- 7 hours ago
From mass murderers to terrorists, these are the criminals who will spend the rest of their days behind bars. Join us as we examine the heinous acts that earned these individuals life sentences without parole. Our countdown includes the Golden State Killer, El Chapo, the BTK Killer, and more! What do you make of these criminals and their stories? Let us know in the comments below!
## Long Description:
## Long Description:
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00He received two 60-year sentences and, uh, you know, the tongue lashing of the century.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 20 criminals who will never see freedom
00:11for the rest of their lives.
00:12Yes, right. You killed them all, Ridgway. You killed them all.
00:17Number 20. Dylann Roof
00:19You are looking at the scene of that deadly massacre.
00:22Mother Emanuel, AMA Church, Charleston, South Carolina. It looks peaceful now,
00:26but between 8 and 9 last night, a gunman walked in during Bible study, joined the group,
00:31and then suddenly opened fire.
00:33On June 17, 2015, neo-Nazi Dylan Roof entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
00:39in Charleston, South Carolina, and opened fire, killing nine worshipers in a racially motivated
00:44massacre. The horrific act was intended to incite a race war, and Roof's writings and online activity
00:50revealed deep white supremacist ideologies. Convicted on 33 federal hate crime and murder
00:55charges, Roof became the first criminal in American history sentenced to death for federal
00:59hate crimes. Despite appeals, his death sentence has been repeatedly upheld. In fact, Joe Biden
01:05commuted 37 death row inmates to life imprisonment in 2024. Roof was not one of them, and he is
01:12currently on death row in USP Terre Haute.
01:15But despite anything Dylan Roof had to say yesterday, they made their decision to sentence
01:20him to death.
01:21Number 19. Richard Reed
01:22In the months following the September 11th terror attacks, a terror attack involving
01:27shoe bombs would be foiled. That attempt happened 21 years ago today, and it changed the way we
01:33travel.
01:34Perhaps better known as the shoe bomber, Richard Reed attempted to commit an act of terrorism
01:38on December 22, 2001. During American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami, Reed attempted to
01:45detonate explosives hidden inside his shoes. However, passengers and crew noticed his suspicious
01:50behavior and managed to subdue him before he could ignite the device. The explosives would have
01:54destroyed the aircraft and killed 197 people had they detonated successfully. Reed later confessed his
02:01allegiance to Al Qaeda and was charged with multiple terrorism-related offenses. He was sentenced to three
02:06life sentences and is currently housed inside ADX Florence, a Colorado Supermax prison which is deemed
02:12inescapable. It's where the worst of the worst are sent.
02:16It is as isolated as the prisoners who call it home. The prison, called ADX Florence, is a tomb for the living.
02:22To me it's life after death.
02:23Number 18. Martin Bryant
02:25Good evening. A siege is underway in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, where at least 25 people have been shot dead in
02:32Australia's worst massacre. Another 26 are wounded. This Australian man shocked the world in April 1996 when he
02:40committed the Port Arthur massacre, which remains Australia's deadliest mass shooting. Armed with two
02:45semi-automatic rifles, Bryant murdered 35 people and injured 23 others at the tourist site in Tasmania,
02:52devastating the nation and prompting sweeping gun reform in the country. Captured after the rampage, Bryant was found
02:58mentally competent and pleaded guilty to all charges. He received 35 life sentences plus an extra 1,035 years,
03:06obviously without the possibility of parole. Bryant has tried to take his own life inside prison on at
03:12least two different occasions and is currently housed in the maximum security Risden prison complex.
03:17Today, Martin Bryant lives here, inside the walls of Risden prison on the outskirts of Hobart.
03:24He is serving 35 life sentences, 1,035 years without parole, cast into outer darkness and banished from society forever.
