Whatever Happened To Convicted Murderer William Bradford?

Even though Bill Bradford said he wanted the death penalty and dropped his appeals, CNN reported that he changed his mind five days before his execution date in 1998. CNN reporter Ann O'Neill met with him that summer at San Quentin State Prison. During the visit Bradford ranted about the legal system and his case.

Even though Bill Bradford said he wanted the death penalty and dropped his appeals, CNN reported that he changed his mind five days before his execution date in 1998. CNN reporter Ann O'Neill met with him that summer at San Quentin State Prison.  During the visit Bradford ranted about the legal system and his case. He maintained his innocence. He told her he was ready to die for a long time prior to filing his appeal, saying, "I am tired of it. What gets to me is the not knowing. The waiting."

Bradford told O'Neill he writes poetry and that the view from the room where they sat during the interview offered him a view of grass, which he said he hadn't seen in nine years. "I don't know what grass is anymore," he told O'Neill. "I don't know what dirt is. It's stuff like that."

Bradford was never put to death by the state of California. He died of cancer on March 10, 2008 at the Vacaville prison facility, according to Find a Grave. One of his poems that he shared with O'Neill — who described Bradford as "charming and at times creepy" — had to do with awaiting death: "Greeting me with welcome comfort, Tempered with a searing seduction..."

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