A double-murderer who faced execution on Death Row left a chilling account of his experience before hanging himself to avoid execution.
48-year-old Scott Dozier murdered two men, severing the head off one victim, which was believed to have been buried in concrete in Nevada.
Dozier died in Ely State Prison, Nevada, on January 6, 2019, having been scheduled to be executed in the new $860,000 execution chamber later that year.
Dozier, born in Boulder City, Nevada, in 1970, had two siblings, and enlisted in the Army in November 1990 before being honourably discharged in August 1992.
He married Angela Drake, after the pair began dating in high school, on New Year's Day 1991, having a son with her, Ashton, in 1993. Eventually the couple divorced.
By his mid-20s, Dozier was making most of his income from the production and sale of meth between Nevada and Arizona.
Brutal murders
On April 18, 2002, Dozier met Jeremiah Miller at La Concha motel on the Las Vegas Strip. Dozier promised to help Miller buy ephedrine, which is a key ingredient in making meth.
Miller had brought $12,000 in cash for the purchase. But as Miller arrived at La Concha, Dozier killed him.
He then sawed his body into multiple parts, stuffing most of them into a suitcase, and dumped it near an apartment complex in western Las Vegas. The following week, a worker discovered the suitcase. But Miller's head and arms were never found.
During a police investigation, it was uncovered that Dozier had gone on a spending spree, after allegedly stealing MIller's $12,000 - telling friends he'd won it at a casino.
He was also tied to the murder of Jasen 'Griffin' Greene on July 27, 2001. Greene's decomposed remains were found in the desert north of Phoenix, Arizona.
Dozier allegedly shot Greene at a trailer in Carefree, Arizona, after a confrontation in which Greene threatened to expose Dozier's meth operation.
Greene's murder was reported by a former drug associate of Dozier, Doug Powell, who confessed he and another man had helped Dozier dispose of Greene's remains.
Dozier argued during his trial that he had not killed Greene, and had in fact discovered his body when he returned to the trailer. Dozier said he decided not to inform the police for fears it would expose his meth production.
Powell also claimed Dozier had been in contact with him about Jeremiah Miller's murder. Dozier reportedly confided in Powell that he "f****d up" by forgetting to remove a tattoo on Miller's back - which was one of the tattoos used by Las Vegas Police to link Miller to a missing persons report.
During trial for the murder of Miller, Dozier argued there wasn't enough physical evidence to prove he had murdered the man. However, the prosecution argued that Dozier had spoken to several witnesses about his murders - with one witness claiming to have seen Miller's decapitated body in Dozier's hotel room along with an electric saw and other tools.
In 2005, Dozier was handed a 22-year sentence for the murder of Greene. After being extradited to Nevada, he then stood trial for Miller's murder in September 2007.
For this, he was handed a death sentence on October 3, 2007, upheld by Nevada Supreme Court on January 23, 2012.
Chilling final message
Before he died, Dozier left the Mirror a shocking summary of his views on his time on Death Row, his granddaughter and his crimes.
In a series of interviews, he dictated his speech to respected documentary maker Paul Martin. At no stage during the conversations did he indicate he was planning to take his own life.
He had stopped appealing his sentence, and demanded the State execute him for his crimes. However, he ended up taking his own life instead - taking the secrets of his victims' deaths to his grave.
Below is his final message:
"My life is no longer worth living. I cannot move five yards without some a***hole telling me where to go or not go.
There are 48 cells for 48 of us on Death Row, and I have to live around murderers, talking about the finer points of raping someone.
I was convicted in Nevada of killing a 22-year-old man and cutting up his body. This man was a fellow criminal.
Society now treats me the same as those f***ing monsters.
By the time you read this, I will almost certainly be dead.
Some say I'm courageous, others that I'm a coward. Unlike me there are people on Death Row fighting tooth and nail to stay alive.
One old guy's been here since 1979. I'm the only one putting himself up on the chopping block.
I've had to continue to smile and be courteous to people I consider reprehensible.
I have a granddaughter, just turned two. But I've refused to see her - ever. I remember my wonderful grandfather and I don't want my granddaughter to know her grandfather only across a prison table. That would be heart-wrenching.
A grandfather-grandchild relationship should be interactive and cool.. But I cannot show her anything like I experienced - exploring cars and exploring trees, and that sort of thing.
When I'm dead, I'd rather she imagines who I am, not remembers me as that man she had to meet inside a jail. I've explained to my family I'd rather be dead than this and my family believe me.
It's like having cancer, I've told them, and not wanting treatment.
