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Amy Robach
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Amy Robach
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Sean Duffy
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T.J. Holmes
Hey there folks. It is Wednesday, March 4, and at 6:24pm last night, a man was declared dead 35 years after he was convicted of killing a police officer. And after 35 years, the family of that officer heard something from him they had not heard in the past 35 years. I'm sorry. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. Words matter. This came late. This came at the last possible moment. But we don't see this often in final words of death row inmates. And it seems to have had an impact.
Amy Robach
This one brought tears to my eyes. To hear the suffering of a widow for more than three decades and to be fighting for justice in her husband's honor to finally find peace through those words. I'm sorry. It's remarkable and it's a lesson for everybody. I was so moved hearing this exchange and seeing the result of it. Yes, a lot of people have differing opinions on the death penalty and on executions. And this is beyond that because this is about not only apologizing, but about forgiveness.
T.J. Holmes
And, you know, Lee, this is also about, quite frankly, robes, just more death. I understand. What does justice look like for this family, for anybody else? I don't know. My robes. It's. It's tough to have a moment where there's celebration or celebration of justice even, or even seeing a penalty actually gone through with by the state of Florida here. But Rose is just. You just sink once again to where and this. And we'll get into her exact words. But this suggestion that anybody is celebrating when we went through the ceremony is what it feels like sometimes of formally executing somebody. It was. This is never a night or a moment worth celebrating. It feels.
Amy Robach
Yeah, I had a thought. Yes, I agree with that, certainly. And there were both sides, people who were probed, death penalty saying it's about time Billy Leon Curse was executed. And then there's always the other side that is fighting for life, the right to live. And you know what we complain about, and I understand, not as a victim of crime or as somebody who has lost someone to crime or to a criminal act, but those. Maybe it took those 35 years on death row in prison for him to come to the realization to be able to give this widow some peace. Maybe he needed all of that time of reflection. My point being a lot of folks who advocate against the death penalty say if you give the life in prison without possibility of parole, as that being the ultimate punishment, you do give the opportunity for people to come around to recognize the cruelty of their past actions and to give perhaps families peace through written word, through at least some way to say, I'm sorry it might take these folks that long. And it was a gift to give that to this family.
T.J. Holmes
Ultimately, those moments are few and far between, as we know. But if it worked out in this case, that is fine. But folks, this is Florida carrying out what is its third execution of the year. It's his third in three weeks, actually. And we mentioned Florida, of course, always relevant because of what happened last year. They set a new record for themselves, double their previous record. They had 19 executions last year leading the way in this country. But last night, executing Billy Leon Curse, he got a three drug cocktail, which was the lethal injection and declared dead at 6:24pm Again, the crime was back in 1991. But Robes, this was interesting. I thought this was great. The person he killed was a police officer. And here we are 35 years later. Some of those officers who served with him showed up along with family members. Along with the ex wife.
Amy Robach
Yes, they.
T.J. Holmes
Excuse me, I say ex wife, she's not. But they were married at the time.
Amy Robach
Yes, yes, but no. They said more than a dozen people filled that witness chamber to witness this execution. And it was filled with people who knew and loved the victim in this case, Danny parish. He was 29 years old at the time of his killing. And to see, yes, those fellow officers and family members of his gather around to witness this final act of justice.
T.J. Holmes
And justice we that look, we're not will tell you what happened. I'm going to get into what justice looks like. And again, like we always say, ropes defer to the family members. If they. I always. I would advocate for that. That our legal system should ask the family do you want them to be executed or not? And let them make the call. But in this particular case, the family stayed with this case and kept an eye on it all these years and still showed up. Now we tell you that yesterday and this struck me as well. And you know, your heart is not. My heart goes out. And you Robes, I will always feel bad about death. Right. This is not necessarily sympathy for this man who create did this heinous crime. Billy Leon curse. But Robes, on his final day, his final moment at the end of his life as a 55 year old man. I think I have the age right. 55, 53.
Amy Robach
I think he's yes, 53 years old, I believe.
T.J. Holmes
Yes, 53 years old. His last day on earth he got one visitor robed and it wasn't a family member. Even something about that in this whole ceremony just feels, just feels icky the death penalty in this country.