03:38Number 17. Paul Bernardo
03:40Ultimately, the deal Carla made with the prosecution would stand. She would serve just 12 years for her part in the crimes,
03:49whilst Paul Bernardo will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
03:53One of Canada's most infamous criminals, Paul Bernardo sexually assaulted numerous women in
03:58the Toronto area before marrying a woman named Carla Homolka and graduating to murder. Together,
04:03the couple drugged and killed Carla's sister Tammy, and having gotten away with that, they kidnapped,
04:08sexually assaulted and murdered two other girls, Leslie Mahaffey and Kristen French. The story continues to
04:14provoke intense outrage in Canada, especially owing to Homolka's freedom, as she received just 12 years in
04:20exchange for testifying against Bernardo. As for him, he received life imprisonment with the
04:25possibility of parole after 25 years. However, he has also been designated a dangerous offender,
04:32meaning he will likely never be released. Indeed, he has been denied parole three different times.
04:38The parole board told Bernardo he's overestimating his skills and would pose an undue risk to the
04:43community. He's been denied parole again. So now at age 60, there's no telling if he'll ever be released.
04:49Number 16, Frank Robert James.
04:52Today at 8.24 a.m. aboard a Manhattan-bound N train, 10 people were shot, seven males, three females,
05:03and they were removed to area hospitals.
05:05On April 12, 2022, Frank Robert James boarded a crowded New York City subway train during the
05:11morning rush hour. He then donned a gas mask and unleashed two smoke bombs before firing 33
05:17bullets from a handgun, injuring 29 passengers, 10 from direct gunfire and 19 from smoke inhalation.
05:23Arrested just one day later following a massive manhunt, James later admitted to planning the attack
05:29and pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offenses. In 2023, a federal judge sentenced him to 10
05:35concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole. Owing to the severity of the crime,
05:40James was taken to ADX Florence to serve his sentence alongside other terrorists.
05:45That horrific morning when New Yorkers left their homes and boarded the N train,
05:52they had no idea that they were entering a death trap that Frank James orchestrated.
05:58Number 15, Eric Rudolph.
06:00Five accepting multiple life sentences to avoid the death penalty.
06:04Known as the Olympic Park Bomber, Eric Rudolph is another terrorist currently being held inside
06:09ADX Florence. Rudolph waged a campaign of domestic bombings between 1996 and 1998,
06:15targeting the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, abortion clinics, and a gay nightclub. His attacks,
06:21the most notable being the Centennial Olympic Park bombing of 1996, killed two people and injured
06:26over a hundred others. After years on the run in the Appalachian wilderness, Rudolph was finally
06:32captured in 2003. He ultimately pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and received four
06:37consecutive life sentences, all without the possibility of parole. Rudolph now spends his
06:42days in near-total isolation and has taken to writing, penning a memoir and various militant essays.
06:48Rudolph's brother published the bomber's autobiography called Between the Lines of Drift,
06:53the Memoirs of a Militant, in February of this year. Now it's free online for everyone to see.
06:59It details his anti-abortion, anti-gay beliefs and how he carried out four bombings in Atlanta and
07:05Birmingham in the 90s. Number 14, Ramzi Youssef. A judge sentenced the two to life in prison with no
07:12possibility of parole. The judge, calling Youssef an apostle of evil, ruled that Youssef should serve
07:19the remainder of his life in solitary confinement. A key architect of global terrorism in the 1990s,
07:26Ramzi Youssef masterminded the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, killing six people and injuring
07:32over a thousand. But that wasn't all. He also plotted to destroy multiple airliners in the
07:36so-called Bojinka plot and masterminded the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434. Captured in
07:42Pakistan in 1995, Youssef was extradited to the United States and convicted on numerous
07:48terrorism and conspiracy charges. In 1998, Youssef received two life sentences plus an extra 240 years,
07:55ensuring that he will never see the light of day again. He is currently housed on Bombers Row in ADX
08:01Florence and has seemingly converted to Christianity, having supposedly, quote, found Jesus in 2007.
08:07A prisoner lives in a cell the size of a bathroom. It has a shower, a toilet, a concrete slab covered
08:13with a thin mattress. In the rare time outside, prisoners are kept in cages. Number 13, David Berkowitz.
08:20In the mid-1970s, New York City was plunged into terror.
