- 2 days ago
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00They convicted the wrong guys
00:02It's harder to accept being in here when you know you didn't do anything
00:06Who better to have hit the road than a journalist that could bring the truth to light your motion to vacate your convictions is granted
00:16If you have one person that's innocent, that's one too many. I was like Dan
00:22You really need to talk to this guy. Go out there and find the facts in my case when you do that
00:27You'll find that I'm innocent. The evidence that convicted JJ was only eyewitness evidence
00:34I don't know if I really picked out the rank person. My grandchildren
00:38Have had to live through this. What's happened to you is a product of what happened to me. I feel if you there'd be different
00:45JJ's lawyers bring the case to the DA's office. That's the most direct way
00:50When Dateline aired I thought people would take it seriously
00:57So you did it ready?
00:58I guess the order is where I am when I watch everyone too.
00:59Thank you
01:00Thank you
01:01Thank you
01:15Thank you
01:16Thank you
01:17Thank you
01:18Thank you
01:19Alright, it's been eight months since we broadcast this story. Did you think you'd still be here?
01:42Absolutely not
01:45Did you see the show?
01:47I was able to see the show. I watched it right here
01:49From where, right? You watched it?
01:51Right here on that TA
01:52How's the reaction been from your fellow inmates?
01:55Believe it or not a lot of them are pissed off. They're wondering what I'm still doing here
01:59You know, if anybody was to have hope it would be me and everybody had hope in me
02:03But I'm still here
02:05You were on the national television, didn't you?
02:07I was on national television
02:08With a whole lot of people supporting me now
02:11We're still not being heard
02:14We're still not being heard
02:44Get out of hand
02:49Oh my gosh
02:53No
02:56No
02:58No
03:05Bob
03:10Wait
03:11Wait
03:12Wait
03:14Wait
03:14Even though I tried to make myself believe every year that I would be released, the more
03:24time I had in, the less I started to believe in that.
03:30And that was hard to accept.
03:36I started going to the Law Library at least five days a week.
03:42Knowing what I was going through, I felt like obligated to try to help other people in
03:47my situation.
03:52I met Eric Glisson when I got to Sing Sing.
03:54We started working together and as we started to get closer, I started to realize that this
04:00guy has the same situation as me.
04:03And so at that point, I had to call Dan and I was just like, Dan, we have another one.
04:10Listen.
04:11Yeah.
04:12On your feet.
04:13Right.
04:14Pause.
04:15You're going to film me?
04:16Yeah.
04:17Of course I'm going to film you.
04:18Let's talk to the last guest this morning.
04:19I was talking to him the other night.
04:20It's fine.
04:21How long have you been incarcerated?
04:22Seventeen and a half.
04:23I've been sitting in here lingering every day wondering whether this mistake will be
04:40corrected and that, you know, if I'll ever get out of here.
04:47He told me that he had been convicted of killing a cab driver by the name of Bath Diop in 1995
04:55in the Bronx and that five other people were charged with him and they were all innocent.
05:07Eric was 20 and a father to a newborn daughter when he was arrested.
05:12She was just born.
05:13I got to see her come out.
05:15I was there at the hospital.
05:17We brought her home.
05:19And two weeks after that, they just showed up one day and just arrested me.
05:26During the interrogation, they told me that they was arresting me for murder.
05:31And at that point, everything's become surreal.
05:34Why is this happening to me?
05:37I don't know what's going on.
05:40Mr. Fields, I'm going to try one last time.
05:42I just want to see my daughter.
05:43That's it.
05:44I just want to be with my daughter.
05:46If I knew what took place that night, if I knew who did anything, I would tell you.
05:50I would tell you, sir.
05:51Mr. Fields, I'm going to give you your rights one last time.
05:55Sir, you have the right to make a statement or to remain silent.
05:59I'm going to read you your rights first.
06:01Because I don't know what happened that night because I was not there.
06:04Mr. Fields, all I ask you is that you allow me to read your rights.
