Gangster Presents... Catching the Kingpins

Join Livvy Haydock as she takes us deep into Death Row in the USA. While support for the Death Penalty in the US remains at over 50 per cent, there’s been a steady decline in the number of executions – from the modern era peak of 98 in 1999 to just 20 in 2023 so far. Only a handful of states actually carry out the killings. It’s even become more difficult for executioners to get hold of the drugs used in lethal injections, which is what led Livvy Haydock to a surreal story about a man in Acton, West London, who was supplying these lethal drugs to state penitentiaries in the US, and on to the macabre world of Death Row – and the people who live, work, and die on it. Whether it’s the bizarre hunt for new lethal injection supplies, or the tip of the glasses that mark an executioner’s signal, Livvy goes right behind the scenes into the chamber itself to examine the pressures on the system that have left just 5 US states actively carrying out executions this year and around 2,400 Death Row prisoners in limbo. We’ll hear from an inmate waiting to die, and one saved at the last moment. We’ll chat to the wardens who make it happen, and the campaigners who want to stop it. And throughout it all, we’ll discover the possible future for Death Row in the only western democracy still carrying out capital punishment.New episodes released weekly. If you’re in the UK, listen to Gangster Presents… Killing Death Row first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/40W5ChzArchive: KTVT-TVPresenter: Livvy Haydock Series producer: Anna Meisel Sounds design and mix: Richard Hannaford Editor: Clare Fordham Production coordinator: Janet Staples

13 Loka 202330min

Join Livvy Haydock as she takes us deep into Death Row in the USA. While support for the Death Penalty in the US remains at over 50 per cent, there’s been a steady decline in the number of executions – from the modern era peak of 98 in 1999 to just 18 in 2023 so far. Only a handful of states actually carry out the killings. It’s even become more difficult for executioners to get hold of the drugs used in lethal injections, which is what led Livvy Haydock to a surreal story about a man in Acton, West London, who was supplying these lethal drugs to state penitentiaries in the US, and on to the macabre world of Death Row – and the people who live, work, and die on it.Whether it’s the bizarre hunt for new lethal injection supplies, or the tip of the glasses that mark an executioner’s signal, Livvy goes right behind the scenes into the chamber itself to examine the pressures on the system that have left just 5 US states actively carrying out executions this year and around 2,400 Death Row prisoners in limbo. We’ll hear from an inmate waiting to die, and one saved at the last moment. We’ll chat to the wardens who make it happen, and the campaigners who want to stop it. And throughout it all, we’ll discover the possible future for Death Row in the only western democracy still carrying out capital punishment.Listen first on BBC Sounds from Friday 13 October 2023.

6 Loka 20233min

John Palmer is out of jail - but detectives are following his every move. They’re holed up in a secret underground hideout 300 miles from London, after its revealed Palmer has some of Scotland Yard’s top cops in his pocket. Then, he makes himself a target after he threatens to turn super grass.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series producer: Mick Tucker Producer: Patrick Kiteley Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley Production Manager: Sarah Payton Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

8 Maalis 202327min

John Palmer is up in the dock for his timeshare fraud - and his decision to represent himself doesn’t go to plan. As he spends time in prison, his timeshare business on empire on Tenerife splinters and two of his former employees are brutally murdered.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series producer: Mick Tucker Producer: Patrick Kiteley Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley Production Manager: Sarah Payton Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

1 Maalis 202328min

As the violence on Tenerife escalates, the police gather more and more evidence against John Palmer. Back in the UK his pal Kenneth Noye stabs a man to death in a brutal road rage incident - and Palmer helps him escape to his chateau in France.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series producer: Mick Tucker Producer: Patrick Kiteley Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley Production Manager: Sarah Payton Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

22 Helmi 202328min

John Palmer’s empire in the sun starts to make him some serious money, but back in England, he has to face the music in court for smelting Brink’s Mat gold. As he scams more and more people on Tenerife, he brings in a motley crew of henchmen to help keep things under control - and he develops and unhealthy appetite for cocaine.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series producer: Mick Tucker Producer: Patrick Kiteley Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley Production Manager: Sarah Payton Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

15 Helmi 202332min

John Palmer heads to Tenerife where he starts to build a timeshare empire with the money made from the Brink’s Mat gold bullion robbery. But Scotland Yard are on his tail. His Somerset home is raided and there’s evidence to link him to ‘the crime of the century.’ Palmer is now a fugitive - but his options are running out.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series producer: Mick Tucker Producer: Patrick Kiteley Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards Additional technical production: Richard Hannaford Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley Production Manager: Sarah Payton Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston.

8 Helmi 202328min

Livvy Haydock travels from the streets of post-war Birmingham to the sun-kissed beaches of Tenerife - following the rise and fall of one of Britain’s richest, and most wanted, serious organised criminals.It’s a story of violence, mystery, murder and police corruption - of how an illiterate lad from a broken home went on to become as rich as the Queen - leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.Palmer owned a Learjet, a yacht, helicopters, a collection of fast cars and a chateau in France. A wheeler-dealer jeweller who started by selling paraffin from the back of a lorry and was catapulted to the top of the criminal world after the Brink’s-Mat heist in 1983 - the largest armed robbery in British history. He smelted millions of pounds worth of the gold, earning himself the moniker ‘Goldfinger.’ He then went on to mastermind a multi-million-pound timeshare fraud on Tenerife, scamming thousands of innocent victims who lost their life savings.In a series of exclusive interviews, Livvy hears from his associates and his victims - many of whom have never spoken before. And she meets the detectives who were tasked with bringing him to justice.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy HaydockSeries producer: Mick TuckerProducer: Patrick KiteleyTechnical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards and Richard HannafordJournalism Assistant: Tim FernleyProduction Manager: Sarah PaytonCommissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan HaskinsEditor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

1 Helmi 20234min