPI?
Anthony Sowell: Yes, sir.
John Parker: And what kind of work did you do there?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, I was a cab man.
John Parker: What's that?
Anthony Sowell: Cab man is, uh, okay, you know the, uh, the snow trucks you see out there with the, uh, forks in the front, I mean with the, uh, shovel, snow remover in the front, and the dump bed and flashing lights? That's, we made, that's, we made those down in Chillicothe.
John Parker: All right. So what was your job with respect to that?
Anthony Sowell: The cab man does the, uh, electrical systems inside, up under the dash, inside the cab of the truck. I had to do all the [unclear: "work" / "warrant"], like, uh, hook up all the lights, the controls and everything, and hook them up to the electrical system.
John Parker: Then there was a time you went to a prison called Madison, is that right?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: What kind of work did you do at Madison?
Anthony Sowell: I worked in the [unclear: "barracks" / "be"], yard and the gym.
John Parker: I'm sorry, you have to keep your voice up.
Anthony Sowell: Sorry. The [unclear: "barracks" / "Beck"], I mean the dorm, the yard, yard crew, and the gym.
John Parker: All right. And there was a time you then got transferred up to the prison called Grafton?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: About how many years did you spend at Grafton?
Anthony Sowell: [unclear: "Nine" / "None" / "N..."].
John Parker: What kind of jobs did you have in Grafton?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, I started off on the yard crew. Uh, went to OPI.
John Parker: Ohio prison industry?
Anthony Sowell: Yes. Another OPI.
John Parker: A different one?
Anthony Sowell: Different one.
John Parker: And then what else?
Anthony Sowell: From there I was laid off and sent to the kitchen.
John Parker: All right. So there was a time you started working in the kitchen in Grafton?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: Did you enjoy that work?
Anthony Sowell: Not at first.
John Parker: Not at first?
Anthony Sowell: No.
John Parker: Okay.
Anthony Sowell: Kitchen is a punishment in, in prison.
John Parker: Okay. Is there a point in time when you began to enjoy it?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: And then what did you enjoy about that?
Anthony Sowell: I like to eat.
John Parker: Okay. Did you work there every day and help count and prepare the food?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, that came like a year later. Uh, I did that job, it's called the hot box.
John Parker: Okay.
Anthony Sowell: And the job of the hot box man is to, uh, assist the cooks, and also, uh, get the, uh, food from the cooks and distribute it out to the, the different food lines. You know, when you come in, your line is like a [unclear: "be" / "beat"], you got a line going this way, line going this way. Each, each side got to be, the food got to be put in there, and that's what I did. So I had to keep count of who was coming to chow. Uh, was it like [unclear: "State Weg" / "a state week"], or, you know, what the meal was, and, you know.
John Parker: And, and when you worked in the kitchen, you were being evaluated by the staff of the prison?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: You became friends with Roosevelt Lloyd while you were at Grafton?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: And Roosevelt, [unclear: "got to be" / "you got to be"] good friends?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: When did you get out of prison?
Anthony Sowell: June 1985. I mean June 2005.
John Parker: What were your goals when you got out of prison?
Anthony Sowell: First was to get a job.
John Parker: [unclear: "Why exactly?" / "What's that?"]
Anthony Sowell: That was, to me that was, I had always worked. And to me that was like critical.
John Parker: Did you go to a... And did you go to a re-entry program?
Anthony Sowell: I got out on a Friday, I think. I called them and I had an appointment like that next week.
John Parker: That's at Networks for Success? [as heard; the Ohio Supreme Court names the program Sowell enrolled in as "Towards Employment"]
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: And you went through their program?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: And they helped you get a job?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: You remember a job that you had working at old Jacobs Field?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: Working for the Cleveland Indians?
Anthony Sowell: Yes, I do.
John Parker: What, what did you do there?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, I was, uh, uh, I was hired as a cook.
John Parker: Is that through like a temporary agency?
Anthony Sowell: Yes, called Paragon.
John Parker: Paragon.
Anthony Sowell: It's a, it's a, uh, food service temp service, like.
John Parker: All right. And what was your job when you worked there?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, I did prep.
John Parker: What's prep?
Anthony Sowell: Prep is preparing, basically preparing the food for the cooks.
John Parker: What type of things would you actually do?
Anthony Sowell: Um, um, vegetables, carrots, onions, tomatoes, whatever. I made up the salads, I made up the, uh, condiment plates, all kind of things like that.