06:07You see, you're blaming me for something I don't know nothing about.
06:16The only evidence connecting Eric to this crime was one woman's eyewitness testimony.
06:21She claimed that from her bathroom window, she could see everything that happened.
06:33She could see what they did, what they said, how bathed the op was shot.
06:39And she named all of these people, including Eric Lisson.
06:47But when I did my investigation, I go over to where she said she saw all of this happen.
06:54And I look out the window.
06:56And it is literally impossible to have seen what she said she saw.
07:02The lead detective never even did that.
07:06I couldn't believe it.
07:10The more I'm learning about Eric's case and the more I'm filming with him,
07:13the more outrageous this is becoming to me.
07:15He told me that from his cell, he figured out who the real killers were.
07:25I was doing freedom of information requests with the DA's office.
07:29It took me nearly 16, 17 years.
07:32And eventually I obtained the victim's cell phone records.
07:37The police said that after the cab driver murder, his cell phone was stolen.
07:41And I found hundreds of calls after his death from these guys who were part of a gang called Sex Money Murder.
07:51I write a letter to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
07:55Miraculously, this letter landed on the desk of John O'Malley.
07:59So I'm an investigator with the United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District.
08:03And I'm assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit.
08:06A decade earlier, federal investigator John O'Malley had investigated a gang called Sex Money.
08:10Murder.
08:12And two of those gang members, Vega and Rodriguez, confessed to him that they were the shooters.
08:17John O'Malley calls the Bronx precinct multiple times, asking about an open homicide.
08:23They tell him, we don't have an unsolved cab driver murder on Crows Avenue.
08:28Nine years later, Eric Lisson's letter arrives.
08:32I started to read the letter when he mentioned the cab driver in the area.
08:35I mean, it just came right back to me about what Vega had told me.
08:38The time period was right, and, you know, I know the area, as I said, I grew up there.
08:44So it kind of just grabbed onto me, and I just kept reading the letter.
08:47He said to himself, I know who committed this murder.
08:53John O'Malley drives up to Sing Sing, and he sees Eric.
08:56I held up a letter, and I said, did you write this letter?
09:00And he said yes, and he got very emotional, and he was, I think he, like, fell to the, almost to his knees, or at least sat down.
09:09And he said, I didn't do this.
09:11He said, you know, I didn't do this murder.
09:12So I said to him, look, I think I know who did it.
09:17As you sit here today, is it still your belief, sir, that the overwhelming evidence is that Vega and Rodriguez acted alone in the shooting and kill it about the other?
09:29Objection is important.
09:30Yes.
09:32John O'Malley promises Eric, as soon as I leave the prison, I will call your attorney.
09:36And he did.
09:41Hey.
09:44Mr. John O'Malley, he asked me, did I write that letter?
09:47And I told him yes.
09:48And he said, we're sorry.
09:50And I said, sorry for what?
09:51He says, I know you're innocent.
09:55I was so shocked.
09:56I said, what do you mean by that?
09:58And he said, I know the guys who committed the crime you're in here for.
10:01We're going to get this thing resolved.
10:03The key, though, is to try to get it resolved as quickly as possible and get you out of here.
10:08I know every day you're here is the day that you're at risk.
10:11That's a good question.
10:13Whew.
10:16Why do they do this to people?
10:21Federal investigator John O'Malley writes an affidavit explaining the history of the case
10:26and why he knows Eric is innocent.
10:31And I got NBC's local news station to do a story about Eric's plight.
10:36Now we turn to a News 4 exclusive.
10:38Imagine spending 15 years behind bars for a crime you didn't commit.
10:41Federal prosecutors say the case relied on heavily questionable testimony.
10:45You're waiting for this guard to come and open up that gate and tell you, you know, we made a mistake.
10:51And you're free to go home.
11:01Hey, Eric.
11:02How you doing, Mr. Poisson?
11:03Good to see you.
11:04All right.
11:05What's up?
11:06You're looking good.
