Ben Jackey’s Blog

The History: Some of you might remember, I covered the Charles Boney trial in January of 2006. Boney often greeted me by name every morning when he walked down the hall. I later learned that in his mind, we had provided the most balanced and fair of coverage of his involvement in this case.

 It’s a fact I would later learn when Boney began writing me.  In June, the Indiana Supreme Court threw out David Camm’s second conviction.  That day I attempted unsuccessfully to reach Charles Boney.  However, to my surprise, he called me the next day and was ready to talk.  The main reason for calling?  Boney wanted to let the world know that he had no intention of testifying against David Camm if there was a third trail.

I asked Charles if he would ever consider a one-on-one interview in prison. He had not granted any interviews since his conviction, and, to the best of my knowledge, hadn’t done so since he did a whirlwind media blitz shortly after he was found to be a match for the DNA found on the sweatshirt left at the scene.   Boney told me he was not ready to do an interview and wasn’t sure if he ever would. However, as he had told me in the past, if that day came, I would be the first.

Imagine my surprise in early September, while covering the Jason Stinson reckless homicide trial (what some lawyer friends dubbed “Camm II”), when I found another letter from Charles Boney on my desk.  In short, he said he was ready to talk.  Now keenly aware of how the news business works, Boney asked if we could do it around November, a ratings period often referred to as “sweeps”

October 28, 2009

The Locale: The Wabash Valley Correctional Facility is about a 2 ½ drive from Louisville in Carlisle, Indiana. Many parts of the facility are relatively new (built in the 1990s). The only other comparisons I have personally are Eddyville and the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange. Both could have been sets for The Shawshank Redemption.

The Set Up: We’re told we’d have two hours to speak to Charles from the second he walked in the door.   Our interview room was the prison chapel. The way we had to set up, we had two options, place the convicted murderer at an angle where he would have a cross and an American flag behind him, or aim the other direction and have a white wall as a background. We figured the white wall was less distracting.

Nothing’s Changed: When Boney walked in the room, it was obvious little had changed superficially. He was still a large man (he actually says he’s gained quite a few pounds in jail.)  He wasn’t wearing what some had referred to as his “dreamcicle” prison scrubs anymore…the orange and white striped ones that often moved in slow motion in file video played over and over for years. Instead, inmate #918815 was in his standard DOC issued brown scrubs. He had quite a few new tattoos including two on his neck that he wouldn’t explain and one on his lower right forearm with a Super Bowl Champions logo for his beloved Indianapolis Colts.

His handshake was firm his eye-contact never wavering. “Mr. Jackey”, it’s good to see you again. He then walked across the room to greet Scott Eckhardt our Chief Photojournalist.

Prison Life: In a matter of minutes, it was obvious that Charles Boney was in his element. Prison was his home. He says he’s respected here. He believes 90 percent of the inmates don’t think he killed the Camm family.  However, he says some think he aided David Camm in some way.  Boney says he’s worked to help some of his fellow inmates get his GED. He, of course, is college educated, but has yet to obtain his bachelor’s degree. Boney says he passes the time playing cards (one game ended in a fight), playing chess and studying in the law library. He says he will be seeking post conviction relief, PCR, but wouldn’t elaborate.

A lot has Changed: While many things on the outside appear the same, it appears a lot has changed inside Charles Boney. When he called me in June he was angry and wanted the world to know. In fact, his call was actually dropped in error that day, and he called back to make sure his feelings were made known. He was angry that David Camm could walk free, and he would have to spend the rest of his life behind bars. He said David Camm was an evil man and (admittedly) insinuated there would be violence if the two ever saw each other. 

But on this day, Boney said he forgave his “adversary”. He suggests that in order for him to get right with his maker, it is something he must do… a “love your enemy” of sorts.

Then he just made some jawdropping statements about why he will NEVER testify against the man he said killed his family. I would elaborate, but then you wouldn’t have to watch the story.

The Fifth Story: Very rarely will a convict who contends he’s innocent admit he lied, repeatedly. But Boney said he was going to tell the truth in this interview. Remember, Keith Henderson told the jury Boney told four different stories about how he ended up at the Camm house. So, what about number five?  I asked Boney to take me through step by step, blow by blow. However, he chose instead to have me ask the questions.   It made me think of his tactics during his questioning by police. He would never admit to something unless he knew there was evidence. It seemed as if Boney viewed this as another interrogation and I was only going to learn what I knew to ask. Let’s hope the days of research paid off.

Again, without tipping my hand,  here’s a list of some of the new information he revealed: Where he got the gun, what he did with Kim Camm’s shoes, the reasons he went to the Camm house, and (trust me this one was an eye-opener) his planned visit to the Camm family graves.

 

Almost the Last Chapter:  There are two books Charles Boney has written. Good luck finding them. One is “The Charles Boney Autobiography: REVISED”. It’s an completed and adjusted version of the first few chapters he wrote in the Floyd County Jail while waiting for and during his trial. He says “REVISED” is a jab at one of our competitors in the Louisville television market, but I’m not quite sure what he meant. The second book is title “When We Dance”. That refers to the day boney was sentenced and he told prosecutor Keith Henderson in court, “You and I will dance again in the big ballroom towards freedom.”  The third book he said is at a “stalemate”. He says the two books are in a safe place and when “the time is right” he will send them to me. I’d say that would be years down the line, but then again, I didn’t think I’d be writing a blog about an interview with this guy until I had gray hair.

Tying Up Loose Ends:  In the waning seconds of our two hour interview, Charles Boney offered an apology to the Renns, the parents of Kim Camm.  He says it was the first time he’d ever done that before this moment. He wanted to write them, but was advised that would not be a good idea.  He added that he’s thought about the after life and says he was ready to bring hot dogs and marshmallows with him because he felt he was going to hell. “I’m no Jesus freak.” He says, but he now seems to believe he’s working towards an after life in the opposite direction, often speaking of inner freedom, even though he may never know physical freedom again.

Some odd final thoughts:  Boney pledged to spell my name correctly in his next letter. Despite watching our station for years, seeing me every day during trial and receiving letters from me with my name on them, each correspondence from the 40-year-old begins “ Mr. Jackie.”

The folks at Wabash agreed to allow us a few minutes to shoot video of Boney as he walked back to is E-block cell. He calmly asked if that was necessary and he’d rather we did not. It seemed odd for a man who never seemed to shy away from cameras before.   Yet, seconds after we entered the empty, mostly concrete courtyard, and with a slight grin on his face Boney began educating us on the facts and figures of Wabash. It was as if he was our personal tour guide.

It reminded of a though echoed by many who’ve played a role in the investigation of the brutal killings of three innocent people. “ Charles Boney is a very disarming man, “ a key player in the case once told me. “He’s intelligent and extremely likeable. You don’t want to believe he played a role in these murders, but you can’t escape it either.”