08:26I can't tell you what effect this series of crimes had on the city of New York.
08:30Between 1976 and 1977, New York City lived in terror as David Berkowitz prowled the streets,
08:37shooting random victims and taunting police with chilling letters signed, Son of Sam. He is now one
08:43of America's most notorious serial killers, having murdered six people and wounded seven others,
08:48claiming at the time that a demon-possessed dog commanded him to kill. After his arrest,
08:53Berkowitz pleaded guilty and received six consecutive life sentences. Although he is
08:57technically eligible for parole, Berkowitz has been denied release 12 different times and expresses no
09:03desire to ever leave prison. Back in 2002, Berkowitz wrote to New York Governor George Pataki,
09:09stating, quote,
09:10In all honesty, I believe that I deserve to be in prison for the rest of my life.
09:14So what made Berkowitz murder? Was it the discovery of his adoption? Was it his unstable
09:22and isolated life? Or was the son of Sam simply born to kill?
09:29Number 12, Mark David Chapman.
09:31You can't imagine what it was like. And then John died and one cop said that all he said was,
09:38was I shot? That's all he said.
09:40On the night of December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman altered the trajectory of pop culture
09:46when he shot and killed John Lennon outside the Dakota apartments in Manhattan. Chapman later claimed
09:51that he acted out of obsession and delusion, inspired by the catcher in the rye,
09:55and irate at what he believed to be a hypocritical lifestyle on the part of Lennon.
10:00He was sentenced to 20 years to life and became eligible for parole in 2000. He has since been
10:05denied 14 times. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has understandably opposed his release, citing ongoing
10:12safety concerns. Now, in his 70s, Chapman remains incarcerated in New York's Greenhaven
10:17Correctional Facility, and it is exceedingly unlikely that he will ever be released.
10:22Well, if you want to pick it up from the night, I was standing there with a gun in my pocket.
10:28Knew you were going to shoot him?
10:30Sorry?
10:31Knew you were going to shoot him?
10:33Absolutely.
10:34Okay.
10:34Number 11, Dennis Rader.
10:36This letter is very clear to tell us, you have the wrong people. You need to stop looking at them.
10:42You need to come back and focus your attention on me. I am the important one.
10:46For nearly two decades, Dennis Rader terrorized Wichita, Kansas as the BTK killer.
10:51Between 1974 and 1991, he murdered at least 10 victims, including two children,
10:57while leading a seemingly normal suburban life as a local church leader and city employee.
11:02After years of taunting police with cryptic letters,
11:05Rader's ego and vanity finally led to his capture in 2005,
11:09over 30 years after his infamous crime spree began.
11:12He confessed to everything and was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms,
11:16one for each of his confirmed victims.
11:18Rader is housed inside Kansas' El Dorado Correctional Facility and will remain there for
11:23the rest of his life. He turned 80 years old in 2025.
11:27I mean, I hadn't seen him in 18 years. He hadn't seen me. We had been cut off for two years. It had
11:33been letters all that time before that. So it took him a minute to process who I was. He's lost like
11:39seven inches and he's in a wheelchair. He's pretty much rotting like to his core.
11:45Number 10, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.
11:48We looked at our organizational chart and organized all efforts towards Chapo because
11:53we were able to target him from multiple angles.
11:56Once considered the most powerful narco in the world, the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel is
12:01currently serving a life sentence plus 30 years in a U.S. maximum security prison. His criminal career
12:07spans decades, during which he oversaw a vast and violent empire that smuggled immense quantities
12:13of illegal substances into the United States. His smugglers, aided by innovative techniques
12:18invented by the drug lord himself, drugs hidden on boats and in cars, but perhaps most notably
12:25in tunnels. Guzman's notoriety for escaping from high-security prisons in Mexico, only to be
12:31recaptured and finally extradited to the U.S. in 2017 adds to his infamy. His fate includes no
12:38possibility for parole, effectively ensuring he will spend the remainder of his time behind bars.
12:44This is where Chapo Guzman escaped from when he was being pursued by Mexican marines.