Amy Robach
Yeah, he was 18 years old at the time of this crime. Again, not excusing what he did, but he was 18 and he is right on the borderline for IQ. So that was part of the argument as He I believe 17 appeals throughout the years trying to vacate this death penalty sentence. But there were arguments that yes, he was 18 and yes he was mentally challenged, but he had his spiritual advisor come visit him on the day of his execution on yesterday. And yes, that was his only visitor.
T.J. Holmes
Just so that's no family, that's lonely, that's wrong, that's. I mean just life. We always talk about life and who's arguing? Life, Life, life. There was a life that was lost last night. There was a life that he took. Yes. All of that. It's actually all horrible. It's actually all horrible. I am not making any defense for this guy and what he went through and his background and some people. That's not the argument. It's just Robe. It's something very heavy about us going through this ceremony of executing somebody. And this man on his last day didn't have a family member, didn't have anybody show up that cared about him, essentially outside of his spiritual advisor. But again, all these people that showed up and they did care about this officer, this officer who. I mean, I can't remember right now the death toll from Operation Desert Storm, but this officer was a Army sergeant who was months away from being deployed to a war zone. But he gets killed here. Even that. It's just this whole thing. I know.
Amy Robach
And when. And when you hear about the crime that he pulled over, Kiers, who was driving, I believe, the opposite way. So he pulls him over a danger to himself and to anyone else who was on the road at that time. And when he didn't provide a driver's license, he said, you need to get out of the car. You know, put your hands. He is going to arrest him. And according to the police documents, apparently Kears claims that the handcuffs that he was using accidentally hit him in the eye. And he turned around and said, what's going on, man? And then when he did that, he said he saw Officer Paris reach for his gun. And so he grabbed the gun and just started shooting more than a dozen times. I believe he shot him 30. And Danny Parrish was wearing a bulletproof vest, but he still managed. I read this chilling account, and this was from Kearse saying that Danny Parrish begged for his life at the end. Please don't do it, man. Please don't do it. And he did it anyway. And that was Kiers admitting that that is how it went down. That is chilling. That is heinous. That is horrific.
T.J. Holmes
And this is not a crime. This is not a case where anyone's making an argument about guilt or innocence. This is not that. We seen some of those cases in the past, and even some sentences change. We've seen people in. Historically, we've. In this country who have actually been taken off death row when new evidence came. This is not that case. So people who are arguing on his behalf or essentially were arguing against just the death penalty in general, not necessarily arguing for his innocence. Now, we Always mention this robes. They usually start right at 6 o'. Clock. Doctor comes in, shade goes back, audience sitting there watching audience seems like a weird thing to say, but yes, there are people there gathered to watch this. They come in, they give him the cocktail. It does take about 25 minutes. So 624 is when he was declared dead. This robes, unlike some we've seen, he didn't seem to react that much after being given the drugs. From what we see, we sometimes we see some adverse reactions, if you will. This one didn't seem like much happened after he was given. Given the dosage.
Amy Robach
Yes. The reports from the journalists who are in the room just said he twitched a couple of times, which is fairly standard, and that he then just went to sleep. And so as in terms of executions, this was about as peaceful as they get.
T.J. Holmes
Yeah. So yes, that went to plan. It's always ropes. Fascinating. Two things with death row inmates. We ask about the final meal, we ask about the final words and the final. Oh, if you mentioned here final meal, there's nothing to report there. They actually say he refused, declined to have a final meal. There was somewhere in the past two or three we did cover. Someone else did that. Stomach was just. We said, how can you eat?
Amy Robach
Honestly, I'm fairly certain. I think we all maybe anecdotally talk about, oh, what would your final meal be? I've thought about it and thought to myself, I don't think I could eat because when I'm stressed or I'm upset or I'm nervous or any of the above, I cannot eat. So I can't imagine having a big old last meal thinking, woohoo, this is it. So that actually makes perfect sense.
T.J. Holmes
And we know some do. We've seen some incredible meals before. But he refused a last meal. But then the last words, robes, several of them, there's some risk, refuse. Some say no, some say, I'm on my way. It's quick. He had a message.