11:07Yeah, thank you.
11:08So you know I wouldn't be coming up here except for something that I think is important.
11:12You know that?
11:13Yeah.
11:14The DA is now prepared to give you a conditional dismissal of the indictment and make Kate the conviction.
11:23Well, it hasn't set in yet.
11:24I know.
11:25The initial shock.
11:26I know.
11:27All of the fighting that we've done over these years.
11:28Yeah.
11:29Um, I don't know what to say right now.
11:30What can, what can...
11:31I think I want you to wear a bracelet for 90 days.
11:32Well, if that's, if that's a condition of my freedom, then I'm willing to...
11:33That's what I thought.
11:34Well, what about college?
11:35You know, I'm gonna have to go from here out there to the campus.
11:36And we can talk to Mercy College about transferring you to Manhattan, right?
11:37Yeah, because I need those, those credits for my life.
11:38I got six credits.
11:39Sure.
11:40Sure.
11:41We don't want you to lose that.
11:42And my heart.
11:43I don't want you to lose that.
11:44I don't want you to lose that.
11:45Um, I don't know what to say right now.
11:46I don't know what to say right now.
11:47I don't know what to say right now.
11:48What can, what can...
11:49I think I want you to wear a bracelet for 90 days.
11:50Well, if that's, if that's a condition of my freedom, then I'm willing to...
11:51That's what I thought.
11:52Well, what about college?
11:53I'm willing to go from here out there to the campus.
11:55And we can talk to Mercy College about transferring you to Manhattan, right?
11:59Yeah.
12:00Because I need those, those credits for my life.
12:02I got six credits.
12:03Sure.
12:04Sure.
12:05We don't want you to lose that.
12:06Man, my heart is beating so fast.
12:07I'm very happy.
12:08I don't know what to...
12:09I mean, you try to prepare yourself for this day when you're doing all of this detective
12:13work, putting the, putting pieces together.
12:16I'm so happy for you.
12:17Thank you for all the work you've done for me.
12:19Yeah.
12:20He's the traditional vacator of conviction as to Mr. Glyson.
12:34And that's why things granted at this time, on consent.
12:37And further on consent.
12:39Each defendant is released on their own Di
12:44You know, although I'm free, I'm happy, and my family are happy for me, but I left a lot
13:06of innocent people in Sing Sing as well, so, you know, my heart goes out to them, and their
13:11names is John Eatman Velazquez and Richard Rosario.
13:15Oh, my daughter.
13:18Where's Cynthia?
13:20Hello?
13:22You got it upside down, Eric.
13:24Hello?
13:25No, no, no.
13:26It's upside down.
13:27Huh?
13:28Like this.
13:29Oh, hello?
13:32Yeah, I had the phone upside down.
13:34That was my first cell phone call.
13:41Wow.
13:42Wow.
13:43You know, I used to sleep on a metal frame.
13:56I know John Adrian is watching the news right now, up in Sing Sing.
14:09I left him behind, so, you know, I can't enjoy this 100%.
14:13That man, he suffers every day, I know, because I shared his suffering.
14:20But one day, he'll experience the same thing I'm going through.
14:26Very soon after I made that call with Dan, within months, Eric was out.
14:47It was just an amazing moment, because for many years, the doors were just being shut
14:54on us.
14:56And around this time, the Conviction Integrity Unit finally agreed to meet with me.
15:02It was a unit that was going to look at potential cases where there may have been issues that led
15:10to the wrong person being incarcerated.
15:13And I'm like, okay, this is it.
15:19Let's begin.
15:20Who was up when you woke up that day?
15:22We're talking about Tuesday the 27th.
15:2427th.
15:25Yeah.
15:26Did you actually leave the apartment building that day?
15:29What was your routine like during that time period?
15:31You were just spending time with your family.
15:33Yes.
15:34So, there was no job?
15:36Not at the time.
15:37I'm just trying to get a sense of what you were doing there.
15:40If you're trying to ask if I've ever sold drugs out there, I did.