12:49They broke down this door and found they had missed him by eight minutes.
12:53A key figure in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, which resulted in the tragic loss of three
13:07lives and injured hundreds, Johar Tsarnaev will be imprisoned for the rest of his days. The attack,
13:13one of the most shocking acts of violence on American soil in recent history, led to a massive
13:18manhunt culminating in Tsarnaev's capture. In 2015, he was convicted on 30 charges.
13:23Including conspiracy and use of a weapon of mass destruction leading to death. While his death
13:28sentence is still being appealed, his imprisonment underscores the severe consequences of perpetrating
13:34acts of terror, and highlights the justice system's commitment to holding individuals
13:38accountable for endangering public safety and security. Police sources also claim Johar scrawled
13:43a message in the boat where he was hiding that the attack was retribution for Muslim deaths in Iraq and
13:49Afghanistan. Number eight, Terry Nichols. Those sketches were released as rescue workers worked
13:54their way through the wreckage of the Murrah Federal Building. Nichols was hit with multiple sentences
13:59for his involvement in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, one of the deadliest acts of domestic violence
14:05in U.S. history. This devastating event resulted in the loss of 168 lives and left over 600 individuals
14:13injured. Nichols was found guilty of conspiring with Timothy McVeigh to carry out the attack as a
14:18crazed act of protest against the federal government. His conviction on federal and state charges ensures
14:24that he will remain incarcerated for the rest of his time on this planet. A testament to the gravity of
14:29his terrible actions and their lasting impact on the nation. Number seven, Michael Swango.
14:35In 2000, he met his fate, life in prison here in Florence, Colorado. This former physician turned serial
14:43killer was implicated in the deaths of up to 60 patients and colleagues across the United States and
14:48Zimbabwe. Born in 1954, Swango graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine,
14:54despite serious concerns about his competence. He worked in various hospitals where unusually high
14:59rates of death and illness followed his presence, leading to suspicions that he was poisoning patients
15:04and co-workers. To still find levels even after all of that time and all that degradation, it almost had
15:12to be due to an external injection. Arrested in 1997, Swango was initially jailed for fraudulently obtaining
15:21his medical positions. In 2000, he pleaded guilty to murdering three patients and was sentenced to three
15:26consecutive life terms without parole. His case highlighted catastrophic lapses in hospital safety and the
15:32oversight of medical personnel. Many who knew him say he could have been great. Instead, 30 years later,
15:39what happens in Michael Swango's mind is still a mystery. Number six, Larry Nassar.
15:45We talked to Nassar's lawyer. First thing he said was, you know, this is a very important man and
15:51you're potentially going to ruin his reputation here. A former USA Gymnastics national team doctor
15:57and osteopathic physician at Michigan State University, Nassar is serving an effective
16:01until death sentence after being convicted of multiple counts. His horrific crimes came to light
16:06after hundreds of young athletes spanning decades bravely came forward.
16:10I'm so horribly sorry that this was like a match to turn into a forest fire out of control.
16:17Nassar's conviction on these multiple charges led to a judgment that ensures he will spend the rest of
16:22his existence in prison. This sickening saga has had a profound impact on the world of sports,
16:27prompting significant discussions about athlete safety, the responsibilities of institutions,
16:32and the importance of listening to and protecting survivors.
16:35I also recognize that what I'm feeling pairs in comparison to the pain, trauma, and emotional
16:42destruction that all of you are feeling. Number five, Keith Ranieri.
16:48You got 120 years, mom. Who lives to that world? Nobody, that's the point.
16:53The founder of Nexium, a company that purported to offer personal and professional development seminars,
16:59received a 120-year prison sentence. Convicted in 2019 on several charges, including forced labor
17:06conspiracy and racketeering, Ranieri masqueraded as a self-help expert to manipulate, control,
17:11and exploit his followers. Every single woman who came forward to tell their horror stories
17:17feels vindication. The case against him revealed a disturbing pattern, including the creation of a
17:22secret society within Nexium where women were branded with his initials. His conviction underscores
17:27the dangers of cult-like organizations and the power dynamics that can lead to exploitation and
17:32abuse under the guise of self-improvement. I had the kind of love with Keith that was uneasy
17:38because I loved him and I was afraid of him. Number four, Joseph James D'Angelo.