John Parker: Did you enjoy that work?
Anthony Sowell: I did, because I had never done it before. That's, that's why I was asked before I took the job, would it be okay, 'cause I'm actually a cook. And then do prep, you know, that's not, most cooks ain't going for.
John Parker: It's kind of like one step below?
Anthony Sowell: Yes. But since I'm still getting paid my top salary, I, and plus, I need, I wanted to learn that part of it anyway. So I said, you know, yeah, I'll do it, no problem.
John Parker: How, how many hours would you work a day on that?
Anthony Sowell: [unclear: "Ten to 12" / "To 12" / "12"].
John Parker: Why would you work such a long hour?
Anthony Sowell: That's the hours. Start from the morning, uh, cooking. Uh, people don't know, but Jacobs Field's got about five different kitchens. They got a main kitchen, then they got Terrace Lounge, Club Lounge, all the different lounges has kitchens in them. So we could go from, like, I was going from the main kitchen sometime and, uh, shooting up to the Terrace Lounge, or I, I worked a lot in the Club Lounge, which I like the Club Lounge.
John Parker: All right. How would you describe that job?
Anthony Sowell: Oh, it's the best job I ever had.
John Parker: The season came to an end, right?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: And you went to another job after that?
Anthony Sowell: NAMPAC.
John Parker: NAMPAC?
Anthony Sowell: North America [unclear: "Packet" / "Packaging"].
John Parker: What was that job like?
Anthony Sowell: Terrible.
John Parker: Why do you say that?
Anthony Sowell: It's hard.
John Parker: It's a hard job?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: It's manufacturing?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: How long did you work there?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, three months.
John Parker: Why, why did you not work there [longer]?
Anthony Sowell: [unclear: "Was laid off" / "It was late on"].
John Parker: And then did you get another job after that?
Anthony Sowell: Yes. Uh, Custom Rubber.
John Parker: What kind of work did you do there?
Anthony Sowell: [unclear: "The same, operator" / "Machine operator"].
John Parker: What type of things would you do?
Anthony Sowell: Injection molding.
John Parker: Were you a full-time employee there?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: Did they treat you well?
Anthony Sowell: Yeah.
John Parker: Now, there comes February of '07, and, uh, you had a major medical event, is that fair to say?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: What happened?
Anthony Sowell: I had a major heart attack.
John Parker: Tell us about the days leading up before you went to the VA hospital.
Anthony Sowell: Well, I didn't, I had a heart attack, but I didn't have the symptoms of a heart attack. So, uh, it, when I had the heart attack, uh, I thought I had [unclear: "the flu" / "to FL" / "look"], matter of fact, what happened, this, I was going over to my sister's one day, and, uh, this is right after a big snowstorm, and it was a, a elderly woman out shoveling snow on my street. And I walked past her, and when I walked past I said, ma'am, you shouldn't be shoveling the snow like that. And, uh, she said, well, she didn't have no way else to do it, and they wouldn't deliver her mail as long as, you know, the [unclear: "path was blocked" / "P of block" / "path of life"]. So I turned around and I shoveled it for her. I proceeded to, uh, walk on to my sister's. I'm a walker, so I like to walk. So I walked over to my sister's house, and, uh, there I threw up. I got sick over her house. That's when it actually happened.
John Parker: You didn't realize it at the time?
Anthony Sowell: No, I just thought I, 'cause she got so many kids, she got [unclear: "nine kids" / "mad kids"], I thought, you know. Matter of fact, I commented, you know, "I just got here and y'all got me sick already." So I called my, uh, my niece, uh, (name withheld), had just stopped by the house and, uh, had left, but I called her back and told her to give me a ride home, 'cause I knew I couldn't, uh, make it back home by myself.
John Parker: You just said something about, you're a walker?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: What do you mean by that?
Anthony Sowell: I like to walk. My father liked to walk.
John Parker: Walk long distance?
Anthony Sowell: Very long distance.
John Parker: Would you walk from your house on Imperial to your job down at Custom Rubber?
Anthony Sowell: I've done that before.
John Parker: That's on East 55th?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: Off St. Clair?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: How far do you think that is?
Anthony Sowell: Oh, I don't know. A few miles.
John Parker: How long would it take you to walk?
Anthony Sowell: An hour and a half.