15:43The questions were making me look like a bad guy.
15:46The drugs have to come from somebody.
15:48It has to get bagged up.
15:49There's a percentage gotten from that from the guys on the street.
15:52Did you give anybody a cut anywhere?
15:54I didn't have to give anybody a percentage.
15:56That's why I work by myself.
15:57You had the good cop, bad cop play going on.
15:59Then you had this other person who's just observing every detail of my face.
16:04So, when did you learn that the crime occurred on January 27th?
16:09What led to the phone call with your mother in terms of did you call her or did she call you?
16:15If you could have it unfold for me, then I'll understand why it took so long.
16:20In recalling it and going back and answering your question and answering your question and being bounced around, you know, my story is almost having legs and walking in a different path.
16:31I didn't do this crime.
16:33These people aren't treating me like an innocent person.
16:36It was the furthest from my expectations.
16:39This was a long time today, so we appreciate your time.
16:44I appreciate your time, too.
16:45I appreciate that you did come back.
16:46And your consideration.
16:48And we'll just keep doing what we have to do.
16:51The CIA said that they had interviewed numerous people, had looked at a lot of documentary evidence, and that they felt that there wasn't enough to overturn J.J.'s conviction.
17:03They were going to stand by it.
17:05But they never even spoke with J.J.'s alibi witnesses.
17:17You ready to go?
17:21Everyone's ready?
17:22All right.
17:23Good morning.
17:25The Conviction Integrity Unit turned out to be a joke.
17:30The Conviction Integrity Unit turned out to be a colossal waste of our time as attorneys, and much more significantly, a colossal waste of time for a man who sits in a jail cell.
17:44And that's why we have filed the exhibits, the briefs, far in excess of 100 pages today, so that we now can go to a real neutral arbiter, a judge.
17:56It's 15 years later, and I'm standing here again.
17:59It's been a cool joke what the DA has played on this family, because we trusted in him to bring us justice.
18:09And he didn't bring us justice.
18:12I am hopeful, and so is John Adrian Velazquez, that we will get justice in this court.
18:20The justice system must change.
18:23It must change the way it convicts people.
18:35This is also Eric Glesson, who was just recently released from prison.
18:39I'm going down this path, learning more and more about how this system is built.
19:00This is an adversarial system where prosecutors have tremendous power, and once an innocent person is convicted, it's nearly impossible to get justice.
19:13It happens over and over and over and over again.
19:23When I speak to individuals who share a similar situation, it's not always what they say, it's how they say it.
19:41I met Johnny and Capier and Sing Sing.
19:42He was a clerk in the law library, and when he saw the type of research that I was doing, he was like, I got the same issues.
19:47Johnny and Capier, he was wrongfully convicted.
19:48So paint a picture for me what life was like for you leading up to this weekend.
19:49You had just turned 18.
19:50You had just turned 18.
19:51I started out as a young DJ.
19:52Well, I started out as a young DJ.
19:53I met Johnny and Cappier and Sing Sing.
19:57He was a clerk in the law library.
19:59And when he saw the type of research that I was doing,
20:02he was like, I got the same issues.
20:05Johnny and Cappier, he was wrongfully convicted.
20:10So paint a picture for me what life was like for you
20:14leading up to this weekend.
20:15You had just turned 18.
20:18I started out as a young DJ
20:19while doing Sweet Sixteens birthday parties.
20:23I was into the DJ and dancing culture.
20:27When I was going out to Roseland that night,
20:32everybody's having a good time.
20:35I'm with girls.
20:36I was just enjoying myself with my friends as a teenager.
20:47The next day, I wake up, turn on TV.
20:50Random violence has taken the life of a young tourist
20:53from Utah here in the city tonight.
20:55He was murdered on a subway platform
20:56while vacationing in New York.
20:58A gang of youths armed with a knife and a box cutter approached.
21:02Brian came to his mother's aid
21:04and was stabbed once in the chest.