17:44As you see on the top there, again, he's moved to a new cell, I believe, and he's got
17:48light once again covered with papers. Known as the Golden State Killer, D'Angelo was convicted with
17:54multiple consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to 13 counts of murder and numerous other
18:00charges. His crimes committed during the 1970s and 80s terrorized communities across California.
18:06You thought he was quite smart, did you? Oh yeah. He knew everything about everything that
18:12needed to be known about law enforcement. D'Angelo, a former police officer, eluded capture for decades
18:18until advancements in DNA technology and genealogical research led to his arrest in 2018. His facing
18:24justice in 2020 marked the end of a long and harrowing saga for the victims and their families,
18:30bringing some measure of closure to cases that had remained unsolved for over 40 years.
18:35And I'm really sorry to everyone I've hurt. Number three, Gary Ridgeway. You're an evil,
18:47murdering, monstrous, cowardly man. The Green River Killer confessed to the murder of 49 women,
18:55making him one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. His crimes, which took place in
19:00the 1980s and 1990s, primarily targeted women in the Seattle area, many of whom were vulnerable
19:06individuals. As he approached the door of his truck, Jim Doyen and I got out and I told him he's
19:12under arrest for the murder of several women in King County. In 2003, Ridgeway was spared the death
19:17penalty in exchange for cooperating with authorities to locate the remains of his victims, ultimately
19:22leading to his conviction on 48 counts of murder. His case is notable for the sheer scale of his
19:28monstrousness, the years he evaded capture, and the impact of his actions on the families of his
19:33victims and the broader community. He could have been anybody living next door. He was anybody living
19:40next door. Number two, Nicholas Cruz. You're only 19. Do you see how many years you had ahead of you?
19:50How many years you had? Years! The perpetrator of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas
19:55high school shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018 is doing life without the possibility of parole.
20:00One of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, it resulted in the deaths of 17 individuals,
20:06including students and staff members, and left 17 others injured. I have no forgiveness in my heart
20:11for you. You are a monster with no remorse, and every breath you take is a breath wasted. Cruz's
20:19actions spurred a nationwide movement for gun control and school safety reforms, led by survivors of
20:24the shooting. His sentencing in 2022 marked the conclusion of a highly publicized and
20:30emotionally charged trial that captivated the nation. I have to live with this every day,
20:35and it brings me nightmares, and I can't live with myself sometimes, but I try to push through.
20:40Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
20:44our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
20:49If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
20:56Number one, James Holmes.
20:58The duty judge has made a preliminary determination of probable cause to believe you're committed the
21:03offense of first-degree murder, which is a class one felony under Colorado law.
21:08Holmes is responsible for the 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting during a midnight screening of
21:13The Dark Knight Rises and is serving 12 life sentences plus 3,318 years. This act of violence,
21:21one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history, resulted in the death of 12 individuals and injured 70 others.
21:28This is a guy who is dressed up as the Joker, a villain, who's going to say,
21:33I didn't understand that what I was doing was wrong. That's not going to be easy.
21:38Holmes' attack stunned the nation, igniting debates on gun control, mental health, and the security of
21:44public spaces. His punishment reflects the magnitude of the tragedy and the lives altered
21:49forever by his actions, as well as a grim reminder of the potential for violence in society.
21:54I want all the jurors to know not to feel bad about what happened, because we're very happy with
22:00the sentence. What do you make of these criminals and their stories? Let us know in the comments below.
22:08you
Recommended
46:57
|
Up next
12:53
28:19
10:48
19:28
13:52
30:33
10:59
10:24
11:35
10:34
9:54
10:41
12:59
21:44
26:51
11:23
12:24
9:29
11:56
25:07
26:52
11:03
25:23
Be the first to comment