Amy Robach
He certainly did. And it packed a punch in terms of the impact it had on the family. We'll get into that because that is perhaps the beautiful part of the story. But Kiers's final words were this. To his family, I sincerely apologize for what I've done. There is no way I can repay that with this death. It will never repay that. And in turn, I pray my father give me strength to ask their forgiveness so I can go on my journey. All I can do is ask for their forgiveness, to give you peace and resolve. Thank you.
T.J. Holmes
I mean, look, read it on paper. That comes off a certain way. We weren't in there. Don't know how it came across in Robes. If, if he could. Why now? Don't know. Because he had plenty of opportunities, Rose. Because after he was convicted, after he was sentenced to death, that was appealed and he won and. And had a re sentencing hearing, he had opportunities to. To pour his heart out in this way that maybe could have saved him from the death penalty. There were other times to possibly do this, possibly do it now you think, oh, we're dismissive and whatever he's just saying at the. Why say it now? There was really actually, at this point, Robes no incentive other than his own piece in the family's piece. This wasn't going to get him out of anything.
Amy Robach
Exactly. And that made it all the more sincere because especially when you think about what had happened over those three decades behind bars. Because at that sentencing hearing you were talking about, Martha Busbin, who is the widow of Danny Parrish, said when the judge offered him a moment to speak before he sentenced him, he turned around, according to Martha Busbin, smiled at her and winked. And she said that was the moment where she said, I will fight every day to make sure that his sentence is carried through and I will be there at his execution. So to have the final words be what they were, what an absolute 180 from where he was at sentencing to where he was last night before his death.
T.J. Holmes
And everybody listening right now. I'm trying to piece it together. Where were you in 1991 and what were you doing? Folks, think about that. Really, as we're talking here. Think about where you were in 1991. Who was president of the United States? This. Clinton was running at that time. Right. He was elected in 92. Right. I was in junior high school or
Amy Robach
something, which I have to say that I graduated from high school. That was my year of graduation, 1991.
T.J. Holmes
But we've lived a whole lifetime. And folks, from the time Robes, you were in high school, the time I was in junior high school, to today, a family has been fighting for justice for this moment that is. That's the family is being let down and by more than just this criminal that. That you should not have to wait 35 years to understand the legal process and what has to happen. Blah, blah, blah. We want to get it right. But man, that is a lot for a family to go through. But folks, we're talking about his final words here. And you might roll your eyes. Okay, he's saying it now, but don't take it from us. Take it from the widow of curses victim. The officer his shot? Yes, his wife was in the room. We'll tell you what she had to say and how she reacted to the final words from this killer.
Sean Duffy
I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The sound of a seatbelt it's one of the most important sounds in our car. It means everyone is ready and everyone is safe. The more our kids see us put on our seat belts, the more natural it is for them to put theirs on too. Make it a priority. Buckle up every time. Hear the sound. Make it a habit. Paid for by NHTSA this is Bowen
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T.J. Holmes
We continue on this Wednesday, March 1st. Wait for March 4th. Not first, March 4th. Waking up here the morning after last night, Florida executed its third inmate of the year. Third in three weeks. Curse is the name. Javon Billy Leon Curse. Why so many of these guys have three names? Robes. Billy Leon Curse. We talk about. We'll. We'll get into that at some point. But it's just an odd thing. The death row inmates all of. And have three names. Billy Ray this and to the point
Amy Robach
where if I hear someone introduce themselves with three names, I think, are you a serial killer? Because that is what ends up happening.
T.J. Holmes
Why is that? John Wayne Gacy. Why do we have.
Amy Robach
I believe they do it to make sure that no one else who might have that first and last name are associated with a killer, a convicted killer. So I do, I do believe that they, they deliberately put out the three names to specify who that person is in case someone else might have their name as well.
T.J. Holmes
And I thought it was a timing thing that so many of the guys who are on death row, it takes them 30, 40 years that they are from a generation where guys did have three names. They're older guys. Is anybody naming their kid that stuff these days? You know anybody under 20 with three names by chance?
Amy Robach
No, I don't know most people's middle names. In fact, you don't even have one.
T.J. Holmes
I don't have a middle name.
Amy Robach
That's how I knew you would never.