21:06The motive for the mugging, according to the cops,
21:08they wanted money to go dancing at Roseland.
21:10I see all over the news about a crime
21:14and someone died in the subway station.
21:18It's mentioning Roseland, and I'm saying to myself,
21:21we got to Manhattan on the subway,
21:23but no one at Roseland that night
21:25had ever mentioned anything to me about the crime.
21:29Were you friends with some of the people
21:31who were participating in this crime?
21:34Yes.
21:40A few hours later, detectives come to my house,
21:44and the detectives ask me
21:45if I was out at Roseland that night,
21:48and I said that I was.
21:49And they take me to the precinct.
21:51I get inside the room.
22:03Detective Casey immediately tells me
22:05he had all my friends in custody
22:08and that he already knew what happened.
22:11I kept telling the detective
22:12I was not a part of this, I didn't do anything,
22:14and he keeps telling me that I'm a liar.
22:17He walked right behind me, grabbed my hair,
22:19pushed my hair in front,
22:20where I banged my head into the table
22:22and put his shoe on my chest.
22:26And I told him that I wasn't lying.
22:30So,
22:32he said that
22:34if I wanted to go home,
22:38that all I had to do was memorize the story.
22:48I just listened to him very attentively.
22:50about what he wanted me to say.
22:53And he takes me to the other room.
22:55And when I'm in that room,
22:56I see a camera.
22:58We are currently at the Midtown North Precinct.
23:01With me in the room is Detective Donald Casey
23:04and Detective James Christie.
23:06Both are detectives with the New York City Transit Police.
23:09Could you state your name?
23:11Johnny McAfee.
23:12Did you make a previous statement
23:14to Detective Christie and Detective Casey,
23:17who are currently in the room?
23:19Yes.
23:21Did Emilio have his box cutter out?
23:23Yes, he did.
23:23And what was said?
23:25He went behind a guy who tapped him on the shoulder
23:27and said,
23:28give me your money.
23:29And what did you say?
23:31I didn't,
23:31I can't recall that.
23:33I didn't say nothing like that.
23:35I didn't say nothing to nobody.
23:40Was Rockstar displaying his knife at that time?
23:44Not that I saw.
23:46Okay.
23:47Do you remember when you made a statement earlier
23:49to Detective Christie and Detective Casey,
23:51this was about an hour or two ago,
23:53that you said Rockstar also had a knife,
23:56which he also displayed?
23:58Yes.
23:59Okay.
24:01And you knew that you were going to participate
24:02in the robbery?
24:03Yes.
24:04And you did participate in the robbery?
24:06Yes.
24:07I thought that I gave them what they wanted to hear
24:10in order for me to go home.
24:12Do you have anything for him you wish to say?
24:14No.
24:15Okay.
24:15That concludes the interview.
24:21And moments later,
24:22they started fingerprinting me.
24:24And right there at that moment,
24:26that was the very first time
24:27throughout that whole night,
24:30okay,
24:31that I knew that I was never going to go back home.
24:33And only one person out of the seven did the stabbing.
24:55Exactly.
24:56But everybody was arrested for murder.
25:00Exactly.
25:01I was being charged with felony murder.
25:03but I had nothing whatsoever to do with this crime.
25:09They play your confession tape for the jury?
25:11Yes.
25:12They come back with the verdict.
25:15Guilty.
25:15The judge came back and he sentenced us to 25 to life.
25:21Two decades after Johnny's conviction,
25:36an article by journalist Bill Hughes caught the attention of a former parole board chairman.
25:41Together they tracked down a witness who said that Johnny was not on the subway platform when the crime occurred.
25:48And in 2015,
25:50Johnny was granted a new hearing.
25:52Where did you and Johnny speak?
26:06In the...in the bench.
26:09Did you see him go onto the platform?
26:12No.
26:13Luis Montero was interrogated by some of the same detectives who questioned Johnny and Capier.
26:19They was asking questions and they didn't hear what they wanted to hear.
