The Last 12 Weeks - Ep. 5

Summary of The Last 12 Weeks - Ep. 5

by Serial Productions & The New York Times

39m•June 18, 2026
Listen to Episode

Overview of The Last 12 Weeks - Ep. 5

This final episode follows the last stretch before David Wood’s scheduled execution in Texas, when his defense team scrambles through a series of last-minute legal maneuvers. The episode centers on the emotionally fraught relationships between Wood and his lawyers, especially Greg, Naomi, and Jeremy, while also showing how a seemingly routine, grinding legal process can suddenly pivot on unexpected evidence. In the end, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals grants a stay of execution, and the episode closes by reflecting on how arbitrary and exhausting death penalty litigation can be — for everyone involved.

What Happens in the Final Days

Naomi’s last visit with David Wood

  • Naomi drives to death row for what may be her final visit with David, just days before the execution date.
  • She struggles with how to leave the conversation while balancing compassion and professional distance.
  • David avoids discussing the case and instead talks about:
    • his time in prison,
    • childhood memories,
    • his family,
    • and his fears and anger.
  • Naomi comes away feeling the strange grief of potentially losing a client who has become more than just a legal file, but not quite a friend.

Greg’s “war room” near death row

  • Greg sets up in a Holiday Inn near Livingston so he can stay close to David and keep working.
  • He reflects on how unusually close this relationship is compared with other death row clients.
  • Over 16 years, Greg and David have developed a bond that feels almost familial:
    • David prayed for Greg’s father,
    • painted him a card,
    • and became close with Greg’s family.
  • Greg may be David’s last death row client.

The Legal Fight: Four Paths, Few Good Options

The defense team maps out four possible ways to stop the execution, though most are long shots:

  1. Texas governor intervention

    • A reprieve or commutation is possible but extremely rare.

  2. U.S. Supreme Court

    • Possible, but increasingly unlikely.
    • The team also has a broader innocence-based legal argument in reserve.

  3. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

    • Typically hostile to death penalty claims.
    • This route is especially daunting because of the court’s record.

  4. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA)

    • The team’s best hope, though still uncertain.
    • The arrival of three new conservative judges gives the defense a small opening for optimism.

The Breakthrough: Ramona Dismukes and the Fifth Circuit

  • The Fifth Circuit unexpectedly issues a ruling before the state court does.
  • The judges authorize parts of the defense’s claims, including those connected to:
    • Ramona Dismukes, whose declaration suggests key testimony at trial may have been false,
    • and other possible Brady/false-testimony issues.
  • The ruling is a major development because the court appears to recognize that something may be seriously wrong in the case.
  • But there’s a catch:
    • the Fifth Circuit does not grant a stay of execution.
  • The defense team reacts immediately, preparing emergency filings to try to stop the execution in a lower federal court.

The State’s Response

  • The Texas Attorney General’s office finally files a 63-page response.
  • The state dismisses the new evidence as old, irrelevant, or not exculpatory.
  • Its main arguments:
    • the DNA evidence does not prove innocence,
    • Ramona Dismukes is not credible,
    • other witnesses are too late and too convenient,
    • Greg is accused of trying to delay justice with a “scattershot” approach.
  • The state frames the defense’s filings as repetitive and strategic rather than serious.

The Stay of Execution

  • Greg visits David one last time before the deadline, carefully avoiding giving him false hope.
  • While Greg is inside death row, the Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously rejects clemency.
  • Then the biggest development arrives:
    • the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stays the execution in a 6–2 vote.
  • The order is brief and unexplained, but it halts the execution pending further court action.
  • Greg rushes back inside to tell David himself before prison staff can relay the news.
  • David is overwhelmed and relieved; his sisters are there and emotional.
  • Greg later celebrates in his understated way: pizza, Ben & Jerry’s, and relief.

Victims’ Family Reaction

  • The episode also gives voice to Marsha Fulton, whose daughter Desiree was one of David Wood’s victims.
  • Marsha had prepared to travel to Huntsville for the execution, only to learn it had been stayed.
  • Her reaction is furious and exhausted:
    • she feels the system keeps re-victimizing families,
    • and after decades of waiting, the pause feels cruel.
  • The episode makes clear that the emotional cost of delay is not limited to the defense side.

What Happens After the Stay

  • Months later, the CCA finally explains itself:
    • it sends the claims back to a lower court for a hearing.
  • One judge writes that the case should have been resolved long ago and likely would have been if DNA testing had been ordered earlier.
  • That ruling opens the door to long-sought testing and further investigation in El Paso.

Main Takeaways

The case turns on both law and chance

  • The episode argues that death penalty cases are shaped by timing, luck, and contingency:
    • who the lawyers are,
    • which witnesses come forward,
    • which judges happen to hear the case,
    • and whether evidence surfaces before an execution date.

The system’s “functioning” is not the same as justice

  • Greg rejects the idea that the system worked simply because it allowed appeals and stayed the execution in time.
  • The episode suggests the legal process is reactive, cruelly delayed, and highly dependent on brinkmanship.

Execution deadlines create dangerous pressure

  • The series shows how an execution date can force serious review of a case only at the last possible moment.
  • That urgency may uncover truth, but it also weaponizes time against everyone involved.

The verdict is still unresolved

  • Even after the stay, the episode makes clear that:
    • David Wood has not been declared innocent,
    • the core factual question remains unsettled,
    • and the legal process may continue for a long time.

Final Reflection

The episode closes with a broader critique of the death penalty itself: not just who gets sentenced to die, but how arbitrary the whole machinery is — from legal representation to judicial intervention to the timing of evidence. The central tension of the series remains unresolved: the defense may have raised serious doubts, but the truth of what happened in 1987 is still not fully known. What is clear is that, in this case, a stay bought time — and time may be the only thing keeping David Wood alive.