T.J. Holmes
That'd be okay. Yeah, but, but it was, it's just, that's just an odd thing, right? Billy Leon Curse is the name. Last night we talked about his final words and you read them and it sounds maybe come off as sincere to some well deserved or maybe even sounds like authentic in terms of him coming around. Other will hear, others will hear it, roll their eyes. This is a cop killer. A cop killer who got what he deserved last night. So we're on the outside and we can have our debate about his final words. But ropes. I'll, I'll listen to his widow. I will listen to the widow of the officer killed.
Amy Robach
She, she. Martha Busman is her name. And they, they were, you know, like childhood sweethearts, had this beautiful relationship. Were 10 years into their marriage, about to try to have a baby before he went off to war. And she gave a press conference last night or she spoke in front of reporters after the execution. It was an emotional Press conference. I actually got choked up listening to her. And it. I got choked up not necessarily because of the tragedy, which of course is horrific, but to hear her piece, and it was palpable. She said, we didn't win anything tonight. We basically lost another life. But she went on to say, I do find peace, and that Mr. Keirce did apologize this evening prior to his departure. And that made me feel at peace that I can forgive him and move on. And that makes me emotional because in all the articles leading up to last night, you could hear her anger jumping off of the screen as I was reading all of her comments over the years, her frustrations, her fight to see this day where he was actually executed for murdering her husband. And the fight daily. She's a victim's advocate at the same sheriff's department where her husband worked. This has been such a part of her life. So to see her find peace through his words was remarkable.
T.J. Holmes
You know what? We gave her a gift at the end that she. He will never know that she appreciated and probes. We. This is. I can't remember the particular case at the end of last year, but this is one of those things where there's another young man out there right now who. He's not a young man. Grown man Who's. He was a child when his mother was killed. I think it was at the convenience store. We're not going to remember the whole case, but Robes, he was fighting to keep that man from being executed. He was fighting to keep him alive. He was fighting to go meet with him. Because Robes, he didn't have answers. He had started up a conversation via letters. You know, they. Going back and forth, but he never got to meet him. He never got to get answers from him and a conversation from him. He is missing a piece that he begged for. He begged the state for that. This woman seems to have gotten. And it tells the juxtapose those. There's a guy who will forever have this hole in his heart or these questions that he wanted from that person. And now this woman has something at the end. Rope. That's. That's a gift.
Amy Robach
And. And look, I'm not advocating one way or another here in this. But. But it might have taken Mr. Kears those 35 years to be able to give her that.
T.J. Holmes
And I. That. Okay, it came when it came to think. It came in the exact moment. Could he have done that a week ago, A day ago, a month ago, a year ago? Did it not come to him into this exact final moment? Who knows? Who knows? Maybe that's what it took. But, yeah, there's always something. And again, I'm just. I'm kind of dragging on this. Just. It's just heavy robes when we go through this exercise of executions. But, yes, maybe something beautiful came out of this one. There will be more executions, of course, and robes. It's important to know we. We started the year with what, 17, 18 planned executions that list will get.
Amy Robach
Oh, yes.
T.J. Holmes
And because DeSantis, you put any death warrant in front of him, he'll sign it.
Amy Robach
You know, he's trying to chip away. I know that sounds awful, to put it that way. At the. I believe more than 250 inmates on death row and recent executions that we've seen coming out of Florida, we're talking 30, 40 years in the making. So it's understandable that he is trying to get. And we. I use this word justice because that is what the families use. That is what our government use for these families. But he's already signed two more executions to happen later this month. And I. I saw somewhere, this puts it into perspective. We talked about how there were 19 executions last year with. If you actually just keep accumulating them, Florida is on track for 25 executions in just 13 months. That's where we are. That is fairly significant. And this, by the way, was the fifth execution for the year for this country already.
T.J. Holmes
And more to come next week, I believe. Two next week scheduled. One in Texas, one in Alabama. And then after that, Florida has got two more on the books for this month alone. Folks, we'll keep an eye on these. It. Every single one is different robes. Every single one of these cases, some cases where there's evidence that needs to be reconsidered, there's mental capacity of. Some of them need to be considered. And then you have some like this where there is no question of the crime, there is no question of guilt or innocence. And we just go through the exercise. But something positive came out of it. Who knows? If he was on in jail the rest of his life, would that have ever come? Don't know.
