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Blanche Taylor Moore, The Oldest Woman on Death Row (Part 2)
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The 1990 Trial: Prosecution vs. Defense
At 1:05:25 · chapter starts 1:02:30
By October 1990, Blanche's defense attorney Mitchell McIntyre is projecting total confidence, framing his client as a brave, devout woman from hard beginnings who spoke out against workplace abuse. Prosecutor Warren Sparrow frames the trial in his opening remarks as being about secrecy, pride, and a woman who took on the power of life and death. Over several weeks, the prosecution calls dozens of witnesses: doctors, nurses, Raymond's sons, and Dwight himself, who describes both the agony of his poisoning and Blanche's attempt to cut his hair while he lay on a ventilator. [1] — Ash Kelley "While Dwight Moore lay on a ventilator, barely able to lift his hands off the bed, Blanche insisted on cutting his hair. She knew arsenic s…" 1:03:10 Blanche takes the stand and delivers more than two and a half hours of testimony marked by long rambling answers, visible anger, and at one point yelling at the assistant prosecutor — all of which leaves jurors visibly disengaged. Her defense hinges on a supposed confession letter from a man named Garvin Thomas, which prosecutors argue Blanche wrote herself.
While Dwight Moore was on a ventilator in the ICU barely able to lift his hands, Blanche insisted on cutting his hair — because arsenic can be detected in hair long after death.
While Dwight Moore lay on a ventilator, barely able to lift his hands off the bed, Blanche insisted on cutting his hair. She knew arsenic stays detectable in hair long after death — and she was trying to destroy the evidence before anyone thought to test it.
Blanche's entire defense rested on a letter of confession from a man named Garvin Thomas, claiming he killed Raymond Reed. The prosecution argued there was no such person — and that Blanche had written the letter herself. It didn't work.
On November 14, 1990, after just a few hours of deliberation, the jury found Blanche Taylor Moore guilty of first-degree murder of Raymond Reed.