John Parker: Now, I have to, this heart attack, but [unclear: "I finish about the heart" / "I don't think it's about your heart"]. I'm sorry, go ahead.
Anthony Sowell: Uh, so I, I kept on going to work, and, uh, I was getting sicker and sicker. I was taking, uh, [unclear: "Theraflu" / "third BL blue" / "their blue"] and stuff like that. Uh, still getting sicker. So just finally, uh, matter of fact, my boss had been asking about being sick, and I, you know, I told her I was all right.
John Parker: [unclear: "About Chris?" / "That's Chris?"]
Anthony Sowell: Yes, Chris.
John Parker: Okay, go ahead.
Anthony Sowell: And so, uh, finally one day I was real sick when I came in, but I was determined to, uh, but I come in to work at six. Uh, Chris and them, which is, uh, office, front office, they usually don't get there till eight, but, but this day she happened to be there, but I didn't know it. So I was really trying to wait till 8:00, till they got there. So I worked till eight, and, uh, I stopped. And, uh, by that time my body had totally shut down. I couldn't, I could barely move. I had to crawl up the steps, almost. And, uh, uh, they called Chris over, and, uh, Chris told me to go home and don't come back till I, uh, till I get well, so she can [unclear: "mess me up" (both sources); meaning unclear].
John Parker: So you were, you tried to work after this, after the heart attack?
Anthony Sowell: Yeah. Yes.
John Parker: There came a point in time when you went to the VA?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: All right. You literally, uh...
Anthony Sowell: Uh, well, uh, I had problems with my ID.
John Parker: Okay.
Anthony Sowell: Because I, uh, this was the Wednesday when they let me, when she let me go from work. But when you, when you have a heart attack, you're so tired that by the time I get home, all I could do was lay down and go to sleep. So that was Wednesday. Thursday I tried to get my ID. My ID had been taken by somebody, and, and, uh, I tried to get it returned to me. So I messed around with the whole day doing that. So that was Thursday. Friday, I called my sister and told her give me a ride, uh, over there to pick up my ID. My sister didn't show up till like 4 in the evening, and she took me over to get the ID. The people wouldn't give me my ID. So she took me to the VA hospital anyway. They wouldn't let me in because I never registered at the VA. I never went to the VA before.
John Parker: And you didn't have your ID?
Anthony Sowell: And I didn't have ID, so they [unclear: "wouldn't see me" / "went to sell" / "wouldn't sell me"]. So that took me to Saturday. So Saturday, I just got up, instead of depending on anybody, I just got up, caught the bus, and went down to the 55th, uh, driver's license bureau, got my, I got a ID, and got over to the VA.
John Parker: What happened when you got to the VA?
Anthony Sowell: Well, I, I fell out. Uh, I was on the 50, and the 50 comes around in front of the VA, then goes on the side. And when I, when the bus was going in front, I stood up, and when I stood up I just fell out.
John Parker: So they got you into the hospital there?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: And then you were transported over to the Cleveland Clinic?
Anthony Sowell: Well, not directly. They, they took me upstairs to, I was seen immediately after they took my blood pressure and stuff, because it was obvious something was wrong, and I was sent upstairs, uh, and they told me I'll be staying. But once they, uh, examined me and everything, they found out that I had heart damage, that I had a heart attack some time ago.
John Parker: So at that point you get taken over to Cleveland Clinic?
Anthony Sowell: Yes. Well, uh, because it was a Saturday, the weekend, the VA don't, don't have a, a full staff, and, uh, I had to have emergency surgery right then. They didn't have time to call in, uh, their doctors, so they had to put me in the ambulance, send me over to Cleveland Clinic.
John Parker: That's when they put in the pacemaker?
Anthony Sowell: No, not, not directly. I went on the operating table. I had, uh, clogged, three clogged arteries. Two major arteries was clogged 100 percent, one was 80 percent. So on the first day, soon as they took me out of the ambulance, I went straight on the operating table, and they unclogged, uh, two arteries that day. They didn't want to do all of it, [unclear: "the stress" / "stress"] my heart, so they did two of them the first day. And, uh, I was sent upstairs. I, I got a pacemaker, uh, like that, I think that Monday night. They was transferring from, from Critical Care upstairs, and I started to die. And, uh, they had to give me an emergency pacemaker, which they, they put it through your neck. And, uh, this, a few days later they took, they took, cleared the other artery. And, uh, like after, after that, uh, about towards the end, they gave me the, uh, switch pacemaker, 'cause the pacemaker, temporary pacemaker is like a box about this big, this wide, and it's on a stand, I had to walk around with. But then they put in a permanent pacemaker in your chest. Pacemaker, uh, uh, what's, what's...