Amy Robach
Yeah, we won't ever know. But I do find that there are lessons in all of these executions either in the stories that preceded them, the families that have had to live with the grief. I always find something to take away from these stories about life and about what matters and what's important. And with that, everyone, thank you for listening to us. We always appreciate you. I'm Amy Robach alongside T.J. holmes. We will have Morning Run coming up in just a few. So look for that as well as many more updates throughout the day. Thank you for all always for for listening to us.
Sean Duffy
I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The sound of a Seatbelt it's one of the most important sounds in our car. It means everyone is ready and everyone is safe. The more our kids see us put on our seatbelts, the more natural it is for them to put theirs on too. Make it a priority. Buckle up every time. Hear the sound. Make it a habit. Paid for by NHTSA.
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Amy Robach
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Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present (iHeartPodcasts)
Episode: In His Final Words, Death Row Inmate Gives Gift to Widow of Officer He Killed
Date: March 4, 2026
This episode centers on the execution of Billy Leon Kearse, a man convicted of killing police officer Danny Parrish in 1991, whose final words on death row included a direct apology to the officer’s widow, Martha Busbin. Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes delve into the emotional, ethical, and legal dimensions of the case, discussing the impact of Kearse's words, the feelings of the victim’s family, the broader implications of the death penalty, and the unusual moment of forgiveness that emerged from a decades-long tragedy.
Quote:
“There were both sides, people who were pro death penalty saying it’s about time Billy Leon Kearse was executed... Maybe it took those 35 years on death row for him to come to the realization to be able to give this widow some peace.” — Amy Robach (04:18)
Quote:
“His last day on earth he got one visitor... And it wasn’t a family member. Even something about that... just feels icky, the death penalty in this country.” — T.J. Holmes (07:41)
Quote:
"The reports from the journalists who are in the room just said he twitched a couple of times, which is fairly standard, and then just went to sleep." — Amy Robach (11:29)
Quote:
“I read this chilling account, and this was from Kearse saying that Danny Parrish begged for his life at the end. ‘Please don’t do it, man. Please don’t do it.’ And he did it anyway.” — Amy Robach (09:22)
Quote:
“He had opportunities to pour his heart out in this way that maybe could have saved him from the death penalty. There were other times to possibly do this... Now you think, he’s just saying it at the end. Why now? There was really actually, at this point, no incentive other than his own peace and the family’s peace.” — T.J. Holmes (13:21)
Quote:
“She said, we didn’t win anything tonight... But she went on to say, ‘I do find peace, and that Mr. Kearse did apologize this evening prior to his departure... I can forgive him and move on.’” — Amy Robach (20:50)
Quote:
“There’s always something... It’s just heavy, Robes, when we go through this exercise of executions. But yes, maybe something beautiful came out of this one.” — T.J. Holmes (23:41)
| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Highlight | |------------|--------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:15 | T.J. Holmes | “After 35 years, the family of that officer heard something from him they had not heard... ‘I'm sorry.’” | | 09:22 | Amy Robach | “Danny Parrish begged for his life at the end... And he did it anyway.” | | 12:47 | Amy Robach | [Reading Kearse’s final words; see full quote above.] | | 14:03 | Amy Robach | “Martha Busbin... said when the judge offered him a moment to speak... smiled at her and winked.”| | 20:50 | Amy Robach | [Busbin’s forgiveness quote; see section above.] | | 23:41 | T.J. Holmes | “There’s always something... It’s just heavy... But yes, maybe something beautiful came out of this one.”|
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes maintain an empathetic, contemplative tone throughout the episode. They grapple with the weight of the subject matter, emphasizing the humanity, pain, and rare opportunities for healing that arise amid tragedy. The conversation is candid, at times heavy but also focused on lessons about justice, life, and forgiveness.
The episode turns an unflinching eye on a painful chapter for a victim’s family and the complexities of justice in America. By sharing the rare moment of an offender’s direct apology and the recipient’s forgiveness, Amy and T.J. not only report on the facts but also invite listeners to reflect on healing, closure, and the slow-motion toll of the legal system. This is a discussion that reaches beyond the specifics of the case to touch on what it means to be human in the face of unspeakable loss.