26:23They started to hit me.
26:26They just hit me, you know?
26:28So that's when the nightmare started, you know?
26:34Several witnesses testified.
26:36And then right in the middle of the hearing,
26:37a new witness came forward who saw the case in the news.
26:41She didn't want to be filmed,
26:43but she also testified that she was there that night,
26:47saw what happened,
26:48and Johnny was not on the subway platform when the crime occurred.
26:52Under the newly discovered evidence,
26:56the court does find that the defense has borne the burden of proof.
27:00The court is going to set aside the convictions,
27:04and the court is going to order a new trial.
27:05On those grounds,
27:07the court does not really believe
27:09that there's any reason for him
27:12to run.
27:13And therefore, the court will allow him,
27:17but with the...
27:19come here.
27:29Eric, listen.
27:32Want to talk to you?
27:33Absolutely.
27:36Do you want to skip this?
27:36Contacts, Eric Glitzen's another exoneree.
27:40How you doing, brother? How's everything?
27:43Listen, man, you know, I was there for you when you got out,
27:46and I'm just so glad to hear you right now,
27:48you being there for me right now that I'm finally out, brother.
28:06While I was reporting on Johnny's case,
28:20JJ called me, and he said to me,
28:23I have another case for you.
28:26What are you talking about?
28:27Another one?
28:36Richard Rosario came to Sing Sing,
28:46and he ended up getting transferred out.
28:49His incarceration was a tough one.
28:52You can see years of pain drowning him.
28:58And when you start to look at the facts,
29:01you realize this man had 13 alibis.
29:0413 alibis that he was in Florida
29:07when a crime was taking place in the Bronx.
29:12Like, how does this happen?
29:15So I felt compelled to help him.
29:19Good to see you.
29:21The last person I saw yesterday, he says, how do you?
29:24What's going on with him?
29:26I don't even.
29:28Are they making it difficult for that?
29:29Of course, make it difficult for everybody.
29:34So your case, you're saying, is actually very simple.
29:39At the time, it could have been simple.
29:41A murder happened in the Bronx.
29:43You say 13 people were with you in Florida.
29:45Not only 13 people.
29:47Documentary evidence could have proven that I was in Florida.
29:50So you gave them 13 names.
29:51Their phone numbers, their addresses,
29:53descriptions of cars, apartments I've been in.
29:58I gave them a Western Union transaction that had taken place around the time.
30:03And you gave them all of this, that first day?
30:06Everything.
30:07I went into the precinct, you know, voluntarily.
30:10I gave them all this information.
30:12Why not investigate it then?
30:14In 1996, a 17-year-old named George Colazzo was walking in the Bronx,
30:28and a man came up behind him and shot him in the head.
30:32Two eyewitnesses picked out a picture of Richard Rosario.
30:36He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life.
30:39No one from the NYPD or the Bronx District Attorney's Office
30:43ever went to interview Richard's alibi witnesses.
30:48And there was a miscommunication among his own attorneys.
30:52So out of the 13 alibi witnesses,
30:55only two of them testified at his trial.
30:58Clearly, the jury didn't believe them.
31:01So I got a list of Richard's alibi witnesses from his new attorneys.
31:05Your destination is ahead.
31:10And the people that I spoke with
31:12were perhaps the most credible alibi witnesses
31:16of any case that I've ever covered in my career.
31:24Tell me what you do for the name.
31:26I'm a deputy sheriff for the county.
31:28Tell me why you feel compelled to stand here in uniform
31:30and talk about Richard Rosario's case.
31:33It is 1,000% impossible
31:36for Richard to have committed that crime.
31:39There's no way.
31:40He can't be in New York and Florida at the same time.
31:43My son was born on June 20, 1996,
31:45and they're claiming that Richard
31:47killed someone on June 19, 1996,
31:51which that's physically impossible
31:53because he was in my house when we were leaving
31:56for my wife to go to the hospital.
31:58He was sitting on my sofa,
32:01and I remember telling Rich,
32:01you got to go.
