Transcript: Victim's Brother Reacts to Morales' Execution Delay

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," February 22, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Michael Morales was sent to death row for torturing, raping and murdering 17-year-old Terry Winchell in 1981. An hour before he was set to be strapped to a gurney in the San Quentin death chamber last night his execution was called off. Why? Because the prison could not get a medical professional to administer the lethal injection.

Terry's brother, Bradley Winchell, joins us live on the phone, welcome Bradley.

BRADLEY WINCHELL, MURDER VICTIM'S BROTHER: Thank you, Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: Bradley, I understand that you were headed to San Quentin last night expecting to witness this execution.

WINCHELL: Yes, that is correct.

VAN SUSTEREN: How did you find out that it was called off?

WINCHELL: Well we gathered up to go in the van over to the prison and then we were called into an assembly room and told that there were questions about the procedure. The Ninth District Court of Appeals was involved. The governor was involved. It was a go at one time and then it was a no go, then a go and then a no go and then finally we were told that it wouldn't happen. It may be May or June they'd go ahead and hear the case, so we were dismissed.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was this the second time you had done this in 24 hours? Had you been to San Quentin the night before because the execution was postponed the night before?

WINCHELL: We were at San Quentin from approximately eight o'clock on Monday night until almost 3 a.m. Tuesday morning and we were loaded up and we were told by the warden that it would most likely take place at 7:30 the following night and he almost guaranteed us that. That would be the first choice that they were going to go with the warden of San Quentin.

VAN SUSTEREN: When you say "we" — who's the we?

WINCHELL: We would have been my other two brothers, myself and then the office of the attorney general's staff, office of the victim services and a few folks from Stockton D.A.'s Office.

VAN SUSTEREN: Now was Terry an older sister or a younger sister to you?

WINCHELL: She was my younger sister of approximately ten years younger.

VAN SUSTEREN: And what happened?

WINCHELL: For what?

VAN SUSTEREN: What happened to Terry? I mean what happened in this murder?

WINCHELL: Well what happened in the murder was that she got hooked up with a young man that wanted to go ahead and use her for her fame or her, basically her friend contact and they had an individual, Ricky Ortega, which he's serving life without parole that evidently was a gay person and unbeknownst to my sister she was kind of thinking about, well you know what's different about him?

And it got out that evidently she made a remark and asked him whether he was gay and it upset him so he was tired of her and Randy possibly getting a relationship established and got his cousin, which is Michael Morales, to take her out and kill her.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is there a way to describe how you feel that the execution did not occur last night or the night before?

WINCHELL: Yes there is. I think we were basically assured that this is just a delay in the execution. I looked forward to the execution to take place. I'm not out for pain. I believe that on behalf of my sister and the other 600 families that are involved with people on death row, we owe it to the state of California to do this the right way.

We were told that there was questions about lethal injection. I think we can wait another two to three months, maybe even until the fall before they go ahead and execute Morales that way. The other 600 people on death row will do it the right way. You know it's hard for all of us.

VAN SUSTEREN: And indeed I'm sure it's a very difficult situation. Bradley, I appreciate you joining us this evening.

WINCHELL: I would like to go ahead and say one more comment.

VAN SUSTEREN: Quickly if you would.

WINCHELL: I'd like to go ahead and thank the victims, basically the Office of Victim Services, namely Jeanine Velasquez. These people are sincere people. They're an important part of the state of California attorney general's office and without their help and their support and true concern it would have been much harder for my family to endure this, so thank you and thank the governor.

VAN SUSTEREN: And indeed lots of victims' groups help each other. Thank you.

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