John Parker: Pacemaker with the defibrillator?
Anthony Sowell: Defibrillator.
John Parker: Okay. So you've got that in your chest ever since?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: And they wanted you to do rehab after you got out of the hospital, is that right?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: Did you do all your rehab?
Anthony Sowell: I didn't do any.
John Parker: Why didn't you do any?
Anthony Sowell: Number one, it was through Cleveland Clinic. I was only sent through Cleveland Clinic on the VA for the, uh, heart problem, not for aftercare. That bill alone was almost $200,000. I could not, there's no way I could afford. And they wanted me to go to rehab every day of the week, every day, every day, from that morning to, to basically eight hours, every day. I couldn't, I couldn't, you know, I could, I could, number one, I wouldn't be able to pay for it, and number two, I, I would lose my job.
John Parker: And you wanted to go back to work at Custom Rubber?
Anthony Sowell: I did go back to work.
John Parker: And you did go back to work?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: How long did you stay at Custom Rubber?
Anthony Sowell: Well, if you remember, uh, let's see, this March, May, June, to July.
John Parker: All right. Why is it you left Custom Rubber?
Anthony Sowell: Well, I don't know which month it was. I don't know what [unclear: "she, she like" / inaudible], you know. Okay, well, for whatever month it was, I, I got, I got sick at work.
John Parker: Okay.
Anthony Sowell: And they had to call the ambulance, and I went to the, took me to [unclear: "Huron Road" / "here in Ro" / "too many here from"] Hospital. And, uh, when I returned to work, uh, I, the worst thing could have happened, when I got sick again after the heart attack at work. That, that really was the nail in the coffin.
John Parker: So you just couldn't do the work anymore?
Anthony Sowell: Not, I couldn't do the work, but I, I couldn't do the work, that was one thing. But then on the employer standpoint, even though they won't tell them, 'cause I asked them, uh, you know, they, they really, that's kind of a big liability, having somebody there that's had [unclear: "heart" / "power"] problems and falling out at work and stuff. It's a big issue. So...
John Parker: All right.
Anthony Sowell: It's kind of combination.
John Parker: All right. So after, after that incident, you left?
Anthony Sowell: Yes. When me and Chris got together and discussed it, and, uh, I thanked her for giving me a chance and everything, and, but I don't want to cause them no problems.
John Parker: I mean, you were a registered sex offender, right?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: So, as a convicted felon, and you'd done a lot of time in prison?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: It's hard to find a decent job, right?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: But they'd given you a chance?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: You worked there for about a year and a half?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: Now, after you had had a heart attack, did your health change drastically? How did your health change?
Anthony Sowell: Well, we're speaking of chess, I'm [going to] give you an example. I'm a good chess player. I play on the internet. Well, I used to play on the internet all the time. My game, I could not win a chess game after this heart attack. I didn't, I just stopped playing. I could not win a game.
John Parker: How were your emotions?
Anthony Sowell: Uh, well, I was depressed. Uh, uh, mood swings. It was just, it just all kind of, so, I don't know, I can't even explain it. Uh, I was just feeling sad and lonely and stuff all the time, you know.
John Parker: Was there a point in time after the heart attack you started hearing a voice?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: Did you give that voice a name?
Anthony Sowell: I didn't give it a name. It had a name.
John Parker: It had a name?
Anthony Sowell: Yes.
John Parker: What was the name?
Anthony Sowell: Arnie.
John Parker: [unclear: "When" / "But" / "Would"] Arnie speak to you?
Anthony Sowell: [inaudible] Yes.
John Parker: Anthony, you know why you're here?
Anthony Sowell: Correct.
John Parker: Is there anything you want to say [unclear: "in this case" / "and in this case"]?
Anthony Sowell: [unclear: "Yes" / "I am"]. Well, the only thing I want to say is that I'm sorry. I know that might not sound like much, but I truly am sorry from the bottom of my heart. This is not typical of me. I, I don't know what happened. I can't explain it. But I know it's not a lot, but that's all I can give you.
John Parker: Thank you, Your Honor.
Judge: Thank you. ---