jewels in it. After bringing the briefcase inside, Angela opened the latches and it exploded. Joe, Angela, and Michael were killed when a bomb in the briefcase exploded. Conviction In June 1997, Toney was in jail awaiting a hearing for a burglary that happened in 1993. Here he was talking to Charles "Jack" Ferris in Parker County Jail in Weatherford, Texas. The two men began talking about the bombing. Ferris was then released from jail by telling the Parker County authorities that Toney had confessed to him. After Ferris told the authorities, the investigators questioned Toney's ex-wife. In the beginning, Ms. Toney told prosecutors, "Michael killing people in a bombing? You're nuts." But Ms. Toney decided to do some research on the case. When she realized what had taken place, she called federal agents and told her story. Soon after, Toney was indicted for capital murder. Months passed, and Ferris changed his story about Toney's alleged confession to the crime. Ferris explained how Toney had come up with the story in order to get him out of jail earlier. He told investigators that "Toney and me made up the entire thing." Trial The trial started in May 1999, in Fort Worth, Texas. Susan and Robert Blount gave their testimony as to what happened that day. Then the testimony from his ex-wife, his ex-best friend and another cellmate occurred. His ex-wife said that she, Toney and his best friend Chris Meeks went to a propane shop that was adjacent to the Hilltop Mobile Home Park. She says that Toney got out of the truck with a briefcase and disappeared. She then said he returned without the briefcase and they then went to the Nature Center and stayed for several hours. Her testimony also included that Toney shot a beaver with a rifle while they were at the Nature Center. A cellmate of Michael Toney, Finis Blankenship, testified that Toney told him that he was paid $5,000 for the murders. Blankenship also said that the murders were part of a drug-related hit, but the bomb was put on the wrong doorstep. His testimony came in the second phase of the trial. This helped the jury decide whether Toney deserved to be executed. This testimony showed the jury that Toney had a motive for the crime. At the time, Blankenship was facing two counts of indecency with a child and habitual-criminal charges, so