32:02My baby's coming.
32:03Did you see him ever again?
32:05I did.
32:06I was discharged on the 21st,
32:08and he came by to see the baby.
32:11This is my oldest son.
32:13The scary part about it is when I look at him,
32:16this is how much time has gone by
32:17that Richard's been in jail.
32:20From the time that he was born,
32:22this is how long it's been.
32:24I'm an assistant pastor at the church.
32:30Why are you here talking to us?
32:31Why do you think this is important?
32:33Well, if my grandson had not been born
32:35on the 20th of June,
32:37this would be nothing to me.
32:40Richard walked up the step here
32:42and greeted me and told me
32:44that my daughter-in-law had just had the baby.
32:47And I know that he was here.
32:49Yeah, he was here.
32:54When Richard was convicted and sent away,
33:05he was ripped away from his wife
33:07and two little children.
33:09It was like a grenade was thrown
33:11into his life and theirs.
33:13Growing up, I knew that he was in prison.
33:24I just never actually told people
33:26he was in prison.
33:28I just always said he was away.
33:32The first thing they're going to think is
33:33he's a bad man.
33:35Nothing good comes out of saying
33:36that someone's in prison.
33:37That someone's in prison, yeah.
33:38What's up?
33:53Hi, Dad.
33:54You saved?
33:56How are you?
33:57What's up, baby?
34:00Ooh, love.
34:01You all right?
34:02Mm-hmm.
34:03What's up, Richard?
34:04What's going on?
34:06How was your trip over?
34:09It was good.
34:10It was cool.
34:10It was good.
34:11Yeah.
34:12On the way over here,
34:13we were talking about the fact
34:15that we kind of,
34:17and I'm realizing how much we do it,
34:19we kind of try to make the visits
34:20as positive as possible.
34:22Yeah.
34:23I've always told y'all,
34:24y'all want to ask me anything.
34:25You go ahead and ask me.
34:28Oh.
34:28I feel like I can't even come
34:40with the words of how I feel.
34:44I mean, just let it out, man.
34:46It breaks my heart every time
34:47I have to come in.
34:51I get anxiety before I come.
34:54I get too depressed when I leave.
34:57And I feel like the older I get,
35:01the worse it gets for me.
35:05Yeah.
35:06I'm not going to let this take you out
35:07and destroy your life
35:10because of what they did to me.
35:12I love y'all, and I miss y'all.
35:14I'm going to keep fighting.
35:15I love y'all.
35:21I miss y'all.
35:25I miss y'all.
35:27I miss y'all.
35:27I miss y'all.
35:32Year after year after year,
35:34every single time Richard filed an appeal,
35:37it was denied.
35:38including in 2004 when he was granted a hearing and seven of his alibi witnesses testified but
35:48the judge ruled their testimony would not have changed the jury's verdict then in January 2016
35:55a new district attorney took office Rosario asked me asked him to talk to me yeah but he never went
36:04to Florida either that's the whole problem because the two witnesses that did testify in the trial he
36:10never even prepped them they flew up they came to court that day he just put them on the stand
36:15so I mean that's part of the you know part of the things that I had to consider as well before I
36:21took office I met with the exoneration initiative about mr. Rosario he had an alibi defense that
36:29was never investigated so the first thing I did was let's investigate the alibi you sent
36:34somebody down to talk to them right yes I sent somebody down why has that not happened in 20
36:40years I cannot speak for that and it's the way that I would have approached it I need a chance
36:46to investigate it more but in the meantime there's no reason for him to have to wait behind bars
36:59so the meeting is granted that you are hereby releasing
37:29to see somebody that I was so close to walk out
37:57and I seen it with each instance
38:01I saw it with Richard Rosario
38:03I saw it with Johnny and Capier
38:06I saw it with Eric Glisson
38:08every time it just filled my heart more and more
38:12first because they all deserved it
38:15and did not deserve to be there
38:17but secondly
38:19the more people that get out
38:21the wider the door opens for the rest of us
38:24prison is designed for you to waste your life
38:44you're totally ostracized
38:47it's by design
38:49but the reality is that I invested in my life
38:53I am very excited to see a group of men
39:02who have decided to be role models
39:05in a place like a maximum security correctional facility
39:08every graduation is very important
39:10because it represents success
39:12in human beings
39:14who are motivated to move forward in life
39:16and live a fulfilled life
39:18and to be the person
39:19who they were meant to be
39:21when I got this position as superintendent
39:27I knew who JJ was
39:29but I didn't know him
39:29I saw the Dateline show
39:33and I felt bad that he was still locked up
39:36it's difficult thinking about somebody who's in prison
39:40when you know they didn't commit the crime
39:43or at least you believe they didn't commit it
39:45that's not a
39:46that's not an easy thing to live with
39:49something about JJ
39:52he was a natural born leader
39:54we started working together
39:58to make prison a better place
40:01how you doing?
