Jimmy Tench Interview from Death Row

Jimmy Tench, convicted of murdering his mother, Mary Tench, and sentenced to Death Row in Ohio, recently appeared on Evil Lives Here: The Killer Speaks (Season 2, Episode 4: He Murdered My Mother). Now, Jimmy (or James Tench, as he's listed in the Ohio DOC) speaks to us from a telephone in his prison cell. During the interview, he goes into more depth about how he was portrayed on Evil Lives Here and mentions several topics which weren't discussed on the TV show, such as his negative experiences with his attorneys, what positive things he has gained from his time on Death Row, and what it was like growing up with what he says was an abusive, alcoholic father.

Even though there were 1,000 pieces of evidence used against him at the trial, including Mary Tench's blood on the shoes found in his bedroom, and a video of him buying duct tape just before the murder, Jimmy proclaims his innocence, and suggests that he knows who the real killer was. We ask him what he'd like to say to the killer; his answer may surprise you. He also discusses his childhood, his hobbies prior to his arrest, his relationship with his girlfriend at the time of the murder, and why he thinks his sister, Jennifer Swain, turned on him.

While he admits no involvement in the murder, there is one piece of the interview that our producers found chilling. When Big Steve asked Jimmy how he felt about the death penalty prior to his arrest, he replied, "if someone was convicted of what I did " (emphasis added) that he would be in favor of a death sentence for him. Was this just a slip of the tongue? Perhaps.