I hate the claims in court hearings that I turned out this way because I was abused as a child, or there were suicides in the family. (My favourite grandfather did kill himself.)
I take responsibility for my own actions. And, actually, I had quite a decent childhood, then a short spell in the US army and a short marriage.
There's a photo in my Death Row cell of me with a beret, and my young wife.
I accept the unknown of death rather than the known of this life.
I may just be walking myself into a s***storm, but I've always been one to walk toward things. I'm told there could be great things after death.
Although I'm an atheistA double-murderer who faced execution on Death Row left a chilling account of his experience before hanging himself to avoid execution.
48-year-old Scott Dozier murdered two men, severing the head off one victim, which was believed to have been buried in concrete in Nevada.
Dozier died in Ely State Prison, Nevada, on January 6, 2019, having been scheduled to be executed in the new $860,000 execution chamber later that year.
Dozier, born in Boulder City, Nevada, in 1970, had two siblings, and enlisted in the Army in November 1990 before being honourably discharged in August 1992.
He married Angela Drake, after the pair began dating in high school, on New Year's Day 1991, having a son with her, Ashton, in 1993. Eventually the couple divorced.
By his mid-20s, Dozier was making most of his income from the production and sale of meth between Nevada and Arizona.
Brutal murders
On April 18, 2002, Dozier met Jeremiah Miller at La Concha motel on the Las Vegas Strip. Dozier promised to help Miller buy ephedrine, which is a key ingredient in making meth.
Miller had brought $12,000 in cash for the purchase. But as Miller arrived at La Concha, Dozier killed him.
He then sawed his body into multiple parts, stuffing most of them into a suitcase, and dumped it near an apartment complex in western Las Vegas. The following week, a worker discovered the suitcase. But Miller's head and arms were never found.
During a police investigation, it was uncovered that Dozier had gone on a spending spree, after allegedly stealing MIller's $12,000 - telling friends he'd won it at a casino.
He was also tied to the murder of Jasen 'Griffin' Greene on July 27, 2001. Greene's decomposed remains were found in the desert north of Phoenix, Arizona.
Dozier allegedly shot Greene at a trailer in Carefree, Arizona, after a confrontation in which Greene threatened to expose Dozier's meth operation.
Greene's murder was reported by a former drug associate of Dozier, Doug Powell, who confessed he and another man had helped Dozier dispose of Greene's remains.
Dozier argued during his trial that he had not killed Greene, and had in fact discovered his body when he returned to the trailer. Dozier said he decided not to inform the police for fears it would expose his meth production.
Powell also claimed Dozier had been in contact with him about Jeremiah Miller's murder. Dozier reportedly confided in Powell that he "f****d up" by forgetting to remove a tattoo on Miller's back - which was one of the tattoos used by Las Vegas Police to link Miller to a missing persons report.
During trial for the murder of Miller, Dozier argued there wasn't enough physical evidence to prove he had murdered the man. However, the prosecution argued that Dozier had spoken to several witnesses about his murders - with one witness claiming to have seen Miller's decapitated body in Dozier's hotel room along with an electric saw and other tools.
In 2005, Dozier was handed a 22-year sentence for the murder of Greene. After being extradited to Nevada, he then stood trial for Miller's murder in September 2007.
For this, he was handed a death sentence on October 3, 2007, upheld by Nevada Supreme Court on January 23, 2012.
Chilling final message
Before he died, Dozier left the Mirror a shocking summary of his views on his time on Death Row, his granddaughter and his crimes.
In a series of interviews, he dictated his speech to respected documentary maker Paul Martin. At no stage during the conversations did he indicate he was planning to take his own life.
He had stopped appealing his sentence, and demanded the State execute him for his crimes. However, he ended up taking his own life instead - taking the secrets of his victims' deaths to his grave.
Below is his final message:
"My life is no longer worth living. I cannot move five yards without some a***hole telling me where to go or not go.
There are 48 cells for 48 of us on Death Row, and I have to live around murderers, talking about the finer points of raping someone.
I was convicted in Nevada of killing a 22-year-old man and cutting up his body. This man was a fellow criminal.
Society now treats me the same as those f***ing monsters.
By the time you read this, I will almost certainly be dead.
Some say I'm courageous, others that I'm a coward. Unlike me there are people on Death Row fighting tooth and nail to stay alive.
One old guy's been here since 1979. I'm the only one putting himself up on the chopping block.
I've had to continue to smile and be courteous to people I consider reprehensible.
I have a granddaughter, just turned two. But I've refused to see her - ever. I remember my wonderful grandfather and I don't want my granddaughter to know her grandfather only across a prison table. That would be heart-wrenching.