40:01you alright?
40:02creating safe spaces
40:04that's life changing
40:05and that was something that
40:07superintendent capital was willing to support
40:09so when I felt helpless
40:13and couldn't invest in my life
40:14I poured myself into others' lives
40:17and I have my own goals
40:22and so I just need to figure out
40:25how to continue getting to that end goal
40:28which is ultimately my freedom
40:30after JJ was denied
40:36by the Manhattan DA's Conviction Integrity Unit
40:39his attorneys filed a motion with the court
40:42to hold a hearing
40:43so he could call witnesses
40:45and prove his innocence
40:46I had all this hope
40:54about this decision
40:55that's going to be coming down
40:56from you know
40:58the judge
40:59and found out
41:03that I had been denied
41:05you know
41:09I sat in silence
41:10for a lot that day
41:11and then
41:14in the middle of the night
41:16I realized
41:16I wasn't going to sleep
41:17and I just started
41:19to write Dan
41:19I got this letter
41:23it's handwritten
41:24of course
41:25in his beautiful penmanship
41:26and on the upper right hand corner
41:29it says
41:304.34 a.m
41:31dear Dan
41:33it is with great regret
41:39that I must sit here
41:41at this lonely hour
41:42and inform you
41:43that justice
41:43has no place in my life
41:45and that hope
41:46is just a cruel joke
41:47I'm writing this letter
41:50suffocating
41:51in this tiny ass cage
41:52bruised and battered
41:53by a horrendous decision
41:55to overlook
41:56such a terrible travesty
41:57I want to scream so loud
42:00but it won't make any sense
42:01because I'm not being heard
42:03do I have to jump off
42:05a prison tear
42:06with a noose around my neck
42:07to get people to realize
42:08that wrongful convictions
42:09are a slow death
42:11tell me Dan
42:14what's it going to take
42:15I'm sorry
42:18walk away
42:19I don't want to be heard
42:21I don't want to be heard
42:22I don't want to be heard
42:23I don't want to be heard
42:24I don't want to be heard
42:25I don't want to be heard
42:26I don't want to be heard
42:27I don't want to be heard
42:28I don't want to be heard
42:29I don't want to be heard
42:30I don't want to be heard
42:31I don't want to be heard
42:32I don't want to be heard
42:33I don't want to be heard
42:34I don't want to be heard
42:35I don't want to be heard
42:36I don't want to be heard
42:37I don't want to be heard
42:38I don't want to be heard
42:39I don't want to be heard
42:40I don't want to be heard
42:41I don't want to be heard
42:42That letter.
43:02It was personal because
43:06I cared very much for JJ.
43:19I was afraid my friend was going to kill himself.
43:25I felt such guilt.
43:31Like I failed him, you know?
43:36You know, so
43:41at that point,
43:45I had no choice
43:47but to not walk away.
43:53And I was never, ever
43:57going to stop
43:59until he got out of prison.
44:06.
44:10.
44:13.
44:13.
44:21.
Be the first to comment