A grandfather-grandchild relationship should be interactive and cool.. But I cannot show her anything like I experienced - exploring cars and exploring trees, and that sort of thing.
When I'm dead, I'd rather she imagines who I am, not remembers me as that man she had to meet inside a jail. I've explained to my family I'd rather be dead than this and my family beleive me.
It's like having cancer, I've told them, and not wanting treatment.
I hate the claims in court hearings that I turned out this way because I was abused as a child, or there were suicides in the family. (My favourite grandfather did kill himself.)
I take responsibility for my own actions. And, actually, I had quite a decent childhood, then a short spellin the US army and a short marriage.
There's a photo in my Death Row cell of me with a beret, and my young wife.
I accept the unknown of death rather than the known of this life.
I may just be walking myself into a s***storm, but I've alwasys been one to walk toward things. I'm told there could be great things after death.
Although I'm an athiest, I'm excited to discover what comes next. Probably nothing.
I did everything possible to make sure the State of Nevada would kill me - but I did not like the way it proposed using dubious fatal drugs.
Rather than be strapped to a gurney and injected, I'd far prefer to have been shot by a firing squad and be able to look the executioner right in the eye.
A firing sqad is definitive and it's cheap.
Yes, in here, I can do my art and watercolours. Yes, on most days, I can make a couple of phone calls and listen to heavy metal. Occasionally I give myself a haircut and I work-out.
But that's not a life. What I miss is an endless list.
I cannot have any intimate relationships. Everything in my life is a bare minimum.
Now my last moments are arriving. BUt I will not be saying much - whatever the means is that I exit this world.
I'm not going to give anyone the satisfaction of telling what really happened when these two guys died. I don't owe it to the State and I don't owe it to the two men I've been convicted of killing.
I do feel genuine sorrow, though, for these men's families.
The State has the right to kill me - if you f*** with some entity bigger than you, you get f***ed. I chose to live outside the law.
Ever since high school, I chose to make money, which they say is the root of all evil, by selling drugs. THat gave me freedom to pursue my lifestyle.
You may find it hard to believe, but I've always had a strict moral code. It's important to me that no one's ever accused me of killing children or women, only other criminals.
When you are operating outside the law, you have to act disproportionately to others who also operate outside the law. It's the only way to protect yourself.
What bothers me is the State claimed I had stolen $12,000 that he'd brought to buy some drugs. Not true. I would never steal.
I'm not even sure why I'm doing this final piece. I'm not campaigning for any reforms. Nothing is going to change.
But I do know this - I've never been one to hide or cower. I believe you must stand on your own feet, not live on your knees.
Now I, Scott Dozier, say: Let's get it done. Good-bye."
sw
, I'm excited to discover what comes next. Probably nothing.
I did everything possible to make sure the State of Nevada would kill me - but I did not like the way it proposed using dubious fatal drugs.
Rather than be strapped to a gurney and injected, I'd far prefer to have been shot by a firing squad and be able to look the executioner right in the eye.
A firing squad is definitive and it's cheap.
Yes, in here, I can do my art and watercolours. Yes, on most days, I can make a couple of phone calls and listen to heavy metal. Occasionally I give myself a haircut and I work-out.
But that's not a life. What I miss is an endless list.
I cannot have any intimate relationships. Everything in my life is a bare minimum.
Now my last moments are arriving. BUt I will not be saying much - whatever the means is that I exit this world.
I'm not going to give anyone the satisfaction of telling what really happened when these two guys died. I don't owe it to the State and I don't owe it to the two men I've been convicted of killing.
I do feel genuine sorrow, though, for these men's families.
The State has the right to kill me - if you f*** with some entity bigger than you, you get f***ed. I chose to live outside the law.
Ever since high school, I chose to make money, which they say is the root of all evil, by selling drugs. THat gave me freedom to pursue my lifestyle.
You may find it hard to believe, but I've always had a strict moral code. It's important to me that no one's ever accused me of killing children or women, only other criminals.
When you are operating outside the law, you have to act disproportionately to others who also operate outside the law. It's the only way to protect yourself.
What bothers me is the State claimed I had stolen $12,000 that he'd brought to buy some drugs. Not true. I would never steal.
I'm not even sure why I'm doing this final piece. I'm not campaigning for any reforms. Nothing is going to change.
But I do know this - I've never been one to hide or cower. I believe you must stand on your own feet, not live on your knees.
Now I, Scott Dozier, say: Let's get it done